DIVINE WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

THURSDAY OF  THE 21ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Luminous 

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY: Ferial 

TABLE OF THE WORD:  1 Thessalonians 3:7-13; Matthew 24:42-51.

THEME: Be watchful!

THE WORD: 

•  ‘Watch for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming..” (Matthew 24:42)

One of the elements that spurs success in every test or hunt is preparation.  That is to be successful one must be prepared, the preparation here entails hardworking and be conscious of the task ahead.

Evangelist Matthew in today's gospel pericope presents before us the teaching of our Lord about the day-of-days where the Son of man will return in glory. The day prophets, priests,  evangelists and many other gospel men and women have talked about. Here our Lord spoke in clear terms: 

•  ‘Watch for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming..” (Matthew 24:42)

This however calls for adequate preparations to behold the beauty of that day, if not if it will meet us in our unpreparedness and we will certainly bound to loose it out. 

On the other hand, perseverance in faith also serves as the foundation for this preparedness, that is why St. Paul in his exhortation to the Thessalonians Church says: 

"Brethren, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith; for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 3:7-8).

INSPIRATION

Beloved in Christ, the fundamental question for us this morning is: If all the social media platforms, the International and local dailies carry the message of the coming of the Lord saying: "The Lord will come next two days" what will you be doing? 

Certainly, some may pack into the church so as to run away from evil tendencies, many will make amends both with God and humanity, while others will continue with whatever they are doing?

Therefore, which of the camps do we belong? The answer is yours. 

St. Paul in another place re-emphasized  the need for preparation whlle addressing  the Corinthians: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13). And in his admonition to the Colossians he says:

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”  (Colossians 4:2). While St. Peter has this to say:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).

Finally dearest friend in Christ, be prepared  with perseverance in faith no matter how odd and tough it may be for the hour or moment He will come remains hidden from us. 

Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

Eternal.Word, in gratitude we thank You for the many blessings we receive from You. Grant we pray the grace to forge ahead with perseverance in faith so that we will be ever ready to behold that great day-of-days.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord in His infinite mercy bless and keep us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

(c) The ARCHIVE                        31082023

DIVINE WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

WEDNESDAY OF  THE 21ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Glorious 

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY: Ferial 

TABLE OF THE WORD: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:27-32.

THEME: Dignity of Labour.

THE WORD: 

• "We worked night and day, while we preached to you the Gospel of God.” (1 Thessalonians 2:9)

St. Paul while in Thessalonica with his team physically laboured at trades to meet their daily needs. He was a renowned tent-maker (cf. Acts 18:3). Paul made tents in Corinth, Thessalonica, and Ephesus. He worked long hours into the night so that he could preach the gospel in the day.

Denotatively, the word “labour” carries the idea of painful effort, emphasizing toil in work — hardship, distress. St. Paul and his co-workers put in a lot of hard work in bringing the gospel to the Thessalonians.

This text serves as an invitation to embrace our daily toil with dignity as St. Paul and his co-workers did. 

INSPIRATION

Biblically, St. Paul still in his exhortation to the Thessalonians Church avers:  "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." ( 2 Thessalonians 3: 10-12) This ofcourse is a reminder of God's invitation to humanity following the creation account where He asked man to till and cultivate the earth for his living (cf. Genesis 2:15).

Beloved in Christ, how dutiful are we in our day-to-day living. Do we allow laziness to swallow us up with vain hope that God will provide manna as He did in the desert? 

Absolutely  no. We need to carry our implements, ask God for grace and strength and then set forth to till the earth. There and then that we will see the finger of God in every situation. It is in the field that the manna will fall through positive progress the Lord will bless us with; because we have till and cultivate the earth.  Let our labour be dignified for it is God's invitation to partner in protecting what He created. No matter where we are olabted let us blossom for God is the master of every vineyard.

Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

O God, we thank You for the many blessings we receive from You. Your Word is always a lamp for our feet. Grant that we pray the grace to persevere in our daily toil, and at the end bless us with a bountiful harvest of joy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord in His infinite mercy bless and keep us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

(c) The ARCHIVE                        30082023

DIVINE WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

TUESDAY OF  THE 21ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Sorrowful 

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY: The Passion of Saint John the Baptist

St John's fearless condemnation of Herod's unlawful marriage incurred the hatred of the king's bride, Herodias. She had him imprisoned and finally killed. St John the Baptist teaches us to be strong in carrying out the mission God has given us.

TABLE OF THE WORD: Jeremiah 1:17-19; Mark 6:17-29.

THEME: I am with you.

THE WORD: 

• "They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you." (Jeremiah 1:19)

The Scripture often serves as our sure foundation in which our faith is built upon. It gives us the assurance of God's abiding presence, that if we are faithful to His detects and ordinances we will not be disappointed.  This goes along way to establish the fact which is ascribed to St. Augustine that: "God who created us without us cannot save us without us." 

However, there must be our co-participation in our journey of redemption. This Divine assurance has been a repeated promise in many parts of the scripture.  The book of Exodus 14:14 further gives us insight into this promise as God says: "keep still, I will fight your battle." 

