Luke 14: 1; 7-11 (Saturday, November 3, 2007)

Jesus Christ invites us in the gospel of today to be people of humility. If we exult ourselves, we would be humbled, if we humble ourselves, we will be exalted. As we strive to live good Christian lives, some times if we are not careful we develop a “holier than thou” attitude in which we become not only spiritually proud, but we also become judgmental of other people. One of the easiest ways in which the devil causes righteous people to fall is through pride. I know some gifted people who abandoned the Church because they felt they should be made bishops or monsignors. What about people who are so much gifted by the Holy Spirit and because of lack of humility left the Church to found their own churches where they shall obtain all the titles of honors? Jesus invites us to be always cautious of pride because it can cause us a great deal of embarrassment and can even destroy our spiritual lives.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you humbled yourself and even took on the nature of a slave, even though you were God. Please give to us the spirit of humility that we will live humble lives in service of you and your people.

Wisdom 3: 1-9; Romans 6: 3-9; John 6: 37-40 (Friday, November 2, 2007 – All Souls)

What we celebrate today is Christian hope. As Christians we believe that death is not the end of life, it is a beginning of new life, a new life in our eternal home where we truly belong. Today is an opportunity for us to commit the souls of dead family members, as well as friends and fellow Christians into the hands of God. We believe that Christ’s resurrection is a victory over death and those who shared in the baptism of Christ would also share in the resurrection of Christ. We celebrate hope because we believe that Jesus will raise us all up on the last day. We need not fear death as Christians because Jesus has conquered death and has given us life. He has purchased us with his precious blood and he keeps watch that none of us would be lost. Our only responsibility is that we believe in him.

Prayer:
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace, Amen. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Revelation 7: 2-4; 9-14; 1John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12A (Thursday, November 1, 2007 – Solemnity of All Saints)

When I was growing up, we lived near an army memorial park. In the park there was a life size statue of a soldier on a Nigerian Army uniform. Every 15th of January, the veterans marched and paid homage to this soldier. As a little child, I always wondered who he was and what he did to achieve such great honors. It was at an older age that I learnt that he was a symbol for all the unknown soldiers that died serving the country. Today is the day we celebrate all those people who lived exemplary Christian lives that might be unknown to other people. Usually on this day I invoke the intercession of those people that I personally know whom I believe strive to live daily their Christian lives when they were living here on earth: I remember family members who have died; I remember those missionaries who labored to share their faith with my rural people; I remember those Christians I prayed with and anointed on their dead beds; I remember friends who died very young but lived their whole lives hoping to return to their eternal home one day.

Today is also a day we Christians celebrate our call to be saints. We are all called to sainthood because we have been elected by Christ to be members of the sanctified community. As members of the sanctified community, every moment of our lives most be sanctified – it must be an opportunity to respond to this call that we have received from the Lord. Thus, we must see our responsibilities and professions as moments that God has given to us to gain grace.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for calling us to be saints. May you help us to see each moment of our lives as an opportunity to respond to you, so that one day, we together with all the saints will rejoice with you in our eternal home.

Romans 8: 26-30 (Wednesday, October 31, 2007)

Have you experienced moments you don’t just feel like praying? I sometimes do. I don’t feel like praying or sometimes I do not even know what to pray about. For some people that is a good enough excuse not to pray. When you don’t feel like praying or you don’t know what to pray about, it is when you should actually pray. That is actually when you give up the control and let the Holy Spirit who is the prayer warrior carry out his work. It is not uncommon that sometimes I go before Jesus and I tell him “Lord, I don’t feel like being here. I don’t even know why I should even pray. I am not sure of what I should pray about.” After this ranting, I continue to “waste” the rest of my prayer time with him. Usually I come out of the prayer time more fulfilled than even those times I really love to pray. Why? The reason is because prayer is not my work, but the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. It is the Holy Spirit that would help us to cultivate a relationship with Jesus.

Prayer:
Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of they love.

Romans 8: 18-25 (Tuesday, October 30, 2007)

St. Paul in this beautiful reading encourages the people of Romans to endure the pains and anguish they go through now since they hope for something greater in the future. Sometimes it feels like Christians are the losers in the world. If you try to live out radically your Christianity as a business person or as a professional worker, you may not make as much money or grow in your career as others because you are not willing to cut corners. We are invited by St. Paul to enjoy these present inconveniences because the glory of God that is our destiny is greater. Like Jesus would say, of what profit would it be, if you gain the whole world and lose your soul. It is important to keep in mind that our home is not here on earth but it is in heaven and it is that glory and joy of heaven that we should work towards. There, they shall be no pain or sorrow.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ help us to keep our eyes on your glory and not the glories of the world. Amidst the pains and sorrows of this world, give us the endurance to continue to work towards your glory.

Romans 8: 12-17 (Monday, October 29, 2007)

Many Christians are yet to experience the liberation that Jesus Christ has won for us on the Cross. They still live as slaves. St. Paul tells us that we did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but rather, we received a spirit of adoption. The moment we were adopted by Christ on the Cross, we took on a new nature and we were immediately guaranteed the rights of sons and daughters of the kingdom. We can rightfully call God, “Abba”. The spirit of fear is not a good spirit and we must overcome fear in our lives. Fear hold us back from realizing fully God’s blessings in our lives. It keeps us from claiming the promises that Jesus made to us on the Cross. When we are able to overcome this spirit of fear, then we will experience fully the power of Jesus as our liberator. At that moment, nothing has power over us except God. Jesus Christ becomes the all and all of our lives.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, take away the spirit of fear from me. Take away any spirit that keeps me away from experiencing the liberation you have won for me on the cross. Give me the courage to follow you.