Posts by Sr. Olisaemeka Rosemary Okwara
The God Who Heals Us and Makes Us Whole
Among the images of God depicted in Scripture, the portrayal of God as gracious, merciful, close to people, and in charge of healing and wholeness stands pre-eminent. In the history of Israel and Jesus’ ministry on earth, we see God’s patient pedagogy in dealing with human beings. This process involves transformation, healing, generosity, and wholeness…
Read MoreThe Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Theological references to the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus. She dedicated her innermost being, mind, memory, will, and capacity for love to God and mankind. Mary submitted herself to the saving work of her Son. St. John Eudes, a 17th-century French priest, popularized the devotion. He…
Read MoreThe Reality of God’s Presence Among Us
Today’s readings from the Acts of the Apostles (17:15, 22-18:1) and the Gospel of John (16:12-15) present us with the critical question of who God is, and where and how human beings come to the knowledge of God. Conversely, they also reveal how God’s presence is manifested in human existence. They inspire us to reflect…
Read MoreDoing God’s Will by Waiting on His Promise
The church celebrates today the solemnity feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. The feast announces God’s promise of a child to Mary, who will be called the son of God, and who will be a savior. This promise of salvation began even in the Old Testament promise to the house of Judah. Indeed, God’s…
Read MoreWhy Love is the Greatest Commandment
In the Gospel of today (Mark 12, 28b-34), one of the Scribes, namely, one of the most learned in the context of the Jewish law, approached Jesus and demanded an answer from him to the question: Which is the greatest commandment of the law? Jesus gave the best and shortest possible summary to the question…
Read MoreThe Power to Invoke Favors
The Gospel (Mark 7, 28-30) addresses obtaining a favor not on the assurance of one’s right or the law but instead on insistence. Today’s Gospel scene and the dialogue between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman, whose daughter is possessed by an unclean spirit, have something spiritual and temporal to offer us. Let us journey together…
Read MoreThe Baptism of the Lord and the Public Ministry of Jesus
The feast of the baptism of Jesus (Baptism of the Lord) is notable because it marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus begins his ministry by receiving baptism in the river Jordan from John the Baptist. Today’s feast connects the Christmas season with the ordinary time of the year. During the Christmas season we have…
Read MoreMary’s Immaculate Conception
The celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary refers to the dogma that Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin in preparation for becoming the Mother of God, the son Jesus Christ. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church and was not defined as a…
Read MoreThe Call to Discipleship and Love
Love and Discipleship According to St Paul and Jesus. In the first reading from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans (13,8-10) we are informed that love is the summary of all the commandments. The reading affirms that whoever loves the other fulfils the law. Indeed, the laws: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do…
Read MoreBearing Rich and Good Fruit
Most of us may have the experience of agriculture, and possibly, understand the art of cultivating of farmlands and animal husbandry. In my own Nigerian African context, subsistent agriculture holds place. Growing up in this region of the world comprises of school attendance combined with spending hours with the parents in the farmland on weekends…
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