St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest.

 Saint of the day

SAINT IGNATIUS Loyola founder of the society of Jesus was born at Loyola in Spain, in the year 1491. He served his king as a courtier and a soldier till his thirtieth year. At that age, being laid low by a wound, he received the call of divine grace to leave the world. He embraced poverty and humiliation, that he might become more like to Christ, and won others to join him in the service of God. Prompted by their love for Jesus Christ, Ignatius and his companions made a vow to go to the Holy Land. Then they turned to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and placed themselves under his obedience. This was the beginning of the Society of Jesus. Our Lord promised Saint Ignatius that the precious heritage of His Passion should never fail his Society, a heritage of contradictions and persecutions. He died on the 31st July, 1556.

St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop.

 SAINT PETER Chrysologus was born about the year 380 at Imola in Emilia, and there entered the priesthood. He was elected bishop of Ravenna in 424 and instructed his flock by his learned sermons and writings. He died around the year 450.

I am the clay, God is the potter.

 

Thursday of the seventeenth week in ordinary time (A)

Like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel. (Jer 18:1-6)

Dear Lord, I'm available. Use me as your instrument. Don't give up on me the times I fail you. Break my hardened heart and remold me for your mission. Let the glory be yours. Amen

St. Martha

 SAINT MARTHA,  sister of Mary and Lazarus, close friends of Jesus. No doubt Martha was an active sort of person. On one occasion (see Luke 10:38-42) she prepares the meal for Jesus who pointed out the primacy of the spiritual but did not condemn her act of hospitality.

Martha’s great glory is her simple and strong statement of faith in Jesus after her brother’s death. ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world’ (John 11:25-27). 

The contrite spirit, God does not spurn

Wednesday of the seventeenth week in ordinary time (A)

The dawn of mercy

If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand.

 (Jer 15:10, 16-21)

God still cares to restore us when we come back to him not with our torn garments but a contrite and broken heart. No matter how sinful our lives had been we can still begin a new.

Good morning. Have a nice day 

-Gerald Nwogueze OFMCap

Heal Us O Lord

Tuesday of the seventeenth week in ordinary time (A)

Heal us O lord

-We have suffered this pandemic for too long O Lord. 

We cry over our incurable wound.

-If I go out in our farms, I see those slain by Fulani's sword, and Boko's bombs under the nose and watch  of our government. 

If I enter the city, I see my people consumed by hunger, many have no work to do and we begin to ask, have you cast us off completely, Is Nigeria loathsome to you? Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed?

We have been saying prayers for Nigeria in distress, seeking for peace but to no avail.

We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness, the misuse of our country's endowment, the greed of our leaders, the corruption from top to grassroot. The insecurities we face. 

Defenseless as we are we look to you O Lord who have permitted all these. Heal our world O Lord, forget not your promises to us and overlook our sins. Amen. (Jer 14:17-22 emphasis mine)

Good morning. Have a nice day

-Friar Gerald Nwogueze

Blessed Antonio Lucci, Bishop

 Saint of the day

Blessed Antonio Lucci, Bishop

Born in Italy, joined the Conventual Franciscans at the age of 16. Ordained a priest in 1705, obtained doctorate degree, made provincial, lecturer and bishop of  Bovino, an eminent theologian and a great saint. He wrote the book of saints, was beatified in 1989.

Selling All

Seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time (A)

Selling all

The gospel and the first reading really touched me. 

I learnt from Solomon to seek the only necessary thing considering also the good of others. (1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12) 

-Maturity in prayer moves from "God do for me" to "what can i do for you God", it seeks the source, the giver, the fountain which never runs dry and not the gift which eventually would finish one day. 

- To seek the giver necessarily would make me give up and sell all my purpose, plans, dreams, belongings, occupation, weakness and sins to gain the treasure in clay.

- As we celebrate, may we seek first his kingdom and righteousness and be conformed to Christ's image, though unworthy may Christ who calls us transform, justify and glorify us. Amen (Rom 8:28-30

Good morning. Happy Sunday 

Friar Gerald Nwogueze

Can you drink my chalice

Saturday of the sixteenth week in ordinary time

Can you drink my chalice?Matt 20:20-28

Can you drink the cup I will drink? They replied, we can. Jesus replies us, anyone who wishes to be the great among you shall be your servant. Just like the son of man came to serve and not to be served.

Good morning. Have a nice day

Gerald Nwogueze OFMCap

St. James the Greater, Apostle.

