30th Sunday of Year A; 29th October, 2023

 
“If in our love for neighbor we eliminate love for God, our passion becomes fire, a violent and devastating passion, a selfish and possessive pretension that ends up devouring the other and consuming every neighborhood…”

Therefore, in this holy Mass, we humbly implore God who is love to give us grace for true love of him and of our neighbor. Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Exodus 22,20-26; Psalm l7 (18); 1 Thessalonians 1.5c-10; Matthew 22,34-40, 30th Sunday of Year A; 29th October, 2023)

When asked by the doctor of the Law about the great commandment, Jesus replies by quoting a text from Deuteronomy to which he adds a verse from Leviticus. However, Matthew drops an important verb, with which the passage from Deuteronomy opens: “Listen!” (see Deut. 6,4). And in Deuteronomy, “listen” is associated with another fundamental verb: “remember”. We listen to be able to remember, and remember not simply a story, but all that God has done for his people. What we have to listen to is not primarily a commandment – “You must love!” -, but in addition, the fact that God loved us first, and that this love of his has been translated for us into the history of salvation, into the promise of life, into an overabundant blessing. We must listen to the reality that we have been loved and that in his love, God has given us everything. It is this totality of the gift that establishes our possibility of responding to him, loving him with all that we are.

However, this total love for God has love for one’s neighbor as a condition: you will love your neighbor as yourself. In fact, John will explain in his first letter, that we cannot love God whom we do not see except by loving the brother we see (cf. 1 John 4,20). However, there is something else here other than to listen to and understand. It is that we can understand what Leviticus intends to convey by the injunction: “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself”. You must recognize the love with which God has loved and saved you and in the same measure of love with which he loves and saves you, you must love your brother or sister who lives next to you. The bond that binds you to them is what God has done for you, just as he did for them. Paul will clearly state that the brother is someone for whom Jesus died, just as he died for you (cf. 1 Cor 8,11). Then, it goes to say that the work of salvation that you recognize in your life you must contemplate it in the life of the neighbor who lives next to you; whoever he is, whatever he has done in his life. He is loved and saved by the Lord in the same way the Lord loves and saves you. Here is all the beauty of the Church, of every Christian community, of every family. If I cannot love God that I do not see without loving the brother I see, neither can I recognize the love God has for me without recognizing the love he has for my brother or sister. Therefore, at the heart of every commandment there is love, just as at the heart of love there is a commandment, there is the word of God. Love is not only a spontaneous movement of the heart; it is also founded on a Word, it is an outcome of listening. This dynamic is as true in one’s personal life as it is in the life of a community. Paul reminds the Christians of Thessalonica that at the origin of their community there is a word of God preached with the example of life and welcomed, albeit in the midst of many trials and tribulations, in the joy of the Holy Spirit. What is true for the community of Thessalonica remains true for every Christian community: at the beginning of our common life there is the word of God, preached in faith and welcomed in joy. Listening means recognizing that the word of God works among us and slowly fulfills his promises. Before being a commandment, the word of God is in fact a promise: a promise of life, a promise of a fruitfulness that overcomes our impossibilities. Indeed, the great commandment says: “You shall love”. If you listen to the word of God and let it operate in your life, then what the word commands becomes a promise: “you will love” becomes: “you will be able to love”; and the word that you have heard, and in which you have believed, will mature unto the fulfillment of love, in your personal existence and in that of your community or your family. In this listening we discover that our relationships always know a three-way dynamism, a sort of triangulation, in this case virtuous: God - the other - myself. As previously mentioned, when I relate to others, there is God in the midst, the God of the Covenant. When I seek God, between me and him, I always meet the other. When I eliminate one of these poles I inevitably fall into the inability to love.

The first proximity in the Bible is that between Adam and Eve, between man and woman, between ish and issha, according to two very similar Hebrew terms. Jewish tradition, which enjoys playing skillfully with the letters of the alphabet, affirms that in ish (man) there is the letter yod, which is the first letter of the holy and unpronounceable name of God, the Tetragrammaton revealed to Moses at the bush (see Exodus 3,14). In issha (woman) the letters in the Hebrew name of God are two, because besides the letter yod there is also the letter he. There is the name of God, therefore, both in the name “man” and in the name “woman”. If you remove the letter yod from ish, and also the he from issha, the two remaining letters become esh, which designates fire, but a fire that destroys everything, annihilating any possible relationship. If in our love for neighbor we eliminate love for God, our passion becomes fire, a violent and devastating passion, a selfish and possessive pretension that ends up devouring the other and consuming every neighborhood, not even the smallest sign must fall from the Law, Jesus affirms (cf. Matt 5,18), not even one iota or one yod; but the real yod that must never fall is that of the holy name of God. +John I. Okoye.

(graphic  by Charles)

30th Sunday of the Year A, 25th October, 2020

May God in today's Eucharistic celebration, grant us the grace to live out the two commandments of love; loving God and loving our neighbour as Christ did, by giving his life as sacrifice of redemption on our behalf.

Happy Sunday!

