Posts by Fr. Venatius Oforka
The Sacred Priesthood
The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. The events that led to the salvation of the human race culminated in the Easter Triduum. On Holy Thursday (which is today), the Church celebrates the Last Supper of her Lord. In this sacred…
Read MoreThe Law of Cause and Effect
Whatever we do, we do it for ourselves. Whatever undertaking we engage in, we do it for ourselves. We may convince ourselves that we do certain things for others or even for God. Ultimately, however, we do whatever we do for ourselves. This is because, according to the law of cause and effect, everything we…
Read MoreThe Old Rugged Cross: The Memorial of Paul Miki and Companions
The old rugged cross, an absurdity, a paradox, an ancient torturous path of contradiction! In Adam, humanity died but in Christ, humanity was reborn through the old rugged cross. Out of death comes life and life is swallowed by death to be reborn once again. Jesus loved his own who were in the world to…
Read MoreThe Festival of Light
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” This is how the evangelist John began his account of the story of Jesus. While the synoptic writers started their own stories with his birth in Bethlehem of Judea, John went deeper to identify the actual “origin” of…
Read MoreKeep Trusting His Faithfulness
A man was wrongly accused, and the king condemned him to life imprisonment. From prison, he continued to write to the king and insisted on his innocence. He pleaded with him each time he wrote to review his case. Several years passed and the king did not rescind his judgment. However, the king was not…
Read MoreBeyond the Grave
At the time of Jesus, there were already rationalists who questioned or even completely denied life after death. This included the religious group of the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. For them death is a form of nihilism, the end of the road for every human being. To…
Read MorePray Until Something Happens
We know from experience that we do not receive everything we ask for in prayer. There are some intentions we have often brought to God in prayer and for a long period but we are yet to get answers to these prayers. Yet the Lord promised in today’s gospel reading, “ask, and it will be…
Read MoreRediscovering the Ministry of Intercession
It is worthy of note that Jesus spent an entire night in prayer before He chose His apostles. This was not the only time He spent hours in prayer during His ministry on earth. It was His lifestyle. Although He was and still is God, He knew that as an incarnate being, He would be…
Read MoreNo Guts, No Glory
Whenever I reflect on the splendor and majesty of the Most High, I cannot but get down on my knees in profound adoration of the One sitting on the throne. The Prophet Daniel had a vision of His glory and attempted to describe His form and magnificence. He called Him “the Ancient of Days.” This…
Read MoreMartyred in Defense of Purity
Today, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Maria Goretti, a virgin and martyr. This memorial calls to mind one of the basic Christian virtues that appears outmoded in our age. It reminds us of the virtue of purity, which greatly delights the Lord. Dazzling White God is purer than the sun. He has…
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