Generosity Enriches The Giver and The Receiver!

(Homily 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

     The point of concentration of today’s readings is on the theme of hospitality or generosity and its dignifying dimension. As manifested in the readings generosity or hospitality can be seen as the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of love and compassion. In the same vein, we see the logic of hospitality or generosity: give and receive, it is the logic of recompense; both the giver and the receiver are enriched. As a matter of fact, the theme of hospitality connects the Gospel and the first reading. In the first reading, we see the figure of a simple, rich Shunammite woman, who out of her generosity showed hospitality to Prophet Elisha, and to show gratitude Elisha promised her a son since she was barren. The theme of hospitality reoccurs in the Gospel passage, and therein Jesus invites his followers to be hospitable to the messengers of the word. This invitation of Jesus was accompanied with the idea of a recompense, for Jesus promises something to those who welcome a prophet, a minister of God or a missionary of the kingdom. And lastly, the letter to the Romans brings to light the new life (or better new dignity) made possible by and through Baptism, which makes us worthy to be incorporated into the mystery of Christ our Redeemer, where we become brothers and sisters, thus vested with the responsibility of sharing with each other as children of the same Father (God).

      In the first reading (2Kgs 4:8-11.14-16a) we see the figure of a simple, rich Shunammite woman. She was generous and caring. She had a spectacular intuition about prophet Elisha, for one day she said to the husband “Look, I am sure the man who is constantly passing our way must be a holy man of God” (v.9). The woman recognized him to be a man of God, and in the Old Testament, one is recognized as a man of God not on the basis of mystical experience but it is a title that denotes that the person in question is a bearer of God’s word. So Elisha like his predecessor Elijah (cf. 1Kg.17:24) was recognized as a man of God, because he was entrusted with the effective word of God. The woman in her generosity made a request to her husband: “Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him bed, a table, a chair and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can rest there” (v.10).

      And I tell you her generosity dignified her, and changed her situation from a barren to a fruitful woman. It happened that the prophet felt indebted to show gratitude for this kindness, he desired to repay her for her generosity. And one day the Prophet called the servant and asked her: “what is to be done for her?” Then the servant revealed to him that the woman has no child and her husband is old. For a Jewish woman, there is no great suffering than not having a child. No doubt this Shunammite woman must have suffered so much for her sterility. Then the prophet sent for her, and he assured her “This time next year, he said, you will hold a son in your arms” (v.16a). And indeed, God ratified the promise of the prophet and did not allow the woman to wait in vein. Behold, she was recompensed for her generosity and hospitality. Indeed, whoever that has an open heart for generosity and hospitality towards others will in turn find hospitality in the heart of God. God is faithful to words and promises made in His name! The woman of Shunem that welcomed Elisha in her house demonstrated her love and respect for the other, for the ‘other’ different from her, someone from a different culture and background. Similarly, today we can talk about this aspect of respect for the other in terms of solidarity, welcoming immigrants and active participation in social charity.

      The Gospel passage (Mt. 10:37-42) is the last part of Mathew’s account of the missionary charge to the twelve. The passage contains two distinct themes, and we can condense them in the following manner: following Christ even unto the cross and welcoming Christ in the brothers (and sisters). The two themes revolve around “us and Christ”. The passage can further be divided into two parts: the first part dwells on the cost of discipleship. The words of Jesus in the first part of this Gospel passage are addressed to the apostles for their mission and whoever desires to be a radical follower of Jesus. Jesus said to them and to us: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worth of me”. Here Jesus reminds of the primordial invitation of detachment from father and mother in the book of Genesis: “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife and they become one flesh” (2:24). This is a divine invitation to abandon father and mother for fecundity, here we equally see the logic of giving and receiving, leaving and finding. The parents are left for another creature, but there life multiplies and grows. In Jesus’ mission pedagogy he invites us to leave father and mother for love of Him, for superior values (cf. Mt. 13:44-45). Secondly, he says “he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me”, in this second affirmation we see a progression, not only that one has to prefer and maintain the relation with Jesus above all else, but one has to accept sufferings and humiliations for Christ’s sake. It entails loving him above all else, here equally there is the logic of generosity and recompense: “Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it” (v.39), losing here is all about an active giving of one’s life as a gift, not loss against one’s will. Thus, Jesus sets before us the Paschal law: to lose in order to find, to die in order to rise. If you like, it still boils down to the logic of generosity and recompense.

     Then on the third part, Jesus makes three declarative statements on the reward for a generous reception accorded to messengers of the Good News. As a matter of fact, the two affirmations in the first part of the passage are linked one with the other, and they reveal the cost of discipleship. Interestingly, the third part on hospitality and generosity accorded to messengers of the divine word establishes a wonderful bridge with the first reading. It is an invitation for us to receive the messengers of the word with generous hospitality, not on account of their persons, but because they are bearers of the divine word. Jesus attaches great reward to the acts of hospitality. In the first part of the Gospel, Jesus promises eternal life to those who are disposed to lose their life in this world for his sake and in this second part, he promises a great reward to those who practice hospitality and generosity.  As we can see Jesus promises a great recompense to a generous and hospitable heart. He says: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple , truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward” (Mt. 10:40-42; cf. Lk 10:16).

