Grace to you!
 
Happy Easter! Today, my reflection uses the Lord’s appearance to the two people on the way to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35) to inspire us on overcoming fear and despair. 
 
On the way to Emmaus were two victims of fear and anxiety, Cleopas and the other disciple whose name was not given in the bible. They must have been in shock and despair, skeptical about the news they heard of the Risen Lord. Their journey to Emmaus happened the same day after some women broke the news that they found an empty tomb. Recall that the apostles and others (disciples) dismissed the news, thinking it was nonsense or gossip (Luke 24:11). 
 
Not fully recovered from the disappointment that the person they had expected to be the Messiah may have been an impostor for allowing himself to be crucified—the Messiah could not be killed, they had thought. The two on the way to Emmaus felt that all that “pious baloney” must end. The enthusiasm about the Messiah in the person of Jesus had petered out. Thus, off they went to Emmaus. 
 
On the way to Emmaus, they could not but engage with their worst fears, namely, the events surrounding the death of Jesus and the seeming false alarm about his resurrection. The scene is a prototype of the despair gripping many people in life. Many are individuals who have devastated hopes. 
 
The weapon of despair is that it brandishes the image of the empty tomb as “nonsense” and would not allow its victim to see the reason why the tomb is empty. It grips the victim with unfounded fear and like a pit dog feasting on its prey, would not let go. It tries to create another world of its own, and with a touch of mimicry projects its world as real. Its imposing impersonation is so loud and daring so much so it takes the likes of David to surmount its Goliath stance. 
 
Despair is a demon against holiness, the life of virtue and the life of faith. It is a strong obstacle to grace and opportunities. 
 
The two on the way to Emmaus have been lured into the living room of despair. They would not be let out save by the help of the Prince of Hope who is the silent listener to every conversation. Just like the fourth man who came into the burning furnace to reassure Ananias, Azariah and Mizael of divine support in the Book of Daniel, chapter three; a third person must come in to help the despairing sojourner. Thus, a third party had to come in to clear the doubts, refresh the mind and gladden the heart. The risen Lord joined the two on the way to Emmaus, and in a silent way listened to their frustrations. 
 
The Lord listened with an utter sense of pity. The two people who, like the other disciples, were of little faith. They are despairing. 
 
Along the road to Emmaus, Jesus spoke the Word to the despairing Cleopas and his companion. They felt a fire within their soul. The fire is the power of God, which dissolves fear, doubt, weaknesses and sin; and inspires people to faith. “Faith,” the Scripture says “comes by hearing” and without the message, nothing could be heard (see Romans 10:17-18). But this knowledge of God and the power with it is insufficient to recognize the owner of the Word though he may be, like a silent quest, in our midst. Full recognition of the Risen Lord goes beyond the Word to the Breaking of Bread, the Eucharist. 
 
Praying for a renewed love for Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament—the Eucharist. 
 
God love you. God bless you. 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu 
 
[Easter Wednesday: Acts 3:1-10; Lk 24:13-35]

Grace to you!
 
[Note: Today’s reflection will be longer than usual] 
 
As I read this morning’s Gospel (John 15:9-17), a particular line grips me with renewed interest. 
 
Jesus said: “You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 This I command you, to love one another.” (Jn 15:14-17). 
 
I went back and forth the line that says, “You are my friends.” First addressed to the apostles, those words are personal to me (and I believe to any believer in the Lord). I felt a deep joy and a profound peace that the Lord calls me friend. I also felt unworthy to be among those who share in this intimate friendship with Christ, as a member of his body the Church. 
 
Certainly, “friend” here does not mean we are equals with Christ. St. Augustine would rather say, it shows how much Christ humbles himself (condescends) to our level. Christ grants us the access to his life. He does so not only in becoming like us in all things except sin, but equally in the relational example of tender affection and love throughout his earthly life. He sealed it with the greatest love of dying on the cross so in him we find fullness of life and glory.   
 
