Grace to you!
 
We continue our reflection based on the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthianswhich we began yesterday. 
 
You may have noticed that in families, organizations or communities where you have highly talented people, there seems to be intense competition. 
 
Healthy competition is a good thing because it brings the best out of people. When competition is unhealthy, it brings the worst out of us. That’s when unhealthy rivalry and disunity erupt and affect the smooth functioning and overall performance of the organization. Tied to it is bitter envy. 
 
One of the temptations of gifted people is competitive spirit. We see this in the spiritual life also, just as we see it in our normal 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 point to this reality also. In those parishes or classes where there are great 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 who are driven by the desire to have things their way. This often arises from rivalry. 
 
As a highly gifted faith community, the Corinthian Church witnessed similar struggles, which many churches and many believers experience today. One of which was unhealthy rivalry leading to conflicts. They started to pitch one camp against another. Hence Saint Paul, as their spiritual father, chose to write to respond to the dissention and disunity resulting from unhealthy rivalry. 
 
He offers them, as he offers us today, one of the key 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 the human pride and 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 form 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 of our neighbor or even the way of the Lord. The Wisdom of the Cross lies in surrender to the logic of the cross, 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 humble ourselves, remembering the brokenness of our nature, 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 for 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 1:18-25; Mt 25:1-13]

Grace to you!
 
A concerned Catholic emailed me. She was heartbroken because of the horrible news regarding the alleged homosexual predatory actions of a retired top-ranking US Cardinal. In addition, there is the horrifying Pennsylvania Grand Jury report. Her faith was shaken. Her tears were intense. 
 
The woman isn’t in this alone. Over the past two months, many Catholics have been scandalized and horrified by the reports we read. Many clergy, bishops and priests, who are dedicated to their vows and the service of the Lord and God’s people, are in deep sorrow too. 
 
Has there been a week another saddening news doesn’t break? The cases of abuse of minors by bad apples, Judases amidst numerous devout clergy—and their manipulations, seem more real than many of us thought. As a priest, when I walk down the street or in the shopping mall wearing my roman collar, the shadow over my head seems to suggest, “Are they thinking of me as one of them too?” 
 
As I prepare this reflection before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, I’m deeply saddened. The pain is unbearable. I’m agonized by thoughts of many victims of the obnoxious practices, and the victims of other perpetrators in the priesthood, and in the wider society. 
 
As a priest, charged with the spiritual care of people like the woman who wrote me, I don’t know the right words to say to the faithful who have been scandalized by our bad example. Forgiveness isn’t enough. Zero tolerance plus holding the culprits accountable, no matter their place in the hierarchy, is necessary. I pray for the victims, their family and friends, for justice, healing and grace of restoration. I pray for all of us, the faithful, also.

I pray for the conversion of sinners too. Reparation for the sins against the vulnerable in our midst. Reparation for the sins against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as mother Mary consistently asked during the Fatima Apparition. 
 
My heart is bleeding. I feel now more than ever, since my priesthood, the pains of betrayal. My religious, pious sensitivities and love for the Lord and His Church, make me mourn to see how we cause grave wounds to the Body of Christ. 
 
I believe this is a moment of decision. In the past, during the exilic experience of the people of Israel through the desert (Jos 24), they were faced with many difficulties—social, cultural, religious, moral, economic and political. They were torn between affirming faith in God who had saved them from slavery in Egypt and choosing an alternate religious cult. 
 
The leader, Joshua, sensed their religious dilemma. He didn’t keep silent and allow it to simmer. Rather he confronted it head-on. “Choose this day whom you will serve” (Jos 24:15). When the faith is challenged by new evidence that seems to make us to question, “Why am I a Catholic?” “Why am I a believer?” “Why am I a priest?” “Why choose to enter the seminary?” It is the right time to reaffirm one’s faith. 
 
There is incredible wisdom in the Church’s Liturgy. There is wisdom in every line of the liturgical prayers. So it is in the Eucharistic celebration. Every Sunday, we are called after the homily to reaffirm our faith--The Profession of Faith.
 