     As a matter of fact, we would like to lay much emphasis on ‘welcoming’ or on ‘hospitality’, the central message of our reflection. In the first reading the Shunammite woman was recompensed for her hospitality with the promise of a son. And in the Gospel Jesus picks up the theme of hospitality and therein we still see the idea of a recompense, for Jesus promises something to those who welcome a prophet, that is, a minister of God, a missionary of the kingdom. What does Jesus promise? Jesus promises himself: “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me” (v.40a) and again He promises the Father: “anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” (v.40b). This reveals that Jesus attached so much importance to the human gesture of hospitality, to the extent of promising Himself and the Father. Jesus in the Gospel went on to give us a concrete example of welcoming someone or showing hospitality to a stranger: giving a cup of cold water (v.42). Drawing the issue further, a cup of cold water in our context today could be translated into a helping hand, a letter, a phone-call, a smile, a word of encouragement etc. In fact, while describing the general judgment in Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of bread, water, clothes, visits to prisons, etc. These things cost little or nothing, but however, many in our world, in our neighborhood are crying and craving for ‘cups of cold water’. A cup of cold water may stand for any help, gesture or word offered to the other, that revives and reinvigorates the person and restores his or her hope.

     To give a cup of cold water, to welcome the other or to offer a helping hand entails going out from our egoism and prejudices and thus approaching the other with empathy and a patient listening. It involves giving our resources and time to our brothers and sisters, strangers or those in need, and especially to messengers of the divine word as it is suggestive of the passage. In fact, St. Paul in his letter to the Romans says: “Accept one another, then, for the sake of God’s glory, as Christ accepted you” (Rm. 15:7). This should be the model of our hospitality, ‘as Christ’. Therefore, we may ask: how did Christ welcome or accept us? He accepted us even though we are sinners, even though many times we offend him, he welcomed us gratuitously even though many a times we turn our back on Him, we have to do same towards others, especially those we consider different from us, strangers, immigrants, those from different language, culture, race and colour. Jesus ought to be our model of hospitality.

     The second reading (Rm. 6:3-4.8-11) expresses vigorously our new dignity realized through Baptism, through which we are immersed in the mystery of the Risen Christ and participate in the life of God in our mortal body and in the “here and now” of our personal history. St. Paul maintained in his letter that the baptized already in this world are “alive for God, in union with Jesus Christ”. In this passage we notice that while talking about the idea of a Christian dying with Christ, the apostle uses the past tense, and on resurrection he uses the future and conditional tenses. It therefore entails that the new life in Christ is to be constantly renewed, because what happened to us at Baptism remains and cannot be removed. We need to live in accordance with the life we have been welcomed into through Baptism. As such, we cannot but appropriate the principle of “agere seguitur esse”. It serves as a reminder for us to become what we are! We Christians, whether good or bad, have been signed with the mark of God, as was Elisha the prophet. Thus, each one of us can say: I have, through the waters of baptism in Christ Jesus, been made into something special for God.

     In order to help us understand the profound reality of Baptism, St. Paul reminds us of the meaning itself of the baptismal rite, a rite that expresses with much efficacy what the sacrament does in and for us, that is the participation in the mystery of death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, with the immersion in water (as at that time it was by immersion, now we pour water on the head) we participate in the death and burial of Jesus, not just in the metaphorical sense but also in the real sense. For through the immersion we are invited to die to sin (old man gives way for the new man in Christ), while by emerging from the water we take part in the resurrection of Christ, we rise with Him to a new life, and thus we become “new creatures” (2 Cor. 5:17). This passage of the Pauline epistle helps us to understand the exalted reality of baptism, the elevated dignity accorded to us and the sublime destiny in which we have been called. A dignity and destiny that reminds us always that we are a family of God, and if we are a family of God we cannot but share what we have with others, be generous and hospitable to anyone in need and in the words of Jesus ready to offer a cup of cold water.

     In all, the theme of hospitality as orchestrated in the first reading of today and that of generosity glaringly presented by Jesus in the Gospel call our attention back to the challenges of immigration in our world today, this has lately become a hot button issue. We need to cultivate the attitude of what Carl Rogers, an American Psychologist called “unconditional positive regard” for anyone that comes our way, irrespective of his origin, colour and social class. In this season of the pandemic more than ever, we need to practice generosity to those who are struggling to make both ends meet. Again, in our world divided by hatred, homophobia, violence, war, tribalism, nepotism (both in political and ecclesial circles), indeed, the example of the woman of Shunem and the invitation of Jesus require an imminent and immediate response. Nowhere is welcome more needed than in our world at this present time. Especially in our country Nigeria where we are swimming in a dangerous sea of tribal hatred and rejection, uncertainty and insecurity; where everything seems to be disintegrating, it is high time this reality facing us be stripped of the intellectual, political and religious verbalizing that it is normally clothed in. Our country Nigeria has reached a turning-point and it easy enough to slide into “only God knows what”. We have to rediscover the one universal language of a life lived out in love, acceptance of the other and hospitality. May the words of Jesus find a fitting place in our hearts and in our dear country! May Mary the model of Christian hospitality, the woman who made a space in her heart for the Word just as she made a space in her womb for his body, the woman who pondered His words in her heart so that gradually her whole life was filled with his presence, intercede for us. Amen!!!

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

John The Baptist: The voice to The Word!

(Homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist-Year A)

      Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of John the Baptist, the Precursor, Christ’s forerunner and the pioneer soul-winner (cf. Jn.1:7). Indeed, this is one of those special few solemnities we celebrate in the church that are not those of the Lord. No doubt, the celebration of this as a solemnity reveals its place of importance in the life and faith of the Church. The reason for his importance is predicated upon the fact that his ministry is indeed intimately related to the ministry of Jesus. As we celebrate him today, we cannot but rediscover his good examples and virtues. John the Baptist should and cannot be considered as one of those mere personages of the past, for his relevance in the Church is still visible today. He continues to interrogate every authentic Christian with his cry of repentance, and the impending judgment. He continues to be the voice that cries in the desert, in the desert of the world, in the desert of our society and in the desert of our hearts. The whole Church needs to put her voice together to that of John the Baptist in crying for repentance, for without repentance, the Savior will not be known. For repentance, knowingly or unknowingly reawakens in us the consciousness of our “createdness”. It helps us to realize and accept that we cannot save ourselves, but God can, and He does, in and through His Son! We are called therefore to be a voice that cries, a voice that proclaims the Truth, the Good News, the advent of the Messiah.