Consequently,  the gospel pericope gives us an account of a man who did his best to keep the Divine detects and ordinances-John the Baptist, who along the line lost his life for a higher good - the eternal life. (cf. Mark 6:17-29)

INSPIRATION

Every now and then we keep on reflecting on how to defeat our enemies, how can we triumph over the trap set before us? How possible is it to get rid of the plan of evil one? With all these, the Lord has invited us into a deeper relationship with Him, and if we eventually hearken to His instructions then His ever abiding presence will be with us as Prophet Jeremiah says: 

• "They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you." (Jeremiah 1:19)

Beloved in Christ, if God is with us who can be against us? With this Divine promise the ever abiding presence of God is with us, therefore fear not for He is with us always. 

Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord in His infinite mercy bless and keep us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

(c) The ARCHIVE                        29082023

DIVINE BEDTIME WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

21st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Glorious 

TABLE OF THE WORD: Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20

THEME: Who is Jesus to you?

THE WORD:

"Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:13-14)

The personality of Jesus is quite difficult to explain unlike that of humans, it is difficult in the sense that He has a double personality: Divine and Human (except in sin). We cannot define Him based on His human attribute. While some sees Him as one of the ancient prophets who has return, many see Him as John the Baptist who came to prepare the way for the Messiah and others may have a different notion of Him.

In his essay on the emotional life of Christ, theologian B. B. Warfield describes the two dangerous tendencies that the church has exhibited in its attempt to understand the humanity of Christ. One is to lean so far into his divinity that the human is undermined. The other is to err in the opposite direction and so rob him of his divinity. “Between the two, the figure of Jesus is liable to take on a certain vagueness of outline, and come to lack definiteness in thought” Warfield warns. We must do justice to both dimensions of Christ’s nature without somehow allowing each to cancel out the other or ending up with a hybrid being who is neither truly God nor truly man. 

In as much as we hold on to the two personalities of Jesus: the human and divine, Christ was more divine than human, that is why He was free from sin. 

In summary, the personality of Jesus can be summed up in the virtues of compassion and justice. These virtues are therefore an invitation to each and every one of us to exhibit same so as to be qualified to be called "Chriatian." 

INSPIRATION

My dearest friend(s) in Christ, wishing you (all) the best of this evening. Indeed, we are grateful to God for His love, faithfulnes and leading us thus far. 

In our day-to-day experience what can we say about the personality of Jesus? Do we see Him as all and all in us? Or are we defining Him according to our daily situation? 

Absolutely,  we don't need all these to define who Jesus is to us. The definition of His personality has nothing our personal thoughts but our encounter with with Him in various circumstances.  

Finally, as we retire after the fatigue of our daily task, let us take our minds back reflecting on who Jesus has been, who he is now and who He will be tomorrow? Indeed, He was, He is and He will forever be that same man of Galilee who is always there for us even when we are all asleep. 

Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.

(c) The ARCHIVE                       27082023

DIVINE WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

FRIDAY OF THE 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Sorrowful 

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY: Ferial

TABLE OF THE WORD:   Ruth 1:1.3-6.14-16.22; Matthew 22:34-40.

THEME: Love beyond cost.

THE WORD: 

• “You shall love the Lord your God, your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)

Notably , there are a total of 613 Jewish commandments (mitzvot in Hebrew) extracted from the Old Testament. By implication, if one were to practice this law each per day it will certainly take almost two years. It is against this backdrop that one of the teachers of the law approached Jesus and then asked Him: Of all these laws which one is the greatest? Our Lord in His response gave him the summary of the 613 Jewish commandments with reference to that which God gave to Moses - decalogue (ten commandments) (cf. Exodus 20:1ff.) which is founded on love. That is love of God and and love of our neighbours as we love ourselves. 

This reality is being played out in the Cross of Jesus, the vertical and horizontal axis. That is our love to Him points to the vertical axis and that for our neighbours is being represented by the horizontal axis. With Christ spreading His hands horizontally,  He invites us to His love which is in God.

INSPIRATION 

None of us exist outside the love of God through His only begotten Son (cf. John 3:16). We are all beneficiaries of this highest attribute of God; for in love everything was made, and through it man was given the mandate to put them into use for the greater glory of God. 

Beloved in Christ, how then do we reciprocate this kind gesture of our God upon us? Is it through betrayal of one another? Is it by using our neighbours as stepping stone or ladder to vain glory and fame? Could we say, we love God by bearing false witness against one another? By and large, doing all these tentamount to ingratitude which the scripture forbids us. (cf. Genesis 40:23, Numbers 16:13-14; Judges 8:35; Judges 9:18)

Finally, let us learn the language of love, think about it, speak about it and then put it into action for God is Love. Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

O Eternal Word, strength of the weak and health of the infirmities, we adore and bless Your name. Grant we pray the grace to love beyond counting the cost so that we may continue to grow in the palms of Your Love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord in His infinite mercy bless and keep us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

© The ARCHIVE                             25082023      

DIVINE WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

MONDAY OF THE 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Joyful

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY: St Pius X, Pope

(1835-1914). He was born near Venice to a very humble family. He was distinguished for his continuous service to the Church and to all souls; first as priest, later as bishop and Patriach Archbishop of Venice and finally as Roman Pontiff. He strongly defended the purity of Catholic doctrine against modern heresies. He instilled dignity to sacred liturgy, and he extended the practice of frequent communion.

