Grace to you!

Do you sometimes wonder why God's word doesn't seem to grow in the hearts of many who receive it? Do you want the word of God you have received to grow and bear much fruit? I have a few suggestions, inspired by the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15). 

1. Allow the Word to be sown: God's word has to be sown in our hearts first before it can germinate, grow, and produce fruit. Scripture says, "faith comes by hearing" (Romans 10:17). 

The word of God is sown in many ways. They include the following: By reading God's word in Scripture, listening to God's Word during liturgical celebrations. It can also be planted during a faith-sharing discussion, casual Godly interactions with people, or reading spiritual literature. With modern means of communication, many media provide faith-based resources too. Reading or listening to them could feed us with God's word and make us disposed to grow and mature in faith, thereby producing fruit. Therefore, first, reach out to occasions of God's word. I call this "being in the zone of God's word." 

2. Guard and Protect the Word: God's word, which you have received, is a treasure, and you have to guard it as you protect your treasure. Borrowing Saint Paul's line: "It is a treasure in clay" (2 Cor 4:7). Though the word is powerful, it would not force itself to make a home in your heart. It demands your freedom to guard it. 

You guard the word against the deceiver, whose goal is to mislead and make you ignore the word's relevance. The devil's deceptions come through subtle but powerful ways. Among them include sowing the seed of doubt, the "it doesn't matter" attitudes, and worldliness—convincing us that our lifestyle doesn't matter in terms of our faith in God's word, plus other deceitful innuendos. Guard against deceit. The Blessed Lord Jesus says: "The devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts…" (Lk 8:12) 

3. Have Roots: Just like the tree, the roots are the networks to nutrition. Without roots, there will be no nutrients for the tree. Our roots are the network with believers, and our network with the means of spiritual nutrition and strength, namely the sacraments. 

Similarly, because God's word isn't simply an individual affair or merely an intellectual process, it must be incarnated. For us Christians, the word of God is Jesus, the Divine Logos. It is the Eternal and Incarnate Word. This Word took flesh in the womb of a woman (the Blessed Virgin Mary) and dwelt among us, not merely as individuals, but ultimately as his body, the Church. God's Word is rooted in his body, the Church. So, for the word you receive to be planted on fertile, not the rocky ground where it has no root, you have to cultivate it in the community of faith, the Church. 

It is in the Church, through the Liturgy, that God's word is essentially rooted and takes root in the hearts of believers. Be part of the Church where the word is well-rooted, especially during the Eucharist. The faith of the Christian community enriches your faith too. 

4. Think God: As God's word takes root and matures in your life, and as you nourish it in the Church, never lose sight of where your mind should always be—focused on God. Be absorbed in the things of God and the spiritual life. Worldliness is a severe parasite to the fruitfulness of God's word in our lives. The Blessed Lord reminds us that "the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life" could choke God's word and cause them not to produce fruit (See Luke 8:14). Hence, we should always be aware of the sources of worldliness and block them off our spiritual radar. 

5. Live Godly: Just like any human realities, for the word of God to mature and produce fruit in our lives, we have to live it day in and day out. The fruitfulness of God's word occurs not at a time or a specific moment but through the course of our living the life of the gospel. For those in Christ and who live the life of Christ, every day is a fruit of joy. It radiates like a full moon and exudes like a pleasant fragrance for all to perceive. 

You know you live the life through and through (the ideal) when you wouldn't need to dichotomize your life in the church and your life elsewhere. It has to be the same person all through. The heart is the same, and the mind is the same. Such a life bears much fruit—namely, the fruit of righteousness like joy, peace, love, kindness, etc. It also produces the fruits of evangelization, such as inspiring other people's faith-journey. 

Allow God's word in your heart, guard it jealously, and be rooted. Always thinking Godly thoughts and living the life of Christ, you will see how your spiritual life would mature and produce abundant fruits, thanks to God's grace. 

I pray you mature and bear fruits, fruits of the gospel. Amen. 

God love you. God bless you.

Fr. Maurice Emelu

Saturday Week 24

 
Grace to you!
 
Today, I focus on love as the greatest of all gifts. 
 
From time to time, events happen that reveal the beauty of human life transformed by God's grace. Now and then, we have living testimonies of sacrifices worth sharing. Look around you and notice they are everywhere. Here, I share one notable instance. It was an example of a sacrificial love that occurred on September 16, 2019, in the eastern part of Nigeria.
 
