THE TRANSFER INTO THE RICHES OF HEAVEN

Meditation for Thursday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(Col 1:9-14; Lk 5:1-11)

As part of his opening pleasantries, St Paul prays for the Colossians that they may be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding, to be fully pleasing to God and fruitful in every good work… Since he will be talking about the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ in our lives, St Paul began by mentioning how the Father positioned us in Christ. God the Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. “He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

This great transfer to the riches of His glory in Jesus Christ shines out in Peter’s great catch of fish in today’s gospel passage. At the authority and command of Jesus, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”, Peter’s labors were transferred to abundant harvest; his disappointment turned to fulfillment. The riches of God in glory awaits us and is available in Jesus. However, like Peter who gave Jesus his boat, we step forward to be transferred to the riches of His Kingdom through our CHARITY and by obeying His commands. And He continues to draw us deeper into the riches of Kingdom in glory until, like Peter and his companions, “They left everything and followed Him.”

When we perform acts of charity, we surrender our ‘boats’ to Jesus for the greater glory of His Kingdom. Then, we are ‘qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints’, which is the blessings of Heaven and eternal life at the end. Amen.

St William of Roskilde, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Thursday September 2^nd, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE DIVINE TOUCH

Meditation for Wednesday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(Col 1:1-8; Lk 4:38-44)

It is so beautiful that we are stepping into the new month of September with St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. In this letter St Paul addressing a Christian community, which he did not evangelize directly. What prompted him to intervene in the life of the Church in Colossae? You can guess as much that there are some doctrinal issues at stake. Let us read along with the Holy Catholic Church as she leads us through St Paul’s letter to the Colossians for a week.

The letter begins by acknowledging the faith of the Colossians in Jesus Christ, “And of the love which you have for all the saints.” The gospel was preached to them by Epaphras, who also informed St Paul how the faith is flourishing in Colossae.

What Paul heard prompted him to ‘go’ to the Colossians through letter, just as Jesus heard about the sickness of Peter’s mother-in-law and went to her. In our meditation, we gaze upon Jesus standing beside the sick woman and bending over towards her. What does this gesture portray? This reclining gesture of Jesus towards human suffering, and my personal suffering in particular, is enough strength and courage to carry on! He rebuked the fever, “And it left her; and immediately she rose and served them.”

Afterwards, they brought many sick people, “And He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” Think about this physical contact that drove sickness away! Imagine the divine healing hand landing gently on the sick body…The feeling of such touch reassures of his abiding presence and inter-mingling with us even in our unworthy state. But, by going to a lonely place, Jesus shows us that ‘touching’ human lives is important, however, the most important thing is to be in touch with God!

That is why in THE SOUND OF SILENCE we re-live the gospel experiences through a contemplative gaze at Jesus. Those who follow Jesus to the lonely place in the silence of their hearts through the gospels, testify to His divine touch, which heals and uplifts. Amen.

St Giles, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Wednesday September 1^st, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE DAY OF THE LORD

Meditation for Tuesday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Thes 5:1-6; Lk 4:31-37)

St Paul gives his final exhortation to the Thessalonians about the end times and the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. “But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the darkness.” That day, when everything will surrender to the authority of Jesus, can only come as a surprise to those who are not already living under His authority. St Paul says, “Let us keep awake and sober”, avoiding works of darkness, for it is the will of God that we obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and live with Him.

So, if we are already living with Him, we need not fear the end times or the endings of our undertakings and situations in life. Sometimes we are tempted to misuse time or misappropriate our time.

Think about the event that occurred at Capernaum. As the people felt the authority of Jesus, and were reclining their hearts to Him, the demon cried out in protest against Jesus. Imagine, he was protesting against Jesus with the truth about Him: “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” Interrupting Jesus with such a loud voice is rebellion, no matter the truth he acknowledges about His person. It was the wrong timing; and a contradiction that the ‘Holy One’ has come to destroy! But Jesus rebuked this noise maker, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

For sure, the demon was afraid of surrendering to the authority of Jesus and decided to resist. Think about the empty noises and interruptions we face whenever we are inclined to enjoying some peace with Christ or when we feel the urge to pray. The devil can use truth like a bait to catch us into a bigger lie. And most of these temptations come at the wrong time, but they are usually loud and overpowering. Our victory is that we have the grace to live out today in full ‘the day of the Lord’ by inclining our hearts to His authority. For those who are already in Christ Jesus, who walk in the light of Christ, the day of the Lord will not take them by surprise, and the tricks of the devil will not take them unawares. Amen.

St Raymond Nonnatus, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Tuesday August 31^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

CHRIST-CENTERED LIFE

Meditation for Monday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Thes 4:13-18; Lk 4:16-30)

As we draw close to the end of the month and St Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he begins to instruct them about death and the end times. About those who died, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.” With hope in the resurrection in Christ Jesus, we should not grieve over the dead like those who do not have faith. The life of the Christian is not a death-burdened life, rather, it is a Christ-centered life; he does not live merely to escape death, but he lives to the glory of God in Christ Jesus. This is the hope the Christian ought to bring into his daily activities.