     As we celebrate his birthday today, we cannot but recall the vital role he played in the immediate and imminent preparation for the advent of the Messiah. Indeed, to say it with John the evangelist, “A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him” (Jn. 1:6-7). John the Baptist's preparation for the coming of Jesus was not aesthetic or physical beautification. He calls for a spiritual preparation. And the people responded to his call for conversion with the confession of their sins. John further teaches us how to wait by what he wore and ate, and also by his Humility as a Voice, he is not the Word, and he was very much aware of it. In fact, in the second reading he says: “What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie” (Acts 13:25). A voice without the Word will only make empty noise. The Baptist role as a Voice could also be seen at the episode of his birth, when speech was restored to his dumb father, just in the effort to give him a name. Thus, immediately after his birth he became voice to the father and later voice to the Eternal Word of the Father. Interestingly, we could say that the question Isaac asked his father Abraham in the book of Genesis (22:7): “But where is the lamb?”, was answered by John the Baptist in the Gospel of John: “Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (1:29). He is the voice of the Lamb. The preaching of John as a voice hinged on two aspects: ● His preaching on repentance and baptism and the forgiveness of sins. ● His declaration of the advent of One stronger than him, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

      In the same vein, even today, we need precursors, those who will continue to call the attention of all to the preparation for the continuous coming of Christ in our hearts and in our lives, through their words and actions. For us priests and religious we have more motives to become voices like John the Baptist, because our vocation, our consecration and our ordination call us to dedicate our lives completely for the service of the Lord. We are to become “Otimkpu Jisos”. And by extension, we are all called as Christians to be at the fore front in the preparation for the Savior’s coming. No doubt, to be precursors entails becoming agents of preparation for His coming, therefore ready and willing to remove all obstacles that can impede His coming into our lives and societies. Ceteris paribus, therefore, the central figure of the Gospel is John the Baptist, who realized the prophecy of Isaiah: “A voice of one that cries in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his path” (Is.40:3).

     In the episode of the Lukan gospel (Lk. 1: 57-66.80) we are called to meditate on the event of the birth of John the Baptist, which represents the fulfillment of the message of the angel to Zechariah. In the account of the birth of John the Baptist the story revolves around the imposition of name and the reaction of the people, who were filled with awe before the wonders the Lord has wrought. The name John signifies “God is gracious”. The theme of grace is a recurrent one in the infancy Gospel (both in Jesus and John the Baptist). Mary celebrated the grace of God in the Magnificat (v.50). And God himself magnified his grace with Elizabeth, by making her to be fruitful even in her old age (v.58). God still continues to manifest his merciful love with the actuation and fulfillment of the promises he made to the fathers, especially with the imminent birth of the rising Sun.

     As a matter of fact, between the two testaments, there exists a period of silence, and that is very much symbolized in the speech taking away from the priest (Zechariah), right in the temple. Zechariah doubted, and as such, he closed his ears before the Word of God, and from that moment he lost his word (that is the power to speak). He refused to listen, and now he has nothing to communicate. In all, one notices immediately that the doubts of the Old priest did not prevent God’s action. For what God says he will do, he will do! Indeed, John the Baptist is a Child of miracle.

     After his birth, on the eight day, that supposed to be the naming ceremony in their tradition, the kinsmen all gathered and they wanted to name him after his father Zechariah, but owing to the fact that he is a child of miracle, his name equally was revealed. At this moment the priest that should speak could not utter a word for he was dumb, then they asked the mother and she replied without hesitation: “He will be called John”, which means “God is gracious”, and this name indeed revealed the essence of his person. But on hearing the name the people there were astounded, and thus they proceeded to the dumb old priest and gave him pen to write the name to be given, and he wrote: “John” and the people were all astonished the more. Upon confirmation of the name John, as declared by his wife Elizabeth, Zechariah regained his speech and his first words were a hymn of thanksgiving to the Lord: the Benedictus.    

     In this passage, we see that wonderful coincidence between the will/desire of Elizabeth and that of Zechariah (v.63), however, it is not to be considered as a miracle, because there is the possibility that he communicated to Elizabeth prior to that moment the name that was revealed by the angel (Lk.1:13). On the other hand, the feeling of bewilderment, fear and the spread of the event constitute in the Gospel of Luke the common elements in the account of miracles. Above all, the most resounding prodigy consists in the birth of the Precursor. And all these, propelled those around to question thus: “What then will this child be?” This interrogation reveals in no small way, that this child has a wondrous mission to carry out for the salvation of the world. And he did manifest this as a Voice, the Precursor, and the Baptizer. In all, his person and his preaching have just a function: to render present the Other. The whole of his mission and greatness could be summarized in the following landmarks:

● He obeyed a divine commission (cf. Jn.1:33)

● He described a specific task (cf. Jn. 1:19-23)

● He ushered in the long awaited Messiah (cf. Jn. 1:24-27)

● He proclaimed a glorious message (cf. Jn. 1:29 & 36. 32 & 33)

● He procured a rich harvest (cf. Jn. 1:35-37, 40-42)

And as we celebrate him today, the relevance of this solemnity reminds us that we are all called to partake in the mission of the Baptist, as voice to the Word “Otimkpu Jisos”. Lord Jesus help us to recognize our nothingness before You as John did! Help us to understand that without You our life will be meaningless, for without the Word, the voice produces meaningless sounds! Amen!!!