Fr. Charles Chukwukelue Ebele, a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Onitsha,  drowned in the River Niger. The River Niger is the major river in West Africa, covering about 2600 miles running through the Guinea highlands to the borders of Mali and Niger Republic across the Gulf of Guinea into the Atlantic Ocean. It is the 3rd largest river in Africa.
 
Sometimes, the river can be turbulent as to pose a danger. Unfortunately, the river became so stormy that the boat in which Fr. Ebele was, began to capsize. The priest noticed that another person in the boat might not have a chance of surviving if the boat sank. He undid his life vest and gave it to him.
 
The boat finally capsized. The priest couldn't make it before the coast guards arrived. He gave his life for another. He died for sacrificial love. Fr. Ebele is the most recent example of heroic love comparable to Saint Maximilian Kolbe's. He is a real case of the Titanic moving story.
 
Stories of love touch us in the most profound ways. In those stories, we connect at a deeper level, to the best of human aspirations. Such was the most moving reality of God's love. We are moved to read how God so loved us to the point of the Son giving his life for us (Jn 3:16). 
 
It is the purest love that lets oneself be at the services of the common good and others' needs. Life for others is a true testament of pure love. Such is the greatest.
 
Saint Paul writes to the Corinthian Church and us about the nature, necessity, and role of the Church's spiritual gifts (I Cor 12). 
 
Next, he speaks of the greatest of these gifts, namely love (1 Cor 13:13). Of course, we know that love is one of the most misunderstood words today—from mere emotional or sensual connection to friendship or family ties, etc., an issue I will not discuss here.
 
It is sufficient to list the following pointers to true love: It is that which springs from God because "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). It unites and binds us together as children of God. It makes us live not for ourselves alone but also for others.  It is living so that we can see in our most inner selves my neighbor as God's image and relate to that neighbor based on God's love. Et cetera.
 
Saint Paul gives us at least thirteen criteria to measure the quality of our love. He writes: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:4-7). 
 
Hence, to measure the extent of my love, these could serve as a prayerful meditation and question for me: To what extent am I patient with others, especially the ones that drive me crazy? To what extent do I show kindness to those who, in my opinion, do not deserve it? Am I bitterly jealous of others, their gifts, and accomplishments?  Am I boastful of the gifts or blessings I have? Etc.
 
Perhaps a prayerful reflection on 1 Cor 13:1-13 this week could help us think more deeply about the quality of our love.
 
May the Lord give us the grace to love as we are loved in God. Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Wednesday Week 24, Ordinary Time: 1 Cor 12:31-13:13; Lk 7:31-35]

Grace to you!

An immigrant narrated her experience of coming to America on a student visa and how a wrong piece of advice from a Green Card holder would have landed her in trouble. Often, people who come to the United States on a work visa give wrong recommendations to those who come on visiting or student visas. If the non-immigrants don't dig deeper, look for legal immigration resources to know the facts, it could mess up their immigration status. Many have been out of status due to ignorance.

Lack of practical knowledge of things is a real challenge to true freedom. Ignorance of things one is supposed to know is limiting in many ways. For instance, ignorance of basic online activities could compromise one's securities and make one vulnerable to scammers. The same principle applies in spiritual life also. It may be why God speaking to the prophet says: "My people are dying because of ignorance" (Hosea 4:6).

Another example. A student was absent in class for health reasons. It occurred during the final week of revisions, which is the most critical time of the semester given examination preparations. He asked his friend to update him on what areas of interest the teacher wanted them to concentrate on for the exams, and the friend did.

Unfortunately, during the exam, the student couldn't see any of the so-called areas of interest. He barely had a pass in that exam. When he inquired from the friend what went wrong, he realized that his friend got everything wrong. His friend failed the exam. He scored zero because he heard everything the teacher said, upside down. 

Some students are like that. When the teacher says something, they understand another. When misinformation or someone blind in an area of human life leads another equally ignorant, it would be the most woeful partnership! 

The Lord speaking to the disciples, who were to be the leaders of his people, asked: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?" (Luke 6:39)

You may look back during some of your years in school and recall those teachers who knew their materials pretty well. You would see that the clarity of their knowledge enhanced your search for knowledge. A leader with a clear vision inspires. 

Consider those who muddled up the issues. In retrospect, times spent with them are seen as pure waste. You don't want to waste your precious time. 