TABLE OF THE WORD:   Judges 2:11-19;   Mt 19:16-22

THEME: Go and sell all that you have....

THE WORD: 

• "If you would be perfect, sell what you possess, and you will have treasure in heaven.” (Matthew 19:21)

Today's gospel reading addressed the problem of where we deposit our treasure, which the scripture before now has exhorted us to lay a treasure where moth will not destroy. According to Evangelist Matthew who gives account of the rich young man seeking for eternal life, presents before us the disappointment he got when Christ gave him the last straw to be admitted into the kingdom.

At first instance, he told Christ that he has done everything which is rooted in the decalogue (10 commandments) but Christ told him that something is still lacking: 

• "If you would be perfect, sell what you possess, and you will have treasure in heaven.” (Matthew 19:21)

The scripture says the man went back very sad because he was a man of riches. In his understanding he thought keeping the law alone is the sure way to Heaven not knowing that there is need to detach in order to attach. In this case, it was very difficult for him to detach himself from wealth and get attach to the way of Heaven.

INSPIRATION

Beloved in Christ, what is it that is distracting us from the way of holiness? Is it material things? Friends? Frivolities of this ephemeral life? etc. In all all these none, absolutely none should barr us from this path of eternal bliss. Recalling the exhortation of our brother St. Paul when he said that with all these around us, none can be compared to the future glory awaiting us (cf. Romans 8:1ff.)

Finally,  as we roll out drums today to celebrate the "Pope of the Eucharist" - Pope St. Pius X, a man renowned for his outstanding effort in giving shape to the body of Christ by starting the coding of the Canon law, instilling discipline on the Sacrament of the Eucharist, let us invoke him on this day to intercede on our behalf for grace to let go our old self and put on new man in Christ which is interior poverty for the sake of the kingdom of God.

Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

O God, who to safeguard the Catholic faith and to restore all things in Christ, filled Pope Saint Pius the Tenth with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude, graciously grant that, following his teaching and example, we may gain an eternal prize. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord in His infinite mercy bless and keep us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

© The ARCHIVE                           21082023

DIVINE BEDTIME WHISPER with FR. PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM

20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

MYSTERY OF THE DAY: Glorious 

TABLE OF THE WORD: Isaiah 56:1.6-7; Romans 11:13-15.29-32; Matthew 15:21-28.

THEME: Amidst the "stony" silence of God.

THE WORD

"It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith!" (Matthew15:26-28)

**********************************************

Dearest friend(s) in Christ, a beautiful evening Sunday to you (all). As we are retiring to bed in thanksgiving to God for the day well spent, and a hopeful hope for those who had it rough today; I wish to tell you that our tomorrow will be better than today. Therefore keep your faith high!

From today's Table of the Word I wish to reflect with you on the Words from the gospel pericope (Matthew 15:21-28). The story of faith and perseverance. Recounting the event that took place when Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon [Tyre and Sidon were ancient, coastal cities located north of Galilee along the Mediterranean Sea, in modern Lebanon. Sidon was founded by Canaanites (cf. Genesis 10:15; 10:19; I Chronicles 1:13)]

when a Canannite woman approached Him and begged Him to heal her daughter who was tormented by demon. Jesus showed her "a dead silence" the very silence that was enough for her to retreat from pestering on Him. As if that was not enough, when He broke the silence, our Lord's response reminded her of her background using the image of a "dog." 

However, in the Biblical usage the image of a dog portrays uncleanness,  object of humiliation etc. For instance, the terms "dog," "dog's head," "dead dog," were used as terms of reproach or of humiliation (cf. 1 Samuel 24:14 ; 2 Sam 3:8 ; 9:8 ; 16:9 ). Paul calls false apostles "dogs" (cf. Phil 3:2 ). Those who are shut out of the kingdom of heaven are also so designated with the term "dog" (cf. Revelation 22:15).

Amidst this disregard and humiliation because she was a Canannite woman she stood firm in her faith believing that Jesus is  the only healing master.

INSPIRATION

In our prayer life, or moment of hope in God for what we are yet to receive, do we have perseverance in mind? Or do we think that just a few words of request is enough to get it done. I don't think so, the scenario in today's gospel brings before us a touching lesson; on perseverance in prayer no matter how tough and prolong the circumstances may linger.

The stony silence of God has never been known to be "No" but an invitation to make a paradigm shift from the former place to a new location. In the case of this woman she was on her feet while crying for help, but when Christ turned to her, she hurriedly knelt before Him saying: 

"Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Indeed, she was moved with faith, that even if it is impossible, but with Him all protocols can be put away. We on our part must kneel before God so as to stand before men. 

Finally, beloved in Christ, amidst every trials and tribulations, with God no matter any protocol we will triumph provided we are ready to relocate from the former to the latter. Remember,  new wine must be in new wine skin. Peace be with you! 

PRAYER

O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

+ May the Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.

(c) The ARCHIVE                       20082023