Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

READINGS: OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE As we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, on this 34TH Sunday in Ordinary times, Year B, the gospel reading (John 18:33b37) tells of the encounter between Pilate and Jesus, as the Jews lined up accusations against Christ trying to find a way to get Him condemned and crucified. At one point, Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom d

READINGS: THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The first reading (Daniel 12:1- 3) and the Gospel reading (Mark 13:24-32) of this 33rd Sunday of Year B, sounds like doom and gloom, whereby the light of this world will become dark, natural disasters of unknown magnitudes will happen, major wars will erupt, the Anti-Christ will appear offering a godless utopia to deceive many. Then there will be persecution and martyrdom of those who do not cave in, and then, life as we know it

READINGS: THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Deep down inside, we all like to be in control and to take charge of our own destiny. Unfortunately, though, circumstances can leave us at the mercy of things we can’t control—sickness, accidents, natural disasters, pandemics, even death— creating anxiety, desperation, and even hopelessness. On this 32nd Sunday, the first reading (1 Kings 17:10-16) tells the story of a woman who was about to die through starvation; a three-year

READINGS: THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 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 though, 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, not close to it. We can know all about God and ye

READINGS: THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The gospel of this 30th Sunday in Ordinary times, Year B (Mark 10:46-52) tells of the story of a blind man, named Bartimaeus, who, although was physically blind, could see what the crowd, who had eyes, could not see; that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Messiah. It was this depth of insight that empowered him to act, with resolute conviction, by calling out to Jesus for help. Unfortunately, the crowd discouraged him, bullied him, an

READINGS: TWENTY- NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the second reading of this 29th Sunday in ordinary times, we read: “Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin (Heb 4:14-15). This is a powerful statement. My friends, Ch

READINGS: TWENTY-EIGHT SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The quest for God and eternal life is something many of us believers aspire to and yet attachment to various objects of human desire stands in the way of our progress. The gospel reading of this 28th Sunday in ordinary times, Year B, (Mark 10:17-30) tells the story of a very rich man, who came running to Jesus, and asked him, “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, seeing through his heart, and knowing how

READINGS: TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 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 tent 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 to Moses that these two guys were prophesying in the

READINGS: TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDIANRY TIME The Gospel of this 25th Sunday in Ordinary times, year B, talks about how one becomes the greatest among pears, “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, to be above all. It

READINGS: TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME On this 23rd Sunday, Year B, the gospel (Mark 7:31-37) shows us how the humanity of Christ plays out amid human need. In the story, people brought a man who was deaf and dumb to Jesus and begged Him to heal him. Strikingly, Jesus took this man away from the crowd for a one-on-one encounter with Him. This man was not going to be a sideshow. No! Jesus was going to make this man feel like he was the only person on the planet—so pers

READING: TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The 2nd reading on this 22nd Sunday in ordinary times, year B, tells us that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). The Responsorial Psalm went ahead to lay out how one can achieve this. While our contemporary culture wants life to be determined by whatever seems convenient, whatever feels

READINGS: TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 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 after hearing His teaching about the Eucharist. There is no doubt that the teachings of our faith can sometimes be very hard to take. People question the real presence of Ch

READINGS: TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In this Sunday’s gospel (John 6:51-58—20th Sunday in Ordinary times, Year B), Christ gave the most consequential teaching of His ministry on earth. Jesus said to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews, totally misunderstanding this, got upset with Him saying, "How can this man give us his

READINGS: NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the second reading of this 19th Sunday in Ordinary Times, Year B, (Ephesians 4:29-5:2), 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, bad attitudes toward others. Apparently, it is how we live that bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit. In order not to grieve the Holy Spirit, St. Paul talks about guardi

READINGS: EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The first reading for this 18th Sunday in ordinary times, Year B (Exodus 16:24, 12-15), details how the Israelites responded to the challenges they faced on their way to freedom. Generally, the journey of growth rarely happens without obstacles, difficulties, and tribulations. Change and growth involve pain which often leads to stress, so much so that, very often, the temptation is to fall back, to give up, and to seek a quick esca

READINGS: SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the Gospel of this 16th Sunday in ordinary times, Year B, (Mark 6:30-34), we hear the apostles recounting their successes as they came back from their first mission away from their Master, Jesus Christ. Looking at them, though, Christ saw exhaustion; a need to refuel, to regroup, and to take in some fresh air, and so He says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest awhile.” Jesus knew that His disciples neede

READINGS: FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The gospel reading of this 15th Sunday in ordinary times, Year B (Mark 6:7- 13), tells of Christ sending His disciples, in pairs, for mission work. Sent out individually, they presumably could have covered more territory. But the Master knew better and as Scripture says, “Two are better than one… If either of them falls, one can help the other up. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). This

READINGS: THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAYIN ORDINCARY TIME The gospel of this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Times, year B (Mark 6:1-7), tells the story of the rejection of Jesus by His own home people; a rejection that cost them direly, for he could not perform any miracles there. The reason for this rejection was bias and prejudice. By the time of this visit, Jesus was already a celebrity with many miracles under His belt. One would have thought that His own people would be excited and hol

READINGS: THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The gospel of this 13th Sunday in ordinary times, (Year B) tells the story of two faith journeys—Jairus, who by his faith in Christ was moved from a sea of storms to the shores of peace and a woman with an issue of blood, who, by her faith in Jesus, was moved from a life of unmitigated suffering to a life of healthy wellbeing. The question then is: what kind of faith brought these changes to the lives of these two people? I call it

READINGS: TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME My dear Parishioners: The gospel of this 12th Sunday of year B (Mark 4:35-41) challenges us to evaluate our “Storm theology”, that is, the way we react toward God when things go south; the way we handle our trust and what we believe about God when lifestorms hit our shores. We know that Lifestorms are inevitable as long as we breathe. Job says that life is “full of trouble” (Job 14:1) and in John 16:33, Jesus says “Here on earth you