Ignorance (blindness) is a terrible thing. And all of us are, in some ways, "blind." At least figuratively speaking. There is no person without some speck or blind spot. So, if we are to lead, the best way to do so is first to remove the speck from our eyes so we can see how to show others the way. There would be no clearer vision when the speck of distractions and evil cover our spiritual sight of vision. 

Perhaps the project is: Have I been able to find my blind spots? I have to do so to lead better. Honesty, in this matter, is an excellent way to start. 

Remember that famous Greek quotation popularized by Socrates: "Man know thyself."

I pray that the Holy Spirit would shed light for us to see the specks and overcome them and lead wisely. Amen

God love you. God bless you. 

Fr. Maurice Emelu

[Friday of the 23 Week Ordinary Time:1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14; Lk 6:39-42]

Grace to you!
 
We continue our reflection on I Corinthians. Yesterday, I reflected on one of the qualities of wisdom as to what makes us put things in their right perspective and act accordingly. Today, I extend the idea. 

There is a saying that the secret to orderliness in making one's home is: “A place for everything. Everything in its place.” Mom taught me this.
 
Everything in the house has its right place. It could be the coffee maker or the cups, the plate and the trashcan, the bed and the dresser, the groceries, and the milk in the refrigerator; each item has its place. It would be untidy and uninviting to keep one's shoes at the living room entrance, just like it would be out of order to keep one’s silverware and pots in the closet. If everything is in its place, we have a tidy house. We have orderliness in the house.  
 
You may have read the story in the First Book of Kings, chapter ten, where the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon. She observed how everything under Solomon's leadership was in its place—the organization of the personnel, the home, the temple, etc. She considered it a proof of the wisdom of Solomon (See 1 Kings 10). 
 
Granted, some people may not care so much about organizing their homes. Granted, hoarders have a different way of keeping their things and hanging onto everything, including items out of place and, therefore, out of order. However, we see such homes and consider them out of order because certain expectations do not meet, at least, in our opinion. 
 
The above imagery may be used to appreciate Saint Paul's message regarding wisdom in 1 Cor 3. He gave the teaching as a response to the rivalry and division in the Corinthian Church. He says that worldly wisdom is foolishness before God (1 Cor 3:19). 
 
For him, worldly wisdom misplaces priority, the right hierarchy of values, and order of things. Such was the case he was dealing with in Corinth, where some people do not see that he (Paul) and the other evangelizers were mere messengers of God. The result was a division in the Church based on who is more gifted than the other or who has more followers than the other. Seeing things in this worldly perspective misses the point that we all belong to Christ and are of equal worth. “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor 3:22-23).  
 
Everything in its place. Understanding what is first and what comes after it and how one thing fits in the entire structure and relates to the other, is the practice of wisdom. 
 
For instance, if I understand the priority of life over my car, it would be wise to consider my life as deserving first place over my beautiful car. If we also understand the right order of things, it would be equally wise to place things and reality where they belong in that hierarchy. 
 
In his classic and profound way of saying things, Saint Thomas Aquinas provides us an insight into the nature of wisdom. He relates his thoughts to 1 Corinthians 3:10 ff also. Borrowing an idea from Aristotle’s Metaphysic (1.2), he says, "It belongs to wisdom to consider the highest cause. By means of that cause, we are able to form a most certain judgment about other causes, and according thereto all things should be set in order” (see Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II q.45 a.1, Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans., London: Burns Oates & Washbourne).
 
I pray that we learn from Christ, God's true wisdom, and know what is first and the priority of things in life and act accordingly.  Amen
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
 
[Thursday Week 22 Ordinary Time: 1 Cor 3:18-23; Lk 5:1-11]

 
Grace to you!
 
A man was shocked by his action. He let his guard down and did what he thought he had outgrown, having known the Lord for decades. "It was the most humbling moment of my life," he said.
 
Sometimes, we read the fall and brokenness of others with a prideful sense of judgment. Often, this occurs, especially when we are enjoying the grace of victory over those kinds of behavior. We forget that except for the grace of God, we could do worse.
 
As a devout Christian, a Catholic (for that matter), have you considered how you came to faith in the Lord? Have you reflected on the spiritual practices it took for you to overcome some of your weaknesses and vices? Have you reflected on how your heart was touched to notice and appreciate God’s love? Or have you pondered on the blessings of seeing God’s love around you and the fact that God is present and real to you? 
 
