STEPPING FORWARD INTO DIVINE GLORY

Meditation for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

(Gen 12:1-4; 2 Tim 1:8-10; Mt 17:1-9)

Let us meditate on the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain. The apostles, Peter, James and John were overwhelmed as Jesus unveiled His glory in their presence. Their joy and fulfilment at that glorious moment reminds us how much the heart of man yearns for glory. Man was created to share in the life of God. from the beginning of creation, man lived in serenity and peace in the Garden without the interference of fear, death, and other human problems until the enemy deceived them. In the mystery of the transfiguration, God has unveiled His glory in our midst through Jesus Christ. We are invited to step forward and experience a glory that is greater than that which existed at the beginning of creation.

Think about how God called Abraham from his own country, his kindred and from his father’s house. He had to step forward and move out of his ‘domain’, and embark on a journey to become a great nation, and a source of blessing for generations to come. It was not an easy journey for Abraham; it was like climbing a high mountain in order to experience the glory of the transfiguration. Though our hearts yearn for glory, but we are so tied down by self-consciousness that we find it difficult to step out of our familiar domain, make the journey of faith, and experience the glory that awaits us in Christ Jesus.

 

However, St Paul gives us a guide on how we can overcome this obstacle that is preventing us from stepping forward in faith like Abraham and climbing the mountain ‘side by side with Jesus’ like Peter, James and John. He says, “Take your share of suffering for the Gospel in the power of God.” Thus, in any area of life we expect to experience glory, we should be ready to accept ‘suffering for the Gospel’ as the key to unlock glory. In our vocations, relationships, family life, work, etc, we shall experience suffering in one way or the other. As we accept the suffering in the name of Jesus and to the glory of God, we are stepping out of our ‘domain’, and climbing the mountain of faith, we enter under the canopy of divine glory. That is why Lent is a glorious moment, for as we take up bodily discipline, our hearts find peace and joy.

 

Meditate on that glorious moment of bliss when the apostles saw the dazzling face of Jesus, His sparkling garments shining like the sun. Think about how all their human weaknesses, fears, ego, possessions, attachments, melted away into the cloud of glory. How powerful and consuming is this glory that Peter said, “Lord, it is well that we are here, if you wish, I wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Yes, whoever steps into this glory, his heart shall be a home for Jesus, where the law and the prophets are fulfilled! And the voice of the Father speaks from this peaceful and overpowering cloud of glory saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

 

Let us listen to what the Lord God has to say, He speaks peace to His people and to His faithful ones (Ps 85:8). As we experience that silent gentle touch of a spark of divine glory, and hear that powerful but assuring cool voice of divine presence, we shall eagerly step out of our selfish domain, and walk along with Jesus like the apostles. Then, our lives and actions shall bear witness like St Peter that we have experienced the divine glory (2 Pet 1:16-18). Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Sunday March 5^th, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

DETAILS OF THE LAW

 Meditation for Saturday of the First Week of Lent

(Deut 26:16-19; Mt 5:43-48)

Moses urged the people to be detailed in keeping the statues and ordinances of the Lord. “You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.” Having declared that the Lord is their God, Moses insists that they must not neglect any of the commandments of the Lord. And the Lord declared that if they keep His word, they shall be people of His own possession, “That He will set you high above all nations that he has made in praise and in fame and in honor, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.”

 

“You see, anyone who keeps the whole of the law but trips up on a single pint, is still guilty of breaking it all (James 2:10). And St Paul explains that the whole Law is summarized in the one commandment: “You must love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14). So, we cannot be selective in keeping the law. Through Jesus Christ, the commandments are written in our hearts (Rm 2:15). Thus, we ‘live out’ the new law of love, thereby fulfilling every detail of the law and deepen our relationship with God as His sons and daughters. This is how we fulfill the injunction of Moses that we should be detailed in keeping the statues and ordinances of the Lord.

