Luke 2, 1-14: The beautiful account of the decree of Cesar. He wanted to get an idea of the extension of his kingdom. We experience some of that fullness. Christmas is always a special day. A unique time. It often connects us with our childhood, the mystery and innocence of that time, and this is maintained by the numerous Christmas carols we learned. Sacred music that helps you to pray, as you stand at church, or in front of the lighted tree, symbol of Christ. Fr. Eric Nicolai recounts the orig...
Dec 26, 2021•30 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai streamed this meditation from Ernescliff College on December 23, 2021, about the Magnificat of Our Lady (Lk 1, 46-56) In these days as we approach Christmas, we are filled with expectation. It is a combination of deep desire, and excitement at something apparently new, even though we know exactly what is going to happen. Let us never loose a sense of newness to our life. We really have to be aware if we start feeling blazé, and get inured to a sense of wonder that is proper to t...
Dec 24, 2021•26 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on December 19, 2021 at Lyncroft Centre. Every year the liturgy leads us to Christmas with three guides: Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. The first announced the Messiah from afar, the second showed him present in the world, the third bore him in her womb. The visitation of Mary to her cousin was done in haste, because she was deeply convinced of her mission. Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink...
Dec 19, 2021•27 min
We are in preparatory phase: The octave to Christmas. Fr. Eric preaches about today's Gospel from St. Matthew on the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1, 1-17) For Matthew, two names are of key significance if we are to understand Jesus’ provenance: Abraham and David. The story of the promise begins with Abraham, following the dispersal of mankind after the building of the Tower of Babel. Abraham points ahead to what is yet to come. He is a wayfarer, not only from the land of his birth into the promised ...
Dec 18, 2021•27 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Pavillon Soulanges in Quebec on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Today Mexicans all over the world will be singing las mañanitas, with their sombreros, guitars, and violins. Here is the account of Juan Diego and his vision of our Lady. Plus words that connect this to the Eucharist. Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged by Bert Alink
Dec 12, 2021•28 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the mystery of the annunciation, an event, a moment in time. It was a direct communication between God who came in the form of an angel, and transmitted himself directly in the Holy Spirit. What does this tell us about Mary's vocation, and our vocation? Preached on December 2, 2021. It can be thought of as a precursor to pentecost.: The HS comes upon Mary and imparts to her the gift of all gifts, a divine son. Music: Amores de estudiante by Carlos Gardel, arranged...
Dec 04, 2021•28 min
On Day 2 of the Novena to the Immaculate Conception, Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Ernescliff College on the birth of Mary, and her realization of her divine vocation. Music: Adeste Fideles by John Francis Wade (1711-1786), arranged for guitar in 2017 by Bert Alink For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos www.ernescliff.ca www.opusdei.ca
Dec 02, 2021•29 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai begins the Novena to the Immaculate Conception at Ernescliff College, on November 30, 2021, feast of St. Andrew, the brother of Peter. The two became the most effective apostles ever, and they remained faithful to the end, both of them dying by crucifixion. Jesus made them fishers of men. How does this fit into the Novena? Music: Adeste Fideles (John Wade Francis), arranged by Bert Alink (2017). Thumbnail: Immaculate Conception by Peter Paul Rubens (1628) Prado Museum, Madrid. F...
Dec 01, 2021•29 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about how we can be actively engaged in the Holy Mass: to do so worthily, attentively and piously. Music: Amores de Estudiante (Carlos Gardel) Arranged by Bert Alink 2018 Public domain in Canada. For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos www.ernescliff.ca www.opusdei.ca
Nov 26, 2021•26 min
Luke 19, 45-48: My House shall be a house of prayer, you have made it into a house of thieves… God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle where he would dwell among the Israelites (Ex 25:40). King Solomon, also in obedience to a divine instruction, built the Temple of Jerusalem (1 Kings 6-8), where people went to render public worship to God. Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College on November 19, 2021. Music: "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" (Melody J. S. Bach in St. Matth...
Nov 20, 2021•28 min
The meaning of commitment is seen in the story of the farmer who had breakfast a pair of fried eggs with Iberian bacon. Well, in that splendid breakfast involved the contribution of the hen. But the pig however, was truly committed. Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about freedom and commitment at Lyncroft Centre, on November 17, 2021. Lk 14, 28: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Imagine not being able to finish...
Nov 18, 2021•27 min
From a meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, November 12, 2021. Today's Gospel is filled with apocalyptic language: the story of Noah and the ark, the image of Lot fleeing from Sodom and his wife perishing as she looked back; and how the Son of man will be revealed. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it . (Luke 17, 27) Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. For more meditations, check m...
Nov 13, 2021•25 min
In this meditation at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on November 10, 2021, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on aspects of the famous book "The Spirit of the Liturgy," by Cardinal Ratzinger (Ignatius press, 2000). It is strongly influenced by German theologian, Romano Guardini, who wrote his book of the same title in 1918. It is a deeper way to understand the nature of Christian worship, and in particular the Holy Mass. Music: Mossy Garden, arranged by Bert Alink. For more meditations, check my channel: htt...
Nov 10, 2021•29 min
Ignem veni mittere in terram (Lk.12,49) “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. .. What is this fire that the Lord speaks about? A mediation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, Nov 6, 2021. Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia c...
Nov 07, 2021•28 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College on November 1, 2021, solemnity of all saints. Psalm 145, 10-11. ”All Thy works praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints give thanks unto Thee: they show the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power.” Today’s Office of reading in the breviary, from St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “The Saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs…. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a trem...
