Reflection from Friar Nicholas

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER   Acts 5:27-33; Ps 34:2,9,17-20; Mt 13:54-58 Faith is the Work pleasing to God As we celebrate Saint Joseph the Worker as the patron of workers, we turn our minds to the value and dignity of human work and endeavour. We recall that human work predates the fall of Adam and Eve, for when God fashioned man in the Garden of Eden, he made him the steward of his creation, with a command to cultivate and tend his creatures. By that means, God invited man to participate in his work of creation, which did not finish with the creation of man and woman. The cultivation of the soil and the stewardship of all creation were noble tasks God entrusted to man out of love. The care of God’s creation was also an invitation to participate in the life of God, for creation bears the imprint of Eternal Wisdom. Thus, it teaches the knowledge of God the Creator. Hence, paying attention to creation would guide man to the knowledge of God and his holy will. Faith in God was...

SAINT PIUS V, POPE   Acts 5:17-26; Ps 34:2-9; Jn 3:16-21 God’s Infinite Love for Man Our Lord’s discussion with Nicodemus focuses on God’s love for the world. This love made God set up his Son as the Son of Man to attract man to salvation. God desired to naturally and gradually draw us to himself. The attraction to the Son of Man employs nothing unnatural, for it is never the will of God to coerce man into doing anything, but that he may freely and gratefully exercise his freedom of will in coming to his Creator and God. Thus, he set up his only Begotten Son as the Son of Man that he may draw us by what is naturally human in us. As we love what is truly human in the Son of Man, we may fall in love with the Son of God, who assumed our nature to identify with us in all things but sin. The Lord describes the wonders of God’s love for us. “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For ...

SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, VIRGIN, DOCTOR  1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Ps 103:1-4,8-9,13-14,17-18; Mt 11:25-30 Great Revelation to the Simple The Son of Man is the attraction point for all of us, for he shows us the true face of humanity. He represents every one of us better than we can ever present ourselves because he assumed the pure copy of our nature from the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Though there is nothing physically in him to hold our attention, he captivates our interest with his authenticity. The authenticity of the operations of his human nature provides an aperture for the outflow of the divine nature. Our original interest in him is similar to our interest in the appearance of someone wearing the original material of a fake and worn-out dress we are putting on. The divine also finds expression through the originality of the operations of the Son of Man, for man is made from the beginning to be the Temple of God. Thus, the attraction of the Son of Man is because of his communion w...

SAINT LOUIS MARIE GRIGNOION DE MONTFORT   Act 4:23-31; Ps 2:1-9; Jn 3:1-8 Born from Above Nobody can impede the objective will of God, for all things obey the divine will. But for man, the free will God gave to him is a privilege to choose and learn to be like God. As we have noted many times, the essence of our free will is to choose to consecrate ourselves to the ultimate Good we call God. Hence, it is the deception of the devil to think that we have some other option for freedom except in God, who is the end of man. The serpent gave the false option to Adam and Eve in the beginning as a bait which they fell for, and enslaved their seeds to the devil. The Son of God assumed our nature to make the right choice for God on our behalf. His choice of God for man provided a new principle of life for all men henceforth to be free in God. In Christ, all men now have another opportunity to be born of God and spiritually. The discussion between Jesus Christ and Nicodemus focusse...

SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY Act 5:12-16; Ps 118:2-4,22-27; Rev 1:9-13,17-19; Jn 20:19-31 Jesus Christ. the Font of Divine Mercy The Jewish leaders thought Jesus Christ was a disturbance and a reproach to their way of life, a reprimand for their warped religion. They planned to eliminate him without knowing that they were about to open the font of God’s inexhaustible mercy and cause the replication of Jesus everywhere. In ignorance, they captured Jesus Christ, made him suffer, and carried his cross to Calvary, where they crucified him on the cross. The transformed or glorified Lord can now be present everywhere by his Holy Spirit in his members who believe in his resurrection. The Acts of Apostles report this phenomenon in Jerusalem. Jesus is present in many places where the faithful are present and continues to work salvation through them. “So many signs and wonders were worked among the people at the hands of the apostles that the sick were even taken out into the streets and laid on...

EASTER SATURDAY Act 4:13-21; Ps 118:1,14-21; Mk 16:9-24 The Invitation to Immortality The speech of Saint Peter before the ruling families and elders of the people in Jerusalem was captivating; the argument he presented to explain the miracle was scripturally sound and convincing, as we noted yesterday. After the speech, the rulers did not find any way to perforate his argument for the resurrection because of the healed man standing beside Peter, a result of his belief in the resurrection. “The rulers and scribes were astonished at the assurance shown by Peter and John, and they recognised them as associates of Jesus; but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a wonderful gift of God to humanity. The implications are far-reaching for the life of any man. However, we have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to receive the gift and the effects of the resurrection. The rulers and eld...

EASTER FRIDAY Act 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2,4,22-27; Jn 21:1-14 The Corner Stone for our building We cannot overemphasise the importance of understanding and appropriating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have explained how the resurrection authenticated the true humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is truly a man, his resurrection from the dead opened a new possibility for all of us. The possibility of rising from the dead is the core of his message of salvation. If we are to overcome the grasp or prison of death, we must solve the problem of sin which caused our death in the first place. Understanding what constitutes sin as sin helps us to see how Jesus Christ resolved the ancient problem of sin and overcame the power of death. The power to solve the problem of sin, which is disobedience to the will of the Father, lies with one who lives sinless. There is no such man. So, God came to our rescue by sending his Son to assume our nature without sin. So, as...