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

Do Not Be Afraid!

(Homily 12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

     The liturgy of the Word today presents before us situations of anguish and terror. First it is seen in the prophecy of Jeremiah in the first reading, he was constrained to announce violence and oppression, and his enemies accused him of spreading terror around. And they threatened to speak out against him. As such, the prophet was living in fear. The second situation of anguish is that of the psalmist: “It is for you that I suffer taunts, that shame has covered my face. To my own kin I have become an outcast, a stranger to the children of my mother…and taunts against you fall on me” (Ps. 69:7-9). Furthermore, the first reading and the Gospel passages insist on two characteristics of the Christian existence: the difficulties and the persecutions; and trust in God, which dispels every fear. Prophet Jeremiah confessed, putting words in the mouth of God thus: “I have listened to the calumnies of the people” and at the same time he felt encouraged by God’s presence, “But the Lord is with me like a powerful hero” (Jer. 20:10a, 11a). In the same vein, in the Gospel we hear similar words: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul” (Mt. 10:28), these were the words of Jesus to his disciples and to us today. Why should we not be afraid? Because in the words of the second reading, “there is no comparison between the free gift and the offence” (Rm.5:15), between the powers of the persecutors and the power of God.  The effulgence of God’s grace surpasses all. Many of us need to hear these comforting and encouraging words of Jesus: Do not be afraid!

     The first reading (Jer. 20:10-13) presents the figure of prophet Jeremiah, who lived between 650 and 586 B.C., it was an epoch deeply tormented politically and religiously, which will culminate in the conquest of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and in the deportation of the King and the major part of the citizens. Jeremiah remained in the destroyed city, with the poor that escaped from exile. More than the sufferings that were coming as a result of the destruction of the Holy City and the deportation of the citizens, he was object of hostility in the sight of the official representatives of religion and of the Jewish cult, who did not understand his prophetic message. When Jeremiah was deeply oppressed, facing suffering from all angles, prior to the passage of today’s reading, the prophet throw it to God on the face, the fact of being not only abandoned, but disappointed and deceived by God. “Why is my suffering continual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, for me you are a deceptive stream with uncertain waters!” (Jer. 15:18). And again, “You have seduced me, Yahweh, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a laughing-stock all day long; they all make fun of me” (Jer. 20:7). Those were the words that he used to express his bitter experience.

     This passage from the prophecy of Jeremiah is clearly chosen to suit the Gospel passage, which speaks of the persecution the apostles are going to encounter in their mission. Jeremiah was majorly the prophet that suffered persecution severely on account of his prophetic activity. From his experience came the conception in the later Jewish view that rejection, persecution and martyrdom go hand in hand with the prophetic ministry; this idea appeared in the New Testament (cf. Lk. 11:51, 13:33-34; Mk. 12:1-9). In that perspective, to be a bearer of the word of God amounts to suffering, because the word of God encounters hostility and rejection. From the experience of Jeremiah we can decipher that a Christian is called not only to a prophetic mission of announcing the truth in the name of God, but also of a mission of suffering for the sake of Good News of Salvation. Jeremiah prefigures the great moment of the revelation that will be fulfilled in Christ.

     In the Gospel (Mt. 10:26-33) Jesus says to his disciples “So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from housetops” (vv. 26-27). With these paradoxical expression Jesus entrusts to his disciples the task of announcing the word, of proclaiming the Good News, “without if and but”! Jesus offers us some motivations for which we should not be afraid, he gives us some remedies to our fears. He says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul…Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair of your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid” (vv. 28-31). Here, Jesus evokes the paternity of God as a reason for which we should not be afraid. As such, the revelation of the paternity of God and the revelation of a life after death sustain the invitation of Jesus. Not only that, the death and resurrection of Christ are also guarantee for us not to be afraid, for this St. Paul courageously affirmed that “If God is for us, who can be against us?... Who can bring any accusation against those that God has chosen? When God grants saving justice who can condemn?... Who can separate us from the love of Christ?... No, we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who loved us” (Rm. 8:31-39).

     Extrapolating from this passage we see certain attitudes and behavior that we Christians are tempted to assume in our existential experience: ●First, the most immediate risk is the temptation to abandon the Christian commitment of living as a Christian and return to live according to the spirit of the world. ●Second, the temptation to believe that with Christ we have arrived at a certain privileged position of living in serenity and quietude, a sort of exemption from suffering and tribulation. Jesus does not give us any guarantee to that effect, instead he encourages us not to be afraid. ●Third, is the sense of fear that can take over a Christian. The message of Christ will always be provocative, and before the world those who live and announce the message of Christ will be confronted, rejected and persecuted. Many a times, Jesus makes reference to this fundamental condition of the Christian existence. It is as if the Christian existence is always exposed to risk, opposition, and even the danger of losing one’s life. And from this situation fear can emerge, which can paralyze a Christian to the point of denying Christ or be ashamed of being called a Christian. It is incumbent upon this conviction that Jesus repeatedly exhorted his disciples thus: “do not be afraid”. The disciples of Christ are therefore, invited not be afraid of those that persecute them or of the world that gangs up against them because: No human power can stop the success of the Word of God; God assures them of his Providence, He promises to safeguard them as he takes care of the birds in the sky and the flowers in the field (cf. Mt. 6:26-30) and for them He knows how to draw something good from evil. And finally, because God is on our side, on the side of his disciples, as he was on the side of Jeremiah in the first reading.

