Grace to you!
 
Parents share in the labor of love for their baby. Moms, in particular, are experts at it.
 
The curious baby runs out of the house on a rainy day and makes the dirt his toy. Painted all over with the mud, he runs into the living room. In excitement, he rubs the dirt on the spick and span carpet. He finishes off with some conspicuous smears on the light-brown suede sofa.
 
Meanwhile, mom and dad are momentarily in suspense. Their mind flashed back and forth. They had just tidied the house in preparation for a special dinner with august visitors coming in minutes.
 
Dad gets upset. No word said, yet his face tells it all. He manages to pretend all is well. After all, "it's my child." The baby catches a glimpse of dad's face and instinctively senses something isn't right. He is eerily quiet.
 
Mom smiles and picks up the baby, looking all over his dirt-smeared body to be sure he is ok.  Her first instinct is the welfare of the baby. The spill on the floor and the messed carpet and sofa come second. I was one of those muddy and messy babies. At least my mom told me so. 
 
Notice the way parents receive the baby, including his messes and dirt, without judging or rejection. It is the best way to receive the Lord's message. We don't choose only the sweet part. We don't focus only on the joys. We accept everything because the beauty of discipleship is in following the Lord without holding back. Just like the beauty of parenting is in accepting the entire child, the way the baby is—whether messy or clean; healthy or impaired.
 
The Lord Jesus shares with his apostles the price of his mission as the messiah. They were concerned about positional and, perhaps, plus economic authority, and all the fanfare that goes with it. They were concerned with who was the greatest; and, therefore, who would have the top leadership role in the said kingdom. They weren't on the same spiritual wavelength with the Lord. The Lord was talking of service. They were thinking of kingship.
 
He told them, as he tells us: "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me" (Mk 9:37). It could mean receiving the Lord with child-like qualities. I have reflected on this meaning during other times of our reflection and in chapter 19 of my book, Word for a Wounded World volume 1. Here I look at it in another way; the usual way parents receive the baby as described in the story of the mom and the dirty child above.  
 
We are to receive the Lord as moms receive the baby. We receive fully, not parts and pieces, or one aspect over the other. 
 
If we receive the Lord as he is revealed, in the cross and the glory, we are blessed for it. We do not choose only the glory. Nor do we pick only the cross. We need both. We receive both because here on earth; they go together.
 
I pray for you today. I pray for me too. May we grow in the tender love of the Lord. May we accept the fullness of the Lord’s revelation, in its pains and its joys. Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Tuesday Week 7 Ordinary Time B: Jas 4:1-10; Mk 9:30-37]

Grace to you!
 
Evangelization is bearing witness to Christ. To evangelize isn't merely a linear process. There is a whole lot of communication going on. It could be through words, actions, and gestures between persons invigorated by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
 
The nonverbal dimensions matter too. It is living in such a way that the grace of Christ which we have received, reveals itself. Anyone around us begins to know Christ by knowing us. They see Christ living in us. It is the revelation of Christ by the power of his grace through us; sometimes, in ways, we know not. 
 
Jesus of Nazareth showed us how to bear witness to God. It came through his words and actions, including great acts of miracles. For instance, in the gospel of Mark 9, the healing of a boy with mute spirit, whom the disciples couldn't cure, was a sign to draw people to believe in him as the Christ. With the Lord, and all who believe in him, "All things are possible" (Mark 9:23).
 
Parts of the requirements in the daily act of evangelization are faith, prayer, and fasting. It isn't just like a race we run smoking a cigarette or sipping tea. It is an intentional act; with every possible sense of commitment, one could muster, including faith, prayer, and fasting. In that sense, we can distinguish between two classes of believers.
 
Hear how Saint James the Less, the one who chaired the Council in Jerusalem (AD 50), talked about the two classes of believers, what he called two kinds of wisdom. One is the wisdom of God from above. The other is worldly wisdom, earthly wisdom. The wisdom of God is manifested by matching faith with good works. Worldly wisdom is the one that does not show consistency between belief and action. "It is full of jealousy and selfish ambition, disorder and evil practice" (James 3:16).
 
I hope you understand that if we believe, we can do all things for God's glory, including making the mute speak. It could also mean we are vibrant and bold to proclaim the good news. We aren't mute nor unable to evangelize. Evangelization would be our delight.
 
