Sound Of Silence

HELP IN WEAKNESS

Meditation for Wednesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Rm 8:26-30; Lk 13:22-30)

The teachings of St Paul today are quite direct and easy to understand. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” Here, St Paul brings to our awareness the in-dept bond we share with the Holy Spirit; He is mingled with the spirit of man, forming one bond of unity in the one person. So, we can actually ‘live in the Spirit’ as the Spirit lives in us! Then, when the human heart is weak, unable to pray, the Holy Spirit is the advocate, He offers to God our silent prayers that goes too deep for words. The Holy Spirit is the divine presence within us, “And He who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercede for the saints according to the will of God”. That means, even when we pray, our words of prayer are as authentic as they are in tone with the silent deep groans of the Holy Spirit. That is why meditation and contemplation remain most transforming forms of prayer.

Think about such transforming power that is available for us in the Holy Spirit, who offers up our deepest yearnings! St Paul says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” Every situation shall become an answered prayer for them, and much more, God is transforming His chosen ones into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, the deep groans of the Spirit are to edge off the rough sides of our lives that we might be revealed as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, who becomes for us ‘The First-born among many.’ “And those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified he also glorified.”

Jesus says in the Gospel, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Entering in to the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit or ‘living in the Spirit’ is the assured way but it is narrow. Praying in silence or meditation is the right step towards this pathway, for we need to be attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit within us in order to pass through the gate of life, and to the fullness of life. Surely, the Holy Spirit comes to our help, even when we do not know which direction to take or when we are weak and lack the courage to enter the life-giving narrow way.

St Frumentius, pray for us.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Wednesday October 27th 2021.

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IN HOPE WE WERE SAVED

Meditation for Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Rm 8:18-25; Lk 13:18-21)

Why is it that things do not always go the way we want? Even as children of God, and despite our detailed plans and visions, we often encounter obstacles along the way of life. And these restrictions come to us as suffering! In itself, suffering speaks the language of hopelessness, which is where its pain bites the more. We want to be healthy, but sickness comes as obstacle; we want to live, but death restricts our life, etc. And these restrictions are there in every aspect of our lives. St Paul answers this troubling question by welcoming suffering into creations itself. Since suffering has entered creation through the fall of man, God, the author of life, did not remove the suffering, but changed its hopelessness with hope.

God placed a greater glory at the end of suffering! “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” The obstacles and restrictions in life are no more ends in themselves, but the processes of revealing the glory of God and the manifestation of the victorious children of God. In other words, those obstacles turn our minds to God and increase our hunger for His glory. “For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage of decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

God does not allow human will to prevail; if we always get what we want then we do not need His grace to live. And man will be worshiping himself and his achievements. St explains that the whole creation is groaning in labor pains, and even the children of God groan inwardly as they await the redemption. This is the will of God since He used these inward groanings to retain us to Himself, and to reveal His greater glory, such that we always look forward in hope for His grace and redemption. “For in this hope we were saved.” This living hope becomes the energy with which we confront the obstacles and restrictions of each day. This hope is sown like a little mustard seed, which grows to yield the Kingdom of God; “And birds of their made their nests in its branches.”

St Evaristus, pray for us.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Tuesday October 26th 2021.

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DIVINE ‘DEBTORS’

Meditation for Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Rm 8:12-17; Lk 13:10-17)

“Brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” St Paul makes this beautiful distinction between living in the flesh and living in the Spirit. He sees the difference between them as that between life and death. To be led by the flesh means to have the desires and satisfaction of the flesh and the self as the pre-dominant principle of influence and choice. Here, self-preservation is idolized. Such excessive quest for self-satisfaction and self-preservation strips one of spiritual favor, and leads to slavery and death-end.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” This is when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to the truth that is Jesus Christ; we surrender ourselves and desires, and let the Spirit have the final say. He becomes our principle of choice and action. What is the benefit then? St Paul says all who are led by the Spirit receive freedom from fear, and are given the status of ‘children’ to call God, “Abba! Father!” “It is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.”

In the Gospel, Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Sabbath law by healing the woman with infirmity; He brought divine touch to humanity! But the ruler of the synagogue ‘weaponized’ the sabbath observance for his selfish ego, stripping it of divine favor and even the common good of humanity. The synagogue official became an example of one led by the flesh, who is noisy and confrontational, but at the end he was silenced by Jesus, who stood firm in Spirit and in truth. All who are led by the flesh will fade away; it is only what is done in Spirit and truth that endures. So, we remain ‘debtors’ to the Holy Spirit.

Sts Chrispin & Chrispinian, pray for us.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Monday October 25th 2021.

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THE GOD OF MISSIONS

Meditation for 30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52)

1.         THE GOD OF MISSIONS

Happy Mission Sunday! It is a bright day as celebrate our call to share in the mission of Jesus Christ. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed God’s salvation to Israel as He brought them back from exile. The good news of this journey back home is that even who on their own could not make it, were all brought back home and resettled. Among these includes the lame, the blind, the pregnant women, etc. “With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back.” We celebrate the God who goes forth to lead His back home, where there is freedom, peace and progress. Above, He resettles His people, even the helpless, where they can worship Him, “For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.”