So, we gaze our eyes of meditation on Jesus as He reads from the Prophet Isiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” A great sound of silence resounded over the people as He closed the book and sat down. The powerful words He read continued to re-echo within that ‘sound of silence’ and vibrate in their hearts! And their attend was focused on Him. This is how a Christian ought to center his life around Jesus. From within that silence, He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Now, the words that touched their hearts would not remain a mere imagination of their hearts, but it has taken concrete root in the Person of Jesus!

That is why those who has issues with the personality of Jesus and rejected Him lost the blessings and hope He assures. They became angry, restless and bloodthirsty. Their frustration is boldly on their faces as they attempted to throw Jesus off the brow of the city hill. “But passing through the midst of them He went away.”

 

St Felix, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Monday August 30^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

“ASPIRE TO LIVE QUIETLY”

Meditation for Saturday of the 21^st Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Thes 4:1-8; Mt 25:1-13)

After instructing the Thessalonians to abstain from immorality and live for sanctification and holiness, St Paul begins to exhort them on love for one another. According to St Paul, it is taken for granted that the person who believes in God has learnt from Him how to love one another. “But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you.” Let us meditate on the words of St Paul to deepen our love for one another, and clothe ourselves with the garments of silence and serenity
. This enables us to stay focused and carry out our works diligently.

In the parable of the talents, the master entrusted to each of the three servants according to their individual capacity. While the first two servants doubled what was given to them, the low-capacity unproductive servant had much to complain about his master and the task ahead! Did he wish to be given five talents like the other servant? He would have complained of being overstressed! Now, the master loved him and gave him one talent according to his capacity, still, he grumbled and accused him of stinginess! His tongue was swift to vomit excuses for being unproductive and acting wickedly. This is what happens when someone’s tongue is busier than his hands! Since such a servant proved himself unworthy of the favor shown him, “Even what he has will be taken away.”

To avoid such a regrettable end, let us follow the path of humility that St Paul taught the Thessalonians to carry out our duties in silence and love. Then, with our commitment and focus, the Master Jesus will double the fruits of our labors. “For everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance.” Amen.

 

St Augustine of Hippo, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Saturday August 28^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

SEPARATING THE WISE FROM THE FOOLISH

Meditation for Friday of the 21^st Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Thes 4:1-8; Mt 25:1-13)

Just as silence and noise are close neighbors, so also is wisdom and foolishness! The fence demarcating them is usually not tall enough; it is very easy to cross from one to the other. To avoid such unfortunate switch, St Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to hold firm to the example he left behind and the instructions he gave them in the name of Jesus Christ. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Anyone who wants to remain on the side of wisdom must abstain from immorality, control his body in holiness and honor. “For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness.”

In the parable of the ten virgins, we see the mingling of the wise and foolish. It is very difficult to know immediately who is wise or foolish. They were all given equal opportunity. They all had good intentions to succeed in their calling. They all made efforts to meet the bridegroom. As we gaze upon them from the cloud of silence in our meditation today, we see how difficult it is for human eyes to perceive wisdom. Then the Bridegroom appears…with royalty, beauty and power! In Him is true and eternal wisdom. It is His presence that separates the wise from the foolish…

That is why we must listen to St Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians and avoid every form of immorality, so that the light of the Holy Spirit will continue to shine in us, and we will always live in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom. He is present to us if we preoccupy our minds with self-control, our sanctification and holiness of life. Such a one is found to be wise, for only in Christ Jesus is perfect and everlasting wisdom.

St Monica, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Friday August 27^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

KEEPING WATCH IN FAITH AND LOVE

Meditation for Thursday of the 21^st Week in Ordinary Time

(1 Thes 3:7-13; Mt 24:42-51)

St Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, for the most part, can be summarized as a letter of thanksgiving! St Paul continued to thank them for their strong faith. He testified that the faith of this young church brought him much comfort. At the end of today’s reading, St Paul began to pray for the Thessalonians that God may increase their love for one another and to all men, and establish their hearts in holiness, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

This prayer of St Paul reminds us that to persevere in faith and love unto eternity, we need the cooperation of divine grace. Also, faith and love need constant nurturing and growth! Whenever we arrive at that moment when our faith is stagnant and our love is monotonous, then we begin to act like that wicked servant who says to himself, ‘my master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to find fault with everyone, and criticize everything, and become intolerable while hiding under unruly pleasure and selfishness! But not for long…Soon, such ‘wicked’ servant would be found out; He would be taken unawares, time will pass him by, and his hypocrisy would be exposed.

Therefore, we say, “Amen” to the prayer of St Paul, for there is no better way to keep ‘watch’ than to pray. The Householder has given us the greatest gifts: faith and love! There is no blessing that these two cannot bring forth. The wise servant ‘keeps watch’ over his master’s treasure. Since he communes with his Master in prayer, his Master’s coming will not take him by surprise. The wise servant ‘dwells’ in his master’s presence, and thus carries out His will as if He were present. Hence, he conquers time and the burden of waiting by watchful prayer! The CONSCIOUS DWELLING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD is what we learn through silence and meditation. So, let us be wise and pray today that our faith may grow and our love may flow.

 

St Pope Zepbyrinus, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Thursday August 26^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com