Christ chose us to be his friends. We didn’t choose him to be our friend (Jn 15:16). This, for me, is strikingly beautiful. Not only that he has chosen us to be his friends, he also gives us the inner power (the grace) to make that friendship come alive, mature, and produce much fruit. The fruit isn’t in any way, such as the termite-infested nuts in non-fallowed farm in southern California, or mangled, pale-looking oranges hanging off of the drought-stricken tree during a harsh weather in the Savannahs. Rather, it is fruits that are healthy, delicious and everlasting, with the glowing foliage of health. 
 
Such fruits, St. Paul calls, “fruits of righteousness” (Phil 1:11). Meaning holiness of life, a life that is justified, a life that glorifies God. In such life, we see personal virtues such as listed in Galatians 5:22 and called the fruits of the Spirit; namely: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 
 
We also produce fruits of evangelization. That is, through our life, many will come to glorify God (Mt 5:16) and come to life in Christ. A fruitful friend of Jesus wins more friends for Christ. It is a normal consequence of that friendship. We read about St. Peter in Acts 10 living that fruitful life of friendship with Christ. The spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, was at work among peoples, showing that the fruit is not limited to a particular race. St. Peter, and all who have become friends of Christ form the early Church to our current era, bear fruits of evangelization. I hope you and I bear fruits too.
 
How could this be when we are simply human? How could we truly abide in Christ and produce much fruit, when in ourselves we often falter? Christ himself gives us the answer. 
 
First, we strive not to lose sight of our source or disconnect with our source, where we belong, to whom we have been reborn—Christ the Lord. We cannot grow and produce fruit on our own. In matters of spiritual growth and fruitfulness, the notion of “self-made-man” is an empty claim. It’s preposterous. We grow if we depend on the grace of God. 
 
Second, friendship with God also implies friendship within his body. We produce fruits when we are engrafted in the body of Christ. Abiding in him is regularly abiding in his body. He has nobody else on earth today except the Church where, through those graces he has promised, he nourishes and strengthens the bond of love which he has established with us. Though friendship with God is a personal relationship, it is also a relationship within his community of faith, the Church.
 
Third, the power of this relationship does not come from us. It comes from Christ himself. He actually gives it when he sends the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit, what St. Paul says, “God’s love poured into our heart through the Holy Spirit given to us” (Rm 5:5) that makes us truly reciprocal friends of God. This Spirit is the abiding grace of the Christ for us, within our hearts, steering us and inspiring us to do good, to produce beautiful fruits and sometimes to do miracles in his name. The same Spirit at work in the early Church is at work today in the Church and in the hearts and minds of the present-day friends of God. 
 
Fourth, this friendship with Christ, which comes to us through the light of faith, is lived or expressed in the works of charity also (Gal 5:6). The Lord would say to us, those called his friends: “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn 15:14). He says it differently earlier: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…” (Jn 15:10). 
 
Therefore, friendship with God isn’t only about a feeling of it or a mental state where we live in the euphoria of love without action. Instead, there is an expectation from our side, the little we can give back. It is what truly proves the depth of our love. 
 
Though this reciprocal love is little in comparison to God’s love, though it is not perfect, it is acceptable because it is inspired by the love of God himself. This is what keeping Christ’s commandment is—Love. The kind that is ready to offer back to the friend we have in Jesus, what we have become. The kind that relates to any person despite where they come from and their situations in life with selflessness, following in the footsteps of Christ. 
 
Love without boundaries. Love in Christ is the way to true friendship with Him who has loved us first. What a wonderful thing to know and be reminded on this sixth Sunday of the Resurrection.  
 
Praying that the Spirit of God, the love of the Father and the Son be poured into our hearts. Amen. 
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Sixth Sunday of Easter: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 Jn 4:7-10; Jn 15:9-17]
 

Grace to you and Happy Pentecost Sunday!