     On the other hand, our Christian life has to be founded on a certain type of fear, a healthy fear. Not the fear of or for persecution and threats, rather the fear of God and the divine judgment. For we know, as the word of God has made us to understand that at the end of our life, we shall be judged. Healthy fear therefore, entails living coherently and adhering to the Gospel, reverence for God. A Christian is therefore, called to be courageous and strong in proclaiming his faith in Christ and in the Gospel, and always ready to confront dangers on account of this. St. Peter gives us the spiritual secret code thus: “Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for the people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have” (1Pt. 3:15).

     However, giving the foundation of our Christian faith, a convinced Christian does not fear men of this world, for Jesus in the passage of today’s Gospel repeated three good times: “So do not be afraid them” (Mt. 10:26); “Do not be afraid of those…” (Mt. 10:28); “So there is no need to be afraid” (Mt. 10:31). The disciple of Christ should not be afraid of those who persecute them, because we know that God is always at our side, as in the case of Jeremiah in the first reading, he felt the presence of God at his side, notwithstanding the persecutions he was passing through. However, let us appropriate the word of God in the Gospel of John “I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world” (Jn. 16:33), yes our courage is founded on his victory. A Christian is therefore, called to be courageous and strong in proclaiming his faith in Christ and in the Gospel, and always ready to confront dangers on account of this. “Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for the people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have” (1Pt. 3:15). Therefore, if we are Christians we have to confess Christ openly in every situation, without fear and shame, like St. Paul who was glorying in the cross of Christ.

     Jesus warns us that if anyone disowns him in the presence of human beings, he will disown that person in the presence of his Father in heaven (v.33). Jesus is thus, calling us to proclaim his message of salvation with courage, with our lips and our lives. Our world today has distanced herself from Christ and his message, has many a times disowned him and relegated the Christian values to the background, there is need of a “re-evangelization”. Our world today needs to be re-evangelized, few years ago the discourse and the concern on “New Evangelization” was very strong and intense. Behold, I think there is need to return to that awareness, but now from a different standpoint, we need to deepen the consciousness of the necessity of a continuous evangelization, at the personal and collective levels.

     The second reading (Rm. 5:12-15) expounds the liberating power and effects of Christ’s redemption. It is freedom and emancipation from sin and death. St. Paul makes a sort of comparison between Adam and Christ while enunciating our liberation from sin and death. Disobedience, sin and death were prevalent in Adam, but through and in Christ obedience, free gift of grace and life were made manifest. However, we should jettison the idea that Adam sort of introduced a hereditary stain, which is somehow biologically transmittable; rather the fact is that all men sinned like Adam. Adam opened the door to sin and death. In the passage St. Paul affirmed that “There is no comparison between the free gift and the offence. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many” (v.15). It therefore, entails that God’s grace is much greater than our sin. The grace of God abounds for all. That is the basis of our trust and confidence. In the face of persecutions, criticisms, rejections, indifference and incomprehension we neither rely on our strength, nor on our morals. The rock of our trust and confidence is the grace of God, manifested as a gratuitous Gift in Jesus Christ.

     No doubt, there are many things that threaten our internal peace, many things that frighten us. Many a times we are afraid of the future, afraid of sickness and death, but contrarily to all forms and manifestations of fear and anguish in our life, Jesus says: “do not be afraid”. In fact, the Bible is full of this hopeful reassurance of God “do not be afraid”. To Abram God says “do not be afraid” (Gen. 15:1; 26:24) even when He called him to leave his own country for an unknown country. To the prophets God says “do not be afraid” (Is. 41:10; 43:5; Jer. 1:8) for I am with you. Also to Mary God through his angel says “do not be afraid” (Lk. 1:30). When Jesus was sending his apostles on mission, he reminded them of the possibility of persecution, however, he says to them: “do not worry about how to speak or what to say” (Mt. 10:19). And to all his disciples Jesus says “do not be afraid, little flock” (Lk. 12:32). You too, do not be afraid!

     Today there are many things that threaten our life and well-being, many situations that make us be encapsulated by fear. The current pandemic and its social, political, economic and moral effects have plunged us more than ever in a long dark tunnel that we are desperately waiting for rays of hope. Thus, in this dramatic situation of fear and uncertainty, Jesus’ words resound: “do not be afraid”. Indeed, Jesus’ words fall like a healing balm: Nonlite timere. It is like a refrain that resounds in the words of Jesus. Before anything else, it is worthwhile to allow these words and invitation of Jesus to inhabit in our hearts, “do not be afraid”. Today more than ever, we need these reassuring words of Jesus. In the present situation, we need not someone, but ‘Someone’ who calms us, who reassures us that there is still hope. Truly, in our present situation of fear, anguish, hunger, desperation and sickness, we need to hear the voice of Jesus. Beloved in Christ, the most important revelation about God to emerge from the gospels is that he is a caring God, a compassionate and forgiving God, and a God who is on our side. Therefore, no matter what we are facing or whatever is facing us, our attitude must be that of the psalmist when he says, “In God I trust I shall not fear” (Ps. 56:11).

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

The Eucharist: Sign Of His Continuous Incarnation!

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

     Today the Holy Mother Church celebrates one of her most sublime Mysteries: the Eucharist, 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 alive 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 and endless love for us. The Eucharist is the perpetuation of both his Love and Presence. It is the Sacrament of Christ’s extreme love for humanity. It is a sign of his continuous Incarnation 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! The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word “eucharistia” which is a translation of the Hebrew word “berakah” and they all stand to signify thanksgiving or praise to God for his wonderful deeds. This Sacrament therefore, reminds us of the Jewish religious tradition of Berakah, which has to do with blessing, thanksgiving and praise to God for the wonders he has wrought, for this the first reading invites us to remember and not to forget his mighty deeds.

