A Preacher’s Perspective: Christians, do you know yourself?
 
In probably the only place in the Gospel where Jesus Christ directly instructs us to imitate his attitude to life, our Lord says to us in this Sunday’s Gospel acclamation to learn from him because he is “meek and humble of heart” (Mt. 11:29}. Humility is a virtue-,“an habitual and firm disposition to do the good” (CCC 1803). St. Bernard of Clairvaux defines humility as "a virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is, abases himself.”  However, to be humble is not to degrade oneself or become a foot-mat for others, rather, to be humble is to be Christlike. To be abase here means to know oneself. Do you know yourself? Have you identified your strength and weaknesses? Are you able to distinguish between what you are capable of doing and what you are not endowed to do? In doing this we are able to have the right relationship with God and fellow human beings.
To be humble is an exploration into self-knowledge of our relation to God. An apt expression of this inquiry into self is the two-word saying attributed to the seven wise men of Greece, “Know thyself.” These words inscribed at the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi is a reflection on what is required for true happiness and freedom. When you know yourself, you know who you are, the qualities you possess and your end or purpose as God’s sons and daughters-to know, love and serve God’s will.
To be humble is to know there are things only known to God and that only God can do. St. Catherine of Siena in her Dialogue with God the Father was told: “Do you know daughter, who you are and who I am? If you know these two things you have beatitude in your grasp. You are she who is not, I AM HE WHO IS.” Similarly, when St Theresa of Avila asked Christ what true humility meant, he replied: “To know what you can do, and what I can do.”
 
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.
 
On this note, I hereby announce that George Ehgartner, our indefatigable Parish Manager is leaving the parish to take up another position in the diocese. There are lots of things George can do that I can’t do and I will miss the assistance I receive from his wealth of knowledge and managerial skills. On behalf of our parish staff and indeed the entire parish, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to George for the magnificent services he has rendered to our parish the last four years, ranging from his outstanding dedication to realization of our dream parish center to revival of our successful parish Lenten Fish Dinner this year. Personally, I am thankful for his assistance in my settling with ease into my new position, first as Administrator and now as pastor of St. Peter-his advice and insights are of great value. Let us remember George Ehgartner in our prayers as he moves on to his next adventure.
 
In Christ’s Hope,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

                                      Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time-August 18, 2019
 
                                          A Preacher’s Perspective: Jesus, Jeremiah & Fire
 
 
 
Jesus speaks to us today in the Gospel according to Luke of fire and baptism: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized…” (Lk 12:49-50). In this Gospel, the fire Jesus brought upon the earth, that is upon us Christians, male and female-a St Cyril interpretation of the words, “the earth,” is the fire of purification and enlightenment; it consumes our impurities and imprints the love of God in our soul. When I baptized Hailey Marie in the course our parish 11 AM mass on August 11,  she received the light of Christ I handed to her through her godparents, this light symbolizes her “enlightenment by Christ.” The fire Christ ignites in the sacrament of initiation signifies the love, Spirit and teachings of Christ, the light of faith that should be kept burning until Christ returns. Like Hailey Marie, we who are earthly and carnal are spiritually refined by this fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire of divine love that resuscitates us to life from the death of sin. Again, St Cyril describes it as “that wholesome and useful fire by which the inhabitants of earth, in a manner cold and dead through sin, (are) revive to a life of piety.” This fire ignited in us by Christ is a gift that must be continuously “fanned into flame” (2 Timothy 1:6) to bear gifts and fruits of the spirit, especially a bold witness to Christ and his teachings. 
When we allow the fire of Christ love to burn in us, that love urges us on to speak of Christ and live radically for Christ. We can identify a similar urging of the divine fire at work in Jeremiah who in our first reading is thrown into the muddy cistern to die for “demoralizing the soldiers… and all the people, by speaking such things to them” (Jeremiah 38:4). What things?  Divine truth about God’s will for his people concerning their enemies. When we are on fire for God, like Jeremiah, God will “put a new song into our mouth” (Ps. 40:4), songs of praise and worship that the force of falsehood will try to suppress and in the process, again like Jeremiah, lead to our affliction and rejection by the world of sin. But we have to “persevere in running the race that lies before us”  bearing in mind that in our“ struggle against sin” we “have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood” ( Heb 12:4 ). Let’s continue to resist sin and the forces of evil.
As Christians, Christ has set us on fire through baptism and it is our responsibility to embolden and spread that fire through prayers and penance. And as we persevere in running the race that ends in the beatific vision of heaven, let’s be prepared for opposition and pains that accompany the spread of the fire of Christ love. Like Jeremiah and Jesus, we should be determined to overcome our struggle against sin by fixing our mind on Jesus and the eternal rewards at the end of our race. Let’s set the space of our hearts on fire to become like Jeremiah and Jesus in our witness to the Gospel ( permit me to add as an aside, like the incendiary stage performances of the American R&B band, Earth, Wind & Fire!-pun intended).
 