Permit me to begin today’s reflection with a popular story about a renowned Geometrician, which was narrated by Plutarch, a Greek Philosopher: At the peak of the discovery of science of mathematics among the Greeks, a prominent Geometrician of the Pythagorean school, bragged of his ability to make any figure, no matter how crooked or twisted, stand at an upright position. All it takes, he claimed, was getting the proper right angel combination (90 degrees) and harmonizing this with the force of gravity. He achieved much success in doing this, until a particular day when a smart student challenged him to make a corpse to stand erect.

The great geometrician did not see any difficulty in doing this. He started by trying various schemes of balancing, experimenting with different postures and exploring all possible combinations of angles, which, under normal circumstances, should give 90 degrees; therefore, make the dead body stand erect. He compassed, for example 45/45, 50/40, 89/1, 70/20, but it was all a failure. He tried again and again, all to no avail. At last, he threw in the towel with the exclamation: “I do not know what is wrong with this figure; there seems to be something missing on the inside.”

The acknowledgement of this geometrician and his submission of his limitations are didactic. Imagine a human being without a soul—that spiritual principle, which is the subject of our consciousness and freedom. This would be unthinkable, because, without the soul, all we see is a dead body. Hence, even one of the greatest mathematicians of ancient time couldn’t make “life” in the dead body. The dead can’t stand on their own. Only those alive could stand, walk, choose and act. In fact, we can become the best we are called to be on earth and as the Palmist says, “praise God” because we are alive to do so.

When the French spiritual writer, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858-1935), wrote his classic, The Soul of the Apostolate, he was inviting us to take seriously the Interior Life, the life of the Spirit. He was equally alluding to the presence of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, in the Church. The Holy Spirit is the “soul of the apostolate” for good reasons, since, through the grace of our Lord Jesus and the providence of the Father, we are granted the continuing presence of Christ, the head of the Church, through the Holy Spirit. One can’t imagine a church not being led by the Holy Spirit. 

The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was to commission the Church and all members of the Church to become “missionary disciples,” using the phrase of Pope Francis. So we become witnesses of the Risen Lord to all. Hence, on Pentecost Day, the Church was born, a Church whose primary vocation on earth is to evangelize. As Pope Paul VI emphasized, “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity” (Pope Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14).
 
The Holy Spirit is the livewire of the Church, the soul of virtuous/spiritual life. And today, we celebrate that historic birthday of the Church on Pentecost.
[For my reflection on the significance of the Pentecost click here]

At Pentecost, souls dead in sin are revived; a new encounter that makes us stand upright as disciples of Jesus Christ is witnessed.

At Pentecost, a timid person, like Peter, who denied Jesus three times in one night (John 18:25-27), becomes a bold preacher before a multitude. The Holy Spirit breaks the barriers of fear, insecurity and cowardice.

At Pentecost, a withdrawn, insecure and shy apostolic community, locked up in the upper room (Acts 1:13ff), stands out in eloquence, speaking in tongues, and testifying about the wonders of the Risen Lord. They became evangelizers (Acts 2ff). The Holy Spirit makes the Church a bold vanguard of the truth, and believers, audacious emissaries of the Good News.

At Pentecost, miracles, healing and deliverance are wrought. In the same way, the Holy Spirit goes on doing signs and wonders for those who welcome Him in their lives. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

At Pentecost, the fire of love is kindled (Acts 2:3). The Holy Spirit shatters the shackles of hatred, exploitation and unholy relationships and promotes a true relationship of love among people. Pure love for God and one another is by the Holy Spirit. 

At Pentecost, the community is bonded in love, obedience and eagerness to relive the Christ experience, and the Tower of Babel reality is upturned. No better explanation is given that men and women, from different tongues and nation, could speak one language of love, live in love, share from the same cup and participate at the same table; if not, by the bonding impact of the Holy Spirit.

