Reflection from Friar Nicholas

  SUNDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13 The Wise and Foolish Virgins Wisdom features prominently in today's readings. Wisdom is such a lofty virtue that the Eternal Word is called Wisdom himself. He is the Father's wisdom, and we see it at work everywhere in his creation. He exists in everything and directs all things to their proper end. Wisdom’s presence in creation prompts us to see the whole creation as a divine school for man. Though we are made in the image of God, we are not born wise; each of us needs to listen attentively to imbibe or cultivate wisdom from creation and the operations of natural things. Because the word of God that brought things into existence still governs their operations, wisdom is present and active among us. “Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim. By those who love her she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her. Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herse...

FEAST OF ALL SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS Lev 19:1-2,17-18; Ps 1:1-4,6; Mt 5:13-16 Vocation to Preach the Word of God We celebrate together all the brothers and sisters of our Dominican family who have reached the heavenly banquet. Every Christian's vocation is holiness of life. Since God is holiness, the call to be with God is a call to be holy. This is what the reading from Leviticus teaches us. “The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”’” Thus, even in the Old Testament, God required the people of Israel to be holy as their God. He set a high ideal for them, not that they could ever be holy as God. But he did so that they may desire the life of holiness. Holiness is never something we can achieve on our own but comes to us in the company of God. The word of God, which carries the divine presence and holiness confers the same on us when we harbour it in our minds, ...

FRIDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Phil 3:17-4:1; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 16:1-8 Dishonesty with God’s Grace A steward's dishonesty usually stems from vested interests or dislike of the master. When a steward nurtures interest different from his master’s interest and the goal for which he was employed, he starts using his master’s resources to achieve his own goals. In this case, the steward becomes unfaithful and useless for the purpose for which the master employed him. It is in the master’s best interest to lay off such a dishonest steward and employ another who will represent and promote his interest in the establishment. This is exactly the case in today’s Gospel. “There was a rich man, and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property.” Each of us can see himself or herself in the dishonest steward. God made us and placed us in charge of his business. What business of God are we in charge of? Surely, each of us has charge of his or her life. Life...

THURSDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Phil 3:3-8; Ps 105:2-7; Lk 15:1-10 The Rejoicing over One Repentant Sinner We may not fully know or understand the cause of heavenly rejoicing over a repentant sinner because the mystery of God also enters into this area. God’s mysterious will is very difficult for fallen human nature to discern. What we consider good and pleasing to the Lord is often far removed from what God wants of us. Saint Paul is a good example. He was raised in Judaism by virtuous parents. He knew the Law of God and applied himself to it without reservation. But he was revealed to be a sinner through and through when the light of Jesus Christ came to him. His self-judgment as righteous and religious, according to external observance of the Law, could not win him a place in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. “If it came to relying on physical evidence, I should be fully qualified myself. Take any man who thinks he can rely on what is physical: I am...

SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO, BISHOP Phil 2:12-18; Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Lk 14:25-33 Operations and Cooperations of God We should always remember that our Christian vocation is more spiritual than physical. What defines it is the fact that God, who calls us, is spiritual. We must shift our awareness to the spiritual, to be more spiritual than physical.  As a spiritual vocation, we must develop our spiritual faculties to hear and respond to God’s revelation of his divine will. As we mentioned yesterday, God uses the physical as sacraments of his presence and communication to us. Our training in spiritual life involves deepening our spiritual awareness of God’s presence and discerning his will that he communicates to us through various means each moment. God gave his people the Decalogue when he brought them out from Egypt, where they were enslaved, to keep their attention riveted on his presence among them. The Son of Man revised the Commandments into two precepts of love for the same pu...

FEAST OF SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES, RELIGIOUS Phil 4:4-9; Ps 131; Mt 22:34-40 The Power of Simplicity and Trust in God Each of us has two ways to walk or travel in this temporal life—the way of the senses and the spiritual way of faith. The first is native to us because we are born of the flesh before being reborn in spirit through faith. Before we came to faith in Jesus Christ, we were already familiar with the natural or sensible way of living. Many of us are so used to the sensible way that the spiritual way is unattractive. As we have explained, faith in Jesus Christ gradually leads us to leave the way of the senses for the spiritual way. All our desires, prayers, and works must facilitate this changeover. Change is by a conscious decision and determination to walk the spiritual path to the Saviour’s mountain. It is a death process that ends in life. We must so exercise our faith in prayer and in daily doings that spiritual things become the ordinary and the sensible the subordi...