Spelade
-
A frequent subject of 19th century paints was the land. There was a movement that came to be known as the Barbison school. Painters went out and painted it right there in the fields and along the forests. One subject that has always appealed to me is the sower who sows his seed. Jean-Francois Millet had a wonderful genre painting of this which he repeated over and over in between 1850 to 1870. It expressed profound personal conviction that he had to be a real sower of peace and of joy.
Thumbnail: Jean-Francois Millet, The Sower (1850). Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
Music: Andrian Guerenger, Fall (2017)
-
Today’s Gospel is about the end times. Luke 17:26-37: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed. ‘When that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife.
I have heard some people say that we have to get ready for a long and cold winter. That its going to be tough. Many people are going to die. That we have no assurance of getting a real effective vaccine. Some say its going to be several more years. So hunker down, and get ready.
What should our attitude be in this time? How do we see God’s providence with all these numbers, these deaths?
During the winter of 1666, Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite Monk in Lorraine, France, upon seeing a tree stripped of its leaves and considering that within a little time the leaves would be renewed and after that the flowers and fruit appear, received a high view of the Providence and Power of God which has never since been effaced from his soul. Somehow, we must see this challenge as an occasion for making us better.
Music: Mozart, Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink.
Thumbnail: Photo taken at the Manoir de Beaujeu in Coteau du Lac, Quebec (Eric Nicolai)
-
A meditation preached on Saturday November 7, 2020 by Fr. Eric Nicolai in preparation for the feast of Christ the King. He reigns from his throne on the cross. Then he appears to the apostles after his resurrection as King: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18). Our Lord invites us to imitate Him in serving others. What kind of power? He wants us to have this new kind of power. The power nobody seems to be aware of, only those truly close to him, truly intimate with him: the power of spreading his kingdom through spirit of service.
Music: Mozart: Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink. https://musopen.org/music/2725-adagio-in-c-major-k-356/
Thumbnail: Parish of Christ the King in Commack, NY.
-
Luke 13, 31-32: 31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
Fr. John Lopez Agundez emphasizes them importance of the spiritual struggle in our life.
Ephesians 6, 16: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Fr. John gives principles of a hopeful spiritual struggle to love the Lord above all things in our ordinary life. It really helps to make resolutions and go for it. Few but definite, and fulfill them with the help of God.
Music from Handel's opera, Rinaldo, lascia ch'io pianga, played by Bert Alink.
Thumbnail: Statue of King David (1609–1612) by Nicolas Cordier in the Borghese Chapel of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
-
Fr. Luis de Moya passed away on November 9th, 2020 in Pamplona, Spain, as a result of complications due to an operation. He was in his late 60s. He was a numerary priest of Opus Dei, incarnated in the Prelature. He had studied medicine, then went to Rome to study theology and was ordained a priest. In 1990 after traffic accident in Madrid he ended up being a tetraplegic, and lived the rest of his life in Pamplona Spain. When he first woke up from the accident, he couldn't remember anything, and he did not think about what he couldn’t do or all that he had lost. He describes his thought process as "total": He only thought of what was absolutely fundamental: Soy vivo, Dios es el punto de referencia, y soy sacerdote: I am alive, God is my reference point, and I am a priest. Period.
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches to numeraries in Ernescliff College, and gives an account of the heroic witness of Fr. Luis de Moya, whom he met in Pamplona, and comments from the new letter from the Prelate of Opus Dei from Oct 28, 2020.
Music: Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink
-
Book of Wisdom 3, 1-9: "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace."
John Paul II said: In praying for the dead, the Church above all contemplates the mystery of the Resurrection of Christ, who obtains salvation and eternal life for us through his Cross.(TMA) To believe in the resurrection of the flesh is to recognize that there is a final end, an ultimate goal for all human life, which so satisfies man’s appetite that nothing else is left for him to desire…Joined to the merits of the saints, our fraternal prayer comes to the aid of those who await the beatific vision.
Music: Handel's Rinaldo opera, aria: Lascia ch'io pianga, played by Bert Alink.
-
Scientists have been sending signals into the cosmos, hoping for a response from some intelligent being on some lost planet. Yet even if inhabitants outside of the solar system existed, communication with them would be impossible, because between the question and the answer, millions of years would pass. Even if we could send a message that traveled a light speed. The Church has always maintained a dialogue with the inhabitants of another world -- the saints. Here, though, the answer is immediate because there is a common center of communication and encounter, and that is the risen Christ (from Rainiero Cantalamessa).