To come to this kind of knowledge is not ordinary. It is the grace granted by God. It’s a comforting and refreshing awareness. 
 
To know that God loves us not because of us but despite us is refreshing. It is an uncommon grace to see God around us in the poor, the broken-hearted, the sick, and other human situations. To walk into a church and see God in the silence, and touch God’s hands and relish God’s smiles during worship, especially in the Eucharistic celebration, is an incredible grace. To see God amidst chaos and scandals is a tremendous grace.
 
Don’t forget that some people may come to the same places and not see God at all. Some people may see the human brokenness, and instead of seeing God calling us to act, be turned away from God. That we see God in those realities should make us humble and appreciative. That we enjoy freedom from particular vices by God's grace should also make us grateful and humble. We need to remember what grace that has been given to us.
 
Like the parable of the talents in the Gospel (Mt. 25:14-30), it is a privilege to receive divine talents and be a steward for innumerable blessings. 
 
The Church of Corinth received many blessings from the Lord. First was the grace of conversion into Christ plus their unique vocations as those called by the Lord into his life. The new life in Christ they received resulted in numerous other blessings that led to the community's spiritual growth. Among them was an incredible manifestation of the charismatic gifts which God gives to the Church for her flourishing and service. Those gifts are there for us. No one outdoes God in generosity. God pours the gifts to as many hearts as possible that are ready to be used by Him. God desires to use us to transform society and bless many in the community. The Corinthian Church was blessed indeed and witnessed these sorts of giftings.  
 
Saint Paul reminds them as he reminds us that the gifts we’ve received from the Lord are a call to service and humility. Since our vocation is by God's grace and the blessings flowing from that call are also by the initiative of God, we should not boast about it as if they were by our merit. Bragging about what is not our merit isn't wisdom.
 
We are not to boast about gifts because gifts are not of our own making or strictly because of our merit. Hence, they are called gifts. We are not to boast about our faith in the sense of counting it as a result of our smartness. It isn't due to our power or our family or community tradition or because of our efforts either. We received it, for sure. But God gave it anyway.
 
If we must boast, it must be in praise of God for the graces we’ve received. Saint Paul admonishes us: “Whoever boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor 2:31). 
 
I am praying that we may live a life of gratitude to God for the grace of our conversion and spiritual awakening. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you. 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Saturday Week 21 Ordinary Time B: 1 Cor 1:26-31; MT 25:14-30]
 

 
Grace to you!
 
We continue our reflection based on the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. I introduced it previously.
 
You may have noticed that there seems to be intense competition in families, organizations, or communities where you have highly talented people. Healthy competition is a good thing because it brings the best out of people. 
 
Nevertheless, when the competition is unhealthy, it brings the worst out of us. That's when unhealthy rivalry and disunity erupt and affect the organization's smooth functioning and overall performance. Tied to it is bitter envy. 

One of the temptations of gifted people is a competitive spirit. We see this in the spiritual life, just as we see it in our everyday social affairs. 

Experience in the pastoral ministry demonstrates this. Experience from teaching in schools, whether at primary, secondary school (high school), college, and graduate school levels, also points to this reality. In those parishes or classes with extraordinary talents, one of the recurrent struggles is dealing with rivalry and unhealthy competition. Sometimes pastors prefer not to work in parishes where you have many power players. Power playing is an example of people with high talents or gifts and may be driven by the desire to have things their way. It often arises from rivalry.
 
As a highly gifted faith community, the Corinthian Church witnessed similar struggles, which many churches and believers experience today. One of which was an unhealthy rivalry leading to conflicts. They started to pitch one camp against another. As their spiritual father, Saint Paul chose to write to respond to the discord and disunity resulting from unhealthy rivalry.
 
He offers them one of the critical answers to rivalry, unhealthy ambition, and division. He proposes the Cross of Christ. "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18).
 
The Cross of Our Lord is a complete contrast to the ways of the worldly. When we look at the Cross, we see the complete emptying of human pride. We also grasp the surrender to the providence of God. 
 
In describing the self-emptying personified in the Cross, Saint Paul uses the same word he used in Philippians 2:7, where the Lord Jesus was described as "emptying himself "and choosing the form of a servant leading to the most disgraceful way of death, death on the Cross. The emptying was the road to glory. 
 