     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) could have directed to Jesus, the evening they were at table for the Last Super. And maybe in response, 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. 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 Sacrament,  always for a more profound understanding. No doubt, to that question the readings of today have much in stock for us.

     In the first reading (Dt. 8:2-3. 14-16) Moses spoke to the people of Israel and today he is speaking to us calling our attention to two imperatives: Remember and Do not forget, What? Moses admonished the people to have always fresh in their minds all that the Lord has done for them. Remember how he laid you in the wilderness, do not forget that he led you out from Egypt and how their fathers were nourished with manna. And to us as well, his words resound in our heart: remember and do not forget. The people of Israel were not to forget all the good deeds of the Lord, in order to render gratitude to God, and to remain faithful to him. The imperative call of Moses is also extended to us, for we have to remember and not to forget all the wonderful works the Lord has worked for our Salvation, starting from his Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection to the perpetuation of his presence in the Eucharist; the Ever Present Emmanuel! Here the people were nourished by manna which they did not know, but Jesus feeds us with what we know: Himself.

     In this passage, the sacred author affirmed that God “humbled you, he made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh” (v.3). This passage anticipates the real Bread (Eucharist), Jesus’ self-giving to humanity. In the words of Jesus: “This is the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever” (Jn. 6:58). The Eucharistic Jesus is not bread like the one eaten by the Jews in the desert, rather he is the real Bread that gives life, He is both Bread and Word of God. Jesus is the Word that became Flesh, not only Flesh but also Bread. It is indeed illuminating the word of God in John 6:63: “The words i have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”. Now, you can imagine, if the spoken words of Jesus give life, imagine Him the Word of God! Indeed, Jesus the Word and Bread of life gives life. For this, we are invited to live not on mere bread but on the Word that took Flesh, and later became Bread. In fact, we may well affirm that the Eucharist is the second and continuous Incarnation of Jesus on earth.

     In the Gospel (Jn. 6:51-59) St. John presents a wonderful teaching on the Eucharist, done by Jesus himself. Jesus says “I am the living bread”, “my body is true food and my blood real Drink”. What Jesus is offering is not just a mere sign, rather they are real food and real drink, yet more than that. Moreover, body and blood stand to indicate the totality of the person, therefore, He is giving us all Himself without reservation (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity). Indeed, Jesus gives himself under the appearance of Bread and Wine. He says: “the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” and his blood “will be poured for the remission of sins”, that is, he offers himself in his state of being a sacrificial victim, in obedience to the Father and for the remission of our sins. In the Incarnation the divinity of Christ is present in the fragility of a human body; in the Eucharist, the crucified, risen and glorified Christ is present in the fragility of bread and wine.

     During his great teaching on the Eucharist, Jesus makes an eschatological promise: “who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life”: therefore, receiving Jesus in the Eucharist we participate already in this world in the divine life of God and eternal life in the world to come. He further expressed “who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, I will raise him up on the last day”, he who nourishes himself with Jesus in the Eucharist will participate as Jesus promised in his mortal body the glory of the Risen Christ in the Final Resurrection. On hearing this teaching, the Jews questioned him saying: “how can he give us his flesh to it?” Therefore, they intended very well the language of Jesus, it is not in metaphorical or symbolical sense that he invites them to eat his body, rather in the realistic sense, to eat and nourish themselves with his body. Jesus by no means minimized the intensity of his discourse, little wonder the disciples said “this language is strong, who will admit it?”. Some of the disciples stopped following him, and he turned and asked the apostles, “do you want to go away also?”.

     The reception of this Sacrament creates a wonderful intimacy and union between Jesus and the receiver, Jesus promised “who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, I will live in him and him in me”, that is, through the Eucharist a profound union is established between Christ and the faithful. Through this intimacy, there comes a sort of a progressive transformation of the faithful, until he is Christified. It was the German philosopher Fuerback that said “we become what we eat”, this is true to some extent, that is why we are called to become WHAT or WHO we receive in the Eucharist. We are called to be christified and to become carriers of Jesus, living tabernacles: “Christophers”, Christ-bearers. In the words of St. Leo the great, one of the effects of the Eucharist is to make us become what or whom we eat. Thus, there are some existential implications, for Jesus in response to the argument of the Jews says “if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn. 6:53), again he says: “so whoever eats me will also draw life from me” (Jn. 6:57b). St. Paul understood this vividly well when he said “it is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Are we ready to live for Him? Are we ready to make a space in our life for Jesus? In the book of Revelation He says: “I am standing at your door and knocking if someone hears my voice and open to me, I will come in and eat with him” (Rev. 3:20). There He does not come to dwell in us by force, rather he waits for us to open the door of our heart to him. Child of God open your heart, for the Eucharistic Jesus is knocking.

     This great mystery is to be considered from two different aspects: of sacrifice and banquet. First, as a sacrifice, in the celebration of the Eucharist, Christ is present in the state of a victim for the expiation of our sins: in the bread it is his flesh that is given, his slain body, in the wine, his shed blood. In the Eucharist Jesus renders present, actualizes in a sacramental, unbloody but real manner, his sacrifice. As such, every eucharistic celebration represents and renders actual in all its redemptive efficacy the sacrifice of Calvary, unsurprisingly, we call it the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Second, as a banquet, in the Eucharist Jesus makes himself present not only to represent or actualize his sacrifice of expiation, of propitiation and glorification of the Father, but also to become our food, our spiritual nourishment. We cannot but underline the insistence with which Jesus uses the words: eat and drink. During the moment of the Institution, at the event of the Last Supper, Jesus will say: “take and eat”, “drink all of you” (cf. Lk. 22:19-20; Mk. 14:22-25; Mt. 26: 26-29). The Eucharist is the divine banquet that every soul is invited to participate in order to be nourished of Christ.

