19th Sunday of the Year, August 9, 2020

 May God, through this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, bestow firmness to our wavering faith and make us realise his presence in the trying and fearful moments of our lives.

Happy Sunday! 

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(1 Kings 19,9a.1l-13a; Romans 9,1-5; Matt 14,22-33: 19th Sunday of the Year, August 9, 2020)

On this Sunday, the liturgy presents us with a very significant Gospel episode: Jesus walking on the sea and Peter who wants to meet him in a similar way. The first reading tells us of another divine manifestation offered to the prophet Elijah. The second reading has no direct relationship with these texts: it expresses Paul's pain for the unbelief of his blood brothers, the Jews.

The first reading presents us with a theophany, that is, a manifestation of God. Elijah, who is in a moment of great difficulty and danger, because Queen Jezebel wants to kill him, takes refuge in the desert and reaches the mount of the Lord, the Horeb; enters a cave to spend the night there. The Lord invites him to await his manifestation: Get out [of the cave] and stop on the mountain in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord passes, but in a very different way from his great manifestation on Mount Sinai, in front of all the people. There he manifested himself as an impetuous, tremendous wind, with an impressive storm, making the whole mountain tremble. Thus, he revealed his power and filled the people with fear. Fear of God is something positive, because it preserves us from sin: whoever has the fear of God does not dare to do things that will offend him. Even in the case of Elijah there was a strong and impetuous wind that can smash the mountains and break the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was fire, but the Lord was not here either. So in this episode, there is nothing of the manifestation of the Lord on Sinai. In the end there was the murmur of a light wind, and here the Lord manifested himself. Elijah then covered his face with his cloak and stood at the entrance of the cave to listen to the voice of the Lord. This passage makes us understand that God can manifest himself in very different ways: in an impressive external way, with frightening meteorological phenomena, but also in the depths of the heart, with the murmur of the light wind, of a gentle breeze. Perhaps this latter manifestation is more significant than the other: it indicates that God is truly within all realities and all people; and present in our heart, even if we don't recognise him.

In the Gospel, usually Jesus manifests his divinity with gestures of mercy, generous kindness, welcoming everyone: heals the sick, embraces children, forgives sinners, multiplies loaves for the crowd. But he also manifests himself in other ways. Today's episode, which comes after the multiplication of the loaves, demonstrates that to us as he walks on the sea. After the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus orders the disciples to board the boat and cross the lake. He dismissed the crowd and went up the mountain. Therefore, he does not want to exploit the success of the multiplication of the loaves, and John explains why: the crowd wanted to take him and make him king, but Jesus did not want to be an earthly king; he came to give his life, not to impose his dominion (cf. John 6, 14-15). That was why he went up the mountain to pray. Meanwhile, the boat in which the disciples were, was in difficulty: it was tossed by the waves because of the contrary wind. In the Gospel, Jesus' disciples often found themselves in situations similar to this. Even for us, sometimes, Jesus seems to be far away, almost non-existent, while we have to face many difficulties in life. But it is necessary to have faith, know that he is praying and that he will bring us all the necessary help. In fact, towards the end of the night, Jesus came to the disciples walking on the sea. It was a divine manifestation, a theophany, which revealed the peaceful power of Jesus. He can walk on water as if it were earth. In the Exodus, the Jews crossed the sea, but walking on dry ground; Jesus instead walks on the sea. Obviously, the disciples, seeing him walking on the sea, were upset, they had the impression that he was a ghost and they started shouting in fear. This too is a situation that often occurs in our life as disciples of Jesus. He seems a ghost to us, looks completely different from how we know him, and this arouses fear. Then Jesus reassures the disciples: Courage, it is I, do not be afraid. Peter, who among the apostles appears to be the most enterprising, the one who often takes the initiative, thinks to ask Jesus this question: Lord, if it is you, command that I come to you on the water. Peter, instinctively, always feels like being with Jesus in any situation, he had such deep affection for him that he wanted to accompany him everywhere. Here he asked to be able to accompany him walking on the water. Jesus granted his request: Come! Peter then got off the boat and started walking on the water towards him. This too is a situation in which we Christians can find ourselves. Sometimes we take very generous initiatives, but also a little exaggerated. To help the poor, come to the aid of people, or do something in honour of the Lord, we think we are doing extraordinary things, and Jesus approves them. So we too start walking on the water. But after a while we realise that we are in a strange, unnatural, dangerous situation. So Peter, due to the violence of the wind, became frightened and began to sink. Then he cried out to Jesus, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, grabbed him and said to him: Man of little faith, why have you doubted? I told you: Come! So you could walk on the water without fear. But you lacked faith, and then you started to sink. In fact, what keeps you standing is faith. When we take a generous initiative, based on an inspiration received from the Lord, we must have faith and keep this faith in all circumstances, even the strangest and most difficult. In fact, if we keep the faith, we can overcome every difficulty. Already prophet Isaiah said: If you don't believe, you won't have established (Isaiah 7,9); Whoever believes will not waver (Isaiah 28,16). And the moment Jesus gets on the boat, the wind stops. This episode is very significant for us if we are generous Christians. If we are mediocre Christians, we do not take any particular initiative, we are content with a rather selfish life, limited to our interests, and then we are not facing great difficulties, but if we are generous Christians, every now and then we are faced with difficult situations. The Gospel tells us that this is normal. We must, therefore, not give up our initiatives for fear of difficulties we may encounter. We must go on, after praying to the Lord to find out if he approves these initiatives; and we must always keep faith. The Lord will help us: sometimes even miraculously, and always effectively. So we can carry out his work in the world.