Because the Church is sustained and invigorated by the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Father through the Son, the Eucharist, is our special grace of communion where all races are invited to share from the same plate and the same chalice. The Holy Spirit-lead-Church is a church wherein space, locality, or structures isn’t a barrier. Rather, all become vehicles of orderliness through which the unity of faith and the bond of love blossom. As the Psalmist says, it’s like olive branches around the table of the Lord (Ps 128:3).

We therefore pray: Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful. Enkindle in us the fire of your love. Amen. 

[Pentecost Sunday A: Acts 2:1-11; I Cor 12:3B-7; 12-13; Jn 20:19-23]

​Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
On this last day before the Sunday of Pentecost, let’s reflect on gratitude as a wonderful response to the gifts.
 
Gratitude is a necessary expectation of any gift or gifts. There are many ways people say thank you. Thank you cards, texts messages or emails, emojis and mail. Others reciprocate gifts with yet another gift to the giver, while many give back by service. By so doing, the line of mutual gift giving continues. 
 
The story of the raising of Tabitha (Dorcas) from death by Saint Peter (Acts 9:31-42) is an example of how a generous heart that gives receives life in return. Giving back is a gesture of gratitude.
 
Lack of gratitude can be the demise of gift giving and goodwill. You know how it feels when you spend time getting a gift for somebody, and the person does not say thank you; or even if he does, you feel he wasn’t sincere. This can hurt, can’t it?
 
Let’s not think it hurts the Holy Spirit if we do not reciprocate his gifts. What it does is disconnect us from the constant flow of gifts. See what I mean by understanding what “thank you” or gratitude would mean in the context of the Holy Spirit.
 
The coming of the Holy Spirit is to strengthen and empower us to bear witness to Christ. All the gifts enhance this central mission. The gifts are, therefore, like an instrument for something—promoting the kingdom of God, which is grace and mercy through salvation in Christ leading to the forming of the community of faith as the family of salvation. Hence, the receiver appreciates the gifts when they are used for the reason they are given. This is gratitude 101.
 
The using of the gifts for the reason they are given builds the community. In turn, the giver, the Holy Spirit builds us—we begin to bear much fruit. Hence we have the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
 
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are expressions of a life of gratitude in the receiver of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Such fruits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, purity, etc., as Saint Paul listed in Galatians 5:22-23, build us, and are a life of gratitude to God for all He has done for us. Fruits of the Holy Spirit enhance our spiritual growth as individuals. 
 
Therefore, a true Novena to the Holy Spirit builds us in such a way as to bear fruits. Those fruits, partly God’s gift, partly God’s grace and partly our response to these gifts, truly make us like God; or, rather, should I say, God’s special people, those living the life led by the Holy Spirit. 
 
Meditation
 
Oh Holy Spirit, as we come to the last day awaiting your renewing presence, remind me of the need to bear fruit, or should I say, harvest of the fruit which you give. I mean the fruit of joy so that my life will be that of joy; the fruit of love so that I love as you love.
 
I need the fruit of happiness and peace so I will be a steadfast instrument of peace, and also so that nothing will make me so sad as to lose hope and joy; the fruit of kindness and mercy so that others will see in me the heart of God’s kindness; the fruit of forgiveness so that I will no longer hold on to hurts; instead so that I may be free and set people free from hurts. I also ask for the fruit of truthfulness, so that lies will be stamped out from all that I do and say. Make me live with such gratitude so that everything I do will glorify you, the Father and the Son. Amen.
 
Pray: O Holy Spirit, welcome into my heart. Make me an instrument of your love and grace. Use me. Lead me. Inspire me. Amen. May my life be a big Thank You to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Saturday, Easter Weekday7: Acts 9:31-42; Jn 6:60=69]
 
 
 
 

Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
You are welcome to Day 8 of our devotional to the Holy Spirit. We have been talking about gifts, traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us not suppose that those are all that the Holy Spirit can give. In the storehouse of the Lord, there are uncountable gifts. Whatever is good, whatever is pleasant, name it, it is in God’s gift bag.
 
