The One Body

Meditation for Friday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time
(Eph 4:1-6; Lk 12:54-59)

Since God has chosen us in Christ, and destined us to be holy and to possess the riches of His grace in the heavenly places, St. Paul urges us to live in a manner worthy of our vocation. It is our duty to adjust our ways of life to reflect our new identity in Christ Jesus. The virtues St. Paul highlighted that we must manifest as those chosen in Christ include lowliness and meekness, patience, forbearing one another in love, eagerness to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Above all, he emphasized the importance of unity. Looking at the level of disunity among families and in the society, we can understand why St. Paul’s message is important for us today. Unity is the victory over selfishness, which is the foundation of every sin. We do not know where the seed of love is sown until unity germinates; unity and peace are the first fruits we pick up from the tree of love. If we are eager to maintain unity as St. Paul said, then we have strong reason to pursue the other virtues, especially love. However, St. Paul wants us to understand that this unity is part of our mystical experience as those chosen in Christ through baptism. That means our commitment to our calling into the one body of Christ will bring about unity. And unity will in turn bear witness that we have been true to the new life we have in Christ.

 

“For there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.” When our Christian faith can no longer reflect this mystery of unity among us, then it is a sign that something is not right; it is either we have believed wrongly, or we are not true to our faith. As Jesus said in the gospel, we must interpret the ‘signs of the times.’ Look around, you will see the cloud of disunity gathering everywhere. That means we must be more pro-active in sowing seeds of love and the other virtues that nurture unity. Thanks be to God, we have been chosen and blessed to become one body in Christ, the source of every unity. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Friday October 21, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

PRAYING FROM A BURNING HEART

Meditation for Thursday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time
(Eph 3:14-21; Lk 12:49-53)

St. Paul prays for the Ephesians. This is an important task of the missionary; to pray for those he ministers to. He began his prayer by humbling himself and extoling God, saying, “I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.” He prayed that God, according to the riches of His glory, may strengthen them from within with might through the Holy Spirit. He prayed that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. Then, St. Paul appealed to God that the Ephesians should be rooted and grounded in love, and be filled deep understanding. He prayed that they may be filled with the love of Christ, which surpasses human knowledge, and that they may be filled with the fullness of God.

 All that St. Paul prayed for the Ephesians were what God already willed for them in Christ. He sought for the glory of God, and the manifestation of the life of God in their lives. Sometimes we engage in rigorous prayers asking for so many things but neglecting the true spiritual wealth God has destined for us. The prayer that captures God’s will like that of St. Paul flows from a heart that is already burning with the love of Jesus. Of this love Jesus said, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” Fire of the love of Jesus, burning silently in the heart, shines out in our prayers and the intentions we offer, and it is lived out in our acts of charity.

 

At the end, St. Paul concluded his prayers for the believers by returning praise to God, who has the power within Him to do far more than we request in prayer, “To Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever.” Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Thursday October 20, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

Stewardship of Grace

Meditation for Wednesday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time
(Eph 3:2-12; Lk 12:39-48)

At this point, St. Paul talks about the mandate he received. He described his mission as “stewardship of God’s grace.” The message he preached was given to him by revelation. It was here he received the knowledge of the mystery of Christ that he preached. And through his preaching of the gospel, the Gentiles and all believers have become fellow heirs, and members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. St. Paul said, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace which was given me by the working of His power.”

 

He talked about his specific assignment to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God. This is to ensure that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known. All these are to be realized according to His purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord, “In whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in Him.”

 

Meditate on the beauty and humility with which St. Paul described stewardship entrusted to him. The beauty of his work lies in the fact that it is the work of grace, manifesting the hidden purpose of God for all peoples in Jesus Christ. The glory of Christ shines out through St. Paul’s ministry. The humility in his work is obvious as he sees himself at one body with those he ministered to, and to the other preachers. He did not see the special grace and revelation given him as making him more important than others, rather he says, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints.” This is the attitude and disposition we need to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to us. A wise and faithful servant will carry out his duties with humility; he should not be power drunk nor get drunk with pleasure. “Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions.” Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Wednesday October 19^th, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

SAVED BY GRACE

Meditation for Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C
(Eph 2:1-10; Lk 12:13-21)

It is popularly said that if you do not know where you are coming from, you may not know where you are going. We do not undertake the journey of life aimlessly; to know where you are going means you know where you are coming from. St. Paul applied this in our spiritual journey too. He had explained earlier that God chose us in Christ to be holy and spotless, and blessed us with the riches of His grace in the heavenly places. From where did we make this move into the life of Jesus to become the Body of Christ? St. Paul says we were walking on the pathway of death through our trespasses and sins, following the course of this world, and obeying the spirit of disobedience. “Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” This was where we came from.

 

But God, in His rich mercy, out of the great love He has for us, gave us new life in Christ, and raised us up with Him. Thus, God qualified us in Christ to share the riches in the heavenly places, and preserved for ages to come the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness in Christ Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.”