In the second reading, Paul speaks of his relatives by flesh, the Jews. He says he feels great pain for them; continuous suffering: I tell the truth in Christ, I don't lie, and my conscience gives me testimony in the Holy Spirit: I have great pain and continuous suffering in my heart”. Where does this pain come from? The Apostle does not explain it here, but from the following we can understand that it is the unbelief of the majority of the Jews. When he dictated the Letter to the Romans, the situation became clear enough: Christians are only a minority among Jews; the majority of the people, led by the Pharisees and the high priests, have rejected Christ, they do not want to believe, because the Christian messages, somehow, reduces the privilege of the chosen people and extends it to the pagans, provided they have faith in Christ. Pagans were welcomed into the Christian Church as if they were Jews. The Jews then opposed this perspective, which deprived them of their privilege, and committed themselves, vigorously, to hindering faith in Christ. In the Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul explained that he had to suffer greatly from his compatriots: he received thirty-nine blows, was beaten with rods, and stoned. However, the greater suffering is seeing that his compatriots rejected Christ (cf. 2 Cor 12, 24-25). Instead of saying bad things about them, Paul lists all their privileges: They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, glory, covenants, legislation (giving of the Law), worship, promises, patriarchs; from them (this is the greatest privilege) Christ comes according to the flesh, he who is above all things. God who is over all be blessed forever. Jews have many privileges, but they rejected Christ. Because of this, Paul felt profound pain, so much to say: I would like to be anathema myself, separated from Christ for the benefit of my brothers, my blood relatives in the flesh. The Apostle was ready to face every sacrifice, just to save his brothers, to introduce them into the Church of Christ and offer them redemption through faith in Christ. We can then appreciate this generous attitude of Paul, this truly apostolic heart, which suffers for those people who do not accept faith in Christ. We too should suffer because our present world often refuses to adhere to Christ. In our world, there is a tremendous tendency to reject faith. We speak of secularism, which means the refusal, not only of Christ, but also of God. Man does not want God to be honoured and taken into account in the different kinds of decision that he must take. This should, therefore, arouse in our hearts a profound suffering and desire to pray for the conversion of those who do not believe. Then we will truly be united with the Saviour’s heart. +John I. Okoye

graphic  by chukwubike

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18th Sunday of the. Year, 2nd August, 2020

 May God, in this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, grant us the grace to be aware of the responsibility and priviledge of providing the needs of our neighbours.

Happy Sunday! 

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Isaiah 55,1-3; Romans 8,35.37-39; Matt 14,13-21: 18th Sunday of the. Year, 2nd August, 2020)

This Sunday, the Gospel presents us with the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. We admire Jesus’ generosity, for he cares and provides for the needs of the people. Jesus had left the boat to retire to a deserted place: he was looking for a little peace of mind with the apostles after a tiring activity and ministry. But the crowd learnt about it and followed on foot. So Jesus, getting off the boat, saw a large crowd. Our spontaneous reaction in these cases would have been annoyance, because the effort to have a little time for calm has been thwarted. But, Jesus completely disregarded his plan. On seeing a large crowd, he immediately felt compassion and healed the sick. Feeling compassion is Jesus’ characteristic in the Gospels. He usually thinks about people's discomfort, needs, sufferings, and feels compassion for them. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus takes up twice the expression spoken by God through prophet Hosea: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matt 9,13; 12,7). Jesus knows that the Heavenly Father is full of mercy, and he passes this compassion of God through his human heart, putting himself at the service of all the needy: healing their sick. Jesus comes to heal and give men joy and peace. When evening came, the disciples showed that they do not share this compassion of Jesus, that they reason in human form; they said to Jesus: The place is deserted and it is already late; dismiss the crowd to go to the villages to buy food. This is common sense reasoning: there are so many people, it seems impossible to provide for them all, and, therefore, the most logical thing to do is to dismiss all these people, so that they can fend for themselves and get out of trouble. The People came on their own initiative, now they can also leave and look for food in the villages. But Jesus does not agree with this natural way of reasoning; He said to the disciples: They do not need to go to the villages; feed them yourself. These words of Jesus inspired many saints, who, seeing the needs of the people of their time, instead of complaining or thinking only about themselves, took care to meet those needs, establishing dedicated religious Orders and Congregations to charity. "Give them something to eat yourself” is a phrase that each of us must feel as if it were addressed to us. When we meet people who are in need, if we want to be Christians, we must worry about them and do everything possible to remedy their hardships. The disciples remain disconcerted at these words of Jesus, because for them it is impossible to feed such a large crowd; they say to Jesus: We have only five loaves and two fish!. In the Gospel of John Andrew he adds: What is this for so many people? (John 6,9). Indeed it is nothing. Therefore, it seems that Jesus' order cannot be realised. But Jesus thinks differently; he says to the disciples: Bring them to me here. Then he orders the crowd to sit down; he takes the five loaves and the two fishes, raises his eyes to heaven and pronounces the blessing. Here we have an important and decisive element. Jesus does not stop at the horizontal level of many social works, but takes a vertical direction: he raises his eyes to heaven, that is, he puts himself in relationship with the heavenly Father; and pronounced the blessing, that is, give thanks to the Father. In fact, according to the Hebrew way of speaking, blessing God means thanking him. After the birth of John the Baptist, Zechariah blessed God, saying: Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people (Luke 1, 68). We also in the Offertory during Mass thank the Father, saying: Blessed are you, Lord, God of the universe; from your goodness we received this bread ... The blessing addressed to God means thanksgiving. Jesus thanks the Father for the little he has available and, at the same time, for the much he will receive from his goodness. In fact, he is convinced of the divine generosity and, when he pronounces the blessing, he foresees that the Father will meet this uncomfortable situation and find a solution. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, who distributed them to the crowd. Everything happens very discreetly: there is no visible multiplication of the pieces of loaves, but everyone ate, and they were satisfied, and in the end, many more pieces of the five loaves and two fish that were available at the beginning were left over. Thus in the end, the manifestation of divine generosity became evident. The whole crowd was able to eat, thanks to the union of Jesus with the Heavenly Father, his prayer, the compassion of his heart and his generosity. This miracle is not only an event limited in time, but it has a very wide scope: it is a prefiguration of the Eucharist. Also at the Last Supper Jesus will take the bread, break it and, after pronouncing the blessing, he will give it to his disciples, saying: This is my body which is given for you; do this in memory of me (Luke 22,19). This means that this action of Jesus must be multiplied. Indeed, it continues to multiply today in an ever more abundant and generous way. Jesus came to heal our souls, much more than to heal our bodies; he came to feed our souls, much more than to satisfy a crowd hungry for material bread.