Who does not want more gifts? I do. You know how you feel during your festive times, such as anniversaries, birthdays, etc. People give you gifts. Always refreshing, isn’t it?  No-show, no gifts or a card at parties is discouraging. I tell you, the Holy Spirit isn’t a no-show, no gifts. He is always present, always giving more gifts.
 
In reality, his gifts are well designed, customized and well targeted for each individual for the common good and for service (see I Corinthian 12:7; I Peter 4:10). 
 
Thus we call those other, or additional gifts, charisms or charisma. There are charisms for administration and there are other sorts of charisms for vocational calls, and yet other charisms for building up the faith of the community.
 
Those called and ordained as leaders of God’s people receive the Holy Spirit charisms of administration, of hierarchy, as it is called. It’s a unique charism of Church leadership. Paul’s conversion and consequent commissioning (Acts 9:1-20) is a clear example of this gift of leadership and service in the Church. We call it Holy Orders. It’s through Holy Orders, that the food of angels, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, a necessary aspect of new life in Christ (Jn 6:52-69), is made available to the faithful also.
 
Those called for unique missions within the religious life or other distinctive communities receive a unique charism too, which is the spirituality of that congregation. It is what makes it different from others. You know the Holy Spirit is boundless in what He can give.
 
There are also the charismatic gifts. These are without boundaries among the clergy, religious and laity. They do not depend on whether you are clergy or laity. Saint Paul, for instance, gave examples of those charismatic (spiritual) gifts in 1 Corinthian 12 and 13.  Paul’s list does not exhaust what the Holy Spirit can give. The list is endless because the Holy Spirit gives as the need arises.
 
Meditation 
Oh Holy Spirit, I understand that in your storehouse of blessings, you have more than enough gifts to give me; gifts that are appropriate for my unique calling in life.
 
Unfortunately for me, I do not adequately understand how your gifts work or should be used for service. I see my friends who manifest these gifts, but I erroneously think I don’t have any. Even if I have, I am not sure what they are. I need discernment to discover my gifts.
 
In addition, you know what gifts fit me and what will bring me closer to you. I mean what will build up my family, the Church and my community. Give me such gifts.
 
I don’t want to mention which ones, because I believe that since you are all knowing, you certainly know the gifts appropriate for me and what you want me to do.
 
Above all, you know that many times my mind is fixed on what I want, or what I think I need, which may not necessarily be what you know I need. Since no gifts can come to me unless I open my hands to accept them, give me the grace of proper disposition for your gifts.
 
Pray: O Holy Spirit, let me not be a stumbling block to your generosity. May my will be attuned to what you are doing. Let not prejudices due to abuses in the past from me, from others, even from your Church, make me stubborn and not let you in. I pray for your grace of openness. Amen.
 
Continue the novena prayer Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest by clicking here
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
 
[Friday Easter Week 7: Acts 9:1-20; Jn 6:52-59]
 
 

Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
Are you gradually settling in the right disposition for the Holy Spirit to come?  Recall we said at the beginning, it demands trust, obedience of faith and expectant faith. Our Lord Jesus had promised the Spirit and had asked us, as the Church, to expect His Renewing Presence. That expectation flows from a spirit of piety.
 
Piety describes a gift that makes a heart aligned all the time to godliness. Such a heart is simple, like that of a child, and sees things from the perspective of God. It is a disposition of holiness. Such a heart is a heart totally in love with God.  At the core of piety is love, as strong as death. We do not create this love; the Holy Spirit grants it as well.
 
Jesus’ long prayer in John 17, called Priestly Prayer of Jesus, shows how much he loved us and has willed that his love will abide with us. “I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (jn 17:26).
 
Don’t you realize that the Holy Spirit is regarded as the Love between God the Father and God the Son? So, when he fills our hearts, we are wrapped in that love, which is beyond all telling.
 