Nov 04, 2021•32 min
Today is the 31st Sunday of Ordinary time (B), in which Jesus emphasizes the most important commandment of the Law of Moses: In Hebrew, the "Shema", the command to love God, and to love your neighbour as yourself. Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches today (Oct 31, 2021) from Lyncroft centre in Toronto, outlining the 3 aspects of that love: Love of God, love of others, and love of self. Which one of those needs to be fortified now in my life? Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017) Thumbn...
Oct 31, 2021•31 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches a meditation to Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on October 27, 2021, on the notion of having sound judgement, sound criteria. How to develop it, and what it means. We see it in an introductory passage of The Way, a book of aphorisms by St. Josemaria Escriva. Music: Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink. For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos www.ernescliff.ca www.opusdei.ca...
Oct 28, 2021•31 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on Oct 25, 2021 at Kintore College, on the healing of the woman bent over in the synagogue (Lk 13, 10-17) An encounter with Jesus always brings great healing and dignity. That is because Jesus does not see us as we see our selves or as others see us. In his eyes, we all have great value because we are beloved of God and made in his image. The woman whom Jesus healed had been so stripped of her dignity that she was considered less important than a thirsty barnyard animal...
Oct 26, 2021•26 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches a meditation from Lyncroft Centre on October 20, 2021. Luke 11, 1-14: When the apostles saw the Lord go off to pray, I’m sure they wondered what he was talking about. They could see he was not in some sort of private monologue, just thinking things to himself, much less stewing over something that the pharisees had said. He was not brain storming on his own. He was clearly in conversation with someone. So they asked him to teach them how to pray. Now he gives them a new...
Oct 20, 2021•28 min
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches this meditation in Lyncroft centre, Oct 17, 2021. Jn 6, 25-27: When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal .” For...
Oct 17, 2021•29 min
A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai during a retreat at Cedarcrest Conference, outside of Toronto. It was preached on October 8, 2021. It is about being ready for death. Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935), "Lua Branca" (white moon), played on guitar by Bert Alink. Thumbnail: Rogier Van der Weyden, Descent from the Cross (1435) Prado Museum in Madrid.
Oct 11, 2021•24 min
Today is the 19th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Josemaria in 2002. John Paul II and a massive crowd of 300 thousand faithful. 500 from Canada. The Pope pronounced very solemn words, the text of the canonization decree: "In honor of the Blessed and Undivided Trinity, for the uplifting of Catholic faith and the increase of Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and that of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and our own, after careful deliberation, having called frequent...
Oct 06, 2021•27 min
Our Pope decided to take his name. This was not a superficial gesture. Saint Francis’ radical desire to be poor lead him to become one of the most beloved Catholic saints of all time. On pilgrimage in Rome, threw a large sum of money at the tomb of St. Peter and traded clothes with a beggar, after which he began to ask for alms. He wanted not only to give alms, but wanted to see what being poor was like. What did it mean to walk around, depending on the charity of others? What kind of life would...
Oct 04, 2021•28 min
A meditation preached in Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on Oct 1, 2021 by Fr. Eric Nicolai. We begin October with the feast of St. Therese. She inspires us because she had such deep desires for sanctity. For living out the call from God in her life. This does not mean that it was easy for her, or that she even found it easy to discern her vocation. She came to discover that she could be like the beating heart of the church. Josemaria discovered the beauty of sanctity in the ordinary. God gave him a ...
Oct 02, 2021•34 min
Today is a great solemnity in Toronto, as our Cathedral is dedicated to St. Michael the archangel. There used to be a feast day dedicated to St. Michael, but after the reform they were all united into one feast. But that’s ok that they be a unity, because they are interceding for us to keep us very united in the church. What do their names actually mean, how real are they? Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Sept 29, 2021. Music: Mozart, Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangemen...
Sep 29, 2021•32 min
Preached at Kintore College, by Fr. Eric Nicolai, Sept 27, 2021. Luke 9, 51-56 Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem. As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.(Lk 9, 51-53) Jesus, we are told, was to be received up to heaven: Curious words, but they refer to the end of ...
Sep 28, 2021•28 min
A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to some Toronto priests in St. Lawrence, martyr parish on Sept 14, 2021, feast of the Exalatation of the Holy Cross. Today we read those stunning words from the hymn of the morning prayer: He endured the nails, the spitting, Vinegar, and spear, and reed; From that holy Body broken, Blood and water, both proceed: Earth, and stars, and sky, and ocean By that flood from stain are freed. And in one of the passages in Andrew of Crete where he quotes about the...
Sep 16, 2021•32 min
At the end of Chapter 24 of Matthew, the Lord speaks about his second coming, about eventual judgement, and therefore that we will have to give an account of everything that we have received in this life. Things may go well, we may be humanly considered a success, get prizes, recognition, but he is the one who will really be the one to give the real prize, eternal life. It is a stirring call to responsibility , not to fear or meant to cause an attitude of forced submission. That was chapter 24. ...
Sep 14, 2021•24 min
Luke 6, 39-42: Jesus first speaks of the blind leading the blind. Strong emphasis on the character of his followers. The virtues that he wants you and I to acquire. These are a series of sayings or aphorisms that are not merely what you are meant to do, but the kind of man or woman you're meant to become. The issue is one of character and commitments issuing forth in action. Hence it is so essential for us to destroy even the minimal possibility of hypocrisy . We’d be like the blind leading the ...
Sep 11, 2021•30 min
A meditation preached to High School boys at Cedarcrest Conference Centre in Belfountain, Ontario. It was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, focused on the earthquake in the history of humanity, the watershed moment, that shaped the fate of our species: original sin, as recounted in Genesis 3. https://www.cedarcrestcc.ca Music: Handel, from the opera. Rinaldo, aria Lascia ch'io piango. Arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. Thumbnail: Rembrandt engraving of Adam and Eve, 1638....
Sep 06, 2021•28 min
