Saved And Called To Freedom!

(Homily 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

     Upon consideration of the overriding theme(s) emanating from the readings of this Sunday, this may be described as a Sunday of vocation, of call and response. As such, call and response are the two words that condense the contents of the three readings of today. In the first reading, we see the call of Elisha by Elijah. The Gospel presents the episode of Jesus on his way to Jerusalem, where he met people who ask to follow him and those he invited to follow him. Similarly, in the second reading, St. Paul vehemently affirms that the Galatians and all Christians in general are called to freedom, and as such, they and we have to respond adequately to our new condition as free sons and daughters of God. Our freedom is a call and not a condemnation.

     The first reading (1Kg. 19:16b.19-20) describes how Elisha responded to the call of Elijah. One day while Elisha was ploughing, Elijah approached him and taking off his cloak throws it over him without saying a word. At that time the cloak was considered an integral part of the person wearing it and it was a common opinion that the power of its owner was concentrated on it. Elisha receives the cloak and run to Elijah to ask for permission to greet the parents. Elijah granted him the permission. On arriving home, Elisha slaughtered oxen, burned his plough meaning that he is giving up everything. He breaks with his past. God has called us all to be Christians and we have to break with our pagan past. Here, Elijah calls, but in the New Testament Jesus calls. 

     We can make a sort of comparison between Elijah’s call of Elisha with Jesus’ call of his disciples, as evidenced in the first and the Gospel passages respectively. At the call of Elisha he made a request: Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you”. On the other hand, when Jesus called the would-be disciples, they equally made a request. In the context of Elijah’s call, we see a call that could be added to existing responsibilities. Instead, with Jesus’ call all existing responsibilities are to be given up, or as the case maybe, subordinate to it. Again another great difference is the fact that even though the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha, he can succeed him, and be like his master when he (Elijah) dies (cf. 2Kg. 2). But in the case of Jesus, even upon ascension into heaven, his followers do not replace him, for he remains present and alive in their midst, they remain his followers.

     The Gospel of today (Lk. 9: 51-62) gathers together the different episodes of the life of Jesus, that took place in different moments, not in the succession that Luke narrated them, but they are united with a basic motivation or theme, which is that of decision, of resolution, of a courageous and conscious determination, which Jesus demonstrated in facing the Passion. With the passage of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, Luke begins the great journey and repositioning of Jesus from the place of triumph and success (Galilee) to the place of death and incomprehensible defeat (Jerusalem). In his words: “Now it happened that as the time drew near for him to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem” (v.51). These attitude and gesture of Jesus demonstrate that Jesus faced the ordeal of his Passion with full consciousness and decision, “without ifs and buts”, his was the desire to accomplish the will of the Father. In this particular passage, we find the interpretative key to the entire Gospel of St. Luke. Therein, St. Luke tried to bring to light all the sayings and facts of Jesus Christ that he knew, in the course of this journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. It is not just about a geographical relocation, but more than that, it is the ascent of Jesus to his Passion, it the realization of his exodus that was announced in the episode of the Transfiguration: “And suddenly there were two men talking to him, they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:30-31).  

     Besides, this episode equally brings to light the theme of the mercy of Jesus that is of a paramount importance to St. Luke. Here, when James and John (sons of thunder) saw how the Samaritans rejected Jesus, on the basis that “his face was set toward Jerusalem”, they sort to invoke punishment on them: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” (v.54). Jesus did not listen to them, instead he rebuked them. They did not understand that Jesus came to do good and not evil; he journeys towards Jerusalem to overcome evil with good. He did not come to condemn but to save. And this is how those who desire to be his disciples have to be merciful as the heavenly Father. Sometimes also, we are like James and John, we are prone to calling down punishment and fire for those who reject Christ or even those who castigate us. But as Jesus teaches we have to learn how to be more inclined to pardon and mercy to people of that sort, or instead of invoking fire, we can invoke the mercy of God upon them.

     After this episode of the rejection of Jesus by the Samaritans, follow the three episodes where Jesus enlightened his would-be followers on the right disposition of heart for his sequela:  

●First, to the one who spontaneously volunteered to follow Jesus: “I will follow you wherever you go”. Jesus responded him: “foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (vv.57-58). Therefore, the first condition to following Jesus is poverty, detachment from the things of this world. Jesus requires his disciples not to put their trust in the things of this world, rather to build and put their trust in God.

●Second, to the one Jesus invited by himself to follow him, he said, “Let me go and bury my father first”, but Jesus told him: “Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God” (vv. 59-60). This entails that those who are called to proclaim the Good news of God’s kingdom have to respond hastily, with readiness and right disposition, without any reserve. Indeed, Jesus requires from his followers complete availability in following him in order to enter into the kingdom of God.

●Third, to the one who was disposed to follow Jesus, but who demanded to go first ad say good bye to his people at home, Jesus responded to him thus: “Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v.62). By this, Jesus intends to say that those who want to follow him have to concentrate all their attention and interest on Him and on the Kingdom of God, there should not be other predominant interests other than Him and the Kingdom of God. They should not give in to distractions.

     Behold, the language of Jesus here appears to be hard but that expresses the exigent nature of the whole Gospel and the discipleship of Christ. However, even though it seems that this passage of the Gospel is addressed to those called in a special way like priests, religious and missionaries, to follow Jesus, it is equally valid for all Christians, for each person is called to follow Christ according to his or her state of life. In virtue of our baptism, we are all called to bear witness to the Gospel. We are therefore, called to live an authentic Christian life, without allowing ourselves to be confounded by the things of this world. Jesus puts himself, his kingdom, his message of salvation as absolute values, before which other values are subordinated. Let us ask ourselves if Christ is our “Only Good” as we repeated in the Responsorial Psalm: “It is you, O Lord who are my portion” (Ps. 16:5). It is only in God that we can find the happiness we are seeking for, for he alone gives true freedom.