 

 

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Exodus 22,20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1,5c-10; Matt. 22,34-40: 30th Sunday of the Year A, 25th October, 2020)

 

This Sunday, the liturgy presents us with a short but very important question of which is the greatest commandment. The Gospel reading addresses this question. The first reading, which is a passage from the Law of Moses anticipates this theme. The second reading does not have a direct relationship with the Gospel; however, it can be seen how Paul practices the two commandments of love.

Matthew relates that, after Jesus has answered the Sadducees who came to him with objections against faith in the resurrection, the Pharisees try to be better than the Sadducees in the attempt to put Jesus to the test. One of them, a doctor of the law, asks him this question: Teacher, what is the greatest commandment of the law? It is a difficult question, because in the Law of Moses there are 613 precepts and prohibitions. How can one discern the greatest commandment of all these? This is a topic that could be argued endlessly. But Jesus has no hesitation, and immediately replies: You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first of the commandments. Then he adds something that was not requested by the doctor of the law: And the second is similar to the first: You will love your neighbour as yourself. And he concludes with great authority: The whole Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments. This response from Jesus is not to be taken for granted, because, among so many precepts and prohibitions, the most important are, in everyone's opinion, the Ten Commandments. In Deuteronomy, Moses explains that the Decalogue is made up of ten Commandments promulgated by God himself and welcomed by the people. Only these commandments were pronounced by God himself; the other commandments or prohibitions were given to the people by Moses, and not directly by God. Therefore, it would be logical that Jesus, in answering the Doctor of Law, chose one of the ten Commandments. In particular, he could choose the first, which is undoubtedly of very great importance: the prohibition on worshiping other gods, but Jesus does not choose one of the ten Commandments, but looks elsewhere. He takes one text from Deuteronomy, which enunciates the commandment of love, and a second one from Leviticus, which expresses a second commandment of love, and says that the second is similar to the first: You will love the Lord your God ... You will love your neighbour. How can this choice by Jesus be explained? Let's try to understand how. The Ten Commandments, which have an exceptional importance, are mostly prohibitions, negative commandments. They are exceptionally, important because they set the conditions under which it is no longer possible to have a positive relationship with God. Whoever wants to live in accord with God must, absolutely, respect them. If he does not, he finds himself in disagreement with God, offends him and follows the path of perdition. But the Ten Commandments all present negative conditions, both in relations with God (first series) and in relations with other people (second series), except one in each of the two series. As for the first series, the positive commandment is: Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day (Exodus 20,8). But, if we look at the context, we realise that this commandment too is explained with negative precepts. What does it mean to sanctify the Sabbath, according to the text of the Law of Moses? It means not doing any work on that day: You will not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your slave, nor your slave girl, your cattle, nor the stranger who dwells with you (Exodus adds 20,10). So, again, we have a negative commandment. In the other series, there is a truly positive commandment: Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you (Exodus 20,12). It is a very important commandment, because the family is the fundamental cell of society and, if there is no family solidarity, society cannot survive. But it is a very limited commandment: it concerns relationships with only two people, and it says nothing about the attitude one must have towards all other people. Jesus, on the other hand, does not want either a negative commandment or a limited commandment, but wants to offer a dynamic, positive, universal ideal. The Decalogue does not present this ideal properly, because it consists of negative commandments. Obviously respecting the Decalogue is already a great thing, but it does not give an impulse to life. Instead, what gives an impetus to life is love. For this Jesus chooses two commandments of love: You will love the Lord your God ... You will love your neighbour. These are positive commandments, commandments that give extraordinary impetus, because they present a very high ideal. The first is: You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Who can really say that they have achieved this ideal? We always remain below this requirement; therefore, we must always strive to progress to be at least a little closer to this magnificent ideal of complete, perfect, unlimited love. And the second is: You will love your neighbour as yourself. Who can say that he is able to love his neighbour as himself? We have an innate love for ourselves, rooted in our psyche, and in reality, what we do for others is always very little compared to what we do for ourselves. Furthermore, with regard to this second commandment, we must also say that in another more dramatic circumstance, Jesus widened the perspective, when he said: This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you (John 15,12). This means that we must love others more than our life, because Jesus loved us more than his life, offering his life for us. Therefore, the ideal that Jesus presents to us is a wonderful one, which corresponds with the deep desire of our hearts. In fact, we were precisely created for this. God, who is love, created us to make us share in his love, to be loved by him and to love him and love all other people with him. This is the highest human ideal. But, to achieve it, we have an absolute need for God's grace, we need to receive the capacity to love that comes from God within us. The heart of Jesus is offered to us to truly love the Father as he loved him, and to love our neighbour as he loved him. Jesus offers himself to us for this very reason. In the Eucharist we receive his Body and Blood in us, that is, we receive Jesus at the moment of his greatest love, at the moment when he offered himself to the Father for our salvation, the moment when he offered his Body and Blood to be our spiritual food and drink and in this way feed the life of love in us. This revelation was already anticipated in the Old Testament, which contains, precisely, these two perspectives. Therefore, this commandment of Jesus is not new; what is new is the way he explains it. The first reading shows how much the Old Testament insists on love of neighbour. The Old Testament manifests a great concern for harmonious social relationships, in fact very generous ones. The book of Exodus says: You will not harass the stranger or oppress him, because you have been strangers in the land of Egypt. So, the neighbour to love is the stranger too. You will not maltreat the widow and the orphan. God is the guarantor of their lives. If you maltreat him, when he invokes my help, I will hear his cry, my anger will be kindled and I will make you die by the sword. The Old Testament goes into very particular details, such as the case of the pledged object. When you give a loan to another, you must not behave like usurers: If you lend money to someone of my people, the indigent who is with you, you will not behave with him as a usurer: you must not impose any interest on him. Often the cloak was given as a pledge, which was not necessary during the day, but which served as a blanket for the night; the people were poor, and did not have many things to pledge, and, therefore, gave their cloak. The Law of Moses is concerned with this case and says that the cloaks must be returned at sunset, because the poor need them to cover themselves during the night; not to give them back would be a cruelty, And God also guarantees the situation of the poor: When he invokes my help, I hear his cry, because I am merciful. Thus, already in the Old Testament this orientation of attention to all the needs of the neighbour and generous dedication to his service appears well specified. But Jesus traced the way of an even more generous love for us.

