Msgr. Anselm Nwaorgu

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

READINGS: The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe This Sunday is the last Sunday in ordinary times and is also the Celebration of the Kingship of Christ as King of the kings and the Lord of lords. Throughout the Old Testament, God promised to send a deliverer; a savior of humankind. It was the fulfillment of this promise that made the Wise Men traveled all the way from the Far East to Bethlehem to worship the new born King. It was the fulfillment of this

READINGS: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time The gospel of this 31st Sunday in Ordinary times, (Year C, Luke 19:1-10), tells the story of a man called Zacchaeus. He is said to be a chief tax collector and was rich, prosperous, and had all the treasures of life. But Scriptures then said, “He was short in stature”. Although, the name Zacchaeu means “pure,” “clean,” or “innocent.”, his was despised by his people, considered an outcast, a cheat, a crook, and a traitor (for he w

READINGS: Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time The Gospel reading of this 29th Sunday in Ordinary times, year C, (Luke 18:1-8), puts a key emphasis on the necessity of perseverance in prayer. In this reading, a widow was able to win justice from a king who neither feared God nor man by her share persistence. We know that success in life demands persistent effort because no matter what we are engaged with, challenges are bound to show up. The same is true with prayer. Heavenly

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 had the misfortune of being struck with leprosy. His healing began with the mercies 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 sad twist of fate, which I believe has a lot to teach us as we

READINGS: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time The past few years have not been easy. We have been inundated with the pandemic, hate crimes, hate speeches, senseless shootings, unprovoked wars, unbridled acts of violence, injustices, and one group oppressing another group. I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear about all these things, I cringe and feel sick to my stomach. Yet, I feel helpless to do anything about it. Sometimes, I ask myself, “How can God allow these aw

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 this 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 who was a

READINGS: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time In this Sunday’s 1st reading (Amos 8:4-7) we hear from Amos, a blue-collar lay preacher who the elites of his time saw as an unwelcome outsider because he was brutal in his criticism of the business practices and elite structures of his time. At the time of Amos, money and wealth were considered rewards from God for living a righteous life. So making money, at all cost, was at the forefront of the behavior of merchants and trader

READINGS: Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time In the 2nd reading of this 23rd Sunday, year C (Philemon 9-10, 12-17), we read a story that is of great significance in our lives as Christians. The story line is that Philemon, a slave owner, had become converted to Christianity by Paul. Onesimus, Philemon’s slave, had run away from his master and encountered Paul in Rome, while Paul was in prison, and became converted to Christianity. Now, Paul wants to return Onesimus back to

READINGS: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time The gospel reading for this 21th Sunday in ordinary times, year C, (Luke 13:22-30) outlines some critical considerations that require our attention. First, no one gets to heaven by accident (verse 24). Getting to heaven requires that we strive for it. The word “striving” comes from a root that describes athletic contests, fights, or struggles, which require great exertion to compete. No wonder St. Paul looks at Christian faith as

READINGS: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time In life, we are all, in one way or the other, involved in all kinds of specific races— family, people, work, spouse, etc. But, the 2nd reading for this 20th Sunday in ordinary times, year C, (Hebrew 12:1-4) looks at Christian life, our life in Christ Jesus as a primary race that we must run in such a ways as to win it. Scripture says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a wa

READINGS: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time In the gospel of this 19th Sunday in ordinary times, year C, Christ tells the crowd, “Be like those waiting for their Master to return.” Our life is full of waiting; waiting for someone to show up, for something to happen, for things to change, for just the right job, for that special someone who will make our life complete, for the test result, for the day that pain and grief will go away, for the answer to our prayers, for the da

READINGS: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time In this Sunday’s gospel (18th Sunday, Cycle C, Luke 12:16-21), a man asks Jesus to intervene between him and his brother, who was trying to be unfair in the distribution of their estate. In his response, Christ instructs about our need to avoid “all forms of greed”. Our society is on overdrive in the pursuit of happiness and seeks this happiness from the outside rather than from the inside. Somehow we believe that the next material