In Your Presence

This meditation was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at the end of a retreat for priests to the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal, on February 3, 2023. Easter Vigil Gospel: Mark 16, 1-7 The women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, had an important task. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ bo...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at a retreat for priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal. Matt 13:1-9:: That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.  Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed...

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the conversion of St. Paul. Preached at Lyncroft Centre, January 25, 2023. Acts 3, 5-10: ‘I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when about midday a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered: Who are you, Lord? and he said to me, “I am Jesus the Naza...

Today, January 18 to January 25 is the Octave of Christian Unity. It finishes with the feast of the conversion of St. Paul on January 25. This Octave was first conceived by Father Paul Watson a Franciscan friar of the Atonement, of Graymoor abbey in 1907. This leads us naturally to pray about the Church in her essence. CCC 760: all that vast array of creation had really one basic purpose: to have...

This is a meditation originally posted on Youtube in August 2021. Here it is re-broadcast in audio form. It was preached at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Coteau-du-Lac, near Montreal, Quebec. The original with video clips of the Manoir, its surroundings and Rembrandt's painting, can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/tFdA8gPxBtE Music: Handel Rinaldo opera Aria "Lascia che io pianga" arranged for guit...

This is the introductory meditation for a retreat at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal, on January 2, 2023, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai.  Psalm 127: Nisi Dominus, Unless the Lord build the house: their labour is but lost that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city: the watchman waketh but in vain. Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. Thumbnail: Rembrandt, &nb...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College on December 31, 2022 to inaugurate the New Year. Today's first reading is from the book of Numbers 6 , when Moses is told exactly how the priests are to bless. The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on yo...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, December 21, 2022 at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto. Phil 4, 4: “ Rejoice in the Lord always ”. Joy is at the heart of Christian experience. Pope Benedict XVI said that one of the great attraction of WYD was the joy that people saw. It is seen in young people, in the smiles of Pope Francis. Pope Benedict XVI said “ In a world of sorrow and anxiety, joy is an im...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on December 18, 2022. Matthew relates it exclusively from the perspective of Saint Joseph, who as a descendant of David represents the link between the figure of Jesus and the Davidic promise. The angel appears to him in a dream, and he was able to discern God's will. Music: O Holy Night by Christmas choir. Thumbnail: The Dre...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College on December 16, 2022. In the first of his Infancy Narratives, Pope Benedict XVI places us at the very end of Jesus’ life as he stands in front of his accuser, Pontius Pilate. Jesus has already been beaten, one eye is swollen, he is bruised all over, and already has a crown of thorns. It's a sad sight for a king. While he was interroga...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on December 13, 2022 in a recollection for priests at St. Aidan's parish Toronto. After the annunciation, Mary went with haste, 80 km away to Ain Karim. Not slowly, uninterested. The hill country of Judah, would have been understood as the land of David. Where he grew up. She went with meaning and a sense of purpose. This too is how we must see our vocatio...

Today’s proper preface for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a synthesis of this mystery: For you preserved the most Blessed Virgin Mary from all stain of original sin, so that in her, endowed with the rich fullness of your grace, you might prepare a worthy Mother for your Son and signify the beginning of the Church, his beautiful Bride without spot or wrinkle. She, the most pure Virgi...

St. Matthew 17:9a, 10-13 in which the disciples asked Jesus if he was Elijah. I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord. It meant to create a favo...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on the feast of St. Andrew, Apostle, in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto. Saint Andrew is said to have preached the Gospel in Greece. There, in the city of Patras, he was martyred; he died nailed to a cross, like his divine Master. The priests of Achaia who witnessed his death write that his desire to be identified with Christ was so great that when he was being led toward the pl...

Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!.  This is the very last word of the Bible, and it falls on the very last day of ordinary time. Tomorrow we will turn to advent, preparing ourselves for his coming at Christmas. What does it mean to be alert and ready for our death? Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College, Toronto on November 26, 2022. Thumbnail: Tympanum from the Church of Ste-Foy, Con...

St. Josemaria had a sense of excitement about what the Christian family could be like in the modern world. It was like an oasis that was nourished by this powerful underground source of fresh water, a human and divine love coming from the sacramental grace of matrimony. Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on November 12, 2022 in Lancemore centre in Toronto. Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arr...

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre: St. Josemaria wrote in the The Way 301 about what he described as t hat little group of men or a handful of women in the midst of a world crisis. They had a readiness to fight, a deep desire to be saints, and a willingness to fight. He used military imagery. A secret, an open secret: these world crises are crises of saints. God wants a handful of me...

A meditation on the nature of freedom, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft Centre, November 2022. We have been called to freedom (Gal 5:13). By letting Christ reign in our heart we acquire true freedom and conquer the slavery of sin: If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (Jn 8:31-32).  What is this freedom th...

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College. Luke 16:1-8 : Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd steward: ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” (...) ‘The master praised the dishonest...

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre on November 2, 2022. In the 19th century, Cardinal John Henry Newman loved the Anglican choral tradition. But he was especially enamoured by the Holy Mass. It was the point of connection with the past, with souls before us, and souls in purgatory. He felt so attracted to the Mass as this timeless ritual that would be the same reality during all ages....

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College on the solemnity of All Saints, November 1st 2022. I read a book that dramatizes in first person the personality of the Good Thief. As he looked at me, I thought he was trying to smile, and then he said, “I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” He died that day, but we know he became St. Dismas. This is our dream. Saint Jo...

A meditation preached at Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai on October 27, 2022. Today is the Father’s birthday, born in exile in France in 1944. So that makes him 78. Still young in spirit. Since 2016 he has been the Prelate, but known to all of us as the Father. Since Pope Francis’ motu propio, Ad charisma tuendum , on 14 July 2022, his elevation to the episcopacy is no longer an option. What d...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to High School boys at Ernescliff College in Toronto on Oct 22, 2022. On that day, Oct 22, 1978, facing the vast crowd in the square, and beyond, in the whole world, John Paul II said: Today the new Bishop of Rome solemnly begins his ministry and the mission of Peter. In this city, in fact, Peter completed and fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by the...

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto, on October 19, 2022. Pope John XXIII made the prophetic decision to call an Ecumenical council in 1962. Paul VI brought it to completion. Pope John Paul II then figured out how to apply it all. During the Jubilee in 2000, he reiterated some of the essential teaching so of the council. One of these that he found part...

Here are some excerpts of the solemn Pontifical Funeral for Father Jose Luis Soria, celebrated by His Grace, The Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, CSB, Archbishop of Vancouver accompanied by Msgr. de Rochebrune, Vicar of Opus Dei in Canada. The celebration took place in the Cathedral of Vancouver on October 14, 2022. May he Rest In Peace. The full video can be found here: https://youtu.be/kdPzxfp5w...