We need to profess our faith as many times as possible. The profession of faith, the Creed, is a prayer and a constant reminder of why we believe what we believe. The profession is a testimony against the challenges to our faith also. Did you notice that there is no place in the Creed, where Catholics profess “I believe in the Clergy…bishops, priests, deacons?” 
 
During one of my teaching series on EWTN on “The Faith with Fr. Maurice”, also in my book,Our Journey to God, I had emphasized that a faith centered on people is an idolatrous faith. Scripture says, trust in God not in people (Ps 118:8). We are humans and capable of doing terrible things if God's grace isn't with us. Give the devil a little chance, and the consequences are disastrous.  By the way, this should not be a reason for the clergy not to lead examples consistent with their holy vocation. 
 
If you are a believer, when you face temptations to the faith, reaffirm your faith in the Lord and in His body, the Church. We can’t separate the head of the Church, Christ, from His body, the Church (Col 1:18; 24; Col 2:19; 1 Cor 12:21; Eph 5:29-30). 
 
The Lord Jesus showed us a similar example in the Gospel of John chapter six. After the long and astonishing teaching on the subject of the Eucharist, the “source and summit of the Christian life,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1324), the Lord saw that many left him. They couldn’t accept the teaching. 
 
He was left alone with the twelve. He, as God, knew their hearts. He knew he had given a teaching which only faith and professed faith can stand. He didn’t wait for them to battle with it and suppress it. Psychologists tell us that there are times suppressing a problem makes it worse. 
 
So, the Lord confronted it. He asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” (Jn 6:67). 
 
I believe this question is appropriate this day, this week and the coming weeks. Concerning the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandals, many faithful (laity and clergy) will have to deal with similar questions regarding their faith in the Lord and, more importantly, their faith in the Church, the Body of Christ and in the Eucharist. I sense that other facts may come out in the open in the coming weeks, many of which will be more troubling to the faithful. I believe the Lord is purging His Church. The question will continue to reoccur until the moment of purging is over. “Do you also wish to go.” 
 
Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68-69.
 
I pray that Peter’s response is ours also. We profess this faith. We reaffirm it. We can’t go from the Lord. We embrace the Eucharist. We hang in there with the Lord and His Body, the Church, while we work together, chaired by the faithful laity, to see that justice is done. 
 
Culprits should be made responsible for their heinous actions. Victims will find justice through proper accountability and just restitution. Hopefully, and praying, there will be closure. In matters of this kind, it is not enough that justice is done. Justice must be seen to have been done. 
 
In the meantime, “I believe. We believe.”
 
I pray for you, for the grace of fidelity, as well as firm resolve to see that justice is done. Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[21stSunday Ordinary Time B: Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32; Jn 6:60-69]
 

Grace to you!
 
May I share with you an excerpt from my newest book Our Journey to God on Moses and the event of the burning bush? Hope you will find it interesting as you meditate on  Exodus 3.
 
“Let us return to the form of evidence, theophany, which I said is the crux of the faith journey. Let’s try to sketch out this idea by reference to the story of Moses. His theophany was a divine encounter in the form of the burning bush that was not consumed (Exod. 3). This imagery draws attention to the divine imprint in every soul, the same inherent desire burning like fire and pushing us to search for the good, the beautiful, and the true. Like the bush that was not consumed, the soul is not consumed by this divine fire; instead, it inspires us to ask for more, to draw closer to perfection, to want to embrace God and to be wrapped in His being. We want to possess God, hold onto him and not let him depart from us. In each soul or heart, there is this fire, this push, this longing.
 
In the story of Moses, we see this chosen one thrilled by the sight. He drew nearer in either admiration, curiosity, or sheer wonder. Then from the thickest of the flames a unique voice spoke the name Yahweh—I AM.  Observe the sequence of this revelation. First, there was a “fugitive,” Moses, running away from the Pharaoh because of his love for his people, Israel. He is like any person on a wild search for the meaning of life; he was looking for answers to his life’s journey. Humanity’s ultimate search is search for meaning, for no search is without a goal. Ultimate meaning is life’s natural elixir. Finding it is the fulfillment of all desire. Not finding it is life’s dreadful dirge.
 
