Grace to you! 
 
A man was invited to a meeting of a big corporation. His dad passed when he was a baby and he was under the care of foster parents until he turned eighteen and went his way. He didn't feel so connected with his foster parents, having moved from one to another and then a third. He had a challenging child upbringing.
 
One day he received a letter inviting him to a meeting in a big corporation. He didn’t apply for a job in the company, nor did he know anybody working there. First he thought he wouldn't go, but at the last minute jumped in his rickety car and went. 
 
At the reception, he looked like an odd man out, wearing jeans he hadn't washed in months. His appearance didn't fit, yet he was ushered to the conference room where five prestigiously dressed board members were seated waiting for his arrival.  
 
“Welcome Sam, “ they said with the most gracious and warm handshakes. Then came the news: “You're a part owner of this company.”
 
It happened that his dad, whom he never knew, bought many shares from the company and he was included as his heir. He looked up and down, speechless. 
 
Sam's experience could help in our understanding of St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, chapter eleven from verse 29 to 36. He speaks of the favor of God that came to non-Jewish believers though no one deserves it. 
 
For the chosen people, who hadn’t accepted the invitation or chose not to accept it, Saint Paul says their disobedience opened the door for others as well. God knows how to make good come out of any situation. Romans 8:28 reminds me that with God all things work unto good for those who believe and trust. 
 
God has things figured out. Paul’s exhortation encourages us to pray and hope that our obedience could inspire unbelievers.
 
In all, the mercy of God is deeper than we think. His mercy patiently waits even when we live like an orphan without hope.
 
Many times, divine invitation surprises us. It is like Sam’s surprise meeting for a life-changing inheritance. God surprises us with the grace of heavenly inheritance, which we don’t merit. We find in accepting and living this invitation, the past will become a bygone and a new experience of grace and joy is found. 
 
I pray you find joy in your call as a favored child of God. Amen 
 
God love you. God bless you. 
 
[Monday Week 31 A: Rom 11:29-36; all 14:12-14]
 
 

Grace to you! 
 
A college student asked a classmate whom she admires how she developed a positive and authentic self-identity. The girl has some unique self-confidence. Many of her classmates wonder why she isn't afraid of being criticized for her sense of virtuous life.
 
She replied, “I'm just being me.”
 
“Being me” is the simplest way to describe the state of mind of someone who has an authentic, positive self-image. The person lives with such audacity knowing that one must not live ones’ life because of what others say or think. Otherwise, one would live to please others, a task that is practically dreadful. It’s rather frustrating. What is important is to live one’s life, “be one’s self.” In my opinion, it is one of the most blessed and pleasant things to be one’s self in the practice of virtue. 
 
To live virtuously, whether people love it or not, is wise, because even the life of vice isn’t a ticket to everyone loving you. So, live virtuous anyway. 
 
Reading Saint Paul’s line in Romans chapter one, verse sixteen, I’m captivated by his word: "I am not ashamed of the gospel...." In other words, one could say that Saint Paul's identity is so rooted in the gospel (the Good News of Christ—life and grace in Christ which is salvation) that he feels the audacity of his faith-experience. His faith-experience is for him his identity, an authentic positive self-identity. He is not afraid of living his life as a believer in Christ. 
 
One could see his boldness all the way throughout his missionary works. Not surprising that is why he had strong objections against Peter’s (Cephas) pretentious life in Antioch. He rebuked Peter publicly. Why? Because Peter separated himself from the gentiles he had been eating with because some Jewish believers who belonged to the “circumcision party,” came to visit him in Antioch. By doing this, the first Pope (Peter) wanted to please his Jewish brothers (Jewish converts from St. James) to the detriment of the gentiles who didn’t believe in circumcision. Saint Paul couldn’t stand this sort of hypocrisy (see Gal 2:11-21). 
 
These days, people emphasize being one’s self. Yet some believers say, “Let’s be like others.” Another way of saying this is, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” This is the death of authentic self-identity. 
 
If one lives a life that is not his or her own, such a life is so conflicted that peace of soul is improbable. Conflicting self-identity is terrible. You don’t wish anyone such a life. 
 
There is nothing nobler than to be one’s self. If you’re a believer, there’s no need to be ashamed of the gospel you believe in. You don’t be a believer and a non-believer at the same time. It isn’t worth that stress. For instance, if you could freely express your faith in private, why can't you do so in your personal blogs, personal pages and social media sites? I don’t mean preaching as church ministers do. I mean simply being you. Why live two identities, two personas? 
 
If you are proud of your identity as a believer and it truly influences your life to practice virtue, such as showing love to others, forgiving, being kind, hardworking, being just in your relationships, etc., what is wrong about letting people know who you are? What is wrong about allowing others to see what informs your “virtuous” outlook to life? Remember, this is not about blowing one’s trumpet. It’s about being YOU. 
 
