Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

READINGS: OUR LORD JESUS, KING OF THE UNIVERSE One of the titles of Christ Jesus as revealed in the Book of Revelation is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Rev 19:11-16). In the gospel of John, Pilate asked Jesus. "Are you the King of the Jews?”. Jesus replied, "My kingdom is of this world” (Jn18:33b-37). Yes, not of this world but embedded in this world with counter-cultural consequences. In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Solemnity of Christ the King in response to the

READINGS: THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the 2 nd  reading of this 33 rd  Sunday in Ordinary Times, Year C (2 Thessalonians 3:7-12), St. Paul said, “We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.” Basically, St. Paul is saying, be busy minding your business, not that of others. This is not a call to indifference, but an invitation to the stewardship of inner self-reflection; a summon

READINGS: FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA On this Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the Church’s “mother church”, a visible structure symbolizing the life-giving outreach of God’s grace to humanity that heals, feeds, and transforms. In the 1 st  reading (Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12), we read about the temple from which trickles of water turned into a river flowing into the salt sea, and turned the lifeless sea into a

READINGS: ALL SOULS DAY The Gospel of this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C, Luke 19:1–10) tells the story of a man named Zacchaeus. The Bible describes him as a man of small stature, overlooked by the crowd and dismissed by society. While the name “Zacchaeus” means “pure,” “clean,” or “innocent,” the people despised him, for he was a tax collector — an outcast, a cheat, a crook, and a traitor. No one saw holiness in him. No one expected goodness from him. But “Shortness”

READINGS: THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME In the gospel of this 30 th  Sunday in Ordinary times, Year C, Christ tells the parable of two men who went up to pray in the temple: One stood tall and confident in his righteousness. and the other stood far off, broken. and honest. The latter, according to Scripture, went home justified.  This is not just about two men who prayed then; it is about us today and how we stand before God in prayer. The Pharisee stood tall and, in prai

READINGS: TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME On this 29 th  Sunday in Ordinary times, year C, the gospel reading (Luke 18:1-8) tells of the parable Jesus used to teach the Power of Persevering Prayer. In the parable, a widow was able to win justice from an unjust judge, who neither feared God nor respected any man, by share persistence. The judge granted her request—not out of compassion, but to stop her relentless appeals. The widow’s repeated pleas reflect a faith that re

READINGS: TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the first reading of this 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2 Kings 5:14-17), we read about Naaman, a five-star general in the Syrian Army, who got healed of his leprosy through the intervention of a slave girl who had been captured by the Syrian army and given into slavery to Naaman’s wife. The role she played in this story portrays a beautiful twist of fate, which I believe has a lot to teach us as we follow the footsteps of Ch

READINGS: TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the 1 st  reading of this 27 th  Sunday in Ordinary times, year C, (Habakkuk 1:2, 2:2-3) laments, "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?" There is something deeply human in these words of Habakkuk. He does not dress his prayer with polite phrases or distant reverence. Rather, he cries out from the depths of frustration, confusion, and pain. His voice

READINGS: TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the gospel of this 26th Sunday in ordinary times, year C (Luke 16:19-31), we read about the parable of the rich man (Dives) and Lazarus. The parable begins with a gate separating these two, in life, and ends with a chasm separating them in eternity. On one side of the gate was Lazarus, a symbol of suffering humanity, in need of compassion, love, pity, and care. On the other side of the gate was Dives, a rich man, a symbol of o

READINGS: TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the first reading for this 25th Sunday of Year C (Amos 8:4–7), the prophet Amos speaks with piercing clarity, exposing a timeless truth: God sees every act of exploitation, every moment when profit is placed above people, and every time the vulnerable are treated as disposable. This is not merely about ancient merchants with rigged scales who could not wait for worship to end so they could return to cheating, exploiting, and t

READINGS: THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS The first reading of this 24th Sunday, Year C (Numbers 21:4–9) begins with a very human expression: “With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses.” Have you ever had your patience worn out because the road felt too long, prayers seemed unanswered, blessings lost their shine, envy twisted gratitude into bitterness, and all you could see were the problems in front of you? That was Israel in

READING: TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME My friends, sometimes the smallest books of the Bible carry the greatest punch and challenge. The Letter of Paul to Philemon (our second reading on this 23rd Sunday, Year C) is one such book. Just one chapter long, yet bursting with love, grace, and challenge. The storyline is this: Philemon, a slave owner, had been converted to Christianity by Paul. Onesimus, Philemon’s slave—once called useless—had run away from his master, some

READINGS: TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In our world, we operate so much on exchange, and we tend to measure generosity by what it returns. “I’ll help you if you help me.”   “I’ll give as long as I get something back.”  But in the Gospel of this 22 nd  Sunday, Year C ( Luke 14: 7-14), Christ flips all that on its head. “When you hold a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors… Rather, invite the poor, the cripple

READINGS: TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Jesus, in the gospel reading for this 21st Sunday in ordinary times, year C, (Luke 13:22-30) speaks in an as-a-matter-of-fact fashion about heaven, as a way of encouraging and inviting us to do what we have to do to get in.  Right off the bat, He declares it as a challenge: “Not everyone who tries will get in” (Luke 13:24). Imagine for a moment training for a marathon, a championship game, or a career dream. One thing is certain—

READINGS: TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME On this 20th Sunday in ordinary times, Year C (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10), we are told how Jeremiah was unjustly condemned and thrown into a cistern to die but was saved by Ebed-meleck. This story has so much relevance for us today because we live in a world that often rewards silence and punishes truth. It is a reminder that justice doesn’t always roar but sometimes whispers through the actions of the overlooked.  Ebed-melech was not a

READINGS: NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME In the gospel of this 19th Sunday in ordinary times, Christ says, “Be like those waiting for their master to return.” We live in a world distracted by urgency and this verse calls us to be people of eternal anticipation; souls lit with the fire of hope, hearts directed to His purpose, eyes committed to noticing his presence in everyday activities, ears attuned to his knock. Some time ago, I ordered a package and when I got the mess

READINGS: EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The second reading for this 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, from Exodus 16, recounts how the Israelites responded to hardship on their journey to freedom—often with complaints and blame. Their reaction challenges us to consider how we face the pain and stress that come with positive change and growth. Growth rarely comes without obstacles. When things get difficult, we’re tempted to retreat, abandon our goals, or blame others. Compla

READINGS: SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In the first reading of this 17th Sunday in ordinary times, Year C (Genesis 18:16 -33), the very first paragraph reads, “In those days, the Lord said: ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.’” Now, why does God need to check things out first before He condemns?

READINGS: SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The gospel of this 16th Sunday in ordinary times, year C (Luke 10:38-42) narrates the story of Mary and Martha, where Martha was so involved in trying to entertain Jesus that she had no time for Jesus, her guest. This story reminds me of a family I had in therapy, many years ago. The father worked 16 to 18 hours each day and was rarely at home. After some time, the children began to exhibit behavioral problems at school, and their g

READINGS: FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME The gospel of this 15th Sunday of Year C (Luke 10:25-37) tells the story of a Jewish man who fell among robbers and was badly beaten and left half dead on the roadside. A priest and a Levite saw him and did nothing to help; instead, they passed by on the other side of the road. It was a Samaritan man who stopped and saved the man’s life. Now, this is of great significance because Jews and Samaritans were arch enemies as Jews saw Sam