In the second reading we see how Paul practices the two commandments of love. He writes to the Thessalonians who have recently converted, and among whom he says his great love for the Lord is manifested. In fact, he immediately speaks of them, saying: You have become imitators of us and of the Lord [...]. The word of the Lord echoes through you [...], you have converted to God, moving away from idols, to serve the living and true God. Here we see Paul's great love for the Lord. On the other hand, the Apostle also expresses his love for the Thessalonians. He has known them for a short time, but they are already present in his heart in a very deep way. He delicately manifests his love, praising them: You have become a model to all believers who are in Macedonia and Achaia. The Thessalonians were generous, they welcomed the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of great tribulation. This praise that Paul gives is a manifestation of love, and also of apostolic zeal, because when a person is praised, he is greatly encouraged to act in a virtuous way. We must be careful to emphasise the good in others and the good they do. This is a delicate, also very positive, and fruitful demonstration of love. It is a question of recognising the good done by others, to encourage this good, and thus grow all together in love for God and for our brothers. You will love the Lord your God, you will love your neighbour, love one another as I have loved you: this is the most important thing of all, the ideal that we must always pursue. In all our purposes, in all our initiatives we must always go in this direction. In all, we will always be more united with Christ in his relationship with the Father and the brothers. +John I. Okoye

Graphics  by Chukwubike 

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)

13th Sunday of the Year, June 28, 2020

 May God bestow on us, in this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, the graces to be able to carry out the demands of His will and be generous to our needy brothers and sisters.

Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(2 Kings 4,8-11.14-16a; Rom 6,3-4.8-11; Matt 10,37-42;13th Sunday of the Year, June 28, 2020)

This Sunday's Gospel speaks to us of the Lord's demand and of his generosity. The Lord is very demanding, he asks everything for himself, but he is also very generous, he rewards abundantly. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, makes a very strong demand: Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. How come he shows himself as being so demanding? Jesus does it out of love, because he wants to give himself to us and, in order to do so, he must find us free/not occupied, disposed, and available for him. Jesus is not our friend like others: he is the Son of God, and has the right to be loved by us with all our hearts, all our strengths, and all our souls. We must love him in this way in order to truly welcome/accept him. Those who regard him just as a friend among other friends do not really welcome him. That is why he has to express the great need to be loved above all other people. Jesus wants to be loved as we love God, and together with God. Jesus also wants everyone to take up his/her cross and follow him: Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Carrying one’s cross is the condition for finding true life. Loving Jesus is very demanding, but it is an authentic love, which satisfies the heart of man. Then the Lord expresses a paradoxical phrase: Whoever finds his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Jesus wants us to lose our life for his sake.

The second reading clarifies Jesus’ sentence, because he speaks of the baptised as dying together with him in his passion. Paul says: When we were baptised in Christ Jesus, we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that like Christ, by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life. Thus, by my baptism into Christ’s death, his death becomes mine. Christ’s story becomes my story. Christ’s strength becomes my strength. Christ’s risen life becomes my risen life. Paul says: By means of baptism we were buried with him in death. But this death is the source of a new life: ... because, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too can walk in a new life; If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him; Consider yourselves dead to sin, but living for God, in Christ Jesus. All these are connected with Jesus’ phrase in the Gospel: Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This baptismal mystery must be present in our ordinary/daily life. We must continually die to sin, to live with Christ and in Christ for God. We must also accept to lose our lives completely, in the case of martyrdom. But even if we do not arrive at this extreme situation, we must lose our life in the sense of entirely giving up our selfishness. We must not seek our happiness, rather we must try to please Jesus, to do his will, which is the will of love, completely opposite to selfishness. Whoever has lost his life by renouncing his selfishness will find true life in the love of Jesus and in love with Jesus. Then Jesus expresses divine generosity, speaking of welcoming/accepting others. He says to the apostles: Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. If we welcome the people sent by Jesus, we welcome not only Jesus, but God himself. The gospel narrative advances in a progression as Jesus goes on saying: Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet, will have the reward of the prophet, and whoever welcomes a just man as a just man, will have the reward of the just man. And whoever has given even one glass of fresh water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, in truth I say to you: he will not lose his reward.