Do you want to dispel the spirit of muteness? Have faith. Fast and pray. Pray until something happens. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Monday, Ordinary Time C. Week 7:  Jas 3:13-18; Mk 9:14-29]
Photo source: Mirna Encinas, Cathopic. 

Grace to you!
 
You may have heard this expression: "Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are." 
One may argue as to the truth-value of the statement. Yet, it doesn't eliminate the reality that: "Birds of the same feather flock together."
 
God speaks in every generation and circumstance. Far back in the Book of Leviticus, God announced details of ritual and moral regulations for the chosen people, Israel. He forewarned against the impact of negative associations. “Be holy for, I the Lord, your God am Holy” (Lev 19:2).
 
קֹדֶשׁ (Qodesh), which is the Hebrew word used for "holy" in the text, literarily means "being set apart" (apartness). The concept was equally translated in Latin as "consecro, consecrare" meaning, "to make sacred or dedicate." A similar sense is understood. Namely, it's being set apart from "something" and being set apart for "something" (dedicated to God). It entails, sort of, being different in a good way.
 
So when God told the people of the Old Testament to be holy as He is holy, wasn't He asking them to be different as He is different? If so, why would God ask them to be different, be set apart? Does God want them to be estranged people, isolated and out of touch personalities? Doesn't God want us to live in good relationship with our neighbors in every society we, as believers, find ourselves? Was the "being set apart" a mere sociological structure of separation or something different?  
 
These are good questions. Nonetheless, they aren't the implication of God's word and the universal call to holiness, a theme taken up in fresh light by the Lord Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:48). The Lord says: "You must, therefore, be perfect [some translations add the descriptive "in your love"] as your heavenly Father is perfect." Other translations use "love" instead of "perfect," since the meaning, in this context, is synonymous.
 
Following the tradition of the Lord, the Church emphasizes the same theme. She inspires all to respond to the universal call to holiness (see the Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, chapter 5). 
 
Being holy implies not following the path of unethical, immoral, and unGodly thoughts and actions. It is, more importantly, about dedication to the service of God and one another. It is commitment to love, mercy and justice, and other virtues. It begins with faith and discipleship of the Holy Lord. The believer's holiness is God. Hence, holiness is life in God. It is a life of pure love. It is when the love of the Lord, and one another, inspires all we do.
 
Our associations with anyone shouldn't be that of assimilation of their sinful behaviors. Relating to them shouldn't make us complicit to their worldliness. We are set apart from the ways of the world so we can be engrafted, attached to the love, mercy, forgiveness, purity, and grace of God. We belong to God, whose temple, as Saint Paul writes, "we are" (I Cor 3:16).
 
Holiness isn't by our power, but by God's grace. Holiness is, actually, a person, God in the Trinity of Love. We can't achieve it by our power. It's by God's grace who tells us: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." "Be holy as I am holy."
 
God doesn't merely tell us what to do. He equips us with all the graces (the inner germ) we need to do what He says and become what we should for glory. His Word, which is grace, makes us act right and become glorified.
 
The Lord says: “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). 
 
Praying, we grow and mature in love and knowledge of God, so our life will be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you. 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[7th Sunday Ordinary Time A. Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48]
Photo from Lora Tapias, Cathopic.com. 

Grace to you!
 
At the far west side of St. Peter’s Basilica is an enormous, beautiful gilded bronze monument designed by the Italian sculptor Bernini. It’s called Cathedra Petri, meaning the chair of Saint Peter. Not merely a work of art, the chair stands out as a resounding testimony of the voice of Catholic Christian leadership. When the Pope speaks ex-cathedra (referring to this seat of authority), he is proclaiming that which is doctrinally binding. 
 
You have Cathedral churches in your area, don't you? You know why they are called Cathedral. It isn't because of their impressive or massive designs. Instead, it is because of the chair of the bishop inside the building. That chair is what is technically called the Cathedral. Let's return to St. Peter's Cathedral story.
 
Saint Peter was chosen and commissioned by the Lord to be the leader of his Church.  We read about this unique commissioning from several texts in the Bible, such as Matthew 16:13-19, during Peter’s affirmation of the messiahship of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi. The Lord endorsed Peter’s answer as coming from the Father. He equally gave Peter the power and authority to lead his Church. The Lord equally reassured him that "the gate of hell shall not destroy the Church." Other places where the unique role of Saint Peter as the leader of the Church was shown in Scripture include Mt 18:18, Eph. 2:20; 4:4-6, Acts 2:41 (though many interpret these texts differently).
 
