In Your Presence

Acts 12:1-11: tells us about Herod who had James executed by the sword. Since this was pleasing to the Jews, he thought he would go after Peter too. You can imagine the hostility in the air when you execute someone and it makes them happy. Though Paul and Peter had some differences, their unity is symbolized by the famous kiss of peace, where they embrace on their way to their martyrdom. Preached...

The opening prayer for today’s feast has to squeeze the spirit of Saint Josemaria and all his dreams into one simple and brief Collect.  It is hard to reduce something you love and have dedicated yourself to just a few words. But this collect is like the directors cut, approved and vetted by our holy mother the church. "O God, who raised up your priest Saint Josemaría in the Church to proclai...

St. Josemaria would be moved deeply when he said with faith that part of the Creed, that produced a pause, when he prayed: Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam! I believe in one Holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.  — I can understand why you pause to relish your prayer: I believe in the Church, one, holy, Catholic and apostolic.. (The Way 517) It is as though he wanted to sa...

With his encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," Pope John Paul II intended to reawaken "Eucharistic wonder" in the Church. "The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfillment of the promise: “Lo, I am with you alwa...

Matt 6, 19-23: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It...

Matt 5, 43: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. We make friends by loving them. The answer to our loving...

Matthew 5: But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of yo...

Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain , and when He sat down his disciples came to him. And He opened his mouth and taught them (Matt 5:1-2). And the Beatitudes begin. Matthew 5:13-16: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. ‘...

John 20, 19-23: Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins...

Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” (Lk 22) "Do this inn remembrance of me," as a memorial of me. Thus Christ directed the apostles (and successors) to celebrate a new “memorial" that would replace the one celebrated in the Jewish Passover. This memorial rite has a special efficacy: it not only helps the community of believers to “remember" Chr...

Lk 24, 46-53:  The account of the ascension: Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. St John Chrysostom says. “The cloud was a sure sign that Jesus had already ent...

Acts 1,3: Tells us about those absolutely luminous days that our Lord spent with the disciples. He was teaching, they were learning everything they needed to know for their mission. He was entrusting them. He was opening their horizons. With Jesus there are no improvisations. Success comes from careful planning, and then rigorous and constant execution. They were being prepared for Pentecost.

The Lord said: "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you shall know him because he will dwell with you, and be in you" (Jn 14: 16-17). Think how great the HS must be for Christ to utter these words: "It is to your advantage that I go away…" (Jn 16,7) P...

John 14: Jesus said to his disciples: "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words." Yes, you are a living house, a home for God. But you should allow Him to do what He pleases to shape you into the person you need to be. This is applied to how faithfully we live our vocatio...

The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1809: Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about how we can live this virtue. Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for...

In the Church of Jerusalem two men were proposed to the community, and then lots were cast for their names: "Joseph called Barsabbas , who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias" (Acts 1: 23). Precisely the latter was chosen, hence, "he was enrolled with the eleven apostles" (Acts 1: 26). The apostles understood firstly that they absolutely needed to be 12, in line with the 12 tribes of Israel. To have...

Today, May 12, is the feast of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo (1914-1994). He was the first successor of Saint Josemaria Escriva. He was an engineer who became a priest and worked closely with Saint Josemaria Escriva until his death in 1975. His life was imbued with that "charism of normality" which characterizes all those humble people who reach the summit of perfection without doing anything out of...

It's the month of May, the month of Mary. Josemaria said: Our Opus Dei was born and grew up under the mantle of our Lady . She has been a good Mother, comforting us, smiling at us, helping us in the difficult moments of the blessed battle to bring forward this army of apostles in the world ". It is amazing to see that when she appeared on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531 to Juan Diego. How ca...

Introductory meditation for a retreat at Kintore College, May 5, 2022. Starting with the passage of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8), Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about possibilites of entering into true prayer. Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink  Thumbnail: Rembrandt Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery 1644 National Gallery, London. F...

John 21:1-14: Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias. One senses in Peter’s return to fishing that he is invaded by discouragement. As though all had gone back to normal . No real sense yet of what the real meaning of the resurrection was. It had not sunk in. But they captured 153 fish. What does this mean? Preached at Lyncroft Centre, April 22, 2022. Music: Han...

This night’s Vigil is the greatest and most noble of all solemnities. Augustine said his wounds were the badges of his victory, the same wounds now decorate him, now embellish the beauty of his risen body. Faith in the truth of the resurrection of Christ can imbed itself in us so that we live always with a true, deeply-rooted supernatural vision. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Cedarcrest Conferen...

There are many places in the Bible that speak of the generosity of the people of God . In Exodus 36:1-7, we are told that Moses built the sanctuary of the temple sumptuous and grand. Mary of Bethany broke open the alabaster jar over Jesus' feet. Paul is amazed at the generosity of the Corinthians: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generous...

The ancient church took up the practice of the adoration of the cross. Then added the singing of the Reproaches  (Improperia), an ancient and haunting chant that the Church does on Good Friday. "My people, What have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!" (Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi.) Fr. Eric Nicolai helps us to prepare to live Good Frid...

Numbers 21:4-9: Tells us about the Israelites left Mount Hor. They are in the wilderness and complain to Moses about their food, about their discomfort. God sends these fiery serpents and they are bitten. Moses intercedes for the people, but God asks him to fashion a bronze serpent and put it on a standard. Then a connection with the Gospel of John, 8, 21-30: They failed to understand that he was...

Jn 13:1: " Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." These words of the apostle can rekindle in us a deeper love and awareness of what happened at the Last Supper. Fr. Eric Nicolai goes through the details of this central event: St. John narrates the washing of feet (vv. 4-11) and Jesus’ explanation of why he did it (vv. 12-17). It then mentions the denunciation of the...