Reflection from Friar Nicholas

ST. ALPHONSUS DE LIGOURI, BISHOP Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Jer 18:10,1-6; Ps 146:2-6; Mt 13:47-53 The Potter and the Clay We celebrate another great saint and founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. The writing of this wonderful saint and bishop shaped the foundation of my spirituality and vocation. His books captured my interest when I started reading spiritual books; they helped my spiritual life and devotion in no small way. Looking back on the influence of his works on my spiritual formation, I can say that they formed my initial understanding of how the grace of God works on our souls. A good analogy is that of a potter working on clay, as Jeremiah presented in the reading. God directed the prophet Jeremiah to visit the potter at his house to understand how he works. The visit must have illuminated Jeremiah’s mind on his struggles with the word of God and the people of Judah. What he understood when he got to the potte

ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA, PRIEST Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke  Jer 15:10,16-21; Ps 59:2-5,10-11,17-18; Mt 13:44-46 The Inner Structure of the Wheat The first reading gives us a window into the inner struggles of the prophet Jeremiah. We consider him one of the most successful prophets of the Old Testament. This conclusion comes from the fact that he committed himself to the vocation he received to the extent that he became one with the word of God he proclaimed to the people of Judah. As we have already seen, Jeremiah was called a young lad and even protested to God about his being young. He never had a wife and no family; he gave his whole life to the vocation he received from God. From his own words, we hear his commitment to the word of God. “When your words came, I devoured them: your word was my delight and the joy of my heart; for I was called by your name, Lord, God of Hosts.” Jeremiah lived on the word of God and made it his own. He proclaimed the will of God faithfull

TUESDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP Jer 14:17-22; Ps 79:8-9,11,13; Mt 13:36-43 The Conditioning of the Good and the Bad The Scriptures and the Fathers of the Christian faith hold that temporal blessings, or evil, cannot be used to distinguish a good man from an evil man in a strict sense. The reason is that God sends his sun to shine and the rain to fall, equally on the good and the bad. Our Lord teaches this lesson in the Gospel of Matthew 5:45. Thus, concerning physical good or evil, both good and evil men receive equally. These natural things are distributed evenly among the good and the bad. The distinction between the two is possible by the fruits they bear, given the sun and the rain evenly distributed to them. We often desire to see the goodman protected from the evil of the day and the evil man suffer them all because of his evil conduct. That is mostly not the case. Both good and evil men suffer the failure of natural, soci

SS MARTHA, MARY AND LAZARUS Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Jer 13:1-11; Deut 32:18-21; Jn 11:19-27 Living in close relationship with God The teaching that Yahweh gave to Jeremiah and the people of Judah using the linen loincloth the prophet purchased is quite illustrative and impressive at the same time. Yahweh used the linen loincloth around Jeremiah's waist to illustrate his relationship with the people of Judah. The first thing we get from the analogy is that the one who wears the loincloth decides to wear or not to wear it. Hence, the decision to wear a particular loincloth honours the loincloth, which is put into use and serves the purpose of its existence. The contrary decision is not to the benefit of the loincloth that is left unused and loses its value. This is the lesson Yahweh passed on to the people from this illustration given by Jeremiah’s treatment of his loincloth. “Thus says the Lord: In the same way I will spoil the arrogance of Judah and Jerusale

SUNDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  2 Kings 4:42-44; Ps 145:10-11,15-18; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15 Jesus Christ Our Bread of Life The readings today direct our attention to the providence of God. St. Paul guides us to the attitude and worldview that will enable us to understand how God provides for all his children in all things in the second reading. The background for this guidance is a Christian mindset. Recall that he started this letter to the Ephesians by thanking God the Father, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven through Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. Hence, these heavenly blessings are available to us in Jesus Christ and through him. The condition for receiving the blessings is faith in the incarnation of the Eternal Word of God. Therefore, the Gospel preached by St. Paul is a vocation to these blessings. One who believes in the promised blessings of Jesus Christ must live as such. This i

SATURDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Jer 7:1-11; Ps 84:3-6,8,11; Mt 13:24-30 The good and the bad seeds Our life on earth is a time of trials, pains, and death, notwithstanding the brief moments of joy and pleasure we also have. To make good of the difficulties of the short human life, we must allow God to plant the good seed of eternal life in us. The seed of the word of God must grow in our souls, tended by personal awareness. Our Lord used the parable of Sower to enlighten us on the importance of safeguarding the heavenly seed God plants in our souls through his word. In today’s gospel, he paints a complementary picture of our reality by informing us of another seed, not of God but of the evil one, our ancient enemy. There is a good seed, sown by the Son of God from the heavenly Father. The enemy of our souls also sows a bad seed. Our Lord revealed this truth himself, which should preoccupy us. “Jesus put another parable before th

SS. JOACHIM AND ANNE, PARENTS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Jer 3:14-17; Jer 31:10-13; Mt 13:18-23 The New Jerusalem and the Throne of God The first reading taken from Jeremiah is so suitable for the memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne. In the prophecy, Yahweh foretold what he planned to do for the salvation of the world. He intended to take people from different towns and clans to reconstitute Zion and appoint a king who would rule according to his will. “I will take one from a town, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and these shall feed you on knowledge and discretion.” What would constitute the basis for choosing those from towns and clans to repopulate Jerusalem? The basis will be their relationship with the word of God; these are people who are attentive to the word of God and loyal to the will of God contained therein. Their faith in the word of God will make them citizens of the new Jerusalem. Yahweh dispersed the old Jerusale

FEAST OF SAINT JAMES, APOSTLE Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  2 Cor 4:7-15; Ps 126:1-6; Mt 20:20-28 The heavenly Glory in earthenware Jars As we celebrate the feast of the apostle St. James, considering the great height to which Jesus Christ calls each of us, St. Paul presents to us that the mortal body we carry is nothing but an earthenware jar. God pours the priceless glory of heavenly life into this weak and fragile container. This unfathomable glory comes to us through the word of God. The word of God is God and carries the presence of God into each soul that receives it with faith and joy. As we noted in yesterday’s reflection, what the prophets received as a special privilege in limited access, God has given us access without limit. This is a way to understand the singular privilege of the apostles of the Lamb. The Eternal Word assumed flesh and lived among us. The apostles had the rare privilege of being with him for three years of public ministry. The company of

WEDNESDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Jer 1:1,4-10; Ps 71:1-6,15,17; Mt 13:1-9 The Word of God and the Prophet/Shepherd The first reading tells us of the call of the prophet Jeremiah from a priestly family living in Anathoth. Jeremiah’s call, similar to the call of Isaiah, came with a vision of Yahweh. In the inaugural vision, Yahweh made him understand that he consecrated him a prophet even before he formed him in the womb. “The word of the Lord was addressed to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.’” This underscores the immutability of God’s will, stressed in yesterday’s reflection. We can do nothing to change the divine will once he has chosen if we are to be happy. Yahweh made the young Jeremiah understand this by putting aside his protestations. “Do not say, ‘I am a child.’  Go now to those whom I send you and, say what

TUESDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Micah 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 85:2-8; Mt 12:46-50 The Basis of Relationship with Jesus Christ We started our reflection yesterday by saying that prayer is our search for the face of Jesus. The face of Jesus Christ represents the will of our heavenly Father. The holy will of God is the most sacred thing in the universe, for it runs the universe as an unfailing system. All in heaven do the will of God. No one can separate his will from God’s holy will. This is the source of peace and harmony in heaven.  God’s will represents the holiness of God. Thus, since God’s holiness is unchanging, his will is immutable. God cannot change his sacred will; that will imply imperfection in God. So, when the scriptures say God repented or use similar expressions, we must understand the saying to mean that the condition changed, or men changed or repented to fall in line with God’s immutable will. In many such expressions,