Second, Moses’ natural curiosity before the bush led him to contemplate the mystery that took place before him. He begins a movement, drawing closer and closer to the light. He was, like many of us, a soul in search of the true light, the light of the world. But he was not worthy, as no one is worthy to step upon the terrace of the awe-inspiring presence of God, unless he removed his shoes. We should note the relevance of shoes in the ancient Near East: Without shoes, a traveler would hardly make it through the sunny, stony desert. You might call shoes an artificial support to a traveler’s journey. But a time had come for Moses when physical shoes were not needed—when their use was subsumed by the power of God’s grace. A time comes in our spiritual life when manmade support for our spiritual search gives way to the profundity of the divine embrace. We meet God as He has made us, without shoes, as God has purposed us for a blessed destiny. Isn’t this the meaning of life we are searching for? Moses’s experience captures what happens at the beatific vision, when we shall see God face to face, and behold His glory.”
(Culled from Fr. Maurice N. Emelu, Our Journey to God: Exploring the Power of Faith from Abraham to You, (Irondale, AL: EWTN Publishing, 2017), pp. 25-27)
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Wednesday, 15th Week ordinary Time A: Exod 3:1-6, 9-12; Mt 11:25-17]

Grace to you! 
 
Faith journey is a spiritual movement towards a goal. Using his personal story, Saint Paul described it this way: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). Keeping an eye on that goal is crucial.
 
The saints well schooled in the spiritual life are constantly discerning God's will every step of the way. Settling in a place or situation of comfort and closing our spiritual eyes to divine direction is a stumbling block to reaching the goal of perfection. Perhaps that is why, for instance, the role of spiritual directors, those who help us to discern, is important? Maybe, also, why examination of conscience and particular examination (examen) are helpful spiritual practices for those who want to grow in discernment.  
 
Abraham, our father in faith, leaves us a good example of the nature of the spiritual life, the life of faith. Genesis 12:1-9 depicts him as a sojourner, inspired all the way to where God wants him to go. He wasn't certain where, he simply followed the lead of God knowing that with God, his obedience of faith would be justified.
 
I wrote a great deal of this unique faith of Abraham and some of the incredible discoveries I made by reading, rereading and reflecting on his story in the book of Genesis in chapter two of my new book, Our Journey to God: Exploring the Power of Faith from Abraham to You. You will find it an interesting read. 
 
On this, our spiritual sojourn, we will find many things on the way—the good, the bad and the ugly. A 17th century classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, describes in a colorful fictional prose, what dangers the pilgrim could face and the temptations on the way.
 
Distractions are part of the experiences of the sojourner. Sometimes they come from events and circumstances, other times they come from people—from those we least expect it and from those we do expect it. Yet, it's in keeping an eye on the finish line that victory is assured. 
 
One of the ways not to be mired in people-based distractions is knowing how not to hastily jump to conclusions. This sucks us into a state where we don’t want to be and muddies our spiritual perspicacity.
 
The Lord was point blank in Matthew 7:1-5 “Judge not and you will not be judged..." What first jumps at me reading these words of Our Lord was a private revelation in the Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Sienna.
 
The Saint was burdened by how to interpret these words of our Lord on not judging. The Lord explained to her that only He, the Lord, knows all the circumstances of any person's action. Hence, He tells us not to judge persons. 
 
Judging actions is different from judging persons. Even so, censorious spirit isn’t a holy attitude. When we engage in person-based judgment, we are easily distracted and sucked into a state of mind where the Spirit wouldn’t want us to be. Hence, the sojourner should keep an eye on the finish line and avoid being distracted by those persons or circumstances that are capable of making us lose sight of the goal. 
 
Are you convinced about God's plan in your life? Certain of what the Lord demands of you? Do it and don't look back. Avoid distractions. Blessings lie in being a sojourn to the upward call in Christ Jesus. 
 
God love you. God bless you. 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Monday Weekday 12 A: Gn 12:1-9; Mt 7:1-5]