The first reading illustrates the first of Jesus’ sentences: Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet, will have the prophet's reward. There is a rich woman from Shunem, who recognised Elisha as a man of God. Then she wants to welcome him: she prepares a small room for him, with a bed, small table, chair and lamp, so that he can retire to it and reflect, read the Sacred Scriptures and prepare his prophetic messages. It is a generous initiative on the part of this woman. But God never lets any one outdo him in generousity. Elisha feels inspired by God to reward this woman. He asks what can be done for her, and his servant Giezi suggests a particularly precious gift for her: Unfortunately she hasn’t children and her husband is an old man. It means that this woman has no more hope of having children, and that her life is empty. Elisha then sends for the woman and has the inspiration to say to her: Next year, in this same season, you will keep in arm a son. 'This promise fills this woman's heart with great joy; her deepest wish is fulfilled. Thus divine generosity manifests itself in a superabundant way.

In the Gospel, Jesus says that whoever gives only one glass of fresh water to one of his lowest ranking disciples will not lose his reward. Jesus’ generosity is divine, and takes into account, even the smallest service rendered to his disciples to foster their apostolate, to promote the kingdom of God. We can, therefore, admire Jesus’ generosity and have great trust in him. This generosity helps us to be generous in our turn. Jesus also teaches us gratitude, grateful love, because he manifests his gratitude superabundantly. The heavy demands and generosity of Jesus, should be the rhythm of our Christian life. Jesus demands from us, because he loves us and does not want our lives to remain empty and sterile, but to be fruitful. On the other hand, he manifests his gratitude, and thus invites us to trust and also show gratitude to others. When someone does us a service, we, if we truly want to be Jesus’ disciples, must generously reward him. In this way, we make the kingdom of love progress; charity spread widely and transforms the face of the earth. +John I. Okoye

(GRAPHICS BY CHUKWUBIKE)

Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity: 7th June 2020

 May our profession of faith in the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity obtain for us, through this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, forgiveness of our sins, thereby making us worthy to share in God's love and to manifest same in our interaction with our neighbours.

Happy Sunday! 

DOCTRINE AND FAITH


(Exodus 34,4b-6.8-9; 2 Cor 13,11-13; John 3, 16-18: Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity: 7th June 2020)

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When one thinks of the Trinity, for the most part, only the aspect of the mystery comes to mind: there are three and they are one, one God in three Persons. Instead, today's liturgy draws our attention to the aspect of love that is expressed by the mystery of the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one, because God is love: The Father gives everything to the Son; the Son receives everything from the Father with gratitude; and the Holy Spirit is like the fruit of this mutual love of the Father and the Son. The texts of this Mass speak a lot on the theme of love. They do not speak so much of the three Persons - there is only one sentence in the second reading which mentions the three Persons: the Lord Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit, and the mention is in reference to love.

Today we celebrate the feast of the God of love. This feast can give us great joy, because it offers us a very positive perspective. God is not conceived as a solitary single monolith, but as the union of three persons in love. These persons are also full of love for all creatures and, in particular, for us men.

The first reading, taken from the book of Exodus, expresses a surprise, because the revelation of the love of God comes after a very serious sin on the part of the people. The covenant has just ended, and the people already become unfaithful to God. Since Moses has gone away and did not return, the people asked Aaron to make for them a visible god who can be honoured with idolatrous ceremonies. Aaron consented to the people’s request. Descending from Sinai, Moses realised this very serious sin and broke the tables of the covenant (boards on which the conditions of the covenant with God are written) and which, therefore, represent the covenant. But despite this very serious sin of the people, God, through the intercession of Moses, decided to forgive them. He invited Moses back to Mount Sinai with two other stone tablets similar to the previous ones, to receive his law again, this fundamental gift that allows man to have a privileged relationship with him. Moses then asked God to reveal himself, to show him his face. And God revealed his being as full of mercy and love: The Lord stepped before Moses proclaiming: The Lord, the Lord, merciful and compassionate God, slow to anger and rich in grace and faithfulness. This definition of God manifests his merciful love: a love that conquers sin, covers and eliminates it. There can be no clearer revelation. We have a God who renounced destroying sinners but, instead, wants to manifest his love in an even more profound and surprising way on the occasion of sins.