Jesus, the First-Born of God became our high priest, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you…You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In Jesus, God is on a mission to bring salvation to the world and raise up adopted children for eternal life. So Jesus comes as our High Priest to be our mediator; to bring answers to our prayers, to strengthen us in our weakness, to heal our ignorance and waywardness, and to offer the one sacrifice for our sins.

We see this missionary journey of Jesus fulfilled in His encounter with the blind man called Bartimaeus. He called the man out from the lonely roadside, healed his blindness. Imagine such a turnaround for Bartimaeus; it was for him a new life! With his new sight he could see the beauty around. But with the eyes of his faith, he saw that Jesus was his new place of resettlement. The fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah that He would bring His people home was fulfilled as Jesus becomes that NEW HOME, where believers are resettled and they find freedom, peace, progress and worship God in spirit and truth. In Jesus as the Mediator, we offer the perfect sacrifice that is pleasing to God, and through which we are offered to God.

2.       NO ONE TAKES THIS HONOUR UPON HIMSELF

We are called to share in the mission of Jesus Christ. “And one does not take the honour upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.” Every encounter we have with Jesus carries with it at the same time an invitation to the mission, to witness and bring others to salvation. When Bartimaeus realized the new life that Jesus can give, he could not remove his eyes from Him, and he followed him on the way! He became a missionary. The greatest vision he had was the eyes of his faith that saw Jesus deeper than those who even lead him to meet Him. Our participation in the Mission of Christ is our joyful response to the divine touch we received through the grace of Jesus Christ, our High Priest. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Sunday October 24th 2021.

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THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE IN CHRIST JESUS

Meditation for Saturday the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Rm 8:1-11; Lk 13:1-9)

Since we cannot even win the internal battle by ourselves unless by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, St Paul declares, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.” The grace of Jesus Christ, flowing from the Cross, assures of victory over evil, sin and death; it is always alive and active. Thus, this grace is our assured victory against the law of sin. God sent His own son in the likeness of sinful man; He condemned sin in His flesh, thereby fulfilling the law, in order that those who live by His grace in the Holy Spirit will, not only fulfil the law, but achieve what the law could not achieve, i.e. justification and eternal life.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.” St Paul explains that the mind that is set on the flesh is death; such a mind is full of fear, hostility, lawlessness, etc. “And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” But those who soar on the wings of grace in the Holy Spirit are alive and at peace with themselves, with others, and with God! “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree to show how God has manured us with the rich grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And made this grace available and accessible through the sacraments. We constantly need to repent and walk deeper in His grace, bearing fruits of righteousness for eternal life.

St John of Capistrano, pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Saturday October 23rd, 2021.

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THE INTERNAL BATTLE

Meditation for Friday the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Rm 7:18-25; Lk 12:54-59)

The human will is powerful and visionary. But it is a mystery how it can become powerless in the face of temptation. We always will and desire what we perceive to be good. To do good, and persevere to do good, takes more than mere desire or human will, for the best of our resolutions may be absent on the day of action! However, unless we will and desire it, we cannot persevere in good deed. The question St Paul raises today is: how come we will and desire what we know to be good, but end up acting directly the opposite, thus contradicting ourselves and betraying our will. This is like a self-inflicted injury, but it happens; we regret and feel bad, still we repeat the same thing. “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”

St argues that the reason we act contrary to our will is because sin has found a voice within us; it has mingled with us, lying hidden within, but ready to prop up its head and demand expression at the moment of action. So, sin and evil, with their voice of temptation, constitute their own law but lay it closely hidden to the human conscience. “For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.”

How can a man with such constant internal war rely on his good deeds for justification? It is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that grants him victory in the face of alluring evil, since his good will stands helpless at the moment of action. But the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is active, and when mingled with the human will, brings about our will and desire to reality. This is how the battle is won!

St John Paul II, pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Friday October 22nd, 2021.

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THE FIRE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Meditation for Thursday the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Rm 6:19-23; Lk 12:49-53)

Some people might mistakenly think that if justification is by faith alone, then we have no responsibility thereof, or that we can live recklessly and still lay claim to righteousness since it is by faith. May be that is why some modern-day Christians care less about holiness and righteousness but they often worship God only for their personal benefits, while demanding God to prove Himself to them through miracles. But St Paul quickly warns that those who are justified by faith do not yield any part of their bodies or their lives to sin. The righteousness of faith sets us free, while sin tries to enslave us. The righteousness of faith brings sanctification, so it cannot dwell with sin and iniquity. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus declares: “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” Living out the righteousness of Jesus in faith shines out as light that opposes the darkness of this world; the freedom enjoyed by those living under grace evokes jealousy from those under the yoke of sin. As the experiences vary so will people begin to oppose each other. Each person within him, from his household and society will experience a constraint. But at the end, the love of God will triumph. No transformation can come without friction or opposition. Jesus has cast fire than cannot be quenched! His love and righteousness illumine, and at the same time, burns away sin and iniquity. That is why we must not allow sin to reign in our hearts and bodies; “So now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification.”

St Hilarion the Great, pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Thursday October 21st, 2021.

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