St. Bernard of Clairvaux said this: "But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning. Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, … we long to be united in happiness with all the saints."
A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft centre in Toronto.
More meditations on www.youtube.com/ericnicolai
Music: Handel's opera Rinaldo, aria, "Lascia ch'io pianga", guitar played by Bert Alink.
-
A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the feast of Saint John Paul II, who in his inaugural homily on October 22, 1978 spoke about how to overcome fear in our life. He had a daunting task ahead of him, and with God’s grace overcame fear. What are your fears?
Music: Handel, Rinaldo Opera, Lascia ch’io pianga, played by Bert Alink
-
St. Gabriel the archangel was entrusted wit the most important message in the history of humanity. He had to make sure it was understood and accepted freely. We can ask him to help us with our ability to listen to others, to develop empathy, and rouse up memorable conversations. Each dialogue can be like a deposit in the emotional bank account of our interlocutor. A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff college, Oct 11, 2020.
More meditations: www.youtube.com/ericnicolai
Music from Handel's opera, Rinaldo. The aria is Lascia ch'io pianga, played on the guitar by Bert Alink.
The thumbnail: Paolo de Matteis, The Annunciation (1712), in the Saint Louis Art Museum.
-
A meditation addressed to Toronto priests. The Lord warns against hypocrisy because it runs against the dispositions of sincerity, authenticity, and sincerity that he wants us all to have. The result will be a deep cheerfulness. But we have to facilitate that sincere simplicity, which is opposite of pretence or hypocrisy. And especially anything that might suggest contempt for the other. Studies have shown that the number one predictor of divorce is eye-rolling. Have you ever done that? This was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on October 13, 2020.
Music composed by Handel from his opera Rinaldo, the Aira Lascia ch'io pianga, played on the guitar by Bert Alink.
-
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the Adorote Devote, a Eucharistic hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas. It is a hymn rich with faith at the real presence, the living presence of this living pelican who suffers and dies for us, but manages to stay with us.
Music from Handel Rinaldo opera, Lascia ch'io pianga, played by Bert Alink.
The thumbnail picture is a pall made by Talleres de Arte Granda
-
Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College about the feast of Our Lady of Ransom, or Our Lady of Mercy, a devotion that began in the 13th century as recourse for those Christians held captives the Islamic state. In Spanish, la virgin de la Merced. It is also the memorial of Blessed Emilie Gamelin-Travernier, a Montreal woman who founded the sisters of Providence in 19th century Quebec. Both occasions to feel our role to protect the vulnerable, and ourselves to feel protected by the Blessed Mother.
Music: Handel, Lascia ch'io pianga, classical guitar by Bert Alink.
Thumbnail painting by Piero della Francesca, Madonna della Misericordia, a detail from a Polyptych in the town of Sansepolcro, Tuscany. Dates to about 1460.
-
Preaching at St. Mark's parish in Stouffeville, Ontario, Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about the nature of the interior struggle, or the Spiritual Combat, an expression coined by Lorenzo Scupoli, but which goes back to St. Paul, and Our Lord himself.
Music from Handel, Lascia che io pianga, classical guitar played by Bert Alink.
Thumbnail: Horace Vernet painting: La Bataille du Pont d'Arcole (1826). French forces under Napoleon battle Austrian troops led by József Alvinczi near Verona. The battle took place 15–17 November 1796.
-
Fr. Eric Nicolai gives a meditation to a group of priests in Toronto, on how we can correspond more generously to all the grace that God grants us. Our Lady of Sorrows is a splendid example. Plus some anecdotes about being truly patient.
-
Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about the beauty inherent in a life dedicated to others. This is only possible if we realize the extent of God's love for us. The Prophet Isaiah was a court prophet who constantly emphasized the value of fidelity to God. He famously expressed God's love for each person: "See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." (Is 49, 15-16) How can we instil this attitude of gift of self in a culture that is focused more on self fulfillment?
The music is a Handel Aria, "Lascia che io pianga", beautifully rendered on the guitar by Bert Alink.
The thumbnail is Raphael's 1512 fresco of the Prophet Isaiah in the Basilica of Sant'Agostino in Rome.
-
On the 19th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about the challenge of charity, especially to love those we don't find easy to love. C.S. Lewis said: "Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did." How am I really acting? Do I easily judge others? This is an opportunity to late God's grace sink in deeply.