FEAST OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Song 3:1-4; Ps 63:2-6,8-9; Jn 20:1-2, 11-18 Woman, why are you weeping? As we celebrate the feast day of St. Mary Magdelene, we reflect on what prayer means, given the new birth we have received at our profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Prayer is seeking the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. Various analogies illustrate the relation between Jesus Christ and a converted soul. That of a newborn baby seeking or crying for milk from its mother brings out the need a Christian soul has for Jesus Christ to remain alive and grow spiritually. St. Paul used this analogy in his letters to various Christian communities he founded. The analogy of espousal is also very common in the New Testament and the writings of St. Paul. This analogy is the basis for including the romantic Song of Songs among the canonical collections composing the Holy Scripture. The Church employs a passage from this romantic composition to celebrate t

SUNDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Jer 23:1-6; Ps 23; Eph 2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34 The Shepherd of the Sheep The prophet Jeremiah expressed Yahweh's intention to gather his scattered sheep and raise a faithful shepherd who would look after his sheep with devotion. The divine intention was proclaimed in the face of the negligence of those he appointed to look after his people, who failed to guide them according to the will of God and who failed to pasture them on the heavenly pasture. The first referent of this prophecy is Israel as the people of God. God constituted them to be his people and gave them kings to rule in place of himself who is truly their king and God. The kings appointed to represent God were supposed to put before the people nothing but the will of God that is supposed to be their food and pasture. But they rather ruled the people according to their own will and never cared about the will of God. Because the kings and

SATURDAY, FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Micah 2:1-5; Ps 10:1-4,7-8,14; Mt 12:14-21 The Nations shall put their trust in Him The two readings contrast the fate of evildoers and the fate of the Son of Man who put his trust in God. As prophet Micah stated, evil men are consumed by the desire to grasp, to covet the goods of the poor man or their neighbour. They plot day and night on how to cheat the poor and dispossess them of their inheritance. These evil thoughts occupy them night and day. They do everything to amass physical goods, thinking that they will find serenity in the abundance of these goods. The prophet reveals God’s counter-plot to dispossess them of what they wrongfully coveted from their neighbours. God will bring about a situation whereby a stronger opponent will extort all they have extorted from them. God ordains what we do to others would also be done to us. If we treat others well, we also, in turn, would be treated well by o

FRIDAY, FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Isa 38:1-6,21-22,7-8; Isa 38:10-12,16; Mt 12:1-8 The Son of Man is Master of the Sabbath The first reading presents us with a good example of God’s providential care of a faithful soul in time of his trials and pains. King Hezekiah of Judah was faithful in following God; his purification was through bodily pains caused by a malignant ulcer. The purifying pains and suffering came to a stage where his life was on the line. The suffering king must have prayed so many times for God’s healing to no avail. We are familiar with such situations when we prayed for healing and got no response from God; when it seemed that God was not paying attention to our painful pliant. God is always attentive, for nothing happens without his knowledge. None of our thoughts, cries, or sorrows escape his notice. In the case of King Hezekiah, to let him know that he was very much acquainted with his situation, he sent his pr

THURSDAY, FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Isa 26:7-9,12,16-19; Ps102:13-21; Mt 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who labour and overburdened The Lord is merciful and loving; this is what a faithful soul discovers in meditating on the word of God and keeping it close in times of trials. In his loving kindness, God purifies our souls through various difficult trials. In bodily pain, we move to God as if through the dark, for temporal afflictions we suffer make it hard to see the goodness of God. This is because we have trained ourselves to consider what is pleasant to the body as good and painful as evil. A soul that wishes to travel on the path of spiritual perfection must unlearn this lesson. We must admit that it is a difficult lesson and experience. But there is no other way to go if we must travel the spiritual path to our heavenly inheritance. We gradually learn that the body loses whenever the spiritual soul gains and vice versa. This dar