Today's first reading makes us think, precisely, of a spiritual food. The prophet Isaiah reports these words of God: O you who are thirsty, come to the water, let anyone who has no money come equally; buy and eat without money and, without charge, wine and milk. Spiritual food cannot be sold as material food: it is a gift from God, which is communicated in the Church through the sacraments and which nourishes souls, giving strength, light and inner peace. The Prophet states: Why do you spend money on what is not bread, your wealth on what is not satisfied? Why do we care so much about material things, and not enough about spiritual things? Listen to me and you will eat good things and you will taste succulent food. It is an invitation to welcome the gift of God, which is basically only one: the love that comes from him and that wants to transform our life. This love passes through the heart of Jesus and reaches us in our situations of spiritual need. It is a wonderful food that feeds us. We mostly do not think about it, but our deepest desire is to welcome the love of God. This is our vocation: we are made to be loved and to love, in union with God and Christ.

The second reading shows us the value and power of this love. Paul says: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? This love is a value that has been assured in, an absolutely, strong and imperishable way. The Apostle listed all the most serious and terrible obstacles: Tribulation, anguish, persecution, hunger, nudity, danger, sword", and concludes: In all these things we are more than victors for virtue of the one who loved us. Here we see what strength is contained in the love that is given to us by God through the heart of Christ. God's love for us is the absolute power of God who puts himself on our side to make us more than winners, to find the true solution of our problems. Whoever believes in God's love is truly free in the deep, free from everything. It is a force that overcomes all obstacles, which gives us the ability to transform all obstacles into an opportunity for progress in love.

Paul again affirms: I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither present nor future, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature can ever separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We do not only receive this love passively from God, but it is the love that gives us the capability to love. This is the food we really need. In life there is no need more essential than this: to have the ability to love in all circumstances, to always find a solution of love for all difficulties and needs. Instead of going in the direction of selfishness, pride or mistrust and discouragement, with this food we can always find the light and strength to transform all situations, even the most negative ones, into good.

The depth of the meaning of the multiplication of the loaves is precisely this: God gives us food that nourishes the capacity to love, making us victorious and instilling in us the deepest joy, because there is no greater joy than that of loving in a generous way. +John I. Okoye

(graphics  by Chukwubike)

17th Sunday of Year A; July 26, 2020)

May God grant us, in this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, the grace of discovering true values, thereby discovering our vocation of communion with God, and a spirit-filled courage while seeking them with unrelenting zeal and constancy.

Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(1 Kings 3,5.7-12; Romans 8,28-30; Matt 13,44-52: 17th Sunday of Year A; July 26, 2020)