The Wisdom of the Cross changes the scale of measure. Glory isn't in the triumphalism and self-ostentatious life of how gifted we are or what great "shows" we make of our blessings. It isn't in having things our way without regard to our neighbor or even the way of the Lord. The Wisdom of the Cross lies in surrender to the logic of the Cross. It is the selflessness that makes us die to ourselves so that Christ, the glory of the Lord, could shine forth through us.
 
Mirroring the Cross changes the scale for us. Such makes us humble ourselves, remembering our nature's brokenness while allowing God to shine in all we do. A life centered on the Cross of Christ is hardly boastful or arrogant. Such a life humbly builds the community and heals rivalry. It is wisdom to live not for ourselves alone, but for the Lord and others.
 
Saint Paul reminds us: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor 1:25).
 
We pray that we may discover the wisdom in the Cross of Christ and orient our lives in that wisdom. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Friday Ordinary Time B: 1 Cor 1:17-25; Mt 25:1-13]
 

 Grace to you!
 
Today's reflection, up to the next three weeks, will be based on First Corinthians. Exceptions will be Sundays and Feast days.
 
It is a delight witnessing the inauguration of new parishes. One observes the joy and jubilation of the faith community as they found their local church. Before long, the new-found parish would begin the actual work of building their faith community. It isn't merely architectural infrastructure, but more importantly, building up individuals and families, and sustaining the community's faith life. All these take a lot of sacrifice and patience. Excitements begin to fade. Real work of faith isn’t a frosting on the cake experience. 
  
Similar things happen at the individual, personal level. You recall the time you became aware of God's love in your life. The initial joys last for a while—some longer than others. You were on the pinnacle of the mount of spiritual experiences where you see only the transfigured, glorified face of the Risen Lord. Like Saint Peter, you want to remain there and not get down (Mt 17:4). 
 
However, the Lord would want you to get down to the real world. Then would begin the actual work of faith, with its struggles and difficulties in everyday life. The old self may start to rear its ugly head. Human frailties would surge in different ways.
 
It may be personal, your weaknesses acting as "a thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor 12:7). It could also be the shocking news about some actions of some members of the faith community—church leadership or the laity—, pushing you to reexamine why you believe what you believe. It is then that your faith life will be tested. Then would be the opportunity to spiritual maturity. 
 
The early Church of Corinth faced many challenges. They had accepted the faith preached to them by the apostle Paul during his second missionary journey in collaboration with Silas and Timothy (Acts 18:1-18). The event probably occurred between 50-52 AD (Navarre Bible, 2005) or 52-AD53 (MacEvilly, 1898). Another disciple, Apollos, who was renowned for his preaching eloquence, had contributed to the growth of this Church after Paul left.
 
The Corinthian Church, those born of Christ, would also deal with human frailty. They would deal with the natural tendency to infighting, one camp against another. They would deal with immorality cases, which was a sort of way of life, the culture of where they lived in Corinth. Recall that before they accepted Christ, the Corinthians embraced the Roman goddess Venus, the so-called goddess of prostitution, victory, fertility, and "love." One could say their world, like ours today, was a sexually revolutionized community.
 
The Corinthian Church witnessed firsthand the struggles of living in a world where Christianity offered a different and higher standard of life and morality. They were not exempt from the temptations that come from where they live. Initial joys are over. The moment of building and faith maturity has come. 
 
Saint Paul’s letter is that of a pastor writing to offer solutions to a sheepfold's problem. He is problem-solving. He begins with warm, gracious, and hope-filled greetings and prayer for the people (1 Cor 1:1-9). His tone is Godly and friendly. Sometimes he rebukes. Yet he speaks to them with the heart of a mother and the voice of love as one chosen by Christ himself and who makes an effort to lead Christ’s way. He speaks to them like a shepherd who wants the sheep protected from danger and saved. 
 
His central message is to correct errors of heresy and shed the light of the gospel on sound doctrine and the unity of the Body of Christ. It will be a praise to the Lord if we, as pastors, speak in a similar tone.
 
As we continue on this reflection based on the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, we pray the Lord to enlighten our hearts to see the richness of being members of the Body of Christ. May we also see how important it is to understand the diversity of our gifts and how to work together to build the Church and the community despite the struggles we face. 
 
I am praying for Christian unity. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Thursday Week 21 Ordinary Time: 1 Cor 1:1-9; Mt 24:42-51]