      The affirmation of St. Paul in today’s second reading (Gal. 5: 1.13-18) is stupendous. It is like a jubilee hymn. Prior to this, St. Paul reminded us that “we are not children of the slave girl, but of the free woman” (Gal. 4:31). This is the freedom with which Christ has set us free. Christ raised us from our condition of sin to the dignity of God’s children (sons and daughters of God in Christ). Indeed it is worthy to note that Christ won our freedom with the prize of His blood, not out of our own making. Little wonder, St. Paul tells us that “He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Tim 1:9). He went on: “Christ has freed us so that we remain free” (Gal. 5:1). For St. Paul, our freedom is not a condemnation as some of the desperate philosophers like J. P. Sartre have opined, for them “we are condemned to freedom”; but gallantly St. Paul reminds us that our freedom is a call. “Brothers you are called to freedom” (Gal. 5:13).

     St. Paul was addressing the Christian community of Galati, announcing to the Christians that they are free from the prescriptions of the Jewish law. Here, we see the historical context of Paul’s message, because at that time, circumcision was of great importance to the Jews. And Galatians 2:3-5 reminds us of how circumcision is related to freedom and slavery: “But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you”. Indeed, the great Good news is that adherence to the Jewish law of circumcision does not count anymore. What matters for our salvation is only Jesus Christ and faith in him, a faith that is at work through charity.   The freedom Christ has given us is not an obsessed freedom for us to live according to the flesh. “As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you” (Gal. 5:13). St. Paul affirms this vigorously because many a times we tend to be carried away by the disordered passions of the flesh.

     We are called to freedom by Christ in order to practice love and mutual help. “Instead let love make you serve one another” (Gal. 5:13). Paul continued and affirmed with precision that “the whole law is summed up in one commandment: love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Ours indeed is a freedom from the slavery of sin, of egoism and individualism. Our freedom is a call that is realized through growth in charity. The Christian community Paul was addressing this message to, was experiencing discord and division, little wonder he uses strong words here: “But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another” (Gal. 5:15).

     In order to live this freedom as God’s children, we have to practice mutual love; we need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, for the Holy Spirit knows the prize that Christ paid for our salvation and freedom. And St. Paul captured this vividly well when he posits that “The Spirit of God joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children” (Rm. 8:16). For this St. Paul invites us, “let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants…” (Gal. 5:16-17). The Holy Spirit not only testifies for our freedom, He is equally the guarantor, because “where the Spirit of God is present, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).

     To crown it all, the readings of today in synthesis suggest three necessary attitudes to follow Jesus and to answer his call to freedom: total self-giving, absolute decision and a disinterested generosity. There is need therefore to break with the past, for a Christian loses his freedom if he turns back to live like pagans. Be that as it may, let us rhetorically ask ourselves: do we really live in the freedom Christ gained for us or we are still slaves of our passions and our old ways of living? Let us activate the freedom Christ has gained for us, for indeed, “If the Son of man sets you free you are free indeed” (Jn. 8:36). Child of God, be free indeed!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

The Eucharist: Sign Of His Continuous Incarnation!

(Homily for the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi Year C)

          Today the Holy Mother Church celebrates her most sublime Mystery: The Euchcarist, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity that recalls the Mystery of the real presence of Christ in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The aim of  this solemnity is three-fold: first, it serves an invitation for us to be always conscious of the greatness of this Gift; second, to make our faith always alife and convinced in It; third, to reawaken in us the sensibility always to render gratitude to Jesus who instituted It, “the very night he was to be betrayed”, as a sign of His extreme love for us. The Eucharist is the perpetuation of both his Love and his Presence. It is the Sacrament of Christ’s extreme love for humanity. It is a sign of his continuous Incarnation of Jesus in human history. In the words of Giovanni Vannucci, “man is the only creature that has God in his blood”, we have in us a divine chromosome, for Jesus dwells in us! This Sacrament reminds us of the Jewish religious tradition of Berakah, which has to do with blessing, thanksgiving and praise of God for the wonders he has wrought.

          Going through history lane, we remember that in the Old Jewish tradition, when the family gather for the Passover Meal, it was prescribed that the last born of the house, asks a question to the Father of the family, thus: What does this ritual mean? This was the question that someone (maybe John that was the youngest apostle) directed to Jesus, the evening they were at table for the Last Super. In response to the question Jesus might have explained to them how the whole celebration from the night of the Exodus on, with the killing of the lamb and the Passover Meal, were not but a figure and a prophecy of Him; the Lamb of God (cf. Gen. 22:7; Jn. 1:29), that has to be slaughtered in order to take away the sins of the world, and to be food and drink for his friends. “Christ loved us and handed himself over to us as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2).

          Likewise, the same question can situate us well into the context of our present gathering, therefore, let us ask ourselves: What is the meaning of this ritual? Not because we do not know what we are about to do or the essence of our celebration, but for the Lord to explain it to us again, through his word and through the church,  always for a more profound understanding. To that question the readings of today have much in stock for us.

          In the first reading (Gen. 14:18-20), we are presented with the figure of Melchizedek the priest of the Old Testament, and is like a torch light that points to the reality of Jesus. That is to say, that through Melchizedek we catch a glimpse already in the Old order of Jesus. Melchizedek is a priest of old and Jesus is the high priest of the New Testament. Our response to the psalm bears witness to it: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”. Melchizedek brought bread and wine, which is a prefiguration of the Eucharist that Jesus would offer in a personified manner. Melchizedek brought out bread and blessed Abraham. From the O.T. bread and wine is a sign of blessing (he blessed Abraham), a sign of gratitude (blessed be God who has delivered your enemies in your hands) because it calls to mind the wonders God has wrought. In the Exodus 16, the Israelites received manner and ate. Indeed, we can see a sort of progression in the bread and wine of the O.T. and the body and blood of Christ of the N.T., we can say that, Melchizedek brought the bread and wine, but Jesus did the real offering (of himself).