Today, Jesus continues the discourse on the parables, proposing three more: the hidden treasure, the precious pearl and the net thrown into the sea that collects all kinds of fish. Then he makes a general reflection on the parables. The first two parables highlight the joy of discovering true values: a man finds a treasure hidden in a field and, full of joy, sells all his possessions and buys that field; a merchant who goes in search of precious pearls, when he finds one of great value, goes, sells all his possessions and buys it. When a person discovers true values, then his whole life changes and he becomes filled with joy. Finding the hidden treasure or the precious pearl is a wonderful thing. Those who find them feel privileged and, spontaneously, face all the sacrifices: they sell all their belongings - says Jesus twice - and buy the field where there is treasure, thereby, buy the precious pearl as well. One must not hesitate or delay in selling in order to buy, but one must also sell everything in order to buy everything. To follow Jesus, it is necessary to leave everything (Matt 4,20; Matt 19,27ss). A radical choice is required, which implies a complete renunciation (cf Matt, 6,24 and Matt10,37-39). How important it is to discover one's vocation, the vocation of communion with God and love of neighbour! Christians must try to discover their vocations; God's plan for their lives. And when they discover them, then, full of joy, they must accept all the necessary renunciations and buy that treasure which is God's plan. When a man understands the purpose he was created for by God and what destiny God has reserved for him, then he knows he has found the most important thing in life and is full of joy. Too many men, on the other hand, live with an attitude of resignation and discontentment/displeasure, experiencing so many disappointments, they have not found their own ways, God's plan of love for them. God’s project, in fact, is a project of love, communion and full life. God wants our joy, and so does Jesus, who affirms in the Gospel: This I have told you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full (John 15,11). We must discover God's plan for our lives, which is a project of love, communion and beauty. Many times in prayer we stop to ask for secondary things, which cannot fill our lives; instead we should reflect and pray for the most important graces, those that can give us the fullness of joy.

The first reading, partially, illustrates the Gospel, because it shows how Solomon has been able to discern where true values are, the most important things. He could ask for long life, wealth, death of his enemies: all gifts, these, which seem to be of value, but which are actually secondary; they cannot fill the heart, cannot give the fullness of joy. Solomon, on the other hand, has the inspiration to ask the Lord for discernment, a wise heart, to distinguish the things that are of utmost importance from those that are secondary. His prayer is a model for our prayers, and makes us reflect. Solomon was aware of his responsibilities. And still young, therefore, he says: I am a boy; I don't know how to regulate myself. He understands that the most important thing is the wisdom of the heart, good orientation, to be able to do justice to the people. Solomon does not seek wealth, power or enjoyment, but the grace to discern the decisions to be made, the things to do; therefore, he asks God: Grant your servant a docile heart so that he will know how to do justice to your people and know how to distinguish good from evil, because who could govern this so many of your people? In our prayer we should become aware of our responsibilities and ask for the graces that correspond to them. This is the most important thing to do in prayer. Then our lives will become full and fulfilled, we will not be disappointed, but in every circumstance we will know where to go, how to follow Jesus, how to progress in communion with God and in love for our neighbour. We can rejoice, like those men who sold all their possessions to buy the field where the treasure or the precious pearl is. God's plan for our lives is wonderful, but it is up to us to find out. Therefore, we must change our ideas, which are always too low and limited, to those of God. From the story of Solomon in the first reading we still glean two evident teachings. First, our choices should not, primarily, aim at the things that please us: money, power, comfort, but at what helps us to do our duty and do good to others.

 Secondly, all this must not be done as if we can procure it ourselves, but to ask it with humility and trust to the one who can and wants to grant it. In our prayers do we take into account the hierarchy of values, or do we rather waste the few prayers that we make in asking for useless, if not harmful, things, forgetting what is truly worthy and what we really need? Jesus warns us: If you who are bad know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him (Matt 7,11). The good thing par excellence is indicated by Luke, in the parallel passage, as the Holy Spirit (Luke 11,13).

In the second reading Paul speaks to us about the dynamism of God's plan. Those whom he has always known, he has also predestined them to conform to the image of his Son, so that he may be the firstborn among many brothers. Here, we see God's ambitious plan for our lives: each in his own way, each according to his vocation, we are predestined to achieve the likeness with Jesus. God carries on his project with a strong dynamism: Those whom he predestined, he also called them; those whom he called, he also justified them; those whom he justified, he also glorified. After predestination, which is God’s idea, the call comes, which man must hear. It leads to faith, which gives justification, purifies; justification ultimately leads to glorification. Thus, God’s plan is complete; the treasure was not only found, but also owned. According to Paul, in practical terms it means that God’s chosen are molded to the image, shape and pattern of his Son. Not merely co-heirs, they are conformed to Christ. To understand this assimilation to Christ, Paul uses every metaphor (a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable) he can find; con-crucified with Christ, con-buried with him, con-risen with him, congruent/in harmony/in agreement with him. Living with Christ’s life, molded to the pattern of Christ, the Christian takes on Christ’s history as one’s own. This is the personal aspect of being plunged into Christ’s death at baptism.

