Reflection from Friar Nicholas

MONDAY, TWENTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Thess 4:13-18; Ps 96:1,3-5,11-13; Lk 4:16-30 Giving up life to possess Life Mortal Life, as we stated yesterday, is the greatest thing or potential we possess as a gift from God, for it is the ground for obtaining other gifts. However, it is only a potential that must be invested in to yield the real life that is ours indeed. The necessity of this investment is taught and demonstrated for us daily in nature. The hindrance to our learning this most important lesson from nature is our lack of attention. We can truly say that the Eternal Wisdom is present in the whole of nature’s operations to teach us this important lesson, for we see the self-investment of every natural thing everywhere in nature. Hence, nature does not just provide us with bodily nourishment, but also spiritual nourishment. Natural things call us to faith in the word of God operative in nature, to hope in divine providence arranging all things for our good and upkeep,...

SUNDAY, TWENTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Sirach 3:19-21,30-31; Ps 68; Heb 12:18-19,22-24; Lk 14:1,7-14 Minding God’s Plant in Us God gives us everything that is of value, for from him comes everything we possess, our mortal life not excluded. The mortal life we received from God is the greatest gift and potential we have within the material creation, for it is the very possibility of every other thing we become or possess. Thus, it is the greatest responsibility of each of us to understand our mortal life and how to utilise it for the greatest profit. We need God to achieve these two objectives necessary for attaining the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to attain the life of God or eternal life. The first and important lesson we must learn is to grasp and internalise the fact that this life is limited and short. This lesson seems obvious and easy because nature makes it evident to us each day as we observe the death of many lives. But it is not as easy and within our r...

SATURDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Thess 4:9-11; Ps 98:1,7-9; Mt 25:14-30 The Attainment of a Single Mind and Heart By guiding us through the three stages of spiritual life, God unites the minds of the faithful in a single purpose. So, the prayer of the Church throughout the week, for God to bring us to love what he commands and to desire what he promises, is a plea for God to initiate His purification in us. God purifies us and makes us understand how miserable we are without him. He opens our minds to behold and understand his word, and our hearts to love what he promises us. By beholding and knowing Jesus Christ in faith, the love for what God commands fills our hearts. Our love for God is not prior to our comprehension of divine truth through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, in the stage of illumination, God causes our minds, purified to an extent, to grasp the truth in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our New Law. So, to know him is to know the will of the Father. Hence...

THE BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 1 Thess 4:1-8; Ps 97:1-2,5-6,10-12; Mk 6:17-29 The Foundation of Holiness We have reflected on the three stages of our spiritual life, which correspond to the identity of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. When speaking to his disciples, he revealed himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Since he is the divine bridegroom of all souls, he presents himself in these three forms as we journey to the marriage banquet in heaven, through the three stages. He presents himself as the way in our initial stage of purification. Hence, he admonishes us to walk the narrow path leading to heavenly life and joy. The purifications we must go through make the way a narrow one, making many souls not to travel the blessed path. The purification is such that we are required to own nothing before we enter the gate of heaven, for God will be our only possession therein. Purification, therefore, is about ourselves and who we are in God, without any worldly attachments. So...

SAINT AUGUSTINE, BISHOP, DOCTOR 1 Thess 3:7-13; Ps 90:3-4,12-14,17; Mt 24:42-51 The Path to Union with God Our awareness is predominantly on ourselves during the initial stage of purification because the divine activity is centred on us, revealing our sins and imperfections to us. The purpose, as we have stated, is for us to own them and confess them to God in deep humility. Our awareness is predominantly focused on Jesus Christ, the Word of God, in the second stage of illumination, allowing us to absorb the truth of God. God’s revelation of his Son to us renews us spiritually and enables us to operate on a spiritual level. The word of God is spirit and life. So, the more we are filled with the light of God, the more spiritually alive and active we become. The major operation of the spiritually renewed soul is love. The Holy Spirit is love; hence, the more he fills us, the more we are able to love God, relate with him, and call Him Father. The divine activity of love characterise...

SAINT MONICA 1 Thess 2:9-13; Ps 139:7-12; Mt 23:27-32 Receiving the Word of God Within The stage of illumination of our mind by the word of God follows that of purification. The light of the word of God is always with us from the beginning, for with it we are able to see our sinful deeds and ways of living. The admittance of our sins and humble confession of them open our minds and hearts for the inflow of the word of God and its illumination. The stage of illumination proceeds from our decisive attention and focus on the word of God in order to know the truth we ought to believe and live. Attention on the word of God or on Jesus Christ is characteristic of the stage of illumination. Our Lord presents himself to us as the way, the truth, and the life in the Gospel. In the stage of purification, we are invited to walk the way of God’s will by turning away from our sins to the Son of Man, who is the way to the Father. The stage of illumination is the focusing of our attention on Ch...

TUESDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Thess 2:1-8; Ps 139:1-3,4-6; Mt 23:23-26 The Cleaning of the Inside of Our Cup To become a suitable vessel that will contain the precious divine contents, we must let God cleanse us of everything unclean within us. God is the one who purifies us and makes us ready to contain what he desires to pour into us. What God desires to pour into us is nothing created, but himself; for he made us to be his holy temple. Based on this divine intention, our spiritual life is divided into three stages, as we have noted in our previous reflections: the stage of purification, the stage of illumination, and the stage of union. Each of these stages does not exist in exclusion of the others, but each is dominated by one particular divine activity. They are all divine activities in which we participate by faith, hope, and love. Purification is the first stage that commences with our profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is the foundation for enterin...

MONDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Thess 1:1-5,8-10; Ps 149:1-6,9; Mt 23:13-22 The Idolatry in the Temple The prophet Isaiah proclaimed the will of Yahweh to send the survivors of the children of Israel to all nations and languages, bringing them into the family of God. Those who will function in that capacity as messengers of Yahweh would be purified of their own wills and desires, to be able to tell people of God’s will and bring them to conform to the divine will by their words and deeds. What Isaiah expresses has always been the noble role Israel was called to play as the people of God. God chose them to carry out his holy will, as a royal and priestly nation, dedicated to proclaiming the will of God to the nations and peoples. As priests of God, they were to give the holiest of things to all peoples and nations, that is, the word of God, enshrining his holy and immutable will. The sacred role is not reserved for Israel alone, but is the role anyone called and elect...

SUNDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Isa 66:18-21; Ps 117; Heb 12:5-7,11-13; Lk 13:22-30 Entering through the Narrow Door Sin, death, and corruption found a place in the universe of God through the disobedience of man to God’s word, prompted by the ancient serpent, the evil one. They are perpetuated through man’s ignorance and continuing disobedience to the word of God. Every divine plan to address the situation of our world must address the problem of sin in the world and in man specifically. Hence, the Proto-Evangelium, the first promise of salvation to fallen man and woman, is about God sending his word anew to us. The whole universe obeys the word of God, for everything came to be, and continues to be, by the word of God. The only discordant tone comes from men doing their own wills, and not God’s. The salvation of man lies in coming back to the will of the Father. Thus, the Church looks up to God, who alone can bring this about, and prays in the opening prayer that God...

SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN Ruth 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17; Ps 128:1-5; Mt 23:1-12 The Teachers of Heavenly Mysteries God, who is our heaven, commingles with the earth at every moment in time, as time mixes with eternity. But we reach or perceive the mysteries of heaven only through faith in the word of God. In a similar manner, we experience time through the way we perceive things and relate to them on a daily basis. The one who is able to remove himself from relations among things to relations within himself catches a glimpse of eternity, for our minds and wills are spiritual faculties. Our Christian faith gives us a spiritual life. It originates from God and gives us a faculty to see God and cooperate with him. Thus, the scripture says that it is impossible to see or please God without faith. Since the word of God dwells within us by faith, a person of faith draws life from the word of God within and not from without. We are ruled from without when we focus our attention on the things...

OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22; Ps 146:5-10; Mt 22:34-40 Mother by Love and Queen by Faithfulness The Church’s celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary as our Mother and Queen is to set her before us as a model and refuge in times of need. In doing this, the Church is only following the example of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is the first to set the Blessed Virgin Mary before all the chosen people for their imitation and their succour in time of need; for from the beginning, he promised the fallen race of men the Woman and her Offspring. By that divine destiny, the Woman, who is to be in perpetual enmity with the devil, became the mother of all the elect of God. God chose her to be the mother of the Word Incarnate, and by that choice made her the bearer of the Eternal Word and all who are to be reborn of the Eternal Word. Since the word of God can live in us only by faith, none can contest that she excels in faith in the word of God. But only lo...

SAINT PIUS X, POPE Judges 11:29-39; Ps 40:5,7-10; Mt 22:1-14 Invitation to the Wedding Feast Our Lord puts another parable before his audience. Just as in the other parables, he intends to teach us about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The Gospel says he directed this parable to the chief priests and elders of the people. Thus, the first audience or target of the parable is the chief priest and the elders within the Jewish people. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come.” In support of our understanding of the one denarius given to the workers in the parable of yesterday as a gift and not a payment as such, the parable here presents the kingdom as what is given gratis. The chosen people were invited to the communion of God by God’s revelation of his word to them. Their refusal to obey the Commandments and follow God's word is a rejection of...

  SAINT BERNARD, ABBOT, DOCTOR Judges 9:6-15; Ps 21:2-7; Mt 20:1-16 The Impossible and God’s Generosity As we learned from our Lord himself, it is impossible for us to make heaven by our own devices or achievements. At the same time, he consoles us by saying that nothing is impossible for our God. Understanding that God made us for himself; he made us that we may know him, love him, and serve him in this temporal life, to be happy in his communion forever, is a consoling doctrine. God, who created us for himself, will bring us to himself if we cooperate with his grace. The source of all the graces of God is the Son of Man. Hence, it is necessary for us to walk in his company, for as Saint John wrote in his Gospel, the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace is the presence of God offered to us for our salvation. By our faith in Jesus Christ, we enter the abundance of grace made available for us to attain communion with God. Jesus Christ is...

TUESDAY, TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Judges 6:11-24; Ps 85:9,11-14; Mt 19:23-30 Impossible for Man to Follow Christ Every time we come to the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ on the impossibility of man entering the kingdom of heaven, we are struck with fear, confusion, and amazement. Reflecting on these solemn words of our Lord clears most of our doubts and strengthens our hope of possessing the communion of God. The Lord’s statement was a reaction to the sudden and sad departure of the man who desired communion with God. The Lord asked him to go sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor, then come join the company of his followers. The Lord made a just demand on him, and on each of us, who seek the life of God. In our first parents, Adam and Eve, we freely abandoned God and all he had to offer us for what is pleasurable to the senses and for the gratification of self. It is therefore a just demand on us to abandon all our external possessions and embrace the...