In what ways can you keep the fire of Christ burning in you this week?
 
In Christ’s Love and Joy,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

Flying on Two Wings of Faith and Reason
 
One of the ways I share my faith in public is through my car bumper stickers. I have had different ones at different times-my current one reads “I Believe” in reference to faith in real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I once had one that says, “Faith is the Climax of Reason and Logic.” This declaration contradicts a secular conception of truth, that is, what passes the test of reason and logic. It goes without saying that what is considered truth from a secular perspective is what is seen to be reasonable and logical. As people of faith however, faith is truth revealed by God who cannot deceive. The greatest gift we receive from God is the gift of faith which the writer of the letter to the Hebrews defines as “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (11:1). In short, for the Christian, faith is an act of trust in God, and an assurance that what He reveals to us about Himself, our nature and the world is worth believing and living for. Also, as Pope John Paul II teaches in his encyclical letter, Fides et Ratio, faith does not contradict reason and logic, rather faith complements them and they are at the service of faith: “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”

We are called to faith in God and his revealed truth that we can’t always comprehend fully by use of reason and logic. Our understanding of faith does not contradict reason nor does embrace of faith make us stupid, immature or childish. I once invited a German colleague who is an atheist to Mass when I was working on my PhD at USC, Columbia and she questioned me in reference to my homily that day about Guardian Angels. She says to me after mass: “you don’t believe in childish myths about angels, do you ?” When I affirmed my faith in guardian angels, she couldn't comprehend how an intellectual could admit to the existence of spirits or angels. We don’t have to doubt the veracity of our faith in God and his revealed truth because we have recourse to clouds of witnesses in the bible who faced their difficult existence with courage “with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith” (Wis. 18:6). We see the existence of the cosmos, their order and beauty to know it is reasonable to trust God as its intelligent creator. We know also that we all, including atheists, live most of our lives by faith; we trust the engineers who built bridges we drive our cars on and pharmacists/doctors who make/prescribe medicines we take respectively. We cannot get rid of faith in God just by denying it, we cannot live reasonably without faith. It is the best gift given to us by God to live our life meaningfully and happily. God has given us the greatest gift, our faith and “much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more (Lk 12:48). Let’s live out our faith, accompanied by reason as we seek truth. On two wings of faith and reason, we approach the light of truth.
 
With love from a Preacher’s Perspective,
 
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP

Dear friends in Christ,

On Treasure Trove of “what matters to God”

Amazing August is here! Welcome to this exceptionally awesome and inspiring month of my birth and other birthing. A couple of years back I did a piece on array of life transforming solemnity, feasts and memorials listed for August in the general Roman calendar, and I boasted (shall I say tongue-in-cheek, not unlike the Pauline boasts in his Corinthian epistles) about how my being born in August adds to what makes the month a very special one! Speaking spiritually, some of the saints and feasts offered for our celebration in August birthed me into new life in Christ, life emptied of “vanity of vanities” (Ecc. 1:2). For example, St. John Vianney whose relic was recently venerated in our diocese renewed my priesthood at a retreat for priests in Ars, France in 2005; St. Dominic, the founder of the religious order I belong to inspired my love for scriptures, prayers and preaching; St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe taught me the act of selfless giving; St. Bernard of Clairvaux, my patron saint (thanks to my dad for choosing to name me after him) showed me how to love deeply Jesus, Mary and the Church; St. Monica illustrated for me the possibilities of persistence in prayers of petition; St. Augustine, the playboy turned priest re-assured me that God is rich in mercy; and the solemnity of Assumption clarified for me St. Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:1 to “seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Just take a look at the treasure trove the month of August offers us to become “rich in what matters to God” (Lk. 12:21):
 
1. Alphonsus Ligouri, bishop & doctor
2. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop
4. John Vianney, priest
5. Dedication of St. Mary Major
6. TRANSFIGURATION
7. Sixtus II, Pope and martyr, and companions, martyrs Cajetan, priest
8. St. Dominic, priest
10. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
11. Clare, virgin
13. Pontiac, pope and martyr, and Hippolytus, priest and martyr
14. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr
15. ASSUMPTION
16. Stephen of Hungary
19. John Eudes, priest
20. Bernard, abbot and doctor
21. Pio X, pope
22. Queenship of Mary
23. Rose of Lima, virgin
24. Bartholomew, Apostle
25. Louis; Joseph Calasanz, priest
27. Monica
28. Augustine, bishop and doctor
29. Beheading of John the Baptist, martyr
In what ways do the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints turn your focus away from vanities to what “matters to God”?

In Christ’s love and joy,

Fr. Bernard Ayo Oniwe, OP