The gospel completes this revelation, because it shows how God revealed his mercy. John affirms: God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die, but have eternal life. The world is bad, men are sinners, God could come to judge this world and, therefore, destroy evil and chastise sinners. Instead he loves the world, despite its sin, and sends into the world what he holds most precious: his only-begotten Son. Not only does he send him, but he gave him to the world: God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son. We know what this giving entails: God gave his only-begotten Son to erase the sins of men with his sacrifice, to save sinners by his death. God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world would be saved through him. The gift of God is his Son, born for us, lived for us; the Son who dedicated himself with such generosity to heal the sick, forgive sinners, welcome everyone and teach the divine truth to illuminate all our existence. Responding to the love that comes from the Father, the Son gave his life for us. He himself says: The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life in ransom for many (Matt 20,28 ff). God-love was manifested in this way. 

Whoever believes in him is freed from sin, and so does not go to meet the second death, but obtains eternal life, the life of communion with him. Eternal life, in fact, is precisely being partakers of divine love in heaven. Man was created by God to be loved by him and so that man also in turn will love him. We must allow ourselves to be penetrated by this profound doctrine which is manifested, above all with the cross of Jesus. It is on the cross that God gives his Son in the most possible generous way. It is on the cross that Jesus loves us and delivers himself for us. It is on the cross that he obtains participation in the eternal life, which is communicated to us by the Holy Spirit given to us. Thus the three divine persons are present in the mystery of the cross: the Father, who gave his only begotten Son with such generosity; the Son, who perfectly fulfilled the Father's plan; the Holy Spirit, fruit of the cross of Jesus, who comes to transform our existence and make us partakers of divine life, that is, of divine love. The Evangelist continues: Whoever believes in him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Sinners who believe in Jesus obtain the forgiveness of their sins and the strength not to commit serious sins anymore. But, those who do not believe refuse the salvation offered and thus condemn themselves. It is not God who lacks love, but is the sinner who insists on not accepting this love, and thus condemns himself. He neither believes in the only begotten Son of God nor in the love shown on the cross nor in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In the second reading Paul addressed these exhortations: Be glad, strive for perfection, take courage from each other, have the same feelings, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. In the expression, the God of love and peace, again we have a revelation of God as love, and merciful love, who proposes reconciliation and, through it, peace. Paul said: It was God who reconciled the world in Christ to himself (2 Cor5,19). And the first words of the risen Jesus were not words of condemnation for the sinners who made him die cruelly, but, Peace be with you! (John 20,19.21.26). Christ's love is revealed with the gift of peace. And Christians live in peace, in brotherly love, which manifests itself, as Paul said, with the holy kiss: Greet one another with the holy kiss. The Christian community must be a community full of love. In every Eucharist (outside the COVID-19 pandemic time) we are invited to exchange a sign of peace: a handshake, which expresses affection and union. Paul concluded his letter to the Corinthians with a threefold wish of thanks, in which he names the three persons of the Trinity: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. 

This final greeting of the letter is one of the usual formulas for the initial greeting of the Mass. The liturgy specifies: The love of God the Father, to indicate even more clearly that it is a Trinitarian formula. The three terms that are associated with the three divine people are terms that express love. The love of God the Father, for the Father this term is very clear. God the Father is the source of love, and he passes his love through the Son to communicate the Holy Spirit to us. In the term, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, Grace here means generous love. Offering something like grace means offering it for free. The expression, the communion of the Holy Spirit, indicates communion in love. The Holy Spirit unites us in divine love. And we are full of joy, because we receive from him this current of love, which enables us to overcome all difficulties and progress constantly in union with Jesus and in the love that comes from the Father. The solemnity of the Holy Trinity is the feast of God-love, which should fill our hearts with joy and, what is more, open them to a life that is truly docile to the love that comes from him. The Christian vocation is precisely welcoming divine love which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Love comes from the Father, it is communicated to us by Jesus in his sacrifice which the Holy Mass renders present and has as its goal communion in the Holy Spirit. Let us then gratefully welcome this revelation, and try to realise it more and more each day: in the life of prayer, family life and work life. May Glory be to the God of Love! Glory be to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, now and ever shall be, world without end. Happy Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity! +John I. Okoye

(GRAPHICS  BY Chukwubike)

6th Sunday of Easter, 17th May 2020

May our expression of love for Christ be made manifest by keeping his commandments and, through the grace of this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration, may we become worthy to receive the Holy Spirit which He promised us.

Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

Acts 8,5-8.14-17; 1 Peter 3,15-18; John 14,15-21; 6th Sunday of Easter, 17th May 2020)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

On this Sunday, the liturgy already prepares us for the feast of Pentecost. In fact, all the texts refer to the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, we have the first announcement of the coming of the Comforter, which is the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit. In the first reading, the apostles Peter and John went to Samaria to lay hands on the baptised, who received the Holy Spirit. In the second reading Peter spoke to us of the paschal mystery of Jesus: Christ put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