          In the Gospel passage (Lk. 9:11-17) Jesus performed a miracle of loaves, feeding five thousand men from only five loaves and two fish. This miracle in turn prefigures the greatest miracle of the New Testament: The Eucharist. The apostles adopted a hostile solution to the urgency of the hunger of this crowd. They went to Jesus and said: “send the crowd away”. But Jesus never sent anybody away. He helped the apostles to understand that the first step of this miracle is sharing and not multiplication, for Jesus retorted, “You give them something to eat”. The verb ‘to give’, is the action word that vehicled the miracle. In the Gospel the verb ‘to love’ is always translated with another concrete verb ‘to give’, for instance: “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son” (Jn. 3:15); “Greater love than this no man has…” (Jn. 15:13). The apostles had only five loaves, which means one loaf for one thousand men, and in human calculation it seemed impossible. However, in God’s calculation, the miracle of that night, was that the small piece of bread shared became sufficient for all.

          The second reading (1Cor. 11:23-26) describes the event of the last supper. This as we have it from St. Paul is the oldest account of the Last Supper. He says: “this is my body”, “this chalice is the new covenant in my Blood”. He did not say this represents my body or my blood. Little wonder, the Catholic doctrine teaches about Transubstantiation (that while maintain the appearance of bread and wine, the substances of bread and wine are transformed), inter alia.

          Again to our earlier question: What does this ritual mean? Our Lord responds to us, first of all, with the words of St. Paul: “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Cor. 11:26). And at the moment of the Institution of the Eucharist Jesus said to his apostles: “Do this in memory of me”. Indeed, it does appear the keyword for the understanding of the Eucharist is Memorial/Remembrance. But memorial of what? Of the death of the Lord, certainly, but not only of this, Jesus said: “In memory of me”, the Eucharist, therefore, remembers (brings to heart) Him, all his mystery; His prefiguration in the Old Testament and his actuation in the New Testament. The Eucharist is a Remembrance/Memorial of the Lord and the Salvation he wrought, that culminates in his Death and Resurrection. It is the memorial of the people of God. Every people that has a history, has also a memorial, which can be a day of feast or something that condenses the history.

          The Eucharist is equally a Banquet that unites. In the verses preceding the passage of the second reading Paul warns: “And so, when you assemble together as one, it is no longer in order to eat the Lord's Supper. For each one first takes his own supper to eat. And as a result, one person is hungry, while another is inebriated. Do you not have houses, in which to eat and drink? Or do you have such contempt for the Church of God that you would confound those who do not have such contempt? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I am not praising you in this” (11:20-22).

          Above all else, however, the people of God have their memorial, but it is a living memorial. Here stands the great difference, a living memorial, not the ashes of someone. The biblical remembrance is essentially different from the human, that makes one to relive the reality only intentionally in the memory. The biblical remembrance (zikkaron) rather makes one to relive the reality really; it is a remembrance and a presence at the same time!. The Death and Salvation of Christ, in the Eucharist, are not relived only in our memory, but they are relived really; there is a real presence on the alter: it is the presence of the Risen Lord who says: “Touch me, it is really I” (Lk. 24:39). We remember him, his death, that is, we become witnesses to his death. We have gathered round the alter like Maria and John around the Cross, but there is also the sad possiblity that we are here like the soldiers, like the enemies and like the passer-bys were round the Cross. From mystery to believe, to mystery to celebrate, from mystery to celebrate to mystery to live (In fraternity and oneness). May the Ever Present Emmanuel, the Eucharistic Jesus continue to nourish us physically and spiritually! May He make our presence before his Presence a transforming encounter. May we become more of Him and less of us. Amen!!!

Verbum caro factum est

Verbum panis factum est

Verbum caro factum est

Verbum panis factum est. 

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC) 

O Trinity Of Love! O Fount Of Life!!

(Homily for the Holy Trinity Sunday Year C)

     After we have celebrated in Advent and Christmas the merciful love of the Father who sent his Son to, in and for the world; in lent and Easter we celebrated the infinite goodness of the Son, who gave his life for us, and also after celebrating the feast of the Pentecoste, the coming of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, in order to bring to fulfilment the wonderful works of our salvation, in today’s liturgy we celebrate the three divine Persons together (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). Indeed, the reality of the three divine persons is not a fairy tale, rather a certainty of what has been revealed to us. Even though it has been revealed, it still remains a mystery. The revelation of our God who in essence is one, and manifests Himself in three Persons is beyond human logic and calculations. The Holy Trinity is the mystery that distinquinshes our religion from others (the Jews adored only one God: Jahvè, the pagans adore many divinities, without unity), but in ours there is unity in distintion. The Holy Trinity is not just the perception in three aspects (Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier) that we sometimes have of God, more than that, the Trinity does not only refer to human viewing, but to God himself, to His ways of being God. The Holy Bible actually made us to understand that the Father is God (Phil.1:2), the Son is great God (Titus 2:13) and that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4).

