Reflection from Friar Nicholas

SUNDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Kings 3:5,7-12; Ps 119:57,72,76-77,127-130; Rom 8:28-30; Mt 13:44-52 The Transitory and the Permanent God made us in his image and gave us a vocation to be like him. This vocation is not unique to the human person, but general to all rational creatures. Both angels and humans received the vocation to be like God, though each is called to be like God in a manner specific to their nature. Every other thing made by God reflects the glory of God according to its nature, which is God acting within and through them. But the nature of the rational creatures is such that they have to cooperate with God to reflect the divine glory willingly. The presence of wisdom in creatures is what enables them to reflect the glory of God. Whereas irrational creatures bear the imprint of wisdom and naturally obey the will of God in their natural operations, rational creatures have no such imprint of wisdom; they are made to willingly love wisdom and learn to ...

FEAST OF SAINT JAMES, APOSTLE 2 Cor 4:7-15; Ps 126:1-6; Mt 20:20-28 Mysteries of Heaven in Earthenware Jars The mysteries we receive and celebrate in our liturgical gatherings are revelations of God to us, who are his creatures. Through the scriptures, we have come to understand that God made us for the purpose of containing these mysteries. As we noted yesterday, the revelations of these mysteries are like open doors through which we enter into the presence of God. The Church, as the body of Jesus Christ, is the custodian of these mysteries. That is to say that the Church, by receiving these mysteries from Jesus Christ, received the keys to open the doors leading to the saving presence of God. Our Lord meant this when he entrusted the key to the kingdom of heaven to the apostles. Therefore, the existence of the Church in the world prolongs the salvific presence of God to all peoples and nations. Since her members constitute the Church as the body of Jesus Christ, the presence of...

FRIDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 3:14-1; Jer 31:10-13; Mt 13:18-23 Grasping the Mysteries of Heaven One characteristic feature of God is presence. God is a presence, and his name, I AM, means presence or existence. Presence is an alternative presentation of God who is existence. By creating us, he brings us to share in his being, for God is existence. Life, especially human life, is characterised by awareness. The object of our awareness determines the quality of our life. It follows, therefore, that to be aware of God is the highest form of existence or life. However, God is not immediately present to our awareness in mortal life. Our awareness of God’s presence is mediated until we develop our spiritual faculties to a level where we can apprehend spiritual realities directly. The role of the mysteries is to relate the divine presence and operations to us. Hence, the mysteries of faith are the events in time that God has immortalised by his presence and operations, su...

THURSDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 2:1-3,7-8,12-13; Ps 36:6-11; Mt 13:10-17 What the Prophets Longed to Hear Mysteries are divine truths that transcend the human mind. They are difficult to comprehend in our mortal existence. Such mysteries are presented to us in simple analogies that we can easily understand and relate to. However, our ability to relate to these mysteries is radically diminished by sin, for sin is a different orientation from our natural orientation, which is towards God. Sin gives us an orientation to creatures, which is an orientation that first exists in the devil and his fallen angels. He was the first to turn away from God to creature, himself, for he is a creature of God. He tempts us to turn away from God to self, and subsequently to creatures. Orientation to creatures blinds us to the presence of God and his providential care for us. With such an orientation, what we merit is outright destruction, for we have lost the purpose of our being, whi...

FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN 2 Cor 5:14-17; Ps 63:2-6,8-9; Jn 20:1-2,11-18 Love Nurtured by Forgiveness God is infinitely just and infinitely loving. In our human thinking and understanding, it would appear strange that justice, mercy, and love come together in God’s dealings with us. As mentioned, God creatively works out our salvation in such a way that his infinite justice, mercy, love, and other divine perfections are not shortchanged in any way. This becomes clearer when we recall that God’s judgment and punishment are never geared toward our perdition or destruction, but rather toward our reconciliation with Him. It is not the will of God that we or any of his creatures perish, but that we come to share in his life and communion. Thus, God exercises his divine justice vis-à-vis his other perfections in such a way as to maximise the possibility of our repentance and return to his everlasting communion. So, the first goal of the divine justice is to reveal to us the evil of o...

TUESDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDERINARY TIME Micah 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 85:2-8; Mt 12:46-50 Becoming the brother of Jesus Christ If, as we said in yesterday’s reflection, God intends us to live in communion with him always, he will surely not hide his divine will from us. Since to live in communion with God is to follow his will in all things, God will not hide his will from us but reveal it for our lives and fullness of communion. The will of God is indeed revealed for our salvation, for the whole creation exists by the will of the Father. Each creature proclaims the divine will in its nature as each is called forth into existence by the living word of God. On this basis, God called on the whole creation to act as witness in the case and indictment of his people, as we read yesterday from the prophet Micah. They are witnesses of God’s will, for they exist by the divine will and proclaim it through their existence and operations to us. Hence, our disobedience and sins are inexcusable, for w...