St. Augustine, quoting Saint Paul, remarked; “The Holy Spirit pours the love of God in our hearts.”  The poured love manifests in different ways.  It’s on our face, in our hands, our gestures, our worship, our relationships, indeed in our thoughts and actions.  Everything expresses that godliness, that love of God. It’s piety. Don’t you need this kind of love and devotion? 
 
Meditation
Oh Holy Spirit, many times, the things of the world sap me of that constant awareness of God’s presence. I slip. Sadly, I backslide. I become so worldly in my thoughts, words and action that I fail to perceive you, to feel your Holy Hands holding me, your voice speaking to me, and your wings carrying me. I am so engrossed in my will, my control of situations that I elbow you out of the plan.
 
Holy Spirit, give me that gift of Holy Innocence – the kind from the Holy Face of the Infant Jesus, so that nothing will make me lose sight of your aroma of love ingrained in everything around me.
 
Vacuum out all the dirt in my spiritual senses so that I can enjoy the pleasant aroma of your presence all about me, as well as abhor the repugnant smell of things that do not give you glory. May my spiritual senses be so pure that sin will be so awful and distasteful. Like nectar, may my aspirations be drawn to those things that give you glory; those things that bring joy, peace and love to your people. Amen
 
May I also have a deep awe of the Lord knowing that He is God, and I am His creature.  May the privilege of His adoption of me in Christ not cause me to disrespect Him, but to respond in pious gratitude.  Amen.
 
Pray: O Holy Spirit, come and make my heart like that of a child – pure, simple, holy for God. Amen
Continue the novena prayer Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest by clicking here

God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Thursday, Easter Weekday 7:  Acts 22:30, 23:6-11; John 17:20-26]
 
 
 
 
 
 

Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
I welcome you to Day 6 of the preparation for the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. I wonder what the disciples of Jesus must have been doing in the Upper Room during the sixth day of their prayers. Perhaps fatigue was already setting in since they had been fasting, living on bread and water alone or something like that, plus living under fear of the public opposed to their message, secluded and hiding in the Upper Room.
 
Are you getting tired? Try not to be, because the better part of the promise is yet to come. “When the night is darkest, the dawn is near.” The dawn of the Holy Spirit’s coming is underway, or should I way, it is near. Courage!
 
Today’s prayerful meditation to the Holy Spirit is on courage, what we know in traditional spirituality as the gift of fortitude. It is the gift which gives us the strength to overcome fear so that we can courageously do God’s will and live the life of joyful freedom.
 
I understand there are many reasons to be afraid, many things that can scare us. It is in our nature to be afraid of certain things.
 
You remember the time you came close to fire? Instinctively, your body shivers. Or that time something was thrown at you? The instinct of self-preservation, motivated by natural fear for harmful stuff, takes over.
 
Many times, we are afraid to take up some challenging tasks too. We don’t want to take risks, because often, risks are uncomfortable. How about spiritual adventures? Growth in spiritual life entails making some spiritual adventures. Those courageous enough to take risks live the life of greatness, achieve their potentials. The saints are the courageous.
 
However, we can’t cultivate courage. It’s a gift. In fact, it’s God’s gift, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we need to ask for this gift.
 
In the prophecy of Zephaniah 3:16-18, we hear a message for Zion, a message applied to the Church as well. The message is about Emmanuel (Jesus Christ) dwelling with us, thereby being the source of our courage, strength and victory. Christ’s continuous presence in our midst is through his spirit, the Holy Spirit. Being open and attuned to Him is a spiritual bulwark.
 
Meditation
Oh Holy Spirit, I know I lack courage. In spite of good counsel, a wealth of knowledge of what to do for your glory and for the blessing of my neighbor, I lack the courage to do it.
 
Many times I start something, but I lack the perseverance to follow through to the end.  Like the parable told by our Lord Jesus Christ, I am like that man who starts a house or begins a war, but can’t finish.
 
I need courage. I need endurance. I need perseverance. I need integrity of character so that my yes will mean yes and my no will mean no. I don’t want to swing from one position to another simply because I lack the courage of standing by what I know, what my mind is telling me is the right thing to do.
 
