Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

READINGS One the most beautiful statements in the readings of this Pentecost Sunday, is from the 2nd Reading which is taken from 1 Corinthians 12:7 where Paul says: “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”. This passage reveals a beautiful truth—that God did not send us into this world empty handed but rather, equipped us for the work we need to do so that creation may be completed. That is to say, God sent us here fully equipped and i

READINGS From the questions people are asking me and their thought processes, I get the impression that there seems to be an underlying assumption that coronavirus is, somehow, a punishment from God for what our world has turned into—another Sodom and Gomorrah where all kinds of behavior and acts of the immoral order are judged to be okay; where liberty has turned into libertinism and whatever feels good and appealing to the individual is okay to do; a total rejection of the

READINGS The first reading on this 5th Sunday of Easter touches on something that is so real to life, and to our Church community, that it is worthy of some reflection even as we are dealing with, and living in this pandemic times. The reading brings out a basic truth about life—be it individuals, families, Church, organization, etc.—the more you grow, the greater your challenges and struggles. Unforeseen challenges are part of what we must live with, deal with, and hopefully

READINGS: As the impact of coronavirus COVID-19 begins to unfold in all its present and future dimensions, the one thing we need right now, I believe, is some light in the darkness of this moment. The experience of darkness seem to be all over us; it seems to be one darkness after another—mass shootings, hurricanes, fire outbreaks, storms, ecological disasters, virus pandemics; you name it. Each darkness brings along with it all levels of brokenness—broken people, broken fami

READINGS My dear people of God, a pandemic has befallen us. In Old Testament days, this would qualify as a plague, something that calls for deep reflection on who we are and how we are with our God and with our neighbor. With our society more secular and our advances in science far more sophisticated, we may easily fall into the temptation of seeing this pandemic with purely humanistic eyes, without much regard to its spiritual implications. More still, we may be tempted to l

READINGS Last week, we began reflecting on the powerful spiritual exercise of Eucharistic Adoration. Here, I would like to recall the words of Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical “Redeemer of Man” where he said that our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration in order that our love may be complete." In an apparition to Catalina, Jesus said: “I promise to the soul that visits Me frequently in this Sacrament of Love

READINGS The adoration of the Holy Eucharist is a devotion we have instituted in our parish for the past two and half years. It is a powerful devotion designed to grow us, both as individuals and as a parish, spiritually. I therefore want to reflect on this devotion, as a means of educating our parishioners about Eucharistic Adoration, and thereby encouraging all of us to fall in love with it. You know, one of the most prominent declarations of the Council of Trent (that is t

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

READINGS OUR LORD JESUS, CHRIST THE KING On the last Sunday of each liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King. This solemnity was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, in response to the then growing nationalism and secularism that sought to thrust Jesus Christ and religious spirituality out of public life. The Pope was alarmed by this trend, and saw in it, a big threat to human civilization and religious freedom. Today, that same threat is very mu