Do Not Be Afraid

06-25-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Stanislaus Okonkwo

A story was told of a child who was very calm in a flight in the midst of very severe turbulence, while other passengers on board panicked, screamed and prayed. When everything returned to normalcy the kid was asked why he remained calm as the turbulence raged, he simply replied “Because my father is the pilot, so I know that everything will be fine”. If this child could have such confidence in his father, with his limited human abilities, how much more confidence ought we to be in God our Almighty and All-knowing father?

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The Color of God’s Love

06-18-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Stanislaus Okonkwo

The popular 19th century hymn by J. Oatman of New Jersey, Count your blessings exhorts us to count our blessings in times of serious troubles. The refrain of this song ends thus: Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done. A modified version of it ends with …and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Also the Archangel Raphael taught us that it is right to keep the secret of the king but a duty to reveal and publicize the deeds of God, and to thank him honorably (Tobit 12:7,11). The reason behind these admonitions is that when we feed our minds with memories of the past great deeds of the Lord, we become emboldened to believe what God can still do in our current situation. Such testimonies give vital force to our faith, dispel our fears and doubts, and strengthen our hope. Above all, they show us the color of God’s love.

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Holy Trinity of Love

06-11-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Stanislaus Okonkwo

Today, we celebrate the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. We celebrate Christ’s great gift of himself to abide with us forever. The sacred body and blood of Christ is our viaticum (our companion for the journey). The Lord feeds us with heavenly food to strengthen us in our pilgrimage to the kingdom of God. It is the assurance of life eternal for Jesus says “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn 6:54). His flesh is indeed real food (Jn 6:55).

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Holy Trinity of Love

06-04-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Stanislaus Okonkwo

In the collect for this mass we pray, “God the Father, who by sending into the world, the Word of truth and the Spirit of Sanctification, made known to the human race your wondrous mystery…” This prayer points to us the truth that what we know about God is only what He reveals to us about Himself and the highest point of this divine self-revelation is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The invisible God became visible in time and walked with us on earth. This revelation is further consolidated in the sending of the Holy Spirit.

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