David Michael Okechukwu's Blog

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac car was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.” Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, s...

Today's Verse This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. – Joshua 1:8 On this chapter, Joshua was appointed by God to take the place of Moses and to lead God’s people to the land which God had promised them. In order to be successful on his mission God instructed Joshua to obey the law which Moses gave him (v.7). To do that, he should meditate on God’s law and talk about it every day. God reminds Joshua that success and prosperity does not come from his abilities, skills or intellect, but by his complete obedience to God’s word. This is also a reminder to us that obedience is our foremost priority as we follow God and obey His will. That is why we should study and learn more about the Bible by meditating on it and sharing it to others. Success an...

In other years: St Ignatius Loyola (1491 - 1556) Ignatius (or Iñigo) was born in Loyola in the Spanish Basque country. He was a soldier, but was wounded in the battle of Pamplona (against the French) at the age of 30. During a long convalescence he read a life of Christ and a collection of lives of the saints, and discovered that his true vocation was to devote his life wholly to God. He was as systematic about this as he had been about his military career: he spent a year’s retreat in a Dominican friary, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and then set about learning Latin.   Such enthusiasm in a layman caused grave suspicion in the Spanish authorities, and he was questioned and imprisoned more than once. He moved to Paris in 1528 and continued his studies; and then in 1534 Ignatius and six companions bound themselves to become missionaries to the Muslims in Palestine. By the time they were ready to set out, war made the journey impossible and so the group (now numbering t...

Sunday 31 July 2016 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time   Liturgical Colour: Green. Readings at Mass Entrance Antiphon Ps 69: 2, 6 O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me! You are my rescuer, my help; O Lord, do not delay. Collect Draw near to your servants, O Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness, that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored. 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. First reading Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23 Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!   For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the t...

St Peter Chrysologus (380 - 450) He was born and died in Imola in northern Italy. He was made bishop of Ravenna, the new capital of the Roman Empire, and was responsible for many of the building works there. The name “Chrysologus” means “golden speech”, and was given to Peter because he was such a gifted preacher; unfortunately, most of his writings have perished, and only a collection of short sermons remains. Saturday memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.   Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memorial derives from Carolingian times (9th century), but the reasons for having chosen Saturday for its observance are unknown. While many explanations of this choice have been advanced, none is completely satisfactory from the point of view of the his...

Saturday of week 17 in Ordinary Time     or Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Doctor    or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary  Liturgical Colour: Green. Readings at Mass Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps 67: 6-7, 36 God is in his holy place, God who unites those who dwell in his house; he himself gives might and strength to his people. Collect O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. 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. First reading Jeremiah 26:11-16,24 The priests and prophets addressed the officials and all the people, ‘This man deserves to die, since he h...

Today's Verse “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of His name” – Malachi 3:16 Did you know the Lord truly does listen? It’s true, while there are times when it is hard to hear His reply, He speaks to us in so many different ways. Often times we don’t know what to listen for ourselves. The Lord listens, directs and answers us. Usually without us really realizing He has done so. In the story of Malachi, we are given really good insight into this, ‘Promise of Mercy,’ in chapter 3. Malachi’s people were warned of the coming judgement and given the opportunity to repent. When, ‘those who feared the Lord,’ spoke words of repentance, The Lord listened. He listens to us today and always responds. It may not be the response we desire, but He will reply. – Commentary by Matthe...

St Martha Martha was the sister of Mary of Bethany and Lazarus. In the West, her feast day comes a week after that of St Mary Magdalene because of the old and probably erroneous tradition that Mary Magdalene was the same person as Martha’s sister.   But at least Martha and Mary both get celebrated  somehow . What about poor Lazarus? He deserves our sympathy for being brought back to life by Jesus so as, later, to have to die all over again. What he thought of being brought back to Earth is not recorded. The presence of the incarnate Lord must have made up for the postponement of Heaven, but – where less dramatic circumstances are concerned – we should think of Lazarus when we prepare to make spectacular acts of charity on behalf of people who may not necessarily appreciate our interventions.

Friday of week 17 in Ordinary Time   (Saint Martha  ) Liturgical Colour: White. Readings at Mass Entrance Antiphon Cf. Lk 10: 38 Jesus entered a village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Collect Almighty ever-living God, whose Son was pleased to be welcomed in Saint Martha’s house as a guest, grant, we pray, that through her intercession, serving Christ faithfully in our brothers and sisters, we may merit to be received by you in the halls of heaven. 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. First reading Jeremiah 26:1-9 At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word was addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord, ‘The Lord says this: Stand in the court of the Temple of the Lord. To all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the Temple of the Lord you must speak all the...

Today's Verse “Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. The he said to it, ‘may you never bear fruit again!’ Immediately the tree withered. – Matthew 21:19 The parable of Jesus and the Fig Tree is one of those parables that have always made me stop and ask “why?” Truthfully, I never really understood why He cursed the fig tree. It always seemed a little harsh to tell the fig tree it would never bear fruit again. Once I put more focus into the rest of the parable I began to understand, it’s a lesson about believing in oneself. Think about this for a moment, if you gave someone a really amazing gift and they never used it, it would go to waste. The lesson Jesus is sharing with His follower’s echoes that example. We are each given gifts and if we don’t use them, they go to waste. Today, ask God to show you a way you can use your gifts to bring honor to Him. – Commentary by Matthew Elliott Today's...

Other saints: St Victor (d. 198) Southern Africa Victor, an African by birth, was  elected pope in 189. During his pontificate, which lasted until 198, he settled the controversy over the date of Easter. The trouble was that while the Western Church used to celebrate Easter on Sunday, the Eastern Church would celebrate it on 14 Nisan, whatever the day of the week. After much consultation and discussion, the decision was taken to celebrate it on Sunday throughout the Church. He was the first pope from Africa. Other saints: St Sampson (-564) Guernsey St Sampson (or Samson) was born in Wales about the year 496, to parents of noble birth. He was placed in the care of St Illtyd at the abbey of Llantwit Major, and subsequently became Abbot of Caldey. He travelled widely to Ireland, Cornwall, the Scilly Isles, Guernsey and Brittany, where he finally settled, founding the monastery of Dol, where he is buried along with his cousin St Magloire. He was ordained a bishop in 521, ...