In the Gospel, Jesus adds a parable on the final judgment: he speaks of the kingdom of God as a net thrown into the sea that collects all kinds of fish. In the Church there are people of all kinds: externally, all appear Christian, but internally, all are not. The truth will appear at the moment of judgment, when, as Jesus says, the angels will come and separate the bad from the good and will throw them in the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Here, Jesus uses severe languages, to encourage us to continue, zealously in the right way. After telling the parables, he makes a reflection: Every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a landlord who extracts new and old things from his treasure. This explains what he does with parables: he tries to express ancient things in new ways. Likewise those who have the task of proclaiming the Gospel must try to present ancient things with new expressions; indeed, they must also strive to find new things, according to God's plan. Previously he had quoted, with regard to the parables, these words of the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will proclaim hidden things since the foundation of the world (Matt 13,35). +John I. Okoye

14th Sunday of the Year; 5th July, 2020

May the Lord grant us, through this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, the grace to take upon ourselves the yoke of Jesus who is meek and humble of heart in order to find inner peace, comfort in difficulties and peace in our relationships with God and our neigbours.

Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Zachariah  9,9-10; Rom 8,9.11-13; Matt 11,25-30; 14th Sunday of the Year; 5th July, 2020)

Today the Gospel makes us penetrate into the soul of Jesus. It refers us to one of Jesus’ prayers to the Father: a prayer of praise and thanksgiving, which leads us to discover his deepest feelings. The deepest feeling of the Son towards the Father is that of gratitude: an intense gratitude, which manifests itself in every moment of his life. The occasion that provokes Jesus' gratitude is a situation in which we, certainly, would not think of giving thanks: a failure in his ministry. Jesus preached but his preaching was not accepted by the wise and the intelligent, that is, by the so called elites, people, who in principle are in the best situation to appreciate his preaching. The wise and the intelligent should discover the beautiful, just and profound things that Jesus says more easily. He preaches the kingdom of God and reveals its mysteries by means of parables, but the Pharisees, scribes and high priests (the authorities of the Jewish people), do not want to accept this preaching. In this situation, Jesus gives thanks to the Father, because it was the Father who planned and allowed it to be so. I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, because you liked it this way. Jesus understands the Father's plan, which is opposed to human pride and wants to reveal himself to the simple. It is true that intelligence can arouse pride, and then, instead of serving the truth, it becomes an impediment, and even harmful. This was the situation verified amidst the authorities of the Jewish. Jesus recognises the Father's plan, he understands that it is a design of love, which is revealed to the little ones, the simple and the humble, and cannot manifest itself before hardened hearts. Then he expresses his relationship with the Father: Everything was given to me by my Father. This is the affirmation of the Son, who admits that he has received everything from the Father. He receives in particular his knowledge of the Father. This knowledge, in the biblical sense, means a personal, intimate relationship with him. Jesus says: Nobody knows the Son except the Father, and nobody knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wants to reveal him. Here we have the revelation of the life of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father knows the Son; the Son knows the Father; that is, there is a mutual and intimate relationship, in which everything is transparent and beautiful. The Son also recognises that he has received authority from the Father. It is the Son who decides whom to reveal the Father to. Nobody knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wants to reveal him. Here, we are dealing with very profound revelations, which push us to admiration and adoration. Thus, we too are introduced to the mutual knowledge of the Father and the Son. Then Jesus turns to us men, and in particular to those who are in need. He manifests his merciful heart by saying: Come to me, all you who are fatigued and oppressed, and I will refresh you. How comforting it is to hear this invitation from the merciful Lord! When we are tired and oppressed, instead of being discouraged, we should feel relieved by the welcoming grace given to us by Jesus, by his invitation to go to him, to find rest, comfort and strength. We should imprint these words of Jesus deeply in our hearts, because they will be precious in life's difficulties and moments of crisis. Jesus adds a phrase that may seem surprising: to these tired and oppressed people he advises that they should take upon them his yoke: Take my yoke upon you. If these people are already fatigued, why then propose a further weight, another yoke? But here we can understand that in reality it is a yoke that makes all things easier. In fact Jesus says: You will find refreshment for your souls. My yoke is in fact sweet and my load light. Jesus' yoke is a love yoke, and love makes it easier. Where there is love - says St. Augustine - there is no fatigue; and if there is fatigue, it is loved/accepted; thus, it becomes light. When we are in fatigue and in difficulty, we must remember these words of Jesus, which make us go extra miles to live in love. Trials of life can have the effect of making us fall back on ourselves. But, Jesus invites us to take his yoke of love, to welcome everything in union with him and for the good of our brothers. Thus the trials of life have a twofold advantage for us: that of uniting us with the passion of Christ, and making us united with people who suffer. It is necessary to accept this grace, which is demanding and at the same time very precious. Jesus explains why his yoke is sweet and his load light: Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart. His yoke is sweet, because he is meek and humble of heart. Jesus is not a hard and proud master; on the contrary, he is a Lord full of understanding, compassion and meekness, a very humble Lord, who puts himself at our level, to help us in the most effective way possible.

