Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (year B). Based on Mark 7, 1-8, 14-15, 21-23: the teaching on ritual purity. How do I realize inner purity of heart, and rectitude? Music: Topaz, guitar arrangement by Bert Alink For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos www.ernescliff.ca www.opusdei.ca
Preached by Fr. Juan Lopez Agúndez in Bowmont centre in Calgary, Alberta. John the Baptist said of Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God” (Jn 1, 35) He came to understand that he wanted to follow Jesus out of love. The desire is the engine of the will. When we desire, then our will moves us to our goals. The desire makes it easier to reach our goals. Mozart, Adagio in C Major K. 356 Arranged for guitar by Bert Alink Thumbnail: Jacopo del Casentino, St. John the Baptist, c. 1330, El Paso Museum of Art, ...
Bartholomew, or also known as Nathanael, was described as a man in who there is no duplicity, no guile. Let us ask for simplicity and humility, and never rely merely on appearance or facade. He appears in Michelangelo's famous Sistine chapel from 1534. This great apostle will pray for us today. Music: Mozart Opera Rinaldo. "Lascia ch'io pianga", played by Bert Alink. Feast of St. Bartholomew, preached in Ernescliff Centre on August 24, 2021, by Fr. Eric Nicolai For more meditations, check my cha...
Mark 1, 29-39: All the demons he expelled, all the sickness… .Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Mk 1:24). Through the people they possess demons are able to publish this fact. But our Lord, using his divine powers, orders them to be silent. Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies. Spiritual direction can help us come closer to t...
A Meditation by Fr. John Lopez Agundez from Calgary on how to educate our heart, and channel our passions for the true, the good and the beautiful. God promises the prophet Ezekiel that he will give him a heart of flesh (Ezek 11, 14-20), one that will replace his heart of stone. Let us meditate on what God asks of our own heart. Thumbnail: Prophet Ezekiel, by Michelangelo, Sistine chapel, Rome. Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria Lascia ch'io Pianga, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. https://www...
From Ernescliff College in Toronto, Fr. Eric Nicolai prepares for the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, and the memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe on August 14. The evil that took place in Auschwitz is difficult for us to understand. How can one stand by and allow this to happen? Here we see the pressing need for the formation of conscience. Music J.S. Bach, BACH Cello Suite no. 1 - Prelude in G, BWV 1007 For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtub...
Lawrence was a martyr in the 3rd century, Edith was a martyr in the 20th century. Both lived lives that became a sign of Christ's cross. How can my life too be a holocaust? Music: Handel Opera, Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia che io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.
Today is the the anniversary of the dedication of the basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, first dedicated by Pope Sixtus III in 435 on the occasion of the definition of the council of Ephesus on Mary, the Mother of God. It holds special treasures, like the earliest mosaics of th Christian Era, and one of the earliest icons of our Lady, attributed to St. Luke, evangelist. Fr. Eric Nicolai tells the legend of the name, Our Lady of the Snows, and how this can be an invitation for us to live bette...
On the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, July 31, 2021, Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches from the Manoir de Beaujeu about how Ignatius read about the exploits of great saints, and this led to his conversion. Many were in love with the Eucharist. We can too can make the Holy Mass the root and centre of our interior life. Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017) For more meditations: www.youtube.com/c/ericnicolai Thumbnail is Blessed Alvaro del Portillo celebrating his last Mass in the ce...
July 26th is the feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin. Anne is the Patroness of the Province of Quebec, and big celebrations take place today at St. Anne de Beaupré. Especially because of her relics there. Fr. Eric Nicolai outlines the origin of the devotion to Anne, and how we can become sons and daughters God, modelled on the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Preached July 26, 2021 at the Manoir de Beaujeu. Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017) www.youtube...
St. Bridget was a native of Finsta in early 14th century, in Sweden. She married at age 13 and bore 8 children. 28 years of happy marriage, her husband died. When she was just a child, St. Bridget received a vision of Christ scourged and hanging on the Cross. In sorrow, she asked him who had treated him like this. Christ answered, " They who despise me, and spurn my love for them. " From that time on, the young St. Bridget had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. How do I meditate on the w...
Matthew 10:16-23: Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. This is a warning that Our Lord issued several times to warn against discouragement. He knew it would happen, and we know persecution has often happened throughout the history of the church. He knew it would not be a walk in the park. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, July 9, 2021. Music: Andrian Berengu...
Matt 13:31-33: The mustard seed is tiny, but it can become a large and leafy tree. We should become a leafy tree and give fruit in our life around us. A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre on July 3, 2021. For videos of meditations: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos Thumbnail: Rembrandt etching, 1630s.
Since the most ancient times the Church of Rome has celebrated the Solemnity of the Great Apostles Peter and Paul as a single Feast on the same day, 29 June. It was through their martyrdom, that they became brothers; together they founded the new Christian Rome. (Pope Benedict XVI June 29, 2008). A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College on June 29, 2021. Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga composer, Lua Branca (Arranged for guitar by Guitar Bert Alink)
A homily preached on June 26, 2021 at the parish of Martha and Mary in Mississauga, by Msgr. Fred Dolan.
First reading: Isaiah 49, 1-6 "Islands, listen to me, pay attention, remotest peoples. The Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name. He made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in his quiver." He promises that a new servant of the Lord is coming, someone who will really restore the city of Zion. Applied to Jesus, but also his forerunner, John The Baptist. He was to be a voice crying...
