Reflection on Today's Readings, Thursday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time Year II, and the Memorial of St. JohnPaul II, October 22nd, 2020
Texts: Eph. 3:14-21; Ps. Ps. 33:1-2.4-5.11-12.18-19; Luke 12:49-53
This is a trying moment in our nation, Nigeria. Today's gospel reading reminds us that hard time will come. At this time that our nation is on fire, Jesus says, "I came to cast fire upon earth, and would that it were already Kindled!" Jesus Christ reminds us that life with him will not come easy, it will come with division. We need strength from God to bear this hard time. St. Paul, in today's first reading reminds us that only God can grant us the strength through his Spirit in the inner man. The Spirit of God strengthens our will to stand firm and steadfast in hard time.
This is the moment we need to allow Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. Christ dwells in us by love. The love here is not any kind of love but the love in which the lover contemplates the beloved; it is the kind of love that keeps the beloved in the heart. It is the love that always contemplates the beloved. It is the Spirit that pours into our hearts the love of God.
St. Paul reminds us that it is in love that we comprehend with all the saints and know the depth and width of Christ's love for us. He tells us that the knowledge of Christ's love surpasses any kind of knowledge and that it is not the kind we acquire in isolation but with the saints. When we make Christ our love and contemplate him, we will be filled with the fullness of God.
St. Paul speaks of power within us that is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. This power is the Spirit of God in us. He is our advocate and always strengthens our inner mind to bear hard time; the Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts and intercede for us with groan that cannot be put into words. The Spirit sanctifies us and makes us acceptable to God.
St. JohnPaul II, whose memorial is today, is an icon of survivor of hard time. In his early life he losed many things vital to life, except God; he losed father, mother and brother, the breadwinner of the family. He lived in age that was not friendly with the Church and yet he sought to be a priest. He later became Pope and ruled the Church. He was a resilient man who did not allow the forces of the world to distract him. Nothing should make us engage in evil.
God our Father, we pray you to intervene in the situation of our nation, Nigeria and restore to us peace. Amen.
Rev. Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
Posts
0 Comments