When I reviewed the life of the early Church, I realized that those people, especially the disciples, locked themselves up in the Upper Room because of fear. However, when you came upon them, they broke the shackles of fear, and courageously testified to what they know.
 
Give me the same courage. It’s better for me to lead the life of freedom confident about myself, than trying to live a lie to please others.
 
Pray: Oh Holy Spirit, fill my heart with the same spirit of courage you gave the disciples.  Let my will be strengthened to long for what is good, true and beautiful for you, for my neighbor and for me. Amen.
 
Remember to continue the novena prayer Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest by clicking here
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
 
 
 

Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
Did you pray for wisdom yesterday? I prayed for it because I need more of it each day.
 
On this Day 5 of our novena, how about we meditate on Counsel—that special gift that helps us offer appropriate words at appropriate times. Not only do we need the gift of counsel for ourselves, we need it for others too. It’s a gift of service; and how pleasant it can be for someone to say, “I like listening to you, because your words edify and show the way in the dark.”
 
Meditation
Oh Holy Spirit, the Love of the Father and the Son. You were called the Paraclete, one who is called in to defend or plead my cause. You do so, not only by speaking the right words in the best possible way, you come in at the right time too. You never let me down.
 
You plead my cause – like the Son, against all condemnatory accusations from the enemy of my salvation. You come in to remedy a crumbling situation by the force of your presence and love. In fact, your presence alone is consoling and revitalizing.
 
You are the Counsel—directing the Church through the thick and thin of turbulent times.  I remember when our Lord and Savior encouraged us to be of good cheer, never anxious, because you will tell us what to say at the right time (see Matthew 10:19). Yes! I believe it. I know it’s true.
 
I know too that Christ will continue to be glorified in the life of believers (Jn 17:10-11) if you dwell with us as the Lord promised.
 
Oh Holy Spirit, help me with the gift of Counsel. I need it not just for me, but also for my family, the Church, the community, and for all around me. I believe with it, I can offer good advice to those desperately in need of it.
 
There are many in need of spiritual and emotional support. How can I help if your grace of counsel isn’t with me? I need this gift, oh Lord.
 
I need, too, to be blessed by counseling words in my down moments. The saying quoted by our Lord, “Doctor cure yourself” is true.  All my life, I have not seen one who was the best counselor of himself or herself. Second opinions – good, holy and appropriate counselors are needed also.
 
During the time I need them most, may I receive from you good voices that would inspire me. Those who come in to say that word, beam that smile or extend a handshake that would be as consoling, strengthening and enlightening to me because they flow from you.
 
May there also be more of such people in the dark, confused world. May your Church be blessed with more and more ministers of your counsel and consolation. Holy Spirit, I don’t even know what I am saying.  However, I know and believe you are hearing the groans of my heart.
 
Pray: Come Holy Spirit. We need you. Speak your word of direction when we are at a crossroad.  Amen.
 
Continue the novena prayer Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest by clicking here
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
 
 
 

Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
I welcome you to Day 4 of the Novena to the Holy Spirit. On this special day of grace, let’s ask the Lord Jesus Christ to gift us with wisdom.
 
Meditation
Oh Holy Spirit, I know you are the giver of wisdom. I know the Son is Divine Logos—Divine Wisdom, the one who was with the Father even before the world was made (see Proverbs 8:22). I need the gift of Wisdom.
 
I must confess that I can’t fully comprehend the depth of that revelation. I am working towards it, thanks to your gift of understanding. I need wisdom to deepen my knowledge and understanding, especially in setting the right priorities.
 
Our world is becoming more and more complicated. For you I know it isn’t, because with wisdom, nothing is complicated. But for me, there are so many things going on around me—bills, workload, anxiety, domestic problems, the fast pace of things, no thanks to an instant gratification culture. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed. The mound of information that I have to deal with is making life too cumbersome. The complicated world of technology, computers, complex economic system, weird world of entertainment, of wants, demands and supply. All these and many more are sometimes overwhelming.
 
