Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

READINGS: Easter Sunday Today is Easter Sunday; the Sunday of all Sundays. The joy of this day is not just that Christ rose from the dead. Rather, it takes its full force from the fact that Christ was crucified and died. Without Good Friday, Easter Sunday will not be as powerful an event in history as it is. Such is life! Life comes with a combo of sorrow and joy like a bed of roses that is full of thorns and yet colorful and beautiful. Unfortunately, our need for comfort usu

READINGS: Palm Sunday Today is Palm Sunday; the day we celebrate our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem with the people singing “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Unfortunately, four days later, that chant changed to “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” The Apostle James, in his letter (chapter 3:6-10), says that “the tongue exists among our members as a world of malice, a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” He continues, “From the same mouth, we bless God and [also] curse human be

READINGS: 5th Sunday of Lent The gospel of this fifth Sunday of Lent (John 11:1- 42) presents us with the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This story can be our story, any day, any time! Lazarus was the brother to Martha and Mary, family friends of Jesus. Lazarus had fallen sick, and the family had done everything they could to save him, but all to no avail. So, they turned to Jesus because they knew that if only Jesus lays His hand upon him, he would be made wel

READINGS: 4th Sunday of Lent Last week we began our reflection on the story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, an encounter that revealed a Jesus who knows what human tiredness feels like and how difficult it is to keep going even when the flesh is weak; a Jesus who understands the value of breaking barriers; a Jesus who knows how to empathize with our struggles and tribulations. Continuing with the story, we learn that the woman came to the well around

READINGS: 2nd Sunday of Lent When I was growing up, the phrase “your word is your bond” was enshrined as a mark of integrity, nobility, and trustworthiness. Unfortunately, our world is increasingly becoming a culture where “alternate truth” is trending, and doubling down on lies is en vogue. Trust has become a rare commodity as promises are broken with equanimity, people lie over blatant truths, warranties are not honored, and political correctness seems to drive our “yeses”

READINGS: First Sunday of Lent In the past two weeks, we have seen a 7.5 earthquake ravage Turkey and Syria and leave behind its wake over 47,000 people dead. Barely three years ago, we were grounded by a deadly virus, covid-19, which left behind its path over one million brothers and sisters dead. No warnings preceded these disasters, and no one knew who would fall victim to the mayhem. Yet, this is the reality of life as we live it on earth—the uncertainty of what tomorrow

READINGS: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time The Sermon of the Mount is usually seen as a sequence of pronouncements made by our Lord as He declares blessedness on a variety of attributes. But it is important to note that these attributes are not independent. They are characteristics of the blessedness of those who are “poor in spirit”. The poor in spirit, as referred to here, is a disposition of the human heart toward God and neighbor. Yes, wealth can create a sense of independe

READINGS: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time The first stance of this Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm, (2nd Sunday in year A), is taken from Psalm 40:1-2: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction…and set my feet upon a rock… He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” Apparently, David was facing a terrible situation—in a deep pit of destruction and a cesspool of miry clay. He prayed for

READINGS: The Epiphany of the Lord The story of the visit of the three wise men that travelled from the Far East to Bethlehem to see the Child Jesus is very reveling and uncovers power strategies that can combine to bring about success in different areas of our lives. From the story, we can discern that the Magi had an expectation, something they were looking forward to—to visit the Child Jesus when He is born. Life goals, generally, begin with an Expectation. Without expecta

READINGS: The Octave Day of Christmas Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God Two days ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The first reading is taken from either Sirach 3:2-6,12-14 or Col 3:18-21. The two readings combine to paint a picture on how a family needs to function so as to create an environment of growth and support for family members by issuing the following injunctions: “Husbands love your wives, and do not b

READINGS: Fourth Sunday of Advent “The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The prophecy of Isaiah regarding the birth of Christ came at a time when the Arameans and the rest of Israel were threatening to attack the land of Judah and make it desolate. God sent Isaiah the prophet to go and tell the king of Judah, Ahaz, that this aggression against God’s people “will not stand and shall not be” (Isaiah 7:7). God, therefore, pro

READINGS: Third Sunday of Advent 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 crossover

READINGS: Second Sunday of Advent In the gospel reading of this 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A (Matthew 3:1-12), John the Baptist issues an urgent call: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” A different translation puts it this way, "Turn to God and change the way you think and act because the kingdom of heaven is near." This translation makes a lot of sense when we think about the advent season. The word, “Repent” means “to change one’s life”; “to change the way

READINGS: First Sunday of Advent My dear friends, as we enter this week, our hearts and minds are focused on Thanksgivings weekend; a period that, over the time, has come to focus so much on buying, sports, travel, food, and merriment. While this is good, in terms of celebration, it is important that we do not forget how it all started. The celebration of thanksgiving started with the Pilgrims who came to America to worship God freely. After suffering through drought and faci