     In that bid, I would like to introduce the Holy Trinity in this reflection in two broad terms: immanent Trinity and transcendent Trinity. Immanent is how God has revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And many a times when we talk about the Holy Trinity, we tend to do so, limiting ourselves to the immanent Trinity, as revealed to us. But more than that the Holy Trinity is also to be considered from the point of view of how God is in himself, God in his essence is One but manifests himself in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that is transcendent Trinity. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a mystery beyond and above us (transcendent) and at the same time it is a mystery that has been revealed to us and it is our way of knowing that God is present in Human history (immanent). Be that as it may, it behooves us to underscore that this doctrine does not explain nor define God, because as St. Augustine opined "si comprehendis non est Deus". In another writing of his St. Augustine exclaimed "if you see love, you have seen the Trinity". Whether considered from the dimension of transcendency or immanency, the central word that dovetails into God’s essence and manifestation is LOVE. The Trinity is therefore a sign of a harmonious unity existent in God, which should equally be existent among God's children. The central message of today's doctrine is that of Love (Father-Lover, Son-Loved and Holy Spirit-Love).

     The word Trinity (tri-unity) was coined by Tertullian about the third century in the bid to establish the distinct Persons in one God.  The Scriptures in no small way, buttress the reality of the Trinity with some biblical quotations: In Genesis 18: 1-2: God appeared to Abraham at the sacred tree of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance during the hottest part of the day, he looked up and saw three men. God came to Abraham in the Trinitarian form. In Isaiah 6:8: “Whom shall I send and who will go for US?” Here we can discover God the Father making a representational request on behalf of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Likewise in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus Christ, the Son undoubtedly is God: John 1:1: “In the beginning was the WORD, the WORD was with God and the WORD was God. The Holy Spirit is equally God: Genesis 1:2: “The Spirit of God was brought over the waters” This was before God began active creation. The Holy Spirit has been with the Godhead from eternity. Hence the Holy Spirit is God. In John 14:26: “The Counsellor whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything”.  

     Similarly, no matter how hard we try, we remain limited in the endeavor to understand this mystery in toto, what is important for us is not even to understand Him, rather to recognize how he manifests Himself, what are the signs of his presence and action, for God is experienced as going out of himself, in revelation and and redemptive actions. And it is on this, no doubt that the three readings of today try to give us some indications:

     The first reading (Pro. 8:22-31) speaks of the divine wisdom orchestrated in the self-disclosure of God. In the wisdom literature and in the Old Testament generally, Yahweh is a God who exists in himself, who also goes out of himself in his revealing and saving actions, and he as well brings men to respond in and with faith to his saving action. Here, the wisdom of God is portrayed in His going out of himself. As such, the hymn of the eighth chapter of Proverbs is fundamental in the understanding of the divine wisdom. More than in any other passage, Proverbs 8 assigns an active and subjective role to wisdom in creation. Therein, wisdom is personified for “she was present when God creates”. The liturgy of today therefore, suggests a contemplation of the Father, the fountain and origin of all, who conceived the design of spreading His love on the creatures that are capable of knowing and loving him, and he realized this, by the creation of man in his own image and likeness and the universe at the service of man. On this wisdom St. Paul later affirmed: “It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began” (1Cor. 2:7). Besides, the pertinent question as far as this passage is concerned could be: where is the trinitarian import in this passage? And we find it at the begininng of the passage: “The Wisdom of God speaks: Yahweh created me, first-fruit of his fashioning…From eternity, I was firmly set” (vv.22-23). Indeed, before the beginning of the world, we see at God’s side, a mysterious reality, the Wisdom that speaks of God and with God, and assists Him (God) while He creates. St. John in his prologue identified this mystery, calling it Wisdom Word: “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God…Through him all things came into being” (Jn. 1:1.3). This opens the window to the revelation on the Trinity.

   In the second reading (Rm. 5:1-5), St. Paul talks about the triadic structure as revealed in the experience of God. For God is the origin of our redemption in Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit who pours the love of God into our hearts we come to expereince the redemptive action. However, St. Paul takes it to a different dimension, for he departs from the consideration of man, created in the image of God, but who has lost his friendship with God because of sin, and he was destined to perdition, but God did not abbandon him to the powers of darkness and death; instead God comes with a project of redemption, and as such, the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ are geared towards the realization of this redemptive project that reveals fully the Son of God to man. The Only Son of God, hidden from all eternity in the bossom of the Father and who was with Him when He was creating the heavens, has manifested himself therefore, as a Person in Jesus Christ. 

     In today’s gospel (Jn. 16:12-15) Jesus through his words manifested the relationship existent amongst the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, “He (The Holy Spirit) will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine” (Jn. 16:14-15). Without the Father and the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to believe in Christ, because He speaks of them (the Father and the Holy Spirit) and they speak to us about Him (Christ). A Jesus without his profound and uninterupted dialogue with the Father, without his Abba!, is no longer Jesus; a Jesus without the Spirit that illumines Him is not the risen Jesus who saves and sanctifies humanity. There is a network of connection and rapport that exists between the Father and the Son, and between the Holy Spirit and the Father and the Son. The revelation that Jesus brings is from the Father and it is the Holy Spirit, who teaches and continues the propagation of this revelation from generation to generation. However, the Spirit does not communicate or convey a new or an independent revelation, instead he purifies and updates our understanding of the revelation of God manifest in the event of Christ. This passage opens for us glimmer on the last phase of the history of salvation, the time of the Church, where the presence of the Holy Spirit is revealed. He will come to the Church and lead her to the truth, the continuator of the work of Christ and sanctifier of the Church and every single christian.

     Be that as it may, we have a number of virtues to learn from the mystery and divine manifestation we celebrate today: ●Unity in diversity, a call, therefore, to recognize all as brothers, despite our differences, and to live in love and communion as children of the same Father.  The revelation of God as Trinity is a revelation of love. ●We can as well reconsider the Holy Trinity in three dimensinos: the Trinity of faith (of the past, that revealed himself), the Trinity of Love (of the present, that lives and works in us), there is also the Trinity of Hope (of the future, we are on our journey towards the return to the Father). It is of a Hope that is certain (cf. Rm 5:5). The Trinity is ocean of Peace and communion; the Father always works with the Son and the Holy Spirit “let us” (cf Gen 1 & 2).