            The first reading anticipates this revelation of Jesus. The prophet Zechariah says in Jerusalem: Behold, your king comes to you. He is just, victorious and humble, riding on a donkey, a foal of a donkey. This king does not ride a horse, which is a war animal, but on a donkey, which is a peaceful animal and has no warrior pretension. This prophecy predicts Jesus’ triumph on Palm Sunday, when he voluntarily presented himself to the people riding a donkey, to show that he is not a warrior Messiah, a conqueror with weapons, but a Lord full of humility and meekness, a Lord who breaks the bow of war and announces peace. Zachariah says: Make wagons from Ephraim disappear and horses from Jerusalem, proclaim peace to the people. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, brings peace everywhere. He brings it into our hearts, in our relationships with other people, and he also brings it among the different peoples, if they are docile.

            The second reading and a passage from the Letter to the Romans, which deals with a different theme, has a connecting point with the Gospel, because it speaks of the Spirit of Christ. Paul says: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. By Spirit of Christ the Apostle means the Holy Spirit, who inspires Jesus' meekness and humility of heart. We must welcome this gentle and humble Spirit of Christ if we want to belong to him. On the other hand, this Spirit is the Spirit that raises from the dead. The resurrection is not an act of external power, but an act of internal power, which corresponds to the meekness and humility of Jesus. For this reason we must not live according to the flesh, which makes us aggressive and proud, but according to the Spirit of Christ, in meekness and humility. So many quarrel and divisions would be avoided if we welcome the mild and humble Spirit of Christ. Life according to the Spirit, is not only a life that follows the spiritual principles, but a life that follows the dictates of the Spirit of God already given to the believer at the moment of justification, that is, in baptism. It is not really a new way of life, but a new life. Paul says that the Spirit of God lives in us; this does not mean a home in a local sense, but in a social sense; it means that the Spirit holds, permeates and determines our existence. In practical terms the Spirit should inspire our thoughts, moderate our actions and make it correspond to the mind of Christ who is meek and humble of heart.  Therefore, in this Mass, we ask for the grace to take upon ourselves the yoke of Jesus who is meek and humble of heart in order to find inner peace, comfort in difficulties and peace in our relationships with others. We will also pray for world peace, according to the desire of the heart of Jesus. His yoke is sweet and his load light, because he brings peace everywhere. +John I. Okoye
(graphics by Chukwubike)