The coming of the Holy Spirit is an event of paramount importance; it can be said that it is the purpose of the whole Incarnation and redemption, because it corresponds with the promise made by God through Jeremiah and Ezekiel of the new covenant. Especially through Ezekiel God had said: I will give you a new heart, I will put a new spirit within you, I will remove the stone heart from you and I will give you a heart of flesh. I bring my spirit within you (Ezek 36,26-27). This transformation made by God makes the new covenant possible, which is an intimate and strong union between believers and God. In the discourse after the dinner, Jesus says: I will pray to the Father and he will give you another Comforter to remain with you forever, the Spirit of truth. Jesus cannot remain forever with the apostles, because he has assumed a human life, which has limited him, above all, to transform human death into a journey of covenant with God, into a journey of redemption and union of man with God. So he has to leave, as he said severally. But the Spirit of truth can remain forever with the disciples, because he is not tied to a particular human life. He is the Spirit of God, who is eternal as God and who, therefore, can remain forever with all the disciples of Christ. There is a difference: Jesus was visible as a man, while the Spirit is not visible. The world cannot receive him - says Jesus - because it does not see him and does not know him. The Spirit is an invisible reality, an inner reality, certainly very important, but is not perceivable with human senses. To know the Spirit, one must have an interior relationship with him, and the world does not have this relationship. Here, world is to be understood as the totality of all sinful and selfish tendencies: it is the world of sin, and this world, which is impervious to the Spirit, does not know him. Instead, the disciples of Jesus knew him, because he lives with them and - Jesus adds - he will be in you. Therefore, we must, ardently, desire to welcome the Holy Spirit. It requires an internalisation of effort. We cannot remain on the superficial level of things, but need to reach the depths. This is possible, thanks to the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, that is, of full revelation. In another passage Jesus says: He [the Holy Spirit] will guide you to the whole truth (John 16,13), that is, he will manifest all the depth and fullness of the mystery of Christ. At the beginning of our Gospel passage, Jesus also said: If you love me, you will keep my commandments; and at the end: Whoever accepts my commandments and observes them loves me. So he insisted a lot on the relationship between keeping his commandments and love for him. It is indeed true that authentic love is not only affective, made only of feelings, but effective, made of generous acts. In our case, these acts consist of observing the commandments of Jesus, which are commandments of generous love. When you truly love a person, you love his or her well-being and you want to do what she/he wants. Otherwise the love is not real, but only a search for sentimental satisfaction. However, love is a much deeper reality than just a simple sentimental satisfaction: it is the gift of oneself to the other, and this is done with acts that correspond to the wishes of the loved one. If we love Jesus, then we must desire to please him, honour him with our life and observe his commandments. We let ourselves be guided by him, so that our lives may be, truly, beautiful in his eyes, worthy of him and glorify him. Therefore, it is very important for us to keep his commandments, which are commandments of love, to remain truly united to him. The Holy Spirit helps us a lot to keep the commandments of love given by Jesus, He gives us an inner push to do what pleases God and Jesus. Then Jesus assures us that his presence will not be completely taken away from the disciples: I will not leave you orphans - he says -, I will return to you. After the crucifixion and death, Jesus returned to the disciples as the Risen One, and continues to, mysteriously, return in the life of all the disciples. A little while longer the world will not see me again; but you will see me, because I live and you will live. The new presence of Jesus among his disciples will be perceived thanks to a communion of life with him. It is about a very strong presence: Jesus says that he lives, and that the disciples will live from the same divine life, which makes people connect to one another in an interior manner. This mutual interiority is a mysterious and beautiful reality which realises the ideal of perfect union in love. On that day you will know that I am in the Father and you in me and I in you. Here the mutual interiority is clearly expressed. Jesus, as Son of God, is in the Father; but he is also present in every believer: he comes to each of us in Communion, and also with his grace he continues in our everyday life. On the other hand, we are in Christ, he is greater than us and we cannot contain him. Jesus comes into us, but surpasses us and inserts us into his mystical body, which is a wonderful and grandiose reality. Whoever loves me will also be loved by my Father and I too will love him and manifest myself to him. This is a beautiful promise of intimacy, full of love! Christian life is a splendid reality, because it is a life of union in love: union with Christ, the heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, and with all believers.

The first reading shows us how the work of Christ was continued by the disciples. In particular, the first stage of the apostolic work, after the conversions that took place in Jerusalem and Judea, was the preaching in Samaria. The Samaritans were a population despised by the Jews, whom they considered a mixture of pagans and Judaism. Jesus, however, had gone to Samaria and had converted a good number of them (cf. John 4). Philip, driven by the Holy Spirit, went to Samaria to continue the work of Jesus and carry out the work of the Risen One. His ministry has a marvellous success. In fact, the grace of God attracts people, transforms society. We read in the Acts: The crowds unanimously listened to Philip's words by hearing him speak and seeing the miracles he performed. The result is that in that city of Samaria a great joy spreads. The work of the risen Christ, through the apostles, is a work that propagates peace and joy. Philip is not an apostle, he does not belong to the group of the Twelve, but to that of the Seven, which was established by the apostles after Pentecost. In this passage, we see that there is a difference between the Seven, who are the predecessors of the deacons, and the apostles, the predecessors of the bishops. The people to whom the preaching of the Seven was addressed were only baptised in the name of Jesus, but did not receive the Holy Spirit. The apostles lay their hands on them, and they receive the Holy Spirit. Thus the joy which the passage speaks about becomes complete when the Holy Spirit is received and He manifests his goodness and power with a multiplicity of gifts.