Mark 4:35-41: What power in those words of the Lord, who faces down the treacherous storm in front of him, that sea that men feared and that seemed to unfurl its wrath against them. The sea is a force so fierce that no human might can contain it, ever…. And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Trust in God: This is the message of the Gospel. On that day, what saved the disciples from shipwreck was the fact of tak...
Matt 6, 19-23: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal.(...)‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. Why won’t material goods, recognition, prosperity, even fame satisfy? Because we were made for God. Our heart is made for you Lord. Augustine: Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until t...
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the most perfect reflection of the love and purity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Yesterday was the solemnity of the Sacred Heart, a long standing devotion in the church that has taken on different forms. It started in that moment when John testified to what he saw, as Jesus’ side was violently pierced by a sword: look upon him whom they have pierced. Preached June 12, 2021 at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto. Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017) For m...
A meditation inspired by the pastoral letter by Thomas Cardinal Collins, archbishop of Toronto, entitled Heart Speaks to Heart. In the midst of the pandemic, and all the suffering that it supposes he is opening his heart about the love that will keep us afloat, and that is still capable of transforming us, despite all the devastation: it is the power of the Sacred heart. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, June 4, 2021 Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 201...
Lk 1, 39-41: Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. Why did Mary go with such haste? What was her purpose in this trip? She teaches us quite a lot about the spirit of service we must have with those around us. Know how to serve as they would need to be served. This is from a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College on May 31, 2021. Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017) Thumbnail: Antependium from Straßburg, detail...
We have just finished the Easter season, ending it with the solemnity of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes ands fires up the apostles in the cenacle. Before they were afraid and doubtful, now they are on fire and ready to undertake the mission. It is what we call "the time of the church". Which is why we are now in the season called “Ordinary Time”. Not ordinary in the sense of boring, or unappealing. But ordinary in the sense of the normal, habitual action of God in the world, through in th...
We’ve often heard that phrase of our Father: “God he takes a risk with our freedom.” What does this mean? Josemaria Escriva: God wants us to cooperate with him in this task which he is carrying out in the world. He takes a risk with our freedom. I am deeply moved by the Jesus born in Bethlehem: a defenceless, powerless child, incapable of offering any resistance. God gives himself up to men; he comes close to us, down to our level. As St. Paul says: ” Though he was in the form of God, he did not...
With this global marathon of prayer during May, in union with Pope Francis, we ask our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, for an end to the pandemic. Josemaria Escriva would say we are under the mantle of our Lady. She is also spouse of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches during the monthly recollection during the month of May. Music: Claude Debussy, Reverie. Played by Simone Renzi https://musopen.org/music/4505-reverie/ This meditation can also be found on YouTube: Che...
In 1944, Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri (1916-1975) attended Mass in Madrid and had an experience of the closeness of God. With time, she came to know Saint Josemaria Escriva, and ended up dedicating her life in Opus Dei as a numerary. She served Madrid, Mexico, and Rome. She was cheerful and always full of enthusiasm for love of God. Fr. Eric Nicolai gives an account of how this happened in her life, and how we too are called to real sanctity and must reject any complacency in our life. Her memor...
May 12 is the memorial of Bishop Alvaro del Portillo (1914-1994), who was the Prelate of Opus Dei and first successor of Saint Josemaria. He was beatified by Pope Francis on September 27, 2014. The prayer card for his intercession reads: O God, merciful Father, you granted your bishop Blessed Alvaro, the grace of being, with our Lady's help, an exemplary pastor in the service of the Church and a most faithful son and successor of Saint Josemaría, the Founder of Opus Dei. Grant that I also may re...
Since Pentecost is coming up on May 23, we wanted to prepare for that marvellous solemnity by understanding how grace acts in our soul. Grace is the life of God in humans : it is the life of God (one and three) and therefore must be considered as essentially “un-created” in character, as something that is divine in origin and divinizing in effect. It is not some kind of liquid substance that seeps into our soul and cleans it out. It is more like God himself entering our apartment, with mop and b...
Lk 24, 35-48: The disciples on the road to Emmaus had realized that their hearts were burning within them. It was afire of longing to be with the master, to stay with him. Mane nobiscum Domine , was the prayer that expressed that inner fire. But in that moment of agitation, he comes among them and says peace be with you. Shalom. A common Jewish expression. But here it has the sense of salvation. We must seek to be like a calm lake, where the sun is easily reflected. But if we are agitated, we ar...
In the discourse on the bread of life (John 6), some of the disciples are scandalized by the words of Jesus, and no longer go with him. "Will you also go away", he asks the apostles? Peter says: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." During hard times we realize we have made a commitment, and we must keep our word. Stay faithful, no matter what. Fidelity means a readiness to fight. To struggle. We do so now during the ups and downs of the pandemic. (Preached in Lyncroft...
Saint Josemaria did his first communion April 23, 1912, at the age of 10. By a decree issued in 1910 by Pope Saint Pius X, the age requirement was lowered to when the use of reason is acquired, "which is at about the age of seven.” He was well prepared. He learned the prayer of spiritual communion, which did not keep to himself, but transmitted to thousands of others. The spiritual communion can be memorized: "I wish my Lord to receive you with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your ...
