Reflection from Friar Nicholas

SUNDAY, TWENTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Deut. 4:1-2,6-8; Ps 15:2-5; James1:17-18,21-22,27; Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 Death is to put Aside the Word of God The passage from St. James captures our theme for this Sunday's reflection. According to James, everything that comes to us from above is given to us by the heavenly Father. Because the heavenly Father is good in every ramification, what he gives us is ultimately good. Among the gifts we receive from the heavenly Father, the most perfect is his word that gives life, and the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord called the gift. “It is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him, there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.” It is by the gift of his word, through which he made the whole creation, t

SATURDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Cor 1:26-31; Ps 33:12-13,18-21; Mt 25:14-30 Jesus is our Wisdom, Virtue, Holiness, and Freedom We established that Jesus Christ is the Gospel wisdom from the passage of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians yesterday. We based this conclusion on Jesus Christ as the beginning and end of our Christian journey and life. Our Christian journey starts at our reception of Christ’s life and acceptance of our death as symbolised by our baptismal ritual. The profession of the Christian faith is an initiation to death and to life at the same time. It is the initiation of our death process that Christ died for us, and by his death, he removed the sting of death and inoculated the process. It is also the initiation of our sharing in the life of Jesus Christ, who is life himself. Thus, through Christ’s death, the death process, manifested in our trials and tribulations, is now a form of vaccine against eternal death that we merited by our sins and

FRIDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Cor 1:17-25; Ps 33:1-2,4-5,10-11; Mt 25:1-13 Language of the cross and Spirituality In the first reading, St. Paul tries to compare the philosophy of this world and that of the Gospel. He made a sharp contrast between the wisdom that guides the worldly people in their lives and the heavenly wisdom inherent in the Gospel he was preaching. The former does not make any meaning from the latter because the principles are different. Since different principles yield different conclusions, it is not strange that the worldly philosophy differs from the Gospel philosophy. The starting point of the wisdom of this world is self, and the end is self-fulfilment. So, self-love guides all the actions of the proud worldlings. A life rooted in the love of self cannot make any meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ. It means that the Gospel cannot be preached effectively by the lovers of self. What comes out from such an attempt is, at best, a prosperity g

THE BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 1 Cor 1:1-9; Ps 145:2-7; Mk 6:17-29 We have been called to take our place in Jesus Christ In the opening prayer of today’s celebration, the Church affirms that John the Baptist was chosen to go before the Lord both in his birth and death. The choice of John for this role means adequate graces were given to him to accomplish his mission. We are all chosen for the role we are to play in the salvation of people. God calls us and gives us the necessary graces to accomplish his purposes. To accomplish his mission, John was consecrated in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. Our consecration was not in the womb but at our baptism. The water of baptism was to represent the end of our living according to our will, and an initiation into the life of Jesus Christ in the one Spirit of God. John’s consecration was once and for the rest of his life. The same ought to apply to our life also. Our baptismal consecration to God is not ceremonial, but a life-changing

ST AUGUSTINE, BISHOP, DOCTOR 2 Thess 3:6-10,16-18; Ps 128:1-2,4-5; Mt 23:27-32 The Divine Character of Labour The Eucharistic celebration is the initiation and the sacramental representation of the Christian life. St. Paul’s concern about work helps us to reflect more on this subject. At the Eucharistic celebration, we bring bread and wine that human hands have made and offer them to God. These gifts represent each of us gathered in our readiness to employ our bodies to fulfil the will of the Father and in imitation of Jesus Christ. As the Psalmist prophesied about him, the Son presented the body he assumed to God: “Sacrifice and oblation you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me that I may do your will." Thus, the bread and wine represent, in the first place, Jesus Christ, who first took them and presented them to his Father as his body and blood to be offered for our salvation. He thereby commanded us to do the same in memory of him. By taking the work of human h

MEMORIAL OF ST MONICA 2 Thess 2:1-3,14-17; Ps 96:10-13; Mt 23:23-26 Keep the traditions of our Lord The life of the Christian community or the Church extends the life of Jesus Christ on earth. By the daily breaking and eating of Eucharistic bread, each Christian gradually becomes one with what he eats and contemplates. As our Lord informed the Jews, the bread of life is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Hence, by celebrating what is essentially a Christian and the Church’s sacrament, the Church collectively and individually extends the life, presence, and ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. On this basis, St. Paul admonished the community not to be agitated by any news or rumour of the Lord’s coming. “To turn, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already a

MONDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 2 Thess 1:1-5,11-12; Ps 96:1-5; Mt 23:13-22 The Christian Life and Outlook St. Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians introduces us to the communion, which the Christian life stands for. From the opening of the letter, the relationship of Christians with the Trinity is already made evident. The Church is said to be in God the Father and Jesus Christ. It is also from the Father and Jesus Christ that grace and peace flow to the Christians. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned because He is present with them and makes communion possible. The Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son, the marriage bond between a Christian and Jesus Christ. By making the Christians one with Jesus Christ, he also makes them sons in the Son; hence, they are filiated to the Father. Planted as such in the life of the Trinity, a Christian grows in the mystery of Jesus Christ by devouring the word of God, which gives the knowledge of the Father. St. Paul

SUNDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Josh. 24:1-2,15-18; Ps 34:2-3,16-23; Eph 5:21-32; Jn 6:60-69 To whom shall we go The Gospel of today brings the long discourse on the necessity of eating the body of Jesus Christ and drinking his blood for our salvation to a close. Because the whole discourse is about communion in the life of the Saviour, which is the true meaning of salvation, our Lord led the people listening to him to the point where they have to make a decision that will commit them to the covenant relationship with God. As we have often hinted, God’s dealing with us is in covenant relationship. The word of God, by its nature, is a covenant of God with those who receive it. In the discourse, which commenced with the feeding of the five thousand men with five barley loaves and two fish, our Lord uses the imagery of food and drink to drive home the intended union between the Eternal Word made man and those to be saved by his incarnation. The imagery has reverse and obv

