Wednesday of 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection

THEME: DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF TESTIFYING TO OUR LORD. (2Tim 1:8)

Reading: 2Tim 1: 1-3,6-12; Mk 12:18-27

One of the newly discovered hobbies of many ravenous bloggers is disparaging the Christian faith and the Church. Some of them, who will consistently take bribes and vote for corrupt politicians will always turn around and accuse Christ and religion for hardships in their countries. While many of those who criticize Christian faith do so as an extension of the work started by the devil and his agents long ago, some others do so to attract heavy traffic to their posts and possibly earn money, without realizing the damage they are doing to the faith of many people.

In today’s first reading, St. Paul exhorts us to be prepared to defend our faith in God and to remain steadfast in the face of challenges to our Christian faith. In today’s gospel, Jesus showed us one of the ways to treat those who challenge our faith. It narrated how Jesus floored the Sadducees that came to him to ridicule his teaching about resurrection with their supposedly well-thought-out argument. We are challenged to do same to those who mock our faith online and offline.

St Paul is reminding us that the spirit we received is not that of timidity but a spirit of power. Thus, he charged us to fan into flame the gift of God within us. He told us that he was never ashamed of his faith because he knew the One he believed. We too should not be ashamed of our faith in Christ and of the many wonderful ways through which this faith is manifested. Let no one discourage you, dear friends, in your faith and services to God.

To sell their demonic campaign of a return to paganism, many people have been alleging online and offline that those who brought Christianity to us have returned to paganism. However, pictures that emerged after the Champions League final last week showed Real Madrid players and their managers in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena, the Patroness of the Spanish capital, on Sunday, 2 June, presenting their 15^th Champions League trophy to God in thanksgiving. Dear friends, let no one deceive you.

May the grace of God strengthen you in your faith in Christ. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima

 

 

Wednesday of 7^th Week of Easter: reflection

Theme: Let us keep the fire of faith alive in all we do

Acts 20:28-38; Jn 17:11b-19

The two readings of today's Mass come with two touching farewell messages/wills and prayers. The first reading was taken from Jesus' final prayers for his disciples before His passion, in which He commended them to God, asking God to keep them united, and protect them from the evil one for they are not of the world. Following the footsteps of Jesus, when St Paul was departing Ephesus after his missionary work there, he assembled the elders, commended them to God and gave them his parting will, charging them to take good care of the Church and to stand against wolves that would come to attack God's flock. In these two scenes, we see honest efforts to keep the faith alive and to ensure that it continues to thrive in coming generations.

From these two readings, we can extract some points that will assist us to keep alive the light of faith in our world and to pass it successfully to future generations.

First, Jesus prayed that we may be one in His name. Friends, to convince the world with the message we preach, we must eschew all backbiting, divisions, unhealthy competitions and campaign of calumny against fellow Christians.

Second, Jesus said ‘we are not of the world’. Friends, it is true that we live and operate in a world tainted by sin, with temptations lurking around every turn. However, if we must keep our faith alive, influence the world by it and successfully pass it on to future generations, we must be true to our Christian identity in all circumstances, swimming against the current of sin everywhere we find ourselves.

Third, St Paul urged the elders to guard against wolves that may attack the Christian community with perverse teachings. Friends, we have the Christian duty to stand against any ideology that goes against our Christian moral values, whether it is coming from within the church or from the state. The devil, as we know him, can use anyone to achieve his plans.

May God’s grace light up your way as you carry out the activities of this Wednesday. Amen.

Fr Isaac C. Chima

 

Friday of 4^th Week of Easter: Reflection

Theme: DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED

Reading: Jn. 14:1-6

Aware that the world is full of obstacles, trials, tribulations, hardships and other things that could make the hearts of those who believe in Him to grow faint, Jesus spoke these words of assurance and hope to His disciples in today’s gospel. He said to them: “do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.”

We should note that Jesus never promised his followers that their lives will be trouble-free, nor did he want them to believe that the presence of troubles in their lives meant that God had turned His back on them, as some ‘men of God’ would have them believe. Remember, Jesus even told His disciples that in this world, they will have troubles (Jn. 16:33).

Dear friends, today’s first reading tells us that even in the midst of the troubles that will come our way, we should not allow our hearts to be troubled, because Jesus will be there for us to help us navigate our way through, for He is the way, the truth and the life; he will carry us on the palms of his hands so that our troubles will not defeat us; he will be there to supply us with abundant grace so that our enemies will not have the last laugh in our lives.

Whatever be the situation that is causing you tears and sleepless nights, don’t let your hearts be weighed down by it. Hand it over to Jesus and believe in Him, He will not let you down.

May God be by your side to help you deal with every difficult situation this Friday. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima