Reflection from Friar Nicholas

THE FEAST OF TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD 2 Pet 1:16-19; Ps 97:1-2,5-6,9; Mt 17:1-9 The Revelation of God God, in his infinite mercy and compassion, deigns sometimes to give us a sign that would help our poor and sinful nature to continue on the path of faith in Jesus Christ. We are so immersed in the physical world that walking by faith is such a burden to our poor, corrupted nature. God demonstrates a profound understanding of our plight and is always eager to assist us. He gives us daily signs and gestures to comfort us in our pilgrimage. He showers visible favours on us as sensible messengers of his love and providential care for us. We must see with the eyes of faith to interpret and understand these divine gestures and messengers on our path. The enemies of our salvation would always attempt to make us see these divine gestures as common by giving alternative interpretations of the sources of the favours we receive from God. They make us believe that they are coincidences th...

WEDNESDAY, EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 31:1-7; Jer 31:10-12,13; Mt 15:21-28 Attention that makes the Sheep of Lord It is general knowledge that the attention span of children is very short. Hence, one must be very fascinating to hold a child's attention for a while. Their ability to remain attentive improves as they grow and develop an interest in a thing. We can be classified among the house animals based on our different spans of attention. We see a number of them feature in the Gospel of today. The dog is a hunting animal. It has a roving attention which suits its role in the security of the house. The cat is quiet and sneaky; it moves about for its own interest and gain. But the sheep is a serene and meditative house animal. They are very observant and easily follow instructions or patterns of behaviour. Their characteristic obedient behaviour endears them to their owners; they ruminate over what they have eaten when they are brought back from the pasture. The Lo...

SAINT JOHN MARY VIANNEY, PRIEST Jer 30:1-2,12-15,18-22; Ps 102:16-21,29,22-23; Mt 15:1-2,10-14 Pulling up of False Plants Who can ever imagine the beauty and wonder of dwelling in God’s presence? But this is the gift the Lord our God has granted to us without our asking, for he created us to enjoy this banquet eternally with him. Once deceived by the ancient serpent, the human race became accustomed to walking without the light of God; we have grown accustomed to stumbling in the dark, without concern for light. In fact, we now harbour a fear of the divine light and the light of reason. The latter is derived from the former as the presence of God within our nature. How can any of us find our way back without the grace of God? The way of righteousness and integrity is so unknown to us that we consider it a path leading to nowhere, while in fact it is the path leading us to fullness of life and splendour of truth. The path leading to divine presence is within each of us, if only we...

MONDAY, EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 28:1-17; Ps 119:29,43,79-80,95,102; Mt 14:22-36 True and False Prophets Our understanding of God is often flawed. But that is usual, for we progressively move from darkness to light. Until the full light of the Gospel of God dawns in us, we easily misconceive God and his divine work within and about us. So, it is not out of place that we have incomplete knowledge of God. What is unacceptable is to think that we have comprehended God and insist that we are right and nothing else. This is the reason we depend on the Church for our moral integrity and to ascertain the truth of what we have conceived. The Church, as our mother, guides us in a deeper understanding of divine revelation and a better understanding of whatever we have received from God as revelation. Whatever we understand from the scriptures must be subjected to the greater light of the Church to remove error and emphasize the truth. Hence, God’s revelation of his word drives ...

SUNDAY, EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Isa 55:1-3; Ps 145:8-9,15-18; Rom 8:35,37-39; Mt 14:13-21 Our Invitation to the Banquet of God God, in his infinite love and compassion, never ceases to invite us to the banquet of life, for which he created us. The whole creation bears the trace of the divine invitation to man. The purpose of creation is to lead us gradually to God’s presence in the beatific vision. Sin disfigured creation and made it unable to attract and lead us to God. The disfigurement is more in us than in the creation. Sin corrupted the unrestricted desire within us to for God by directing it to creatures. The fact that creatures can never satisfy our deepest desire leaves us hollow, hungry, and thirsty for eternity. This is exactly what hell is like. Hell arises from our failure to attend the divine banquet prepared for us for all eternity. The work of the devil, the ancient serpent or dragon, who lost his place in heaven due to his pride and disobedience, is to co...

SAINT ALPHONSUS MARY DE’ LIGUORI, BISHOP, DOCTOR   Jer 26:11-16,24; Ps 69:15-16,30-31,33-34; Mt 14:1-12 Conformity with the Divine Will Our relationship with God is both communal and personal. He relates to us as a community of people he has called to be his own possession. He manifests his word and his will to us, the acceptance of which establishes us as his people. The divine manifestation or revelation of God, as we have previously noted, is an opening or door through which we enter the presence of God or share his life. Because the encounter is personal, the communal relationship is based on the personal. Since God is a trinity of three divine persons, our relationship with God is on a person-to-person basis. The word of God is addressed to our understanding, his love to our hearts, and He summons our wills and enables them thereby to obey the divine will in worship and adoration. Thus, the quality of the communal relationship and worship of God depends on the quali...