     The mystery of the Holy Trnity is a reality hidden in the heart of God. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is neither the work or the fruit of theological thoughts nor of mysticism. The Trinity is not a fruit of human invention, is not an idea, rather it is a reality, the most sublime reality, not a static reality but a process-reality; that the Father revealed through the Son and the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity was immensely revealed to us through the action and manifestations of God in human history. God revealed himself as Father by sending the Son. And Jesus Christ revealed himself to us in his perfect obedience to the Father, through his death and redentive resurrection. And the Holy Spirit revealed himself to us as the “cement” of the love of the Father and the Son, as a gift of communion to man, so that they will live in the trinitarian image.

     What should be the attitude of man before this mystery? ►First, there is need for the attitude of adoration and submission to the Father that so much loves us, to our Brother Jesus who gave his life for us, and to the Holy Spirit who accompanies and sustains us in the course of our earthly existence. More important to reflecting, thinking and pondering on the mystery is to worship and render all adoration to the Triune God. ►Second, is the attitude of thanksgiving, thanking God for the fact that He is a mystery and continues to be a mystery even after the revelation. But not a mysterious and complicated mystery, for we are constatntly involved in the life of the Blessed Trinity. Being a mystery, as such it cannot be manipulated or instrumentalized by man. ►Third, is the attitude of humble acceptance of the mystery, avoiding a rationalistic postion and an irrationalistic position, that seeks to exclude it (because it does not comprehend it) or that seeks to succumb to its weight (because it is perceived to be cumbersome) respectively.

     In the mystery of the Holy Trinity, there is love amongst the three Divine Persons (ad intra), but in the same vein the trinitarian love is manifested externally (ad extra), love towards humanity, towards us. This trinitarian love extended to us should be a prerogative for the extension of that same love to our fellow human beings. The Trinity is therefore a sign of a harmonious unity existent in God, which should equally be existent among God's children. The central message of today's doctrine is that of Love. The Holy Trinity is a mystery of interpersonal communion of love. It is a sign of communion and of love. As those called to live a trinitarian life, is our life a sign of communion and of love, a reflex of the trinitarian life? Above all else, however, drawing the issue further, we see that the Holy Trinity is a mystery of Mission: the Father sends the Son, and both send the Holy Spirit, and in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Church is sent by Christ to “go and make disciples of all nations”. You too, you are sent to be heralds of love, unity and communion. May Jesus in whom “in bodily form dwells all the fullness of divinity” (Col. 2:9), continue to reveal to us the God who is communion. 

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC) 

Come O Great Paraclete, Come!

(Homily for Pentecost Sunday Year C)

   "Without the Holy Spirit, God is distant, Christ is merely a historical figure, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is just an organization, authority is domination, mission is propaganda, liturgy is only nostalgia, and the work of Christians is a slave morality. But with the Holy Spirit, Christ is risen and present, the Gospel is a living force, the Church is a communion in the life of the Trinity, authority is a service that sets the people free, mission is Pentecost, the liturgy is commemoration and anticipation, and the work of Christians is divinized" (Ignatius of Laodecea).

     The aforementioned assertion of Ignatius of Laodicea sets in motion the vitality and the profundity of today’s Solemnity. Today as we are celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the word of God gives account of this Event, in four different ways, to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, cannot be locked up in human schemes. In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes as a consoling presence, a counsellor, Spirit of truth and a witness to Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles, He comes as energy, courage, life force. He opens a new horizon. In the Pauline account, the works of the Spirit are opposed to the works of the flesh. And the fourth account is in today’s responsorial Psalm: “Send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (Ps.104:30). All the earth, nothing and nobody is excluded. Indeed, what we are celebrating today is the fulfilment of the promise of the Risen Christ. Several times in his farewell speech, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to the apostles: “I will not leave you orphans… I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth… and you will receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 14). And 50 days after His Resurrection, Jesus maintains his promise, as St. Luke recounts in the Acts of the Apostles. St. John instead, in his Gospel collocates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the evening of the same day of Resurrection (cf. Jn. 20:19-23), as such, he intends to make us understand that the Holy Spirit is the most important Gift of the Risen Christ, the most precious fruit of his gesture of love and obedience to the Father. He is the Gift of God and the Giver of God’s gift to us. The Holy Spirit is a Person, the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, in the Scripture he is presented with several symbols and images like: cloud (cf. Ex. 16:10); water (cf. Ez. 17:1-6; Jn. 7:37-39); wind or breath (cf. Gn.1:2; Acts. 2:2); fire (cf. Ex. 3:2; 13:21; Is. 4:4; Acts. 2:3); anointing oil (cf. Acts. 10:38); dove (cf. Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:22); still small voice (cf. 1Kgs. 19:11-13) etc.

