Reflection from Friar Nicholas

TUESDAY, TWENTY EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMEE Gal 5:1-6; Ps 119:41,43-45,47-48; Lk 11:37-41 The Law as the Forerunner of Grace Saint Paul's letter to the Galatians addresses the relationship between the Law and the grace of Jesus Christ. As we have noted, the evil one used the Judaizers, those whose allegiance was more to the Law than to Christian grace, to corrupt the faith of many Galatians. The snare remains, for we all started by focusing on the Commandments. We put every effort into curbing our sinful tendencies and obeying the commandments. This is the usual practice for Christian neophytes. Our Lord advised the young man to keep the Commandments to possess eternal life. When he revealed his familiarity with the Commandments from his early years, the Lord directed him on the way of perfection. We therefore understand the Law as the forerunner of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Son of Man and was happy to give way wh...

MONDAY, TWENTY EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMEE Gal 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1; Ps 113:1-7; Lk 11:29-32 Entering Our Freedom in Jesus Christ In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tried to clarify the difference between a Law-driven devotion and worship of God and a grace- or Christ-centred devotion and worship. The difference lies in what our minds and hearts focus on. When we focus on obeying the Law, interest is on ourselves; we want to satisfy our desire to appear righteous and to sound so when we talk. We compare ourselves to others, and we approve our religion or devotion because we judge ourselves as making more effort, it would seem, than others. For these, concern about the Law bespeaks self and does not show a desire to serve God. Such focus on the Law and obedience to its maxims blinds us to the presence of Jesus Christ, the divine mercy he makes abundant for us, and the overflowing grace of redemption he puts in our possession. If we keep the Law of God by our efforts, then what...

SUNDAY, TWENTY EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMEE Isa 25:6-10; Ps 23; Phil 4:12-14,19-20; Mt 22:1-10 The Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God The divine will is God, for it manifests his presence at all times. We can never have enough of the subject of divine will, for it is the mystery of our salvation; ignorance of it causes us to sin and wander in darkness. God wills everything into existence. Each has existence according to God’s will. This is what each thing’s nature expresses to us. Everything, by virtue of its existence, manifests God’s will and presence to us, though limited by the thing’s nature. In this sense, the whole visible creation is a feast of God’s will. Visible creation is a feast because it reveals God’s will. God’s revelation of his divine will gives us life and light. The angelic beings rejoiced at the creation of the earth as they contemplated what God brought to be by his word and glorified him. According to Saint Augustine, the alternation of evening and morning m...

SATURDAY, TWENTY SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Gal 3:22-29; Ps 105:2-7; Lk 11:27-28 The Blessed Womb and Breast We usually call the earth our mother. We say this because everything material about us comes from the earth and belongs to it. The earth is our mother because it provides the raw material for our being. It sustains us in this mortal life through its provisions; our nourishment from the earth is likened to a mother breastfeeding her children. The earth cannot bring forth the human person on its own, only through the command of the Word of God. Thus, our lives belong primarily to the Word of God that called us into existence. The Word summons us into life, and by that fact, makes us participate in his life according to our human nature. God therefore prepares the earth to be the womb that receives his divine Word, and our nursing mother, nourishing us with her ever-flowing milk. Because of this God-given and important task, Scripture and the Fathers of the Church call us ...

FRIDAY, TWENTY SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Gal 3:7-14; Ps 111:1-6; Lk 11:15-26 Kingdom working against Kingdom The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord. Nothing created opposes God and his divine will, for he made all things to serve his will. If everything serves the divine will, then no creature is meant to harm us by nature. We harm ourselves among creatures only because we reject the divine will. We employ ourselves and creatures to serve our corrupted will, and thereby corrupt them. This is what the Serpent did to corrupt Adam and Eve and their progenies. The evil one made them doubt God and his goodwill towards them. It was a devastating strike on the image of God within man. Man’s doubt or disbelief corrupts the light of his rational faculty that images God. Reason naturally assures us that the Creator of all things, which are knowable in their respective natures, is infinitely knowable and trustworthy. On this ground we conclude that everything can lead us to G...

THURSDAY, TWENTY SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Gal 3:1-5; Lk 1:69-75; Lk 11:5-13 Does God give us Scorpion instead of Egg? The question seems foolish, but that's how we sometimes behave. We often live our lives and handle situations as if God were not trustworthy or cared nothing for us. Our behaviour betrays our disbelief in God. We often doubt God’s existence and the word of God we have heard many times. The worst is that we live this way completely unaware that we are listening, believing, and acting out the devil’s script secretly and insidiously whispered into our ears. We follow popular opinions with a diabolical origin. The Lord called the devil the prince of this world. To believe in God is to accept his word and build our lives on it. It is to accept the light of his word as our worldview and to make it the framework for interpreting our lives and situations. A principal article of our faith is that God created us. If God is what we believe and profess him to be, the...