Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

READINGS: In the past few weeks, I have devoted this column to creating awareness and revitalizing Catholic devotions in our parish. Devotions, as you know have deep and powerful roots in Catholic spirituality and they are heavily loaded with heavenly graces. Millions of people over the ages have found spiritual strength and growth by making various devotions part of their prayer routine. In this week’s column, I would like to focus on a tremendously powerful devotion—The Dev

READINGS: I would like to continue to encourage our parishioners to become devoted to the rosary; to make the rosary part of their daily prayer routine, to become part of our communal Marian Devotion on Wednesdays, and to become beneficiaries of the promises that our Blessed Mother has made with regards to the rosary. Here are the promises of our Blessed Mother about praying the rosary as revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche: Whoever shall faithfully serve me

READINGS On February 11th this past week, we celebrated the apparition of Our Blessed Lady to St. Bernadette which took place on February 11th, 1858 (3 years following the dogmatic proclamation of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX) which gave birth to the devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. This devotion, like many other apparitions of our Blessed Mother, has become a powerful source of spiritual and corporal healing through the intercession of Mary. This is why we have

READINGS Charity: The Power of True Faith A mother and her two kids had just arrived at Penn Station, Newark to board their train to Philadelphia. While they were waiting for he train to arrive, the boys wanted to buy some candy from the candy nearby. Mum gave them some money and off they went. Within a short time, the younger of the two boys came back to mummy asking for money to buy candy. Mum was furious and demanded to know what happened to the money she gave to him. The

READINGS Epiphany Strategies: A light unto my path. Strategy Six: Thanksgiving After the Magi bowed down and worshipped the Child Jesus, they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I truly believe that a true measure of our thankfulness and gratitude is not just what we say about our blessings; but how we use them. Thanksgiving prepares the way for God to show us His fullest love; it unlocks the gates of heaven. The Bible says, “B

READINGS Epiphany Strategies: A light unto my path. Strategy Four: Flexibility The Yew Rune tree is truly an amazing tree. The trunk is highly flexible even as its roots hold firmly to the ground beneath it. It can bend without losing tension, that is to say, it has the capacity to return to its upright shape as soon as pressure is released. The memory of its linear form is never erased by its conformity to being bent. There is a saying that goes “Blessed are the hearts that

READINGS Epiphany Strategies: A light unto my path. Strategy Two: Noticeability Expectation goes with the ability to notice things that matter to our expectations. While everyone else saw stars in the heavens, the Magi saw in the midst of a zillion stars, the Star of David. Many a time opportunities abound around us but our inability to notice them can impair our dreams and goals. Two people can easily come upon a heap of scrapped iron; one sees a heap of garbage while the ot

READINGS Epiphany Strategies: A light unto my path. The narrative about the journey of the Magi who travelled from the Far East to Bethlehem to see the Child Jesus is a very interesting story. This story uncovers power strategies that can combine to bring about success in any aspect of our lives. How did the Magi come to know that the Child Jesus has been born in Bethlehem when those who lived right there in Bethlehem did not know this fact; not even the wise men in the court

READINGS Asking God to reveal yourself to you As I was thinking about what this coming year will look like in my life, I came upon this verse from the Bible : “You search out my path…and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether” (Psalm 139:3-4). I truly believe that the reason why God searches out our path and is acquainted with all our ways is because He cares about what we do; about the details of our lives.

READINGS Helping someone cross over: I am reminded of a story a friend of mine once told me. It was rush hour on a hot-summer Friday afternoon, on a local road that fed into a major federal highway. Commuters were rushing hoping to beat the traffic headed down the shore. On a cross lane stood a blind man, who because he slept off in the bus, passed his usual stop. Now he was in an unfamiliar territory. He stood there and repetitiously called out: “please someone help me cross

READINGS “Be joyful always; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent and it is usually referred to as “Rejoice Sunday”, a day that reminds us to be grateful, to be thankful, to be joyful about life, about our blessings, about the goodness of the Lord. Researchers have found that people who focus daily on what they are grateful for, significantly feel better about their

READINGS My dear friends, welcome to Advent 2019; a time we are called to become fully present and fully awake to the crucial questions about life: “Who am I? “Who is God for me”? “What does life on earth mean”? “Am I happy with where I am in life today”? “Am I happy with where I am with my God”? Am I happy with where I am with others?” With so many things competing for time in our lives, it is very easy to slide into auto-pilot, where we move on with life by sleep-walking th

READINGS Witnessing Christ our King to the World In my reflection last week, I indicated that the Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted in defense of religious freedom in the face of a cultural revolution that was and is still intent on deposing religion from public and social life. The truth is that Christianity has done so much for the world because true religion is transformative. What the world needs is not to throw religion out of the public arena; what it is longi