     The word Pentecost is from a Greek word which means fiftieth. The Pentecost was an old Jewish traditional feast that was celebrated 50 days after the Passover, namely the ingathering of the grains. Later on, Judaism transformed it into a feast of salvation history, for it commemorated the arrival of the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, and the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai (cf. Ex. 34:28). This was later introduced into the Christian feast that marked the conclusion of the great fifty days after Christ’s Resurrection. It refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and others who were present at the Upper room. The grain harvest and the law are now replaced by the gift of the Spirit, from the constitution of the old Israel to the constitution of the new Israel. A gaze into the Old Testament reveals the power and activity of God’s Spirit at work. For instance, God allowed His Spirit to rest on the seventy elders who were appointed to assist Moses (Num. 11:16-17; 25). After his anointing as King, Saul received the Spirit of God and prophesied (1 Sam. 10:10); and when he lost his connection with God the Spirit of God left him (1 Sam. 16:14). Therefore, obedience to God attracts the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life, for it can be seen that when Saul disobeyed God, the Spirit of God that was upon him departed from him (cf. 1Sam. 15:26; 16:14). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a mark of God’s presence in us. David was a man filled with God’s Spirit and when he sinned he begged God not to take the Holy Spirit away from him (Psalm 51:11). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is our great teacher and reminder (Jn. 14:26); he is the guarantor and witness of our divine filiation as sons and daughters (Rm. 8:16); he is the great intercessor (Rm. 8:26); he is the great explorer: “for the Spirit explores the depth of everything, even the depths of God” (1Cor. 2:10). Particularly, in the book of Revelation the Holy Spirit is portrayed as capable of taking control of a person: “On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me” (Rev. 1:10) and again “At once the Spirit took control of me” (Rev. 4:2), The Holy Spirit can possess a person, and his is indeed is a dynamic presence, for whoever he posseses witnesses all round transformation. The Holy Spirit is a great teacher and proclaimer of the divine message. In the book of Revelation “who has ears listen, what the Spirit says to the Church” (Rev. 2:29; 3:6; 3:16; 3:22). His message to the Churches was a message of rediscovering their identity before God and the renewal their rapport with God. Even for us today, his is a message of repentance, unity, peace, love, liberation and a rediscovery of who we are before God.

     In the readings of today, the Holy Spirit is presented as a promised of Jesus to his disciples before his passion and death as evident in the Gospel passage. This prophecy is line with the declaration of Isaiah thus: “I shall our out my spirit on your descendenats” (Is. 44:3) and again, “untill the spirit is poured out on us from above” (Is. 32:15). In the first reading, we see the fulfilment of this promise, thus the Holy Spirit as a gift of the risen Lord to his disciples. And the second reading instead presents in concrete terms, how to bear witness to the Holy Spirit.

     As evidenced in the Gospel passage (John 14:15-16.23b-26), the most eloquent promise that Jesus made to his disciples before his passion is the Holy Spirit. Jesus makes that promise on a condition “If you love me, you will keep my commandment. I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever” (vv.15-16), the phrase “another Paraclete” here is suggestive of a prior Paraclete, is no other than Jesus, our First Paraclete! Towards the end of his earthly existence, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples, that Spirit was to be the inheritance of the disciples from their Master, and at the same time, as the continuation of his presence. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and he is the one that will intercede on our behalf, by asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit. He announces the multiple functions of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles, in the Church and in every christian. He will be the Consoler, the Teacher and Spirit of Truth. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples to assure them of his permanent presence in their midst in another way. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate whom the Father will send in my name will teach and remind you everything. In the two verbs, “to teach” and “to remind” the work and mission of the Advocate is condensed. The Advocate will continue to teach us. He will remind us all that Jesus taught us, that is, he will help us to bring to heart, to appropriate and treasure all the words of Jesus. There is need to be reminded of all that He has said, because His word is life. Little wonder, St. Paul posited that, “God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son” (Gal. 4:6). 

     Jesus promised his followers formally that he will send them the Holy Spirit, and as such, he fulfilled his promise (first reading) on the Pentecost day. The Holy Spirit is promised and sent by Jesus so that He can accomplish two broad missions amongst the disciples and in the Church; and that is revealed in the two mission-titles given by Jesus: “Spirit of truth” and “Paraclete/Counsellor”. First, He will bring the disciples to the knowledge of the revealed truth and he will give them consolation and comfort. The apparent emptiness created by the absence of Jesus will be filled by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Second, Jesus says, “I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever” (Jn. 14:16). Such that, after being consoled and confirmed by the Holy Spirit, the disciples can give courageous witness of their faith in Christ before the world.

     During his earthly ministry, we could say that Jesus entrusted the mission of a complete teaching of the truth to the Spirit. For this, he assured his followers: “However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth” (Jn. 16:13). Jesus promises fervently that through the action of the Holy Spirit they will be led to the comprehension of the entire truth (on his person, on his doctrine and on the salvific project of the Father). The Spirit will not add anything to the truth proclaimed by Jesus, for in Jesus’ words: “all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine” (Jn. 16:14). Therefore, the truth remains the same but it will be better understood with great profundity and richness by the disciples and by us today.

     The Pentecost as described by St. Luke in the first reading (Acts 2:1-11) is the event that evidenced adequately this gift given to the Church. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is above all, the “spiritual” presence of the risen Christ in the Church, it is a presence that continues in a different way, his historical presence in time. It is a presence that is personified, in the Person of the Holy Spirit (The Third Person of the Holy Trinity). The Holy Spirit is the presence of the God-with-us. In that passage St. Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles. This account of the Pentecost permits us to discover another great thing that the Holy Spirit represents for the Church, the life force that nourishes her in her Mission. 

     There are some vital elements to ponder upon in the passage, first, “they were all together”, this entails that the Holy Spirit comes where there is unity. Second, “A sound came from heaven like a mighty wind, this lays credence that it is truly Ruah Adonai, for the Holy Spirit manifests Himself so many times through the wind. In the book of Genesis (1:2) we are told that at the first moment of creation “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. Third, “It rested on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages”. This is suggestive that the Holy Spirit came on them individually; likewise his gifts are individually given but for the common purpose. Moreover, other languages here symbolize a language of love that all understand. Little wonder, St. Paul tells us: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1Cor 13, 1-2). Fourth, “at this sound the multitude came together”, this gesture of gathering together is the beginning of the Church’s mission to evangelize, because they are gathered in order to be sent. Fifth, “we hear them telling in our tongues the mighty works of God”, indeed, the Holy Spirit urges us to proclaim the wonderful works God has wrought for us, and as such, it was the major content of the preaching of the apostles that very day. On the other hand, in the book of Genesis (11, 1-9), we see a direct opposite of what happened today in the Acts of the Apostles, the tower of Babel, where people because of pride, presumption and distance from God, were divided and were thrown into confusion and incomprehension, language became a source of confusion instead of unity and understanding. That indicates simply the absence of the Holy Spirit.

