Reflection from Friar Nicholas

THURSDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 18:1-6; Ps 146:2-6; Mt 13:47-53 The Separation of the Good from the Bad It was Saint Augustine who said that the same divine blows that purify the saints reduce the unjust to dust and ashes. By this, he let us understand that there are no separate measures for the saints and the sinners as pertains to our mortal life here on earth. God does not distinguish between the faithful and sinners when he sends his sun, rain, cold, and heat. Our Lord taught the same lesson. “For He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Mt 5:45. This means that God sends his material blessings to everyone irrespective of our standing with him. Even his graces are given to everyone in Jesus Christ our Lord. The difference lies in our manner of reception of these gifts he gives without favouritism. Some people turn their backs on the gifts and continue to complain about...

SAINTS MARTHA, MARY AND LAZARUS Jer 15:10,16-21; Ps 59:2-5,10-11,17-18; Jn 11:19-27 Our Mortal Afflictions We are sometimes in great distress and ignorant of the possible cause or causes of our afflictions. Among other possible causes of our afflictions as Christians is the fact that we bear the word of God. By the original sin of our first parents, a sinful orientation has gained a place within us. So, our nature, which was made to reflect the goodness of God as the image of the divine, is corrupted by sin, original and actual sins. Our innate disorientation from God and his word makes it possible for the devil to sow his evil seed in us and use us as his seeds in the world. Subsequently, the word of God comes to us with a destructive force, which actually is meant to restore the purity of our nature. We receive the word of God and feel his presence in us as a destructive force because of the evil structures and orientation established by sin, the seed of the devil, within us. T...

TUESDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 14:17-22; Ps 79:8-9,11,13; Mt 13:36-43 The Good Seed and the Darnel We take another look at the parable of the good seed, the wheat, and the darnel in the parable of our Lord. Let us strive to gain more clarity on the setting and workings of evil and its agents. About the meaning of the parable, while explaining the parable to the apostles, our Lord says: “The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels.” He refers to the faithful and the unfaithful as the good seeds and the darnels, respectively. He makes us understand that when we receive the word of God and apply it to our lives, we become good seeds; that is, we become the living word of God or the incarnation of God’s word. This is truly the case, for through our baptisma...

MONDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Jer 13:1-11; Deut 32:18-21; Mt 13:31-35 The Mustard Seed of the Kingdom of Heaven Wisdom is God essentially. It is enshrined in the word of God, which expresses the knowledge and will of the Father. This is why we refer to Jesus Christ as the Eternal Wisdom. So, God did not imprint or enclose wisdom within rational creatures, for that would remove their freedom or make them equal to God. The exercise of free will is what allows rational creatures to be like God.  With a rational nature that makes them the image of God, they can know the created things and order. They can distinguish between creatures and the Creator and choose to remain in communion with their Creator. Our choice to remain with God is a choice to walk with wisdom. Since God created us to be in communion with him, the choice to follow the will of God when it is revealed to us is the proper exercise of the gift of free will that will bring us to be like God. When we fai...

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...