EASTER THURSDAY Act 3:11-26; Ps 8:2,5-9; Lk 24:35-48 We are Heirs of the Covenant of God The apostles and disciples were still not convinced of the story or Good News of the resurrection of Jesus Christ after those who encountered him narrated the story. Hence, Jesus appeared among them and greeted them: ‘Peace be with you.’ Their confused minds and unbelieving hearts caused them to be terrified at the appearance of the risen Lord. “In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost.” Notwithstanding their fellowship and interaction with him before his crucifixion, they were still not sure of what to believe. Jesus spoke openly and prophesied about his coming passion and death to them, yet they did not accept he rose from the dead. The prophets wrote these things to make us understand how difficult it is for the human mind to comprehend divine reality without divine aid or grace. Many have read about Jesus Christ and heard people preach about his power to save....

EASTER WEDNESDAY Act 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-5,6-9; Lk 24:13-35 Recognised at the Breaking of Bread As we mentioned, the Church guides us with the newly baptised, who received the Eucharist and confirmation through the period of mystagogia . The word is derived from Greek and refers to the period of deeper reflection and understanding of the sacraments and the mysteries of Christian life for those who underwent the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). Jesus did the same for his disciples after his resurrection. Though he had taught them for three (3) years before his passion and crucifixion, their experience of his suffering and death disoriented them completely. They could no longer piece anything he did or taught them together. The two disciples going to Emmaus reveal the mindset of the disciples of Jesus Christ after their Master’s crucifixion and death. Their disappointment and resolve to abandon the quest for salvation are evident in their response. “Our own hope had bee...

EASTER TUESDAY Act 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5,18-20,22; Jn 20:11-18 Crucified Jesus is Lord and Saviour The Church gives us the speech of Saint Peter at the Pentecost for our rumination today for two reasons: First is that the gift of the resurrection of the Son of Man is the commencement of the resurrection of man or human nature to eternal glory. It formally opens the possibility of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on men. The Holy Spirit is the glory of the Father and the Son that was given to the Son of Man at the commencement of his mission to carry out the will of the Father. The resurrection confirms that outpouring and the glorification of human nature assumed by the Son of God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ permanently conferred the glory on man or human nature. What made this possible is the general removal of the impediment to such indwelling of the Holy Spirit in human nature, the atonement of the sins of humanity by the death of the Son of Man. Hence, the resurrection co...

EASTER MONDAY Act 2:14,22-33; Ps 16:1-2,7-11; Mt 28:8-15 Leaving Jerusalem to Galilee With the Church’s celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ commencing with the Easter Vigil, we struggle to receive and assimilate the divine and mysterious gift entrusted to man. It is the greatest thing ever to happen to our nature, the resurrection of the Son of Man from death. The old and sinful human nature cannot accommodate it, for it is a divine reality. Any person who is to encounter it needs a new orientation. Its reception is the birth of a new or regenerated human nature. The women who desired to anoint the dead body of Jesus Christ had what was nearest to the required orientation for the reception of the eternal reality of the Risen Lord. Their desire to see the Lord, dead or alive, made their minds and hearts susceptible to the new and heavenly reality. The desire made them believe the angels with the news of the resurrection of the Lord without any hesitation. They drew the...

EASTER SUNDAY Act 10:34,37-43; Ps 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Col 3:1-4; Lk 24:1-12 The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Church celebrates the ceremony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ during the Easter Vigil, preferably in the night. The celebration is colourful and full of symbols and symbolic gestures with deep mystical meanings. It is a feast of light that commences with the lighting of the Pascal Candle, signifying the Risen Lord, and the proclamation of the Exultet, the Church’s song of thanksgiving to God for the wonder of the resurrection and the eternal day of grace it ushers in for the human race. The selected readings from the Old Testament locate the foundation of the gift of the Lord’s resurrection in the promises made by God in Law and Prophets, and the New Testament readings bear witness to its occurrence in mystery. The night gives this sense of divine mystery, which is dark to human understanding. Our readings for the Mass of the day consolidate on those of the Vigil Mas...

GOOD FRIDAY Isa 52:13-53:12; Ps 31:2,6,12-13,15-17,25; Heb 4:14-1,5:7-9; Jn 18:1-19:42 The High Priest and His Sacrifice for Our Sins The liturgy of Good Friday is unique and intriguing. It is the single day we do not celebrate the Eucharist because the Church puts the actual crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ before us for our meditation and contemplation. Thus, the Stations of the Cross are prayed and dramatized (if possible) for the people. The celebration of the Lord’s Passion takes place around 3 pm, with the readings and the passion narrative taking a major part of the time. The readings lead us to consider the nature of the High Priest and the sacrifice he offered for our redemption. The first reading from Isaiah contains a prophecy of the human conditions of the High Priest of God’s religion. The prophecy by Isaiah says the Son of Man would be born like any of us and grow among us, with nothing to distinguish him from us and nothing to attract us to him. What would dis...

MAUNDY THURSDAY, EVENING MASS Exod 12:1-8,11-14; Ps 116:12-13,15-18; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15 The Lamb’s Most Sacred Supper We celebrate two Masses today, the Chrism Mass with the bishop and priests, in which we celebrate the institution of the ministerial priesthood. In the Chrism Mass, the Church celebrates and thanks God for the gift of the presbyteral or priestly Order, which the bishop possesses in fullness and shares with the priests in the wonderful gift by which Jesus Christ is made present to his people for service leading to their salvation. The second Mass, which is the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, is the celebration of the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist. By the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus is present to his people for personal and communal encounter and transformation. The Sacraments of Holy Order and Holy Eucharist are different means of representing the person of Jesus Christ to his people. The Holy Order, as a Sacrament is ordered to the service of ...