Being his favourite

-What was it that won James a place among the favorite three? Faith, burning, impetuous, and outspoken, but which needed purifying before the “Son of Thunder” 

-their ambition to be at the right and left was purified that the purpose of authority is to serve. 

-St. James was called while mending their father's net with his brother St. John the beloved. 

- James was one of the three favoured who went with Jesus and witnessed his Transfiguration,  the raising of Jarius' daughter to life and the agony in the garden. 

- James was the first apostle to be martyred. Herod had him killed by the sword along with his companion.

-This James the greater should not be confused with James the lesser who wrote the book of James (May 3).

St. Charbel Makluf, priest and monk.

Saint of the day St. Charbel, Priest and hermit.

Born in 1828 in a small mountain village SAINT SHARBEL MAKLŪF became a monk in the Maronite Rite and was ordained a priest in 1859. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he spent the last twenty-three years of his life as a hermit. Despite temptations to wealth and comfort, he taught the value of poverty, self-sacrifice, and prayer by the manner of life he lived. He received the gift of performing miracles even during his lifetime. His tomb at the monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya, Lebanon, continues to be a place of pilgrimage. Canonized by Blessed Paul VI in 1977, he is known as the “Hermit of Lebanon.”

Draw near

Friday of the sixteenth week in ordinary time (A)

Draw near to me 

Hark tis the Shepherd's voice I hear, my beloved in whom I'm well pleased, the one after my heart. My chosen. 

(Jer 3:14-17) 

Calling the sheep who have gone astray, bringing the wandering ones to Jesus. That they may be sheltered, pastured and nourished. 

Bring them in, the ones who hears the word and understands it will bear much fruit. (Mt 13:18-23)

Draw near unto God (James 4:8)

Good morning. Have a nice weekend 

-Gerald Nwogueze OFMCap

The Egyptian you see today...

Thursday of the Sixteenth week in ordinary time (A)

The Egyptians you see today...

Sorrow endures through the night but joy comes with the morning

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Our mouths were filled with laughter and on our lips there were songs.

Through difficulties and challenges that threatens your faith, believe, Match forward and be victorious.

Good day. Have a nice day

Friar Gerald Nwogueze

St. Bridget

SAINT BRIDGET was born of the Swedish royal family, in 1304. In obedience to her father, she was married to Prince Ulpho of Sweden, and became the mother of eight children, one of whom, Catherine, is honored as a saint. After some years she and her husband separated by mutual consent. He entered the Cistercian Order, and Bridget founded the Order of Saint Savior, in the Abbey of Wastein, in Sweden. In 1344 she became a widow, and thenceforth received a series of the most sublime revelations, all of which she scrupulously submitted to the judgment of her confessor. By the command of Our Lord, Bridget went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and amidst the very scenes of the Passion was further instructed in the sacred mysteries. She died in 1373.

God Quest

Wednesday of the Sixteenth week in ordinary time 

"God Quest"

I have found him whom my heart loves. (Sg 3:1-4b)

There is a longing, an empty space in man that only a transcendent being can fill. This is the anthropological theory behind religion. 

In this dedication I have invested "my all" to be with him whom my heart beats for. 

He calls to me daily, "Gerald" how available am I to reply   “Rabbouni,” My soul is thirsting for you, I have no other longing than to be with you.  Ps 63:2

Good morning. Have a nice day

-Friar Gerald Nwogueze

St. Mary Magdalene

 

Feast of Mary Magdalene 

"Apostle to the Apostles"

After Mary, she is one of the few honoured women in the scripture,  especially first class witness of Christ's resurrection. 

- She was one of those who stood by the cross of Jesus with his mother. 

-Mary Magdalene has been a victim of mistaken identity. Between the one delivered of 7 demons and the sinful woman. Nevertheless she remains the apostle to the apostles, because of the assistance she offered to Jesus and his apostles.

Universal brotherhood

Tuesday of the sixteenth week in ordinary time (A)

Universal brotherhood

"For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Mt 12:46-50)

-Everyone is called to relate with Jesus, not only by bearing the name Christian, but doing God's will, everyday, every moment. 

-Blessed are you O Mary, for you are a shinning example of those who did God's will in particular and in general, you are his mother and ours.

Good morning. Have a nice day!