 

Therefore, Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good.” This is the crossroad at which our ability to be detailed in keeping the commandments is tested. Like Jesus who prayed for His executioners, we should salute and pray for our enemies. Since we are children of God, we should be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Saturday March 4^th, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

11^th Lenten Meditation

THE HIGHER RIGHTEOUSNESS

Meditation for Friday of the First Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 18:21-28; Mt 5:20-26)

Let us meditate on the message from the prophet Ezekiel that if a wicked man turns away from his evil ways and begins to do what is lawful and right, he shall surely live. “For the righteousness which he has done he shall live.” On the other hand, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, he shall die. So, the choice of life or death is within our reach. And this Lenten season, we are urged to repent of our evil ways, choose righteousness and live. Moreso, we should deepen our choice and commitment to righteousness through our Lenten observances.

In gospel, Jesus talks about that level of righteousness which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. These men were known for their hypocrisy; they were inconsistent and dishonest in their practice of righteousness. A righteousness that is practiced for people to see, which is selective and selfish, cannot bring life. A man who has chosen to serve the Lord and live a righteous life, should allow every aspect of his life, and all his life, to be soaked in righteousness. Thus, to avoid shifting from righteousness to wickedness, man must aim at the higher righteousness centered on Christ Jesus. From within, in the silence of his heart, a man inclines his heart and mind to righteousness, obeys the law and does the right thing. This too is how a wicked man can be pulled out from his wickedness to righteousness.

 

In the higher righteousness, obeying the law and doing the right flows from within, and it is not externally influenced. It becomes part of one’s life. So, where the law says, “You shall not kill”, the higher righteousness inclines you to be reconciled with one another always and live in peace. This higher righteousness is heavenly; it unlocks the kingdom of heaven for us, bringing among us the reign of God and leading us to heaven. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Friday March 3^rd, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

10^th Lenten meditation

‘EVERYONE WHO ASKS RECEIVES’

Meditation for Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther 14:1, 3-4, 11, 13-14; Mt 7:7-12)

Queen Esther found herself in one of such situations when it is difficult to pray. She was consumed by anxiety and uncertainty about what would befall her and her people next. She felt alone, abandoned and helpless. This is the mood that many people are feeling in our country today. In the face of evil and life challenges, we either pray intensely or abandon prayer completely. Queen Esther prostrated herself before the Lord and prayed eagerly from morning until evening. She offered up to God her anxiety, and asked in her helplessness; she sought for protection from the danger ahead, and asked for God’s companionship in her aloneness. Esther did not deny the evil ahead, but prayed to God saying, “Save us from the hand of our enemies; turn our mourning into gladness and our affliction into well-being.”

Meditate on the uncomfortable disposition from which Esther offered her prayers. Pause, and see through her tears the loud cry of Jesus from the cross to the Father. And it is on this ‘altar of the cross’ that all our prayers are answers, for we lay before the cross of Jesus, as Esther prostrated before the Lord, and offer our prayers through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the assurance we have that our Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him. Jesus urges us to pray with confidence, saying, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

 

Therefore, this Lenten season we pray ‘from the cross’ as we mingle our prayers with penance and abstinence, offering our supplications with the loud cry of Jesus on the cross. In this way, every difficult and challenging situation becomes a prayer intention offered through Jesus Christ. Think about the many sorrows we bear, the tensions we face like Queen Esther, the heartbreaks and uncertainties that dot our paths. Now, see the victory you have when in Jesus your cross has become an altar of prayer, your challenges become prayer points. As we prostrate before the cross this season through our Lenten observances, Jesus says, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Thursday March 2^nd, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

9^th Lenten Meditation for 2023

ACTS OF PENANCE

Meditation for Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

(Jonah 3:1-10; Lk 11:29-32)

In silence and recollection, we are expected to put on a humble and contrite heart this Lenten season. This is an expression of conversion of heart. Leaving behind the old ways and putting on the new life in Christ does not come easy. Fasting and other acts of penance are ways we express our regret for the old ways, and, at the same time, show our commitment to love God in the new life. The conversion story of the people of Nineveh gives us a practical example to follow.