The Chair of Saint Peter, therefore, represents this office, the office of spiritual leadership, which Peter occupied. It also stands for the same office which his successors hold too, right to our present generation.  Just like with countries, the office of the president is different from the current person occupying it. Presidents come and go, but the office of the president remains unless that country no longer exists.
 
It is similar to the Church. Christ founded his Church. It is common sense to find in that Church, the office of central leadership. Such an office leads the body of Christ in teaching, governing, and sanctifying. Wasn't this the consensus during the early years of the Church? Or do we suppose that the death of Saint Peter was the termination of the authority given to his office to lead the Church?  I don’t think so.  
 
I see in that chair, the seat of spiritual leadership through which the Christian voice could form a unity in diversity of churches, persons, and cultures. 
 
We pray that the sacrifices of Lent will bear fruit in Christian unity. Amen
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu

[1 Pet 5:1-4; Mt. 16:13-19]

Grace to you!
 
Who is Christ in my life? 
 
The first disciples of the Lord had to answer this question. They had to have that alone-moment of spiritual self-examination. Such a question has to be addressed when we seem alone or lonely in our spiritual struggles. It is fitting when we feel like aliens or outsiders in the world in which we live. They are apt in moments of doubt. 
 
Some see Christ when their problems are solved, and miracles occur. Some embrace him when their social needs are met. Some people believe in him only when the going is rosy and fun. Or rather, some believe and teach that it is only a prosperous life that is proof that Christ is Lord in one's life.
 
If Christ is the messiah only when he comes and saves us from all our social and health needs, what kind of Christ is he? If he is the messiah because he supplies my material needs, what kind of saving favor is that to my faith? 
 
Many people did not accept Jesus as Christ during his earthly life. One of the main reasons is because he wasn’t a militant liberator, the kind they had expected. His followers weren’t the sort that could engage in the military campaign either. They and their leader, Jesus, were no good fit for the kind of brand the people wanted for a messiah. For short, he wasn't a hot-seller brand. More, he was a PR disaster.
 
Yet the Lord would avoid such distractions. He departs from situations in which his Lordship is acknowledged only through the crowns. He isn't abiding forever when only his glory is embraced, and the way to that glory is rejected.
 
Saint Peter made an incredible profession regarding the Christ at Caesarea Philippi, a little city close to the sources of the River Jordan. “You are the Christ” (Mk 8:30). The Gospel of Matthew gives further details of this Peter’s profession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). The Lord follows this profession with the most explicit teaching regarding his crucifixion (Mk 8:31-33), showing the connection between the two. 
 
I believe that unless Christ is Lord in our sufferings, he can't be Lord in our glories. It is from the friendship mentored through our down moments that we reap rich fruits on sunny days. Enduring glory exists because it emerges from the depths of suffering. In such is a pleasant surprise, a delightful breakthrough. 
 
So, when next your suffering seems unusually deep, remember, Christ is with you right there. When people push you around for a quick fix, remember that the Lord’s ways aren’t a magical input and output of favored results.
 
Continue to profess Christ as Lord. Your glory as a believer is rooted in that profession. It is in holding on to the Lord amidst all odds. He is the perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2). Such is the profession of faith that emerges in spiritual leadership. Such is aligned to Saint Peter’s at Caesarea Philippi.
 
Do not be fixated on who people say Christ is. Know it to have a robust response to them. But invest more on whom you say he is. It is in this personal discovery that your faith grows stronger. It is the most precise way of a vigorous response to doubters.  
 
I am praying for the grace of a more deep-rooted, personal encounter with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
 
[Thursday Week 6: Jas 2:1-9; Mk 8:27-33]
Photo source: Rodrigo from Cathopic.com
 
 
 
 
 

Grace to you!
 
All around us, we make choices, don't we? We choose our home, our car, our food, and the movies we see. Not all these choices turn out as expected, yet we wanted them anyway.
 
For instance, one may not understand the importance of choosing a comfortable shoe until one wears a pair of shoes that hurt. The shoes may look fancy and beautiful, but they are heavy and improperly aligned. Because of the look, some may prefer them to a more comfortable, though less lavish shoe. The choice for the fancy over the suitable has consequences.  
 
In nature, every choice we make has implications—good, bad, and ugly. It's how God has made nature. God desires us to choose from the abundance of his blessings in the world.
 