Personally, I believe that no one should be forced to become someone else; or behave in ways not consistent with their identity and core beliefs. It doesn’t matter what those beliefs are. If they are good, we praise them. If evil, we have laws against them. Divine law too. Authentic self-identity is living the truth about one’s self not living the lie. 
 
May God give us the grace to live authentically, to be ourselves. Amen
 
God Love you. God bless you. 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Tuesday Week 28 Ordinary Time A: Rom 1:16-25; Lk 11:37-41]

Grace to you!
 
Sunday last week, I shared with you a powerful testimony about the gift of faith. I also explained the audacity of faith. Today, may I reflect on the gratitude for God’s gift of faith. 
 
Have you surprised someone with a precious gift before, or at least, you thought you did? It could be your child, your employee or a friend. You went the extra mile to make it possible. You put lots of love in it. 
 
You waited too long to hear if the person received the gift. You walk past or have an eye-to-eye glimpse of the person and instinctively think, “I hope the gift was received.” You realized later the gift was received, though the beneficiary never cared to say, “thank you.” This is definitely not nice, or is it? 
 
How about flipping the coin here? You were the beneficiary of the gift. You forgot to thank the giver of the gift. This is not who you are; maybe you forgot. Months or even years after, you realized you didn’t say thank you. You will feel terrible about yourself and would want a do over, won’t you? 
 
We receive many gifts from God. God’s gifts are generous and abundant. Due to how numerous and frequent those gifts are, many times we tend to forget to thank the Lord. We take life for granted, and with it, all the good things that happen to us. Did you not know that the act of faith is equally the act of gratitude? 
 
Living the life of faith is living the life of gratitude to God for all the special gifts to us. If you are a believer, thank God for the gift of faith you received. We are privileged to know God and to love God. This knowledge, this faith, is a rare gift. Please don’t take it for granted. Be grateful!
 
The Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 tells a story of ten lepers who were cured of their leprosy by simply a word spoken by Jesus: “Go, show yourself to the priest.” They believed the Lord’s word and received healing miracle. Believing God’s word opens the door to miracles. 
 
You have to understand that when Jesus spoke that word, the lepers, coming from Jewish culture, had a sense of what it meant, namely healing for them. For the Jew of the time, ‘go see a priest’ means to confirm you’re healed (see Lev. 13:49; 14:2). The priest confirms the healing, not the leper himself or herself. There is a metaphor here about how the healing forgiveness of God is confirmed by the priest. Note also that for the Jews of the time, leprosy was regarded as a sign of sin. 
 
The lepers, having believed, were healed. Yet, only one came back to give thanks to Jesus. Jesus said to the one, “Stand up and go, your faith has saved you” (Luke 17:19). Here lies the difference between the first acceptance of faith and the redeeming faith. Redeeming faith lives a life of gratitude to God. It transforms into worship—Eucharist (etymologically eucharistia - giving thanks). It’s in Sacred worship that the faith we have received mature and bear fruits, leading to salvation. 
 
We also see the redeeming faith in the gratitude of the gentile Syrian governor, Naaman, who plunged himself into the Jordan seven times, obeying the word of the prophet Elisha; and, he was cured of leprosy (2 Kings 5:44). 
 
Here again, we have another metaphor; that of Baptism. When we are plunged into the water of purification and are reborn in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we receive wholeness from Original sin. We receive sanctifying grace too. Free indeed!
 
At first, Naaman doubted, but when he believed, there was healing. In response, he offered gifts to the prophet, though the prophet didn’t accept it (sign of detachment). In Naaman, one sees a heart grateful for what the Lord has done for him. His confession was the saving part: “I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD” (2 Kgs 5:17).
 
I hope you are grateful for the gift you have received. 
 
Lord, give me the grace to always give thanks for all your blessings. May I give thanks too in every situation I find myself, knowing that you dwell on the praises of your people (Ps 22:3). Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[28th Sunday C 2 Kgs 5:14-17; 2 Tm 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19]

Grace to you!
 
Our reflections today, up to the next three weeks, will be based on First Corinthians. Exceptions will be Sundays and feast days. 
 
It is fun witnessing the inauguration of new parishes. One observes the joy and jubilation of the faith community as they found their local parish. Before long, the new-found parish would begin the actual work of building their faith community, not simply architectural infrastructure, but more importantly, the building of persons and sustaining the faith life of the community. 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 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 will begin the actual work of faith, with its struggles and difficulties in everyday life. The old self may begin to rear its ugly head. Human frailties would surge in different ways. 
 
It may be personal, your own 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 is said to have 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 cases of immorality, which was a sort of the 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. 
 
Paul’s letter is that of a pastor, writing to offer solutions to a problem among the sheepfold. He is problem-solving. He begins with a warm, grace 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 error as well as 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 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 for us to understand the diversity of our gifts and how to work together to build the Church and the community despite the struggles we face. 
 
Praying for the unity of the Church. Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Thursday Week 21 Ordinary Time B: 1 Cor 1:1-9; Mt 24:42-51]
 

Grace to you!
 