     In the second reading (Rm 8:8-17) St. Paul gives us an eloquent and concrete indications on how to be witnesses of Christ through the Holy Spirit. St. Paul affirms that those who are led by the Spirit are children of God, as opposed to those led by the flesh (cf. 1Cor 2:14-15). St. Paul here talks about the effects of the actions of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the faithful. The Spirit gives us the guarantee showing our belonging to Christ. And the spirit in us is a mark of God’s ownership of us. He says that those who are in the flesh can not please God, because the Spirit does not dwell in them. But those who are in the Spirit are not in the flesh. For if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteouness. He further said that we are DEBTORS, not to the flesh, but to the Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. We did not receive the spirit of slavery, but the Spirit of sonship. It is the Spirit that enables us to call God: “Abba Father”. Indeed, St. Paul captured well the collaborative work of the Spirit of God and our spirit thus: “it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rm. 8:16). With the Spirit on our side and in us, we are no longer under the dominion of the flesh, but of the Spirit.

      Dear beloved in Christ, the Pentecost experience still continues, like the first Christian community today we are gathered, but unlike the first Christian community we are not waiting for the absent Spirit to come, rather we have to reawaken ourselves to the Spirit who is already present and working in, for and through us since we received Him during our Baptism. We only need to wake up to His presence. We need the Holy Spirit in all that we do. The life of Jesus from conception, birth, public ministry, passion, death and resurrection was marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Little wonder, at the beginning of his mission Jesus declared: ‘The Spirit of God is upon me” (Lk. 4:18; cf. Is. 61:1). At the Incarnation, Mary conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, and at the Eucharist, Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, by the power of the same Spirit (epiclesis). The Holy Spirit guarantees and realizes his continous Incarnation. The Holy Spirit realizes the consecration of Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. During consecration in Eucharistic Prayer II the Priest says: “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ”. Above all, the Holy Spirit is at work in and through the Sacraments of the Church.     

     We too need Him in our existential sojourn and weaknesses, for this St. Paul said that “the spirit comes to help in our weakness, for when we do not know how to pray properly, he intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Rm. 8:26). It is the same Spirit that bears witness to our divine identity, as God’s children, “The Spirit himself joins our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God” (Rm. 8:16), he confirms our filial identity. And above all, St. Paul captured the essence of the Pentecost experience when he affirms and confirms that “our Hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out His Love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us” (Rm. 5:5). Today as we receive this outpouring, we join our voices together with that of the Psalmist in saying “Send forth your Spirit Lord and renew the face of the earth” (Ps. 104:30). May He renew us, as we declare freedom and liberty for all God’s children, because “where there is the Spirit of God there is freedom” (2Cor 3:17). May God continue to pour His gifts upon us through the Holy Spirit, the highest Gift of God. Come o Holy Spirit and fill our hearts with Love and with a hope that does not disappoint! Be renewed as we receive the outpouring! And as we welcome Him today may the same Spirit liberate us from all that do not allow us to be free sons and daughters of God! May He chase away the powers of darkness in our hearts and in our world with his fire! Amen!!! 

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

One In And With Christ!

(Homily for 7th Sunday of Easter Year C)

          After his ascension into heaven and as the coming of the Paraclete becomes more and more imminent, Jesus in today’s Gospel passage offers his high priestly prayer for all Christians of all times. In the parlance of Jesus, unity is the propelling force for witnessing that He is truly the Son of God. Jesus in his priestly prayer therefore helps us to rediscover the power of oneness and the way that leads to that unity is the way of love. For this the Psalmist says: “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers (God’s people) live in unity” (Ps. 133.1). And indeed, we cannot but grasp the intensity of this Gospel passage and the other two reading as we draw closer to the great celebration of the Pentecost. It is indeed the Spirit of oneness and of witness that will enable us to realize the unity that Jesus prayed for. As Jesus ascended to the Father he must have envisaged a Church marked with persecution, despair and disunity as we read in the first reading about the case of Stephen. But Jesus in his seemingly physical absence prays for unity and a spirit of witness in the Church (Gospel). On the other hand, those who live in the realization of Jesus’ prayer are like those in the second reading who witness to that spirit of unity and oneness even in the face of distress.

          On the seventh Sunday of Easter in the three liturgical years, we always read the passage of the Gospel from the 17th chapter of St. John’s Gospel. In today’s Gospel (Jn. 17:20-26) we read the third part of what is popularly called the Priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first part of this prayer (vv. 1-8), Jesus prayed for himself, in the second part (vv. 9-19) for his disciples, and in this last part (that is today’s Gospel) for us and all believers. His prayer was on and for unity. He prays for that type of unity that exists between Him and the Father. Therefore to live in unity is a participation in the Divine union. The union of the Father and the Son is our model. And that unity is made possible through Love. If we want to achieve unity we have to love as and like Jesus (cf. Jn. 13:34; 15:12). Little wonder, St. Paul insists: “Brethren, I urge you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to have factions among yourselves but all to be in agreement in what you profess; so that you are perfectly united in your beliefs and judgments” (1Cor. 1:10).

