Posts by Sr. Olisaemeka Rosemary Okwara
Feast of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today 8th September the Church marks the feast of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Only a few people enjoy the privilege of birthday celebration in the Church’s liturgical calendar: The Birth of Jesus (December 25), the Birth of John the Baptist (June 24) and the Birthday of the blessed…
Read MoreFaith as Small as a Mustard Seed
Faith is often imagined as something strong, unwavering, and extraordinary. We tend to admire people whose confidence in God seems unshakable, believing that they possess a kind of spiritual certainty beyond the reach of ordinary believers. Yet the Gospel passage from Matthew 17:14b–20 presents a surprisingly different understanding of faith. After the disciples fail to…
Read MoreThe Church’s Mission: Sacrament of Life and Salvation
In today’s Gospel (Matthew 10:1–7), Jesus summons His Twelve Apostles, gives them authority to heal and drive out unclean spirits, and sends them out to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Twelve are called by Jesus to cooperate with Him in establishing the Kingdom of God, just as all Christians and…
Read MoreWalking Through the Beatitudes
The Mass readings for today and the Psalm (Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth) offer us yet another insight into God’s ways and how Jesus continues to direct our lives in grace, through the Scriptures. Today, we are reading one of the great passages of the Scriptures spoken by Jesus:…
Read MoreFrom Servants to Friends
Jesus says to his disciples in today’s Gospel (John 15, 12-17): “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” Having shared his life with his disciples, love emerges as a summary of all He did in their midst and all his teaching. If we recall the events of the evening of the…
Read MoreEncountering the Risen Christ – Word, Sacrament and Healing
The Lukan narrative of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35) and the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1–10) are centered on faith, recognition, encounter and transformation. The Emmaus account exposes the dispiritedness of the disciples after the death and burial of Jesus. It culminates in their encounter…
Read MoreDrawing from God the Well of Living Water
The readings of today demonstrate the human longing for life and God who knows the deepest human longings. It is a story of thirst, physical, spiritual, and communal, and of a Savior who alone can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. The Gospel scenario portrays a humble and positive trust and openness in…
Read MoreSalt of the Earth and Light of the World – The One True Relevance of Christianity
The readings for today are clear and emphatic about one thing: the relevance and aim of the Christian faith and its message. The first reading, from Isaiah 58:7–10, speaks of true fasting as having the purpose of kindness and social transformation. The prophet is commanded to condemn the formalism of the people, specifically their hypocritical…
Read MoreWhen Little Becomes Enough – Feeding of the Multitude
The Gospel of the feeding of the multitude (Mark 6:34–44) speaks to our shared human condition: scarcity, lack, weariness, fear and limits. Beyond this human condition, we are also confronted with God’s compassion, abundance, trust, willingness to share, blessing, faith and love. In Jesus, who looks upon the crowd with compassion, we encounter a God…
Read MoreThe Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Dear Friends, the Church celebrates today the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated on December 8, yearly. This celebration commemorates Mary’s preservation from original sin at the moment of her conception in…
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