As we, in the United States, celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday, I wish all a Happy Thanksgiving.
 
It’s beautiful to be grateful for all the gifts we’ve received—freedom, opportunities, jobs, security, faith, friends, family and more importantly, the gift of our life.
 
Today is a special opportunity say THANK YOU. It's a day to count and celebrate our blessings. 
 
As we share our meals (the delicious turkey, potatoes and gravy), how about we look each other in the eye and be grateful for the gifts of one another?
 
A thank you to a parent, a spouse, a child, a friend, a relative, or a coworker on this day would be a wonderful gesture of Thanksgiving.
 
Ultimately, a “thank you Lord” to God, the giver of all beautiful gifts from the heavens, will be a homerun.
 
Thank you all my friends and family for being part of my life and story. Thanks for your love and prayers. Thank you for the feedbacks that have made me better at what I do. Thank you for supporting our ministry.
 
Thank you God for everything.
 
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu

Grace to you! 
 
We come to the close of the reflections centered on Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Our Daily Reflections have dwelled on it for the past three weeks.
 
Romans chapter sixteen has a unique personal touch to it. It reveals the warmth of Saint Paul and another side of his disposition that isn’t very evident in his straight-shooting style. Saint Paul sends warm greetings through his secretary, Tertius, to the churches that meet in at least three different homes in Rome. 
 
As an aside lesson: We have to understand that in those days, churches met at people's homes. There were no church buildings yet. Private homes were handier, as well as safer, places for worship. Christians suffered from many persecutions as well. So, believers met in homes and the essential parts of the worship format were described in Acts of the Apostles: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Saint Paul will speak of this earliest form of the Eucharist in his First Letter to the Corinthians (11:17-34), as well as remind believers of its moral requirements. 
 
Regarding the lesson I draw for today: Did you notice there are at least twenty-five names that St. Paul mentioned in the closing message of his Letter to the Romans, that is in chapter 16. Among those names include at least eight to nine women. Some of the names are Greek. Some are Latin, so they probably belong to the Roman birth; one (Epaenetusm) at least is Asian, the first Asian convert as the Letter says. About two or so are Hebrew names (Herodion and Mary). 
 
In addition, a study of the background of this story shows that the churches were so diverse that no distinction was made between the so-called slaves and free, white, brown or black races. The church comprised of people from across the races of the ancient world. This tells us the revolutionary character of the Good News. The Church was and is never a tribal religion. The ability to bring people from all races, cultures and languages into one fold, one family of God, is a wonderful testimony of the Good News. 
 
Saint Paul writes, thanking all these leaders. It isn’t likely he knew them all, but at least their names were mentioned for the unique roles they played in the church. Gratitude of this kind is encouraging. It warms the heart.
 
We learn that the Church has been in the vanguard of diversity. Jesus the Lord set the example, as he related positively with different people from different backgrounds. We take pride in it and the Body of Christ is blessed by it. Demographic and racial diversity is a blessing. We constantly mirror what the early Church was and allow the examples to inspire us today. Charity, Christian love, inspires us to do so.
 
How diverse is your organization, your church or your work force? How open are we to encourage diversity in the areas of intellectual contributions. Diversity is strength, not weakness. Remember, diversity isn’t only about demographics and race; it is also about ideas.
 
Praying that God will give us the courage to be open to diversity and see the Church as a family with diverse gifts. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you. 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu   
 
[Saturday Week 31A: Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27; Lk 16:9-15]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Grace to you!
 
We continue our reflection based on Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It is a letter written by the Apostle to address and deepen a teaching he started in his Letter to the Galatians, concerned with confirming the faith of Christians as not based on the works of the Law and circumcision, but on faith in Jesus Christ.
 
We learn from a study of contexts of biblical writings, that there was a growing concern in the Church in Rome about how to reconcile the stipulations of the Law, such as requiring circumcision, and the gentile who had accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The gentiles didn’t live in a culture that promoted or supported circumcision. St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, addresses these concerns in profound ways.
 
In today’s reference, St. Paul presents to us the example of Abraham, reminding us that Abraham was not justified by the value of his works, but by his faith in believing God’s word. “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Rom 4:3).
 
St. Paul also reminds us that, as in the case of Abraham, because his works did not justify him, he had no reason to boast before God (Rom 3:2). When we truly realize and appreciate the favors of God in our lives as believers, and see those who may be wiser, smarter than we are and who equally work hard, but have no faith in God, it should make us more humbled at the grace we have received.
 
The Church teaches us that when we speak of merit regarding faith and justification, “there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, # 2007).
 
I can suggest we only speak of our merit in a metaphoric sense, because as the Church teaches, “The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit” (CCC, # 2008).
 
If this is the case, the gift of faith we have received should make us humble. As St. Paul himself says, our only boast will be our weaknesses (2 Cor 11:30).
 
I pray God to give us the grace of humble gratitude to the merits of His life in us. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Friday Week 28 Ordinary Time A: Rom 4:1-8; Lk 12:1-7]