     Interestingly, in his Gospel narrative, John does not include the institution of the Eucharist in his account, rather, he narrated the event of the washing of the apostles’ feet by Jesus. Corollarily, the humble service of Jesus, demonstrates to us how the Eucharist should transform our lives from acts of self-centredness to acts of love, humble service of others. And again, before this unprecedented gesture of Jesus, one may ask: why does Jesus offer himself as our food and nourishment in the Eucharist? Extrapolating from the affirmations and promises of Jesus in this passage, we are urged to make threefold considerations: ●Jesus gives us himself in the Eucharist to unite us with him, to communicate to us his divine life and to transform us in him. ●To deposit in us seed of immortality, in his words: “who eats my flesh will live forever”. ● To make us one people, his Church, so that we will live in communion among us (cf. 1Cor.10:17).

     The second reading (1Cor. 10:16-17) delineates what should be the fruits of the Eucharist in us and its existential implications. St. Paul tells us clearly how the Eucharist puts us in union with Christ and with each other. The Chalice of blessing and the Bread will break are signs of communion with Christ. And this communion should not only be with Christ but among men, partakers in the one Cup and one Bread. The participation in one Bread bestows on us the grace of becoming one body even though many. In chapter 11 St. Paul admonishes us to receive the body of Christ worthily, if not the person eats and drinks his condemnation. The reception of the Eucharist is not to be seen as a daily routine. We are all invited to nourish ourselves with Christ, but worthily, it does not exclude anyone, except if one excludes himself by sin.

     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 remembrance of me” (1Cor. 11:24). 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 mysteries; His prefiguration in the Old Testament and his actualization 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. Drawing the issue further, here remembrance entails something more than mere recollection. In the context of the Passover, it is God and not just the people who remembers. And as such, He makes present the great acts of redemption. Similarly, at each Eucharist, we do not just look back in remembrance of the Last Supper; instead the Last Supper is made present to us in order that we might experience the saving power of Jesus. In the Eucharist we both remember and relive what Jesus has done for us and this great gift of Himself in the Eucharist. It is worthy of note that in the biblical language, ‘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 even though in an unbloody manner; there is a real presence on the altar.

    Above all else, however, from what has been said it is clear that the participation in the Eucharist does not end with the final blessing, it is to be lived, it must permeate and influence all our actions. And here we want to consider a Eucharistic experience from three different but interconnected perspectives: before, during and after the celebration. In the ‘before’ of the celebration, there are numerous elements that predispose us to an ever more lively celebration of the sacrament. Before the celebration, the believer is invited to consider the gratuitousness of the gift that he goes to celebrate and to recognize himself as a sinner. The ‘during’ is the time of celebration, the space in which the encounters between one believer and another, the human and the divine take place. It is a moment of a very strong involvement, of feeling welcomed by God and the brethren. So, it is also a time of fraternity. It is a time to let ourselves be given the therapy by the Word of God. It is a time of confrontation with oneself and the Word, and this attitude holds the secret for constant growth in Christian maturity. Lastly, the ‘after’ of this encounter with God and with the brothers and sisters should instill in us a life of communion already anticipated during the celebration, as an element coming from the encounter with Jesus. What we celebrate must have moral and social values in our life or in our experience. After the example of self-donation, sharing and love given to us by Jesus, the ‘after’ celebration must therefore be a time of extension of the Eucharistic experience in our everyday life. And I would like to conclude with these profound and piercing words of Don Tonino Bello: “Unfortunately, flashy opulence makes us easily see the body of Christ in the Eucharist of our altars. But it prevents us from seeing the body of Christ in the uncomfortable tabernacles of misery, need, suffering, loneliness. (...) I believe that the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ demands our conversion. Not the altitude of our words. Nor the empty pomp of our liturgies.” Truly, Jesus in the Eucharist continues to demand for our conversion. 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)

THE TRINITY OF LOVE!

(Homily for the Holy Trinity Sunday Year A)

     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 Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, in order to bring to fulfillment the wonderful works of our salvation, in today’s liturgy we celebrate the three divine Persons (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 distinguishes our religion from others (the Jews adored only one God: Yahweh, the pagans adore many divinities, without unity), but in ours there is unity in distinction. 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 Scriptures actually made us to understand that the Father is God (Phil. 1:2), the Son is “great God” (Titus 2:13; Jn. 1:1) and that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). The God revealed by Jesus Christ is not a distant and inaccessible divinity, that has nothing to do with the contingent humanity. He does not sit impassible on His eternal throne, rather He condescends to mankind. Even though we may not understand God fully as Trinity, we do experience Him as Trinity daily (in the sign of the cross etc). God is not only believable, He can be experienced (Taste and See). In the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “God, in his deepest mystery, is not a solitude, but a family, since he has in himself fatherhood, sonship, and the essence of the family, which is love (the Holy Spirit).”