 

Now, we know where we are coming from, and where we are going. God took the initiative to give us a new life in Christ. That means the journey of life that began with death is raised to new life in Christ Jesus; the disgrace that came through disobedience and sin is now turned to holiness and the gracious riches of His glory. “By grace you have been saved.” It is important for us not to forget where we came from, so that we can appreciate the more where God is leading us, where He has destined us in Christ even before we came to believe. That means we should be rich in grace, “rich toward God.” That is why Jesus warned against the distraction of greed and the uncontrollable desire to acquire more. Though human possessions and enjoyment are important, human life has a higher value than these. So, we channel our lives to the journey forward, where God has destined us to be co-heirs with Christ for the heavenly inheritance. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Monday October 17th, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

 

WINNING THE TWO BATTLES

 Meditation for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
(Ex 17:8-13; 2 Tim 3:14-4:2; Lk 18:1-8)

Let us meditate on the teachings of Jesus about perseverance in prayer. The fact that Jesus, the master of prayer, is asking us to pray and never lose heart, reminds us of the struggle to abandon prayer. But hearing from Jesus that we should not lose heart is already a victory for us; yes, despite the numerous voices that discourage us, the one voice of Jesus is enough reason to carry on!

 

Every prayerful person will agree that prayer does not come easy. We learn it over the years, and struggle with it the rest of our lives. The battle of prayer is like the battle we read in the first reading between Israel and Amalekites. It was a battle fought with human strength and intelligence, but won with the grace that came through perseverance in prayer. Think about the resilience in battle, which Joshua and his men employed against Amalek and his men at Rephidim…Now, compare it at the same time with the resilience in prayer, which Moses, Aaron and Hur employed on the mountain. If we run away at the heat of the battle, how can the victory be won?

 

Meditate on the mingling of the battle of life and the battle of prayer… He who perseveres and wins the battle of prayer will definitely win the battle of life. This is further exemplified in the parable of the widow who required justice from the unrighteous judge. She was faced with the battle of life, where injustice was being meted out to her by her adversary. In addition, she had to confront another challenge of getting help from a judge who had no compassion and was selfish. But this widow had the gift of perseverance in battle; she would not stop confronting her adversary, and she would not give up asking for help. The unrighteous judge had to answer her so that she would not wear him out by her continual coming. Jesus said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I tell you; He will vindicate them speedily.”

The energy to hold forth in the battle of prayer comes from faith, which is built on the knowledge of God. This knowledge that strengthens faith is received through the Scriptures. That is why wrong interpretation of the Bible or lack of knowledge of it, and misplaced approach to faith, often hunt our prayer life. When Moses’ hands grew weary in prayer, they put a stone under him, and he sat upon it. That is how the knowledge of the Scriptures supplies the support we need to continue in prayer without losing heart. St. Paul says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

 

If we live by the word of God, our faith will be alive; if our faith is alive, we will persevere in prayer. And if we can conquer every obstacle and distraction and continue in prayer, then we shall win the battle of life. Therefore, to pray without losing heart means to align one’s life to the will of God. That is why meditating on the word of God is such a powerful and effective way to persevere in prayer; it helps us to be aware of God’s presence, mingles divine strength with our human efforts, and the victory is ours. Amen.

 

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Sunday October 16th, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

The Rich Inheritance

  Meditation for Saturday of the 28th in Ordinary Time, Year C

(Eph 1:15-23; Lk 12:8-12)

In our meditation today, we see how St. Paul expressed joy and gladness over the faith of the Church in Ephesus. He prayed for them that God may give them the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. He asked God to enlighten their hearts so that they may know the hope to which He called them, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of His power bestowed on those who believe. This is how we are equipped to live out our Christian identity. These rich spiritual inheritances were accomplished for us through the working of God’s great might in Jesus Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and made Him sit at His right hand in the heavenly places. Thus, the Christian is endowed with such blessing and power that is above every authority and dominion on earth, for God has put all things under Christ, “And has made Him the head over all things for the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

 

As Jesus has dominion over all the earth, so also those who have been chosen and blessed in Him shall manifest His life to the world. And it is by faith that we become part of His body, sharing in His life. The joy of being a Christian majorly comes from my response to what has already been given to me in faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the life a believer should be a pointer and witness to Jesus, in whom the riches of God’s grace is given. This is the joyful witness we bear even at the moment of suffering or persecution.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Saturday October 15, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

To the praise and glory of Jesus

Meditation for Friday of the 28th in Ordinary Time, Year C
(Eph 1:1-11; Lk 12:1-7)

St. Paul continues to expose the identity of the Christian believer as chosen and destined to share in the life of Christ, according to the purpose of God, who accomplishes all things. He wants us to be aware of who God has made us to be in Christ, so that we can coordinate our lives accordingly. St. Paul explains that we have been destined and appointed to live for the praise and glory of Jesus Christ. Those who have heard the gospel and believed in Jesus were sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit, “Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”

 

The ‘praise and glory of Christ’ is an intimate part of the life of the Christian; in fact, that is what we live for, it is our identity. In addition, that is the evidence we give to show that we have been chosen from eternity and grafted into the Body of Christ. That is why we must be careful where we attach our hearts, for such can determine the kind of fruits we bear. Hence, Jesus said in the gospel of today, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.” There is nothing to fear if we remain firm as God’s chosen people. He has richly blessed us in Christ with heavenly blessings. Jesus said, “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Friday October 14, 2022.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com