At the preaching of Jonah, the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth and ashes. By fasting they disciplined their bodily desires for pleasure and entertainment. And by putting on sackcloth and ashes they striped themselves of vainglory and pride. In the action of their king, we see the importance of stripping oneself of the quest for power and self-glory. So, this Lent, while we discipline our bodies through fasting and abstinence, we must not forget those disciplines that can tame our ego-centric life.

 

If the people of Nineveh could be inspired by Jonah to repent and humbled themselves before the Lord, how much more should we abandon our old ways and take up acts of penance as we gaze upon the cross of Jesus this Lenten season. Sometimes it seems our hearts are so hardened that we remain unmoved at the name Jesus. He says, “The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” Think about how Jonah inspired such great conversion though he was a reluctant prophet, but Jesus offered His life for us. Jonah did not even finish the journey, out of three days walk, he went on one day, yet the whole people repented, but Jesus completed His three days journey into the grave, and He journeys with us till eternity! With such great love and commitment Jesus has shown for our salvation, we should humble ourselves before Him with our Lenten observances, and repent of our sins. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Wednesday March 1^st, 2023

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

EMPTY PHRASES IN PRAYER

Meditation for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Is 55:10-11; Mt 6:7-15)

This Lenten season, we are expected to be more prayerful. Jesus intervenes to teach us how to pray so that God will hear our prayers. He warns against the wrong approach to prayer: “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” God Himself does not speak empty phrases; how can man then offer to Him empty phrases?

 

The prophet Isaiah announces that as the rain and snow water the earth, giving seed to the Sower and bread to the eater, so shall the word of God go forth; it shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which it was intended, and prosper in the thing for which it was sent. Think about how the word of God is active and alive (Heb 4:12), bearing fruit in the heart of the believer and inspiring him to pray. We see how the word of God is our anchor in prayer as Jesus leads the way and teaches how to pray. Thus, in his prayer, the man of faith returns to God the fruit of what he had received, i.e., glory and adoration.

 

Prayer becomes empty when it has no roots in the word of God.

Prayer becomes empty when it is not backed up by faith.

Prayer becomes empty when we wish to INFORM God about our needs.

Prayer becomes empty when we turn it into argument to CONVINCE God to answer us.

These and many more are summed up into EMPTY PHRASES, for they go to God without returning back to Him glory and adoration. So, in the prayer Jesus taught us, we adore and glorify God, saying, “Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name…” As the word of God has live in itself and does not return to God empty, so does the prayers we offer to God does not return to us empty, but they bring back to us divine intervention and answers to our needs. May God continue to hear our prayers this Lent. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Tuesday February 28^th, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

The Glory of Almsgiving

Meditation for Monday of the First Week of Lent

(Lev 19:1-2, 11-18; Mt 25:31-46)

As we continue our Lenten journey this week, the readings of today underline the importance of charity, especially at this season. In the first reading, Moses rolled out to the people several laws regarding how they were to relate and treat each other. “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another…You shall not oppress your neighbor or rub him.” Life is so dynamic, and so are the points of human interaction. While the laws guide us on the right way to treat our neighbor, they cannot make such relationship perfect.

 

So, Jesus steps in to show us the perfect way, which is charity. Yes, charity covers all we are mandated to avoid against our neighbor, at the same time, it satisfies all we are expected to do for our neighbor. Jesus said on the last day, the Son of man will come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, and, sitting on His glorious throne, He will judge all peoples according to the acts of charity they performed to their neighbor. “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food…” On the other hand, those who failed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, etc, will be cast into the eternal fire.

 

Meditate on the glory of charity as the King comes in His glory and sits on His glorious throne to separate the righteous from the unrighteous, i.e. He separates the charitable from the uncharitable. Thus, charity sets us apart! It is a distinguishing virtue. And it communicates the glory of Jesus. Whenever we practice almsgiving, especially at this season of Lent, we shall experience a taste of glory. And this serene joyful touch of glory is proof that a particular act of charity is true and divinely inspired. Therefore, every act of almsgiving becomes a step forward into divine glory. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Monday February 27^th, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com