In the second reading, Peter speaks of the apostolic vocation of every Christian. The apostolate is not reserved for bishops or priests, but is the characteristic of the whole Church, thanks, precisely, to the action of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all believers. Peter invites believers to always be ready to answer anyone who asks for the reason for the hope that is in them. Here we see that the attitude and behaviour of Christians revealed great hope. In his Letter, Peter wants to inculcate this hope. It reminds us that through the resurrection of Christ we have been regenerated for a living hope: hope for a perfect union with God and for a definitive union after death. The Christians of Peter's time attracted people because they were seen as full of hope. People wanted to know the reason for this hope, for the joy they had even when they were persecuted. In fact, when they were persecuted, instead of feeling defeated / discouraged they still showed themselves full of hope. Each of us must also be ready to account for the hope he/she possesses, thanks to the coming of Jesus, his death and resurrection, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We Christians must spread hope around us. The world always needs it so much. Without hope life is not worth living. But, with hope you can move forward with dynamism and achieve beautiful things in life. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to testify to faith, hope and love. Hope in particular, because its dynamic aspect corresponds with the thrust that the Holy Spirit gives. Our hope comes from the dynamism of the paschal mystery of Jesus: dynamism which is communicated to us by the Holy Spirit. On this Sunday we are invited to think about the feast of Pentecost now approaching with great fervour, with great expectation, because the Lord always prepares precious graces for us, not only for ourselves, but also for all the people with whom we come in contact and to which we must communicate the Christian hope. +John I. Okoye

(graphics  by chukwubike)

15th Sunday of Year C, 2019

May this Eucharistic Celebration make you realize that the laws are directives that will usher you into a life of union with Christ who will teach you how to love both God and your neighbors as he does. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Deuteronomy 30,1 0-14; Colossians 1,15-20; Luke 10,25-37; 15th Sunday of Year C, 2019)

In the first reading for this Sunday, Deuteronomy 30,10-14, Moses instructs the people about the law's importance and its accessibility. To those who may say the law is too difficult to understand or so lofty it is almost impossible to observe, Moses replies: No! It is neither mysterious nor remote. It does not belong to the secrets hidden in heaven awaiting the end-time to be revealed. Because of human weakness it may be a challenge to follow, but it is relatively simple to understand. Nor is it located across some impossible divide, unattainable for most of us. Even a cursory examination of the law will show that while it is indeed the word of God, it arises from the experience of women and men: worship one God; do not steal; do not lie; and so on. The law of God is as close to us as our own human life. This is a bold claim, not because it minimizes the value of the word of God because it does not. It is a bold claim because it identifies human experience as the place where the word of God is to be found. It is in our mouths and in our hearts. This is less a statement about what we call natural law than a reference to the will of God that we have learned and interiorized. Moses insists that his audience knows God's will. What they must do is carry it out. 

The high Christology of the second reading, Colossians 1,15-20, extols the divine character and activity of Christ rather than his human nature and the physical life he lived on earth. Paul uses several striking terms to characterize Christ: image of God; firstborn; the beginning; head of the church. Each one adds a significant dimension to our understanding of Christ. An image can either represent something or it can be a visible expression or manifestation of it. It is clear from the passage that Christ is here considered more than a symbol. Rather, he is a visible manifestation of the invisible God. To say that Christ is the image of God is not meant to limit our understanding of God. Rather, it extols the per­son of Christ. Firstborn can also be understood in two ways. It can refer to priority in time or to primacy in importance. Since this hymn is extolling the divine nature of Christ, the reference is probably not to Christ as the first created being but to the sovereignty of the power he exercises. Christ occupies the place of preeminence over all the rest of creation, a preeminence that makes creation dependent upon him. He is the agent through whom all was created, and he is also the goal of all creation. This characterization is reminiscent of the feminine figure of Wisdom, who, though still a creation of God, was present at and somehow participated in primordial creation (cf. Prov 8,22-31). Christ's rule extends over the angelic realm as well (dominions, principalities, powers). He is said to be before all things. While this can suggest preexistence, it also means priority of distinction. Using the metaphor of body, he depicts both the union that exists between Christ and the Church and the preeminence that is Christ's as head of that body. Redemption is accomplished through Christ's resurrection. Priority of time and preeminence are both present also in the reference of firstborn from the dead, for Christ is both the first one raised and the one through whom all others will be raised. Finally, as image or manifestation of the invisible God, the fullness of God dwells within Christ. In this capacity Christ is the agent of reconciliation. This reconciliation has a universal scope. It includes all created things in heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible. Though we are accustomed to thinking of reconciliation purely in human or social terms, the text is clear. All things are reconciled. We are only beginning to explore the ecological implications of this. The means of this reconciliation that Christ brings is the blood of the cross. Thus the sacrificial death of the human Jesus becomes the means through which the cosmic Christ reconciles all creation with God. 