-Friar Gerald Nwogueze

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor

Feastday:July 21
Patron of Brindisi
Birth:1559
Death:1619

Caesare de Rossi was born at Brandisi, kingdom of Naples, on July 22nd. He was educated by the conventual Franciscans there and by his uncle at St. Mark's in Venice. When sixteen, he joined the Capuchins at Verona, taking the name Lawrence. He pursued his higher studies in theology, philosophy, the bible, Greek, Hebrew, and several other languages at the University of Padua. He was ordained and began to preach with great effect in Northern Italy. He became definitor general of his Order in Rome in 1596, a position he was to hold five times, was assigned to conversion work with Jews, and was sent to Germany, with Blessed Benedict of Urbino, to combat Lutheranism. They founded friaries at Prague, Vienna, and Gorizia, which were to develop into the provinces of Bohemia, Austria, and Styria. At the request of Emperor Rudolf II, Lawrence helped raise an army among the German rulers to fight against the Turks, who were threatening to conquer all of Hungary, became its chaplain, and was among the leaders in the Battle of Szekesfehevar in 1601; many attributed the ensuing victory to him. In 1602, he was elected Vicar General of the Capuchins but refused re-election in 1605. He was sent to Spain by the emperor to persuade Philip III to join the Catholic League, and while there, founded a Capuchin house in Madrid. He was then sent as papal nuncio to the court of Maximillian of Bavaria, served as peacemaker in several royal disputes, and in 1618, retired from worldly affairs to the friary at Caserta. He was recalled at the request of the rulers of Naples to go to Spain to intercede with King Philip for them against the Duke of Osuna, Spanish envoy to naples and convinced the King to recall the Duke to avert an uprising. The trip in the sweltering heat of summer exhausted him, and he died a few days after his meeting with the King at Lisbon on July 22nd. Lawrence wrote a commentary on Genesis and several treatises against Luther, but Lawrence's main writings are in the nine volumes of his sermons. He was canonized in 1881 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959. His feast day is July 21st.

Monday reflection

Monday of the sixteenth week in ordinary time (A)

My people what have I done to you. How have I offended you. Answer me? 

At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it. 

(Mt 12:38-42)

What the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. (

Mi 6:1-4, 6-8)

Good morning. Have a nice day

-Gerald Nwogueze OFMCap

Appolinaris, Bishop and Martyr

According to tradition, SAINT APOLLINARIS was a native of Antioch. Chosen the first Bishop of Ravenna, he faced nearly constant persecution. He and his flock were exiled from Ravenna during the persecutions of the Emperor Vespasian (or Nero, depending on the source). Identified and arrested as the leader of the ancient community of Christians, he was tortured and then martyred by being run through with a sword.

Love your priests

A PRIEST IS ALWAYS WRONG BECAUSE

If he begins his mass on time, his watch is advanced; 

If he begins a minute later, he keeps people waiting

If he preaches too long, he makes people get bored

If his homily is too short,  he is unprepared, 

If he owns a car, he is luxurious;

If he does not own one, he does not go with times, 

If he goes out to visit families, he is always out; 

If he does not, he has no time for them, 

If he asks for donations, he is a moneymaker,

If he does not do it, he is too proud and lazy, 

If he takes time in the confessional,  he is too slow, 

If he makes it too fast he had no time for his penitents, 

If he renovates the church, he throws away money; 

If he does not, he allows everything to rot away,

If he is with youth,  he forgets the old, 

If he is seen with women, he is a playboy,

If he goes with men,  he is not normal; 

If he is young, he has no experience;

If he is old,  he should retire. 

As long as he lives, 

There are always people who are better than him, 

BUT IF THE PRIEST DIES...

THERE IS NO BODY TO TAKE HIS PLACE! 

Let us love our priest, 

And see Jesus in them always!

Saint Francis Solano

From a family in Andalusia, Spain. He entered the Friars Minor in 1579. His care for the sick during epidemic drew so much admiration that embarrassed he asked to be sent to Africa where he learnt local language and well received by the indigenous people.

-he continues caring for the sick paying violin for them and he defended the people from oppression.

-he died in Lima and was canonized in 1726.

Saint of the Day 16th July

16th July

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Sacred Scripture celebrated the beauty of Carmel where the prophet Elijah defended the purity of Israel’s faith in the living God. In the twelfth century, hermits withdrew to that mountain overlooking the Plain of Megiddo and later founded the Order devoted to the contemplative life under the patronage of Mary, the Mother of God.

Happy Feast

Reflection for the day

Thursday of the fifteenth week in ordinary time. (A)

Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. Is 26:7-9

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

   and I will give you rest. (Mt 11:28) 

-we need rest, from burden incurred by self that steals our peace and those that are ours to bear for God's just mercy for our sins. Find that rest in Jesus. 

Good morning. Have a nice day 

Fra. Gerald Nwogueze