Scripture emphasizes this truth: “If you will, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him” (Sirach 15:15-17). The Lord Jesus himself said about the Torah and the Prophets, "I have not come to abolish…but to fulfill" (Mt 5:17). He then gave us higher standards for life and asked us to make tough choices rooted in love of God and love of neighbor. 
 
Some may say, why would there be many choices for us? Why would God allow evil amidst the good, making the decision more difficult?
 
My response, permit me, is in the form of a question: Why freedom? Why the right to choose if there is only one thing from which one can choose? The concept of choice would be ridiculous if there were no alternatives on the list.
 
Moreover, the beauty of being human is that we can choose. 
 
In nature, God has inscribed the Law, and through Divine Revelation, he has shown us the good to choose and the evil to avoid. Not only did God do it on the tablet of stone in the Old Testament, but Christ also came in-person to reveal what real life in God is and what it entails.
 
God put in our souls the seed of his awareness, his voice, and that of morality, conscience, so we can choose what is good and avoid what is evil. His love, life in Christ, is poured into our hearts through the Spirit (Rm 5:5). It enables us to desire what the Spirit of the Law Giver is, both within and outside of us. 
 
When God created us, he looked at all he made, and "it was very good." Meaning, the best possible world ever to be made has been made by God. Creation and the complexity of the moral law follow the laws set by the Creator. God has inscribed the laws and their accompanying reward in nature. We receive what we choose.
 
When the law in our hearts responds positively to the law of God, there is a sort of holy marriage within us. In such is living according to the Spirit of the Law. There is joy and true, transforming freedom. However, when there is a disconnect between the law within and the law outside of us, spiritual conflicts arise. Those conflicts reverberate.  
 
Heaven is where the law within and the law outside finally become one, as designed from the beginning. Hell is where the separation reaches untold, unbearable proportions of conflict and pain.
 
May God give us the grace to choose wisely, all the time. Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[6th Sunday A: Sir 15:15-20; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-31 or 5:20-22A, 27-28, 33-34A, 37]

Photo Moses by Dimitri Conejo Sanz, Cathopic.com
 

Grace to you!
 
In his second encyclical, Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), published 30 November 1980, Pope John Paul II writes of the incredible mercy and compassion of God. He reminds us that God is rich in mercy. 
 
God's compassion reaches out to people as a group and as individuals. It is the mercy of God that draws us to repentance because we know the Lord is already inviting us to His mercy.
 
As the Lord Jesus went about preaching, healing, and doing good, he wasn't caught in the euphoria of popularity and large followership. He does all things well. His heart of mercy and compassion flows like a river towards those in need, just like God the Father seeks out those who are in need.
 
The Lord noticed that the multitude was hungry. Having fed them with the word, he wanted to be sure they weren't starving. The Lord didn't merely wish that they get food. He did all he could to feed them (Mk 8:1-3).
 
Great lesson for us today. As we preach God's Word, do we also notice the social needs of the people? A hungry person, they say, is an angry person. The Gospel should also inspire us to seek out and help those in need. It is a crucial aspect of the Gospel we preach.
 
Notice the Lord did the miracle from what the people have. We won't wait until we become billionaires before we help the less privileged among us. What is that dime, that bread, that fish, that extra we have, that little thing you have? It can go a long way. Going the extra mile to help the poor is the way of the Lord. Graciously offer what you have for someone who needs it the most. Sharing what we have, no matter how small, is a blessing.
 
There is a deeper spiritual meaning to the miracle of the feeding of the four thousand. At the Eucharistic celebration, during the "Presentation of the Gifts," the presiding priest prays: “Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness, we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life." He says a similar prayer regarding the wine, and the congregation responds, "Blessed be God forever."  
 
We bring gifts to the altar. Those gifts are fruits of our hands. They grew from our farms or are bought by us. They are symbolic of what we bring alongside ourselves to the Lord for the offering. The gifts are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. 
 
The Lord feeds us with himself. The miracle of the feeding of the four thousand, just like the feeding of the five thousand, is symbolic. It points to many who will be refreshed and nourished by the Eucharist. We come to Jesus in the Eucharist and receive life to the fullest.
 
The Lord says: “Unless you eat of the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life within you” (Jn 6:53).
 
I pray for a more profound love for the Eucharist. I also pray for a firm commitment to service and help for the poor in our midst. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Saturday Week 5 A: 1 Kgs12:26-32; 13:33-34; Mk 8:1-10]

Photo source: Dimitri Conejo Sanz. Cathopic.com