In the gospel narrative, Luke 10,25-37 a well-known conflict story, one skilled in the law challenges Jesus' knowledge of that law, probably in an attempt to publicly shame him. Certain verbs betray his motives. He puts Jesus to a test (v. 25), and when Jesus answers his challenge correctly, the lawyer attempts to save face by justifying himself (v. 29). Jesus not only shows himself as one who knows and conforms to the law, but he turns the lawyer's challenge back on him by asking him to answer his own questions. The lawyer asks about inheriting eternal life, not about earning salvation. Inheriting means receiving blessings bestowed by another. Eternal life is an allusion to the reign of God. In a very real sense the lawyer is asking the right question, but his reason for asking is wrong: to catch Jesus in some error. In answer to his own first question, the lawyer quotes the two passages from Scripture that encompass all of one's responsibilities. We must love God with all the powers of our beings (cf. Deut 6,5), and we must love our neighbor (originally interpreted as another Jew) as we love ourselves (cf. Lev 19,18; at times resident aliens were included in this injunction, Lev 19,34). Jesus recasts the lawyer's second question, Who is my neighbor? and tells a story to demonstrate what it means to be a neighbor. When Jesus asks the recast question, the lawyer is caught in his own snare. He is shamed, while Jesus emerges from this confrontation with even greater honor. The story itself draws obvious lines of contrast. Priests and Levites were temple personnel, jealous of their ritual purity. In this account they are caught in a dilemma. Even if they wanted to help the man on the road, he may have been dead, and they would incur ceremonial defilement by touching him. Should they fulfill their social obligations to another human being, or should they protect their cultic purity so they might fulfill their ritual obligations? They chose the latter. On the other hand, the Samaritan had no ritual obligations. He was one of the despised half-breeds and was already considered unclean by the Jews. However, the text clearly states that he did not attend to the man because he had nothing to lose. Rather, he was moved with compassion (splanchnizomai), the same emotion that overwhelmed Jesus when he saw the grief of the widow of Nain (cf. Luke 7,13) and the father when he saw his prodigal son returning (cf. Luke 15,20). The Samaritan responded out of love, a love that encompassed all the powers of his being. The lawyer had asked about works and was told to love. The Samaritan loves and demonstrates it through works. He goes out of his way to meet the needs of this stranger. He cleans the wounds with the alcohol composition of the wine; he soothes them with oil; he puts the man on his own animal and walks beside him to the nearest inn; he himself cares for the man; and he pays for the care provided by another. In this episode Jesus is not interested in merely telling the lawyer who it is that deserves his love and attention. Rather, he reveals what it means to be a loving person. The focus shifts from the other  person to oneself. The admonition is striking: Go and do likewise! Put aside all racial or religious prejudices in order to meet the needs of others! Put aside all other responsibilities in order to love the other! In this parable Jesus is not the good Samaritan; the lawyer must be. 

Today’s readings give us further insight into what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and to be committed to him. Discipleship also demanded a certain ability to make the necessary shifts in understanding in order to recognize what following Jesus required. Jesus in his encounter with the lawyer did not merely repeat the religious tradition in which he had been formed; he reinterpreted it. Today's disciples face a similar challenge. We too are called to understand the religious meaning of the words and deeds of Jesus, but we must also know how these words and deeds themselves called for adjustments of understanding on the part of those who first heard and witnessed them. This will help us appreciate the need for today's disciples to make comparable shifts of understanding in order to bring the message of Jesus into conversation with the contemporary world. With Paul, we extol Christ as the exalted image of the invisible God, as the firstborn of all creation, the one in whom all else was created, and then we stand at the foot of the cross seeing the blood flow from his crucified body. The exalted one is humiliated, and it is precisely through his humiliation that he is exalted, that he redeemed us, reconciled us to God and to one another. In today’s liturgy we are told to love our neighbor, and when we ask who that might be we are told a story that turns the question around. Who is my neighbor? or Whom should I love? becomes, Who acts as a neighbor? or Who shows love? Attention shifts from the object of our love to the character of our loving, from deciding who deserves our love to loving without deciding who is deserving. The respectable person asks about righteous living, and the genuinely righteous person turns out to be the one who was not respected. The ways of God are indeed paradoxical. The challenge today’s liturgy gives us is further seen in the way the law of God was presented. The law of God, which appears to be so lofty, is really depicted as very close to us, in our mouths and in our hearts. Yet, if we understand ourselves to be part of the body of Christ, as  is depicted in the epistle, as people redeemed and reconciled to God and to one another and if we love the Lord our God as totally as the gospel exhorts us to love, we will allow the law to take hold of us in such a way that we will esteem it. This is not to promote a kind of legalism. Rather, it is a way of living inspired and informed by love, love of God and love of others, even, and perhaps especially, those whom we are not inclined to love. May the Eucharistic celebration of this Sunday make us realize that the law or commandments are pointers or directives that will usher us into a life of union with Christ who will teach us how to love both God and our neighbors as he did. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

graphics by chukwubike