FEAST OF ST. BATHOLOMEW, APOSTLE Apos 21:9-14; Ps 145:10-13,17-18; Jn 1:45-51 An Israelite Incapable of Deceit The feast of the Apostle Batholomew brings our reflection this week to a close. The testimony of our Lord for this great apostle holds our attention in the Gospel. “When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ This comment or witness of our Lord shows God’s deep and complete knowledge of us. God does not need any testimony from anybody about us, for he made us and has complete knowledge of our person. God knows those are Israel in their hearts and those who are Israel only by name, as confirmed in the conversation that followed the encounter. Our Lord revealed this foreknowledge to him and gave us to understand that Nathanael’s call was not initiated by Philip, but by himself. “‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’” This fore

  ST. ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN Ezek. 37:1-14; Ps 107:2-9; Mt 22:34-40 The Commandment that gives Spiritual Life The vision of the dry bones given to the prophet Ezekiel, which we read today in the first reading, corresponds to the prophecy we considered yesterday. God’s promise to change the stony hearts of Israel to hearts of flesh translates to the same thing he showed the prophet in the Valley of Dry Bones in chapter 37. The replacement of hearts of stone with hearts of flesh in chapter 36 is given differently in the vision of dry bones. The people of Israel lay dead and corrupted because they disobeyed the will of God, as shown to the prophet. The disobedience brought their death and corruption, for the word of God is Spirit and life. Hence, to live without the word of God is to live outside the will of God, which is our bread of life. A life outside the will of God is synonymous with death and decay. So, Israel’s disobedience to the commandments of God caused their ejection from

OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN Ezek. 36:23-28; Ps 51:12-15,18-19; Mt 22:1-14 The Gift of a new Heart We celebrate the memorial of our Lady, Mother and Queen as we reflect on the fact that she is the mother of the regenerated human race. By the grace and privilege of being the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of all Christians. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied the regeneration of grace when God would remove the hearts of stone from his people and replace them with hearts of flesh that would obey his word and do his will in all things. God will gather his people from all over the nations where they are scattered. We have understood this gathering in a spiritual sense that is not limited to physical. God is beyond physical limitations. It is a gathering by the Spirit of God, by our participation in the Spirit of God. “Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your o

ST. PIUS X, POPE Ezek. 34:1-11; Ps 23; Mt 20:1-16 God’s generosity to us Our Lord teaches us about the mystery of the kingdom of heaven using the parable of the landowner. We can draw various lessons from the parable. The first lesson from the parable is God's commitment to his vineyard. The landowner, we read, went out at the break of the day to hire workers. The landowner’s concern and dedication to his vineyard made him commence from the early hour to seek labourers to work in his vineyard. This concern made him go out intermittently during the day to recruit more workers for the vineyard. So, the primary interest of the landowner is the good of his vineyard. We understand God’s interest in the salvation of souls. This understanding connects to Yahweh’s displeasure with the shepherds of Israel, expressed by Ezekiel the prophet. “Shepherds, the Lord says this: Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock, yet you have fed on m

ST. BERNARD, ABBOT, DOCTOR Ezek. 28:1-10; Deut 32:26-28,30,35-36; Mt 19:23-30 It is impossible for a rich man to enter Heaven With the departure of the young man who desired to possess eternal life and asked our Lord how to attain his desired goal, Jesus started talking about the danger of riches and the difficulty of a rich man making it to heaven. What is it about riches or wealth that makes it dangerous? Riches and wealth are things created by God and they are good by that fact. The value ascribed to these things depends on the love and desires of each soul. When the love and desires of many souls converge on these material things, they acquire values accordingly, for it is by these love and desires that souls are attached to the material things as to an end. Within the value system formed by the convergence of desires of many souls, the one who acquires these valuable material things assumes the power to do things or command forces that can bring about changes. An example of

MONDAY, TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Ezek. 24:15-24; Deut 32:18-21; Mt 19:16-22 Go Sell Everything come Follow Me The covenant of God is something real, and no one walks with God without entering into a covenant with Him. For the word of God is a covenant and establishes a covenant with the recipient. It is within this background that the prophecy uttered by Ezekiel to Israel is understood. The prophecy was costly for him. He sacrificed his wife for that purpose. Yahweh took his beloved wife as a sign to the people of Israel who were to be laid desolate by calamities that God would permit due to their sins and disobedience to his word.  We may consider this too costly or demanding, but it gives us an idea of God’s relationship with us. We belong to God in every ramification, for the whole creation is his own. Everything he created serves his purpose. We must remember that God gave us life and everything we possess. Thus, the prophet and his wife are the Lord’s; they serve his

SUNDAY, TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Prov. 9:1-6; Ps 34:2-3,10-15; Eph 5:15-20; Jn 6:51-58 Eating the Living Bread from Heaven The readings before us this Sunday continue the themes of the last two Sundays. It is about the heavenly bread which comes down to earth for the life of the world. With today’s readings, the Church gently guides our minds from a too-physicalistic understanding of the bread of heaven to a more spiritual knowledge. The three readings and the responsorial Psalm use the image of food and drink to attract and hold our memory and imaginations, to lead our minds to the immaterial food that our spirits can taste and relish. The response to the Psalm says: Taste and see that the Lord is good. What do we taste, and what do we see? Ordinarily, we taste food and drink with our physical tongue, but the tasting is to confirm that the Lord is God. But how can tasting food and drinks bring us to see the goodness of the Lord? It is possible only if we know that the Lor