          The Gospel periscope is a continuation of the prayer of Jesus at the Last Super which has been identified as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. The prayer in question does not represent only the substance of Jesus prayer at the Last Super according to the fourth Gospel, more than that, it is the prayer that the ascended Christ continues to offer to the Father in heaven. The overriding theme or content of the prayer is “ut omnes unum sint” (that they may be one). The unity that Jesus prays for is a unity founded not on human effort but on the divine union and on the common sharing of the Word and Sacrament. The first part of today’s Gospel revolves around the life of the Church on earth. As such, her unity is a unity geared towards the mission, a unity for the mission. It is a unity that is geared towards the conviction of the world to believe “that you have sent me”. On the other hand, the second part of the Gospel talks about the final destiny of the Church, here we refer to what is traditionally known as the triumphant Church, but St. John in his phraseology calls it the glorified Church. The Lord himself prayed: “That they may be with me where I am, to behold his glory”.

         In his prayer Jesus prays for those who are yet, but will believe in Him, he prays for his future believers: “I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me” (v.20). His prayer includes and embraces his present and future followers, those who will believe through apostolic preaching. The aim of this prayer of Jesus was the unity of his disciples, which has as foundation and model, the intimate union existent between Him and the Father, “May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me” (v.21). Jesus prays for the unity of all, as he did in the preceding verse for his apostles (cf.v.11). The unity that Jesus is praying for is a unity that emanates from God’s initiative, his salvific power, and it is modeled on the communion of life and the mutual love between the Father and the Son. The adverb “as” (kathòs) (v.21) expresses the foundation and the model of unity of the faithful, which springs from the Father and from the Son to the faithful.

          The purpose of this unity is ecclesial and missionary: “may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognize that it was you who sent me, and that you have loved them as you have loved me” (v.23). The growth in faith and in love will reinforce this unity in the Christian community. The fraternal union of the believers will bring the world to the recognition of Jesus as the One sent by God and as the Son of God. The community of the faithful will become a sign and a witness of the universal salvation wrought by the Savior. This evidences the missionary importance of Jesus’ prayer, as an expression of the redeeming love of God for the entire humanity. In verse 24 the prayer gazes towards the future, Jesus expresses to the Father his supreme will, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am”. He asks that the disciples given to him by the Father will always remain with him, be united to him, so that they will contemplate the splendor of his glory in heaven. He had that glory before the foundation of the world as the pre-existent Logos. In all, Jesus concludes the prayer with an important reference to the revelation of the true realty of God as his Father, “I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them” (v.26), this has as implication, the participation of the faithful in the same love that unites the Father to the Son. Jesus manifested the love of God during his earthly life, and he will continue to manifest it even in the future, through the work of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the disciples.

          The first reading is a narrative of the persecution of Stephen. And at the peak of torture and maltreatment, at the moment of his death he saw a vision: “Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand” (v.55). In this passage of the stoning of Stephen we see two important elements: First, the usage of the title “Son of man”, and this is the only time it is used by someone else, other than the earthly Jesus, although we can see an exception in John 12:34, here the Jews were merely repeating the words of Jesus. Above all, the title Son of man could have been used here to suggest that the exalted Christ is pleading the cause of his first martyr. Thus, as an anticipation of his role as the Son of man at the last judgment (cf. Lk. 12:8-9; Mk. 8:38). Again, the posture of standing could be suggestive of the fact that he stands in order to welcome the first martyr into heaven. Second, Jesus is presented as standing rather than sitting at God’s right hand. Indeed, the narrative of Stephen’s death is quite suitable today, for it is a vision of the ascended Lord in his sovereignty. The Psalmist takes up the theme of enthronement once again in the responsorial psalm (Ps. 97). Therein the Psalmist asserts that Yahweh is above all: the earth and all gods (v. 9). Be that as it may, we may well affirm that God in Jesus Christ is above all false absolutes that men tend to choose for themselves.

           Indeed, Stephen’s prayer for the forgiveness of his murderers is an eloquent example of overcoming disunity. St. Paul equally exhorted the Christians of Colossae thus: “Bear with one another, forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you, now you must do the same. Over all these virtues, put on love, the perfect bond (Col. 3:13-14). As such, it behooves us to underscore the fact that forgiveness is an essential element for achieving unity. Doubtlessly, we can say that Stephen’s prayer of forgiveness is the first answer to Jesus’ prayer of unity.

          The second reading (Rev. 22:12-14.16-17.20) reintroduces the Advent theme of watchfulness in view of the second coming of Christ. However, it is important to note that it is because Christ was exalted that we can hope for his second coming. Jesus himself proclaims: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (v. 12). Jesus is presented as the judge and ruler, the Lord and King of all things and all times. Jesus declared that He is “the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star” (v.16), and He invites and offers the thirsty the water of life without price: “And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price” (v.17). At the heart of this passage is the anticipation of the coming of the Lord, the writer says that the Spirit and the Bride say ‘Come!’ even “the one who attests these things says: I am indeed coming soon” (v.20). The phrase “Come, Lord Jesus is taken from the earliest liturgy of the Church, ‘Marana tha’.

         The passage tries to console the disciples and the Christians of all times that they should not panic about the absence of Jesus, as revealed in his farewell speech. John in his vision is rather giving us a message of hope that confirms that Newtonian law of Gravity: “That whatever goes up must surely come down”. Jesus Our Savior has ascended into Heaven, but He will still come down. And indeed, the Bible ended with this assurance by Jesus himself that He will come, and may we too add our voices in saying “Come Lord Jesus” we need you! For with, in and through His presence Unity will be assured. But in the meantime within the space that exists between the “already” and the “not yet” let us ask Him for the grace to live and love, united evermore as one in the Lord, so that when He comes He will find us united in and with Him!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)