How can I see things in their right perspectives without you? Looking from your Seat of Wisdom, I know these things look to you like a few lines, and you see how they are connected. You see the chaff and the substance and you know how to separate the two.  The opposite is my pitiable state; I don’t always discern the difference.
 
Often, because I do not know the difference, I pursue the shadow. In the end, I waste my precious time in things that are not relevant while the relevant I skip.
 
I need your wisdom to see things as they should be seen; to observe things as they should be observed; to place all the noisy, clashing worldly interests and cares—fame, money, enjoyment, everything—in their right perspectives.
 
It’s your wisdom that can reconnect me with the innocence that was destroyed by Original Sin. May I receive that grace of wisdom, so my heart, reconfigured to the Son Jesus Christ, can see with purity how God sees.
 
Your wisdom is the power of common sense. Many times I seem not to understand what that means anymore. I need more of common sense, so as to make sense of the world around me.
 
In addition, wisdom will help me know the other gifts you have given me and understand why and how you want them to be used.  I simply want to do your will.
 
Pray: With the Psalmist I pray, “Lord, let your wisdom be with me to help me and to work with me.” Amen
 
Remember to continue the novena prayer Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest by clicking here
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
 
 
 

Grace to you and Happy Easter!
 
We have journeyed through six weeks of the Resurrection. During this last (seventh) week of Easter, the Church invites us to reflect on (and do) what the early Church, the first witnesses of the resurrection did namely, to keep a novena. See how Acts of the Apostles 1:14 describes it: “All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
 
The right disposition in this last week of the celebration of Easter is to keep a novena. We know “the devout prayer” of the disciples numbering about one hundred and twenty people, lasted for nine days before the Holy Spirit came on the Pentecost. Hence we have the name novena prayer. Novena is from Latin, which means nine.
 
Mother Mary, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, who was with the apostles and disciples during the first Christian novena, will accompany us in our prayer. Journeying with her is the best.
 
In John 17, the Lord Jesus prayed intensely. This prayer is called “the Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. Unlike the Lord’s Prayer, during which the Lord showed us how to pray, this prayer is the actual dialogue between Jesus and the Father.
 
According to The Navarre Bible Commentary on Saint John’s Gospel (2005), the Priestly Prayer consists of three parts. The first part (1–5) contains Jesus’ prayer for “the glorification of his holy human nature and the acceptance, by the Father of his sacrifice on the cross.” The second part (vv. 6–19) is the Lord’s Prayer for his disciples, the future witnesses to his glory. And the last part (vv. 20–26) is the Lord’s prayer for the unity of believers.
 
In describing the importance of this prayer of Jesus, Saint Augustine reminds us it is also about the Lord showing us how to pray. Prayer, therefore, is an essential aspect of our spiritual life. The Church gathered in assembly is the Church united to pray, anointed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
 
During the first Novena, which we started on Friday after Ascension Thursday (see my reflection for Ascension Thursday here), believers were so united in prayer; hence the Holy Spirit visited them as a Church. Recall the Lord tells us where two or three are gathered in his name, he will be there in their midst (Mt 18:20).
 
Our prayers are most effective if we invite the Holy Spirit to accompany us as we pray, because He is the one who knows the mind of God (1 Cor 2:11). This Spirit is of unity and peace. His coming is to bring order and peace to humans who are not fully living in the grace of glory, since God’s glory is manifested when we are “fully living.” As one of the foremost theologians of the Church, Saint Irenaeus, stated: “Gloria Dei est vivens homo” (The Glory of God is living man).
 
I pray, as we continue the novena to the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, may fill our hearts with the Love of the Father and the Son. May He revitalize the graces we have been given so we will be truly aglow for God. Amen.
 
God love you. God bless you.
 
Fr. Maurice Emelu
 
[Seventh Sunday of Easter:]