Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

READINGS "OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE" As we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, on this 33rd Sunday in Ordinary times, the gospel confronts us with the encounter between Pilate and Jesus, where Pilate asks Jesus a very straightforward question: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME THE READINGS Deep down inside, we all like to be in control and to take charge of our own circumstances. Unfortunately, the control that we so desperately long for can be a very elusive and frustrating quest. Many a time, circumstances can leave us at the mercy of things we can’t control; things that remind us that we are not really in-charge—sickness, accidents, natural disasters, pandemics, even death—creating anxiety, desperation, and

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103121.cfm In the gospel reading of this 31st Sunday in ordinary times (Mark 12:28b-34), Christ, after listening to a Pharisee’s reasoning about what Scriptures says about the commandments, told him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven”. The problem here is that not being far from the kingdom of heaven is not the same thing as being in it. What we need is to be inside the kingdom, n

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102421.cfm The gospel of this 30th Sunday in Ordinary times, tells of the story of a blind man, called Bartimaeus, who, although was physically blind, could see perfectly, on the inside. He could see what the crowd, who had eyes, could not see; that the Jesus of Nazareth (a reference to the humanity of Jesus, the son of Joseph) was truly Jesus, the son of David (an appeal to His divinity and d

TWENTY NINE SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101721.cfm “Been there done that” is a phrase that is commonly used when we believe that we have experience about something and therefore, can speak to and about it. But all our experiences are on the human level and that is all we can speak to. We cannot say, we’ve been there done that in reference to God because, as Jesus declared: “No one has seen the Father except the one whom He sent”. T

TWENTY EIGHT SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101021.cfm One activity that is common to humanity is the pursuit of happiness and, for the God-oriented, the quest for eternal life. In this pursuit, many may believe that happiness comes from having things. Yet, how many times have we heard, in the News, that a person, who had everything—holidays overseas, large houses, garages full of expensive cars, fine clothes, the best food—committed

TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100321.cfm The first reading of this 27th Sunday in ordinary times makes the case for what marriage is all about, and how God intended it to be. “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him”, says the Lord. Notice that Eve was not taken from Adam’s feet, and so she was not created to be his slave. She was not taken from Adam’s head, and so she was not cre

TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092621.cfm In the first reading of this 26th Sunday in ordinary times, we read about God bestowing His spirit on 70 elders who were appointed to help Moses in the governance of His people. Two of these elders did not come out to the temple area, where the rest were gathered, but remained in the camp. The spirit of the Lord still came upon them and they prophesied. Someone went and reported

TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091821.cfm In the Gospel reading of this 25th Sunday in Ordinary times, we read: “Whoever wants to be first must be the last and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35-36). Now, let’s be honest, being last and the servant of all is not the greatness we are groomed to strive for nor is it the greatness we aspire to. Greatness, for most of us, means to be number one, a winner, a success. It’s about p

TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091121.cfm The 2nd reading of this 24th Sunday in ordinary times brings to our mind a very important question: Are all spiritual attributes invisible? Can faith stand alone without good works and still save us? This reading, from James, tells us that faith without compassion, forgiveness, and help towards others is dead and cannot save. This is because, while the purpose of faith is salvati

TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090521.cfm One of the beautiful things about Gospel stories is that it allows us to see the humanity of Christ and how He engages people who are in trouble and challenged. This is exemplified in the Gospel story of this 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Times (Mark 7:31-37) where we see, how the heart of Jesus played out in the midst of human need. In this story, the people brought a man who was deaf

TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082921.cfm The Responsorial Psalm for this 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Times is very interesting. It asks and, then, answers an important question about life. How good is good enough for God? That is to say, how good does one need to be in order to experience God’s presence and favor? Many a time, our world wants to make up its own standards of living and wants no help from God. Contemporary cu

TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082221.cfm In the gospel reading of this 21st Sunday in ordinary times, Peter said, “Lord, where shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. This was his answer when Christ asked if the apostles were not going to leave Him, just as many of the disciples had done. There is no doubt that the teachings of our faith can sometimes be very hard to take. People question the real presence of

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081521-Day.cfm The Psalmist says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever” and in another chapter, he declares, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” My beloved parishioners, my heart is full of joy and gratitude to God for His faithfulness and unfailing love, and to all of you for your abiding support and devotion to your parish—St. Michael’s Church. Two mo

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080821.cfm In the second reading of this 19th Sunday in Ordinary Times, St. Paul urges us not to grieve the Holy Spirit and then goes on to list a few things that we should not be doing—unforgiveness, unwholesome speech, anger and bitterness, slander, and bad attitudes toward others. Apparently, we bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit by the way we live. In order not to grieve the Holy Spirit, St.

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080121.cfm The second reading for this 18th Sunday in ordinary times, which is taken from chapter 16 of the book of Exodus, details how the Israelites responded to the challenges of danger, shortages, and inconvenience on their way to freedom and, in many ways, question how we respond to the challenges of positive change in our lives. The journey of growth rarely happens without obstacles, dif

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072521.cfm Our parish, St. Michael’s Church is often described as the “United Nations”; a Church made up of many nationalities and ethnicities. As I read this Sunday’s 2nd Reading, this description of our Church came to my mind when St. Paul says, “There is only but one body”—unity in diversity. The Church is one body and humanity is one body. Unfortunately, “One Body”, unity in diversity, do

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The Church’s calendar involves what is called “Ordinary Times”; a time set aside for rest and establishing those rhythms that sustain us as Christians—Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. This is very similar to what we read in the Gospel of this 16th Sunday in ordinary times, (Mark 6:30-34). It begins with the apostles recounting their successes from the mission Christ had sent them out to do. But looking at them, Christ saw exhaustion; a ne

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071121.cfm In the gospel reading of this 15th Sunday in ordinary times (Mark 6:7- 13), Christ sends out His disciples for apostolic work. He sends them out in pairs; two by two. Sent individually, they could have covered more territory in their evangelization. But Christ chose to send them out in twos. His reasoning finds root in biblical wisdom when scripture says: “Two are better than one bec

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070421.cfm The gospel of this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Times, tells the story about the rejection of Jesus by His own home people (Mark 6:1-6); a rejection that deprived the whole town of the wonderful works of God’s mercy and the power of Jesus to heal and to restore. The reason for this rejection was nothing else but prejudice and bias; “Guilty by Association”. By the time of this visit, Jes