Bölümler
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A meditation preached at Kintore College in Toronto, by Fr. Eric Nicolai, on May 30, 2024.
Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz was elected Prelate of Opus Dei in 2016. In the Old Testament book of Samuel there is a text that foreshadows the priesthood in the church and the role of the priest:
1 Sam 2, 35: "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always."
Music: Original music by Michael Lee of Toronto.
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A meditation preached on June 1, 2024 at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto by Fr. Eric Nicolai. John 6 has this powerful discourse. Words of our Lord, speaking slow, articulating each word, speaking clearly, enunciating, people listening as the warm wind blew and the birds chirped. He probably said something that underlined that this was not all symbolism. This was real.
The Jews asked "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (John 6:52), and his disciples said "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" (John 6:60)
Music: Original guitar track by Michael Lee of Toronto, Ontario.
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Eksik bölüm mü var?
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on May 24, 2024 at Cedarcrest conference Centre in Belfountain, Ontario.
Luke 10, 5: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
Music: Original music on guitar by Michale Lee, of Toronto
Museum: Jean-Francois Millet, The Sower, 1850. Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Cedarcrest Conference centre north of Toronto, on May 21, 2024.
We read in the prayer of consecration to the Holy Spirit, there was a description of the nature of the Paraclete himself, the consoler, the spirit of truth. It talks about the gifts he leaves in us, and then all the fruits that are left behind, that are noticeable in a person who has truly been touched by the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, longanimity, meekness, faith, modesty, continence, and chastity.
He leaves his mark, his stamp on us. But the mark he leaves in us, is not his own. He leaves the embossed mark of Christ in everything we do. In what we say and what we do. Does this show?
Music: Original music by Michael Lee of Toronto.
Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The Hundred Guilder Print, 1647, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
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A meditation preached on April 1, 2024 by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Serra House in Toronto. Serra House accommodates seminarians for the Archdiocese of Toronto in the initial stage of formation.
Music: A. Vivaldi_ Nisi Dominus, RV 608 - IV. Cum dederit (128 kbps)
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached the meditation at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on May 4th, 2024.
Our lady will teach us, she will nudge us, because she is teacher of prayer. When we pray, we ask her ut loquaris pro nobis bona, to speak well on our behalf before the Lord. She speaks well of us. Intercedes while we pray, while we work, while we keep our minds occupied.
Original music intro by Michael Lee of Toronto.
Thumbnail: Sassoferrato Virgin in Prayer, 1640-50 National Gallery, London.
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Domina ut sit. Mary, may it be. Fix it. Fr. Eric Nicