Posts by Fr. Maurice Emelu
The Portraits of the Saints
Last year, I stood before the great doors of Notre-Dame in Paris with my camera raised. Above me, carved in stone, stood rows of saints, prophets, kings, and angels, looking down with the patience of centuries. I took picture after picture, my heart filled with prayerful gratitude for their witness. Yet I knew no frame…
Read MoreA Deeper Seeing
I am currently in Rome for a conference and a few meetings, the details of which I will share in the coming weeks. God has been at work over these years, and he continues to lead and guide us every step of the way. As I prayed and prepared for Mass this morning, celebrating the…
Read MoreKnowing the Mind of God
The following reflection, “Knowing the Mind of God” is taken from Volume 6 of my recent four-volume series, An Encounter. One of the most difficult movements in the spiritual life is learning to know the mind of God. Across Church traditions, many paths have been given to help us grow in this. The Spiritual Exercises of…
Read MoreSaint Alphonsus Liguori: The Glory That Rises from Crucifixion
He resigned as bishop and local ordinary of his diocese only thirteen years after assuming office. He was treated as a stranger in his own city, despite having been born into one of its noble families. The man was neither appreciated in his hometown nor by his religious congregation. He was expelled not only as…
Read MoreTerritory of the Heart
The Blessed Lord arrives in the territory of the Gadarenes, a place a religious Jew would regard as ceremonially unclean. The city’s name, Gadara, once meant “fortress,” “walled place,” or “stronghold.” Over time, however, it becomes known for something far more degrading. Society labels it a land of pigs and tombs, a place where death…
Read MoreWhat Would Saint Justin, Martyr, Say About AI Today?
As the Church begins the month of June, traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we remember Saint Justin, Martyr, a man who stood at the crossroads of philosophy and faith. Justin died around the year 165 AD, beheaded in Rome under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Justin witnessed to Christ with his life, intellect, courage,…
Read MoreResurrection and New Life
As I walked through my university corridors last week, I noticed one of my former students sitting with another student by the corner, reading their well-marked-up Bibles. The marked-up Bibles caught my attention. I have known this student as a hardworking young man, but not particularly religious. I approached and saw that they were sharing…
Read MoreChrist is Risen. Alleluia!
In this sacred season of Easter 2026, we celebrate the victory of Christ over death and the renewal of hope, purpose, and life. We celebrate our salvation in Christ, in whom and through whom we are victorious. The empty tomb proclaims that light overcomes darkness and that God’s transforming grace is alive in our midst. …
Read MoreWhat is Jesus Worth to Me?
There comes a quiet but decisive moment in the spiritual life when everything turns on a single question. What is the Lord Jesus worth to me? Besides Genesis’s iconic depiction of the choice between freedom, trust, and obedience versus going our own way (cf. Gn 2-3), from the earliest moments, the people of God as…
Read MoreThe Beatitudes
You may already know that the Sermon on the Mount is more than the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes form its opening movement, not its entirety. Yet, like a doorway into a house, they shape how everything else is understood. As Jesus begins with the Beatitudes, he tells us immediately what kind of life leads to true…
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