     In that bid, I would like to introduce the Holy Trinity in this reflection in two broad terms: economic and immanent Trinity, taking inspiration from some modern theologians. Economic is how God has revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (through His actions in the world). And many a times when we talk about the Holy Trinity, we tend to do so, limiting ourselves to the economic 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 immanent Trinity. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a mystery beyond and above us, for it has to do with the ontological aspects of the Trinity (Immanent) 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 (Economic). However, we cannot understand and explain fully how God is in himself, 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". “God is love” (1Jn. 4:16) as revealed in the New Testament, and love cannot remain closed up in itself, and the God revealed by Jesus Christ is Trinity because is love. Jesus said to Philip, “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30) and no doubt the Holy Spirit is part of this oneness. Whether considered from the dimension of economy or immanency, the central word that dovetails into God’s essence and manifestation is LOVE. 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 around 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, however in the Old Testament we see only an anticipation of this mystery for instance: 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. It could be interpreted that God came to Abraham in a 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. But in the New Testament see explicit references to this sublime mystery: 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.” The Greek word perichoresis (derived from the Greek traditional wedding dance) will help us to have a clue of how God is Trinity. It is the reciprocal com-penetration of being among the three divine Persons, it is like the bond that unites the three Persons in a mutual indwelling. For instance, in Jesus’ priestly prayer: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (Jn. 17:1); and again Jesus says referring to the Holy Spirit, “he will glorify me” (Jn.16:14). Thus, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father and the Father glorifies the Son.

     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 actions? God is experienced as going out of himself in revelation and redemption. And it is against this backdrop, that the three readings of today proffer us some indications: The first reading from the book of Exodus reveals the name of God (Yahweh) and the compassionate heart of God, full of love and faithfulness. In the request of Moses: “My Lord, come with us”, here one can preempt the first step towards the Incarnation and the Revelation of the Son, “Enmanu-EI”- God with us. This mystery of Incarnation was revealed solemnly in the Gospel of John: “God so love the world, that he gave his only Begotten Son”. In the second reading St. Paul rediscovered a trinitarian formulae of the old Christian liturgy, culminating in grace, love and communion.

     In the first reading (Exodus 34: 4-6. 8-9) God revealed himself to Moses as “Merciful God and gracious,  slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness.” This is our One and Triune God. And before his majesty we have to recognize our nothingness and so bow before Him. Moses recognized his nothingness and bowed on the ground. In this passage Moses shows us what should be the human attitude before this great and admirable mystery, it should be that of adoration and worship and an invocation of the Triune God to come and be in our midst. Let us appropriate the words of Moses, “If indeed I do enjoy your favour, please, my Lord, come with us” (v.9). The passage can be divided into two parts: the first part is a theophany, Yahweh revealed his name. And the second part is the response of Moses to this divine manifestation. In this passage, God we could say goes out of his own transcendent being in self-communication and he expects the human response. As such, in this encounter between God and Moses on Mount Sinai we see a threefold pattern: ●God in himself as the transcendent Being, ●God goes out of himself in self-communication, ●and He creates within the human heart (Moses) the response to his self-communication. Drawing the issue further, the passage talks about the “Name of God”, and for us it is the threefold name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, Daniel in the responsorial psalm picked up this theme once again: “Blessed be your glorious and holy name” (Dan. 3:52b).

     In Gospel (John 3: 16-18) Jesus reveals the face of God, not just for what He is in himself, but for what he has done in favor of man. That God loved us so much, that he became one of us and one with us. Jesus came to save the world and not to condemn it. In this passage of the Gospel we see one of the most important verses (v.16) in the whole Gospel of St. John: “For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” This is the most glaring and precise affirmation of God’s love, as the true and ultimate cause of His Son’s presence in the world. But at first sight one might rightly question the choice of this passage that apparently talks about only the Father and the Son, without any mention of the Spirit, on this day. On the other hand, after a thoughtful reflection, we discover that it is as a matter of fact impossible to dissociate the gift of eternal life, from the Spirit who is the Giver of life. The first reading talks about God’s compassion, while the Gospel reveals his infinite love for man, little wonder St. Paul says “what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners” (Rm. 5:8). God sent his Son to the world in order to save the world (v. 17). Indeed, this mystery reveals to us our nothingness, and as such calls our attention to bow down in adoration to God.

     The second reading (2Cor 13: 11-13) begins with the admonition of St. Paul thus: “brethren, rejoice. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (v. 11). In a nutshell, is like St. Paul is telling us that a transformed way of living, living harmony and love with each other are the criteria for enjoying the presence of the Trinitarian God, the Trinity of love and peace. Secondly, he offers us an explicit affirmation of the existence of the Holy Trinity, but also the fact that the Holy Trinity is present in us and at work in us, if we do not destroy our relationship with Him through sin. For St. Paul the presence of the Trinity becomes a wish for the Christians of Corinth and for us today: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all”. St. Paul employs three important words (Grace, Love and Communion). He speaks of the grace of Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Thus, bringing to light the experience of grace, love and koinonia. The ordering of Son, Father and Spirit is quite fascinating, for it is in the Person of the Son through his gracious life and death that we encounter the love of God, and this encounter enables us to be incorporated as members of the redeemed community, where we are made sharers in the common life of the Spirit.

     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. 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). It is thus an invitation to us to cultivate the spirituality of inclusion. ●We can as well reconsider the Holy Trinity in three dimensions: the Trinity of faith (of the past, when He 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 mystery of the Holy Trinity 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 redemptive death and 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.

     When Peter’s words pierced the hearts of his listeners, upon hearing his preaching that dovetailed into the workings of the three divine Persons, they asked: “Brothers, what should we do?” (Acts. 2:37). Similarly, 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 and pondering on this 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 constantly 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 position 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.

     Above all, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity, there is love among 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. As those called to live a trinitarian life, is our life a sign of communion and of love, a reflex of the trinitarian life? The Trinity reveals that God is a family, and we are part of this family. Are we authentic members of this family? 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. Oh our Trinitarian God, help us to love You and to love one another! Amen!!!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)