Reflection from Friar Nicholas

TUESDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 2 Thess 2:1-3,14-17; Ps 96:10-13; Mt 23:23-26 The Coming of the Bridegroom Just as we do not know God the Father because of the blindness caused by sin and due to our engrossment in the sensual things, we do not know the Son also because of our lack of faith in God’s word. The knowledge of the Father and the Son is intertwined; We know the Father when we know the Son, and we know the Son when we know the Father. But Jesus taught that nobody knows the Son except the Father, and nobody knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. The Father has chosen to reveal the Son to us, to invite us to his wedding feast and communion. The revelation is in spiritual form but given in sensible sacramental forms. We have received the gift of faith corresponding to the revelation of God’s Son to us. So, we noted in yesterday’s reflection that the gradual revelation of God’s glory is experienced within each of us who ...

FEAST OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE Apo 21:9-14; Ps 145:10-13a,17-18; Jn 1:45-51 The Making of the Bride of Christ Those whom the Father has invited to the wedding banquet had no idea what awaited them at the Son of God's wedding banquet. They have no idea of what the Father has prepared for them because they lack the knowledge of the Father. It is only the Son who knows the Father and understands the nature of the banquet he prepared for his wedding. At a wedding banquet, all attention is on the bride and her groom, and so much is lavished on the bride's preparation and decoration to match and display the groom's wealth and affluence. More is expected when the groom is a prince; the king would spend lavishly on the bride. The causes of our ignorance, who are invited to the heavenly banquet, are two: the first is our total ignorance of God; the second is our blindness caused by sin and addiction to the senses. Thus, the Scripture says that what God has prepared for th...

SUNDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Isa 22:19-23; Ps 138:1-3,6,8; Rom 11:33-36; Mt 16:13-20 Our United Desire for the Communion The Church’s opening prayer for today’s Eucharistic celebration is a plea to God to grant us the desire for communion with him, which he has promised us. This is important because the desire for the life of God enables us to obey his commandments; as we noted previously in our reflections, knowledge and obedience to the Commandments of God introduce us to communion with God. Knowledge of the Commandments and our obedience to them conform our lives here on earth to the divine life. The Commandments are God’s self-revelation to us, his creatures. They constitute an invitation and open door for everyone to enter the communion of the Triune God. So, the revelation of the Commandments to Israel placed them on a pedestal higher than all the Gentile nations. Saint Paul lamented this privilege Israel received from God, but wasted, in the readings of two S...

OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN Ezek 43:1-7; Ps 85:9-14; Mt 23:1-12 The Seat of Divine Communion To understand the revealed name of God, I Am, is to understand the infinite power of God. It is to understand that God’s plan can never be thwarted by any creature, for every creature owes its existence to our God. The divine will is the cause of every existence. So, the revelation of God’s plan means it must come to pass. Where the realisation of the divine plan is delayed, it is delayed by its human component, for the divine component is already in existence and operative from the moment of its revelation to us. When the human component is found willing and ready by abundance of divine grace, the plan of God is speedily realised, for there is nothing else to impede it. Abraham’s willingness and faith in God’s promise formed the pedestal on which the whole of the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, were established according to God’s plan of salvation for all men. When his descendant...

SAINT PIUS X, POPE Ezek 37:1-14; Ps 107:2-9; Mt 22:34-40 The Knowledge of Divine Love Our life here on earth is a journey to communion with God. As we pointed out in our reflection yesterday, understanding the goal of life illuminates our origin and true identity. God has made sufficient provision for our wayfaring through life to divine communion. Each of us can be compared to a child whose parents left under the care of a guardian and travelled of necessity. They made every provision for the child's upbringing, but placed all in the care of the guardian, who is to raise the child with all the provisions, so that he would gradually grow and come into his inheritance with them. The understanding of the provisions, the care the parents put in place for his welfare and upbringing, and the wealth he is to inherit in due time give the child an idea of his parents' love and goodwill. But if the child pays no attention to these things, thinks only of himself, complains that his...

SAINT BERNARD, ABBOT, DOCTOR Ezek 36:23-28; Ps 51:12-15,18-19; Mt 22:1-14 Attendance at the Divine Wedding Human life on earth is a struggle we must engage in; it is a journey we must make; it is a battle we must fight; it is also a death we must die. Our life is all these and even more. But what makes our mortal life worth living is the end for which we live it. The true end of human life is linked to its origin. If we understand the purpose of life on earth, then we must have grasped our origin. Similarly, understanding the origin of our lives is to receive illumination into the purpose of our existence. Because of the importance of knowledge of these two, God revealed his word to us. God had to do this because the knowledge of these principles or pillars of our existence, which are supposed to come to us naturally from creation, became recondite or hidden due to the darkness and distortion caused by sin. The word of God, which is meant to illuminate our understanding, was neve...