Homily for Saturday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Williams Onyilo, CSSp
Readings: Daniel 7:15–27; Luke 21:34–36
Dreams and visions are real. They should not be dismissed as mere imagination or signs of psychological imbalance, though some may indeed arise from such sources. Throughout Scripture and in the lives of the saints, God has used dreams and visions to speak to his people. We recall Joseph the dreamer, Joseph the foster father of Jesus, Peter, Jacob, St. Faustina Kowalska, and many others.
Sometimes these dreams and visions are not immediately clear, and like young Samuel who sought guidance from Eli, we may need spiritual direction from those more experienced. In many cases, God speaks through symbols or familiar images to reveal aspects of his will or future events. Therefore, we must avoid dismissing dreams or visions simply because we personally do not understand them. Joseph’s dreams were ignored and mocked by his family, and the apparitions at Fatima were at first doubted even by the parish priest. Yet God, in his time, brought the truth to light.
We live in a digital age where spiritual realities are often neglected or rejected. Let us pray for the grace to be spiritually alert and to hold God’s actions in our lives with reverence.
In the first reading (Daniel 7:15–27), Daniel’s vision of the four beasts represents successive earthly kingdoms. The “little horn” is widely interpreted as Antiochus IV Epiphanes, or as a symbol of a future Antichrist, who would persecute God’s people for “a time, times, and half a time,” traditionally understood as three and a half years. But despite the seeming power of such earthly persecutors, God’s final judgment prevails. The “saints of the Most High” will ultimately inherit an everlasting kingdom.
I recall two personal experiences that affirm the mystery and power of God’s revelations.
When I was a child in the Block Rosary Crusade, some members received a revelation about a parish treasurer who was secretly stealing church money. The children approached him and his wife to warn him that God was displeased and danger was near. Instead of listening, they chased the children away and threatened them. Sadly, weeks later, the man died. May God grant him mercy.
In another parish where I served, two children were kidnapped. After four months of searching with no success, many people gave up hope and suggested organizing a symbolic burial. A native doctor was even consulted, but his charms created confusion, pointing to several innocent people at once.
Throughout this period of despair, the mother of the children remained steadfast. She prayed before the Blessed Sacrament daily, booked Masses, and constantly pleaded that I also pray for their return. One night, I had a dream in which I heard kidnapped children crying in an uncompleted building. Although I could not locate the exact place in the dream, it revealed that the children were still alive.
After four months, the children were miraculously found in Lagos, where their abductors were preparing to smuggle them across the Nigerian border. They were rescued and brought home. That night, Christians from different denominations, Deeper Life, Assemblies of God, Anglican, New Creation, and others, gathered in our church and praised God together like on the day of Pentecost.
Through this, God revealed himself once more as the one who hears the cries of his people.
My dear friends, let us not be quick to dismiss dreams and visions simply because we do not understand them. God still speaks. He still reveals. He still guides his children in mysterious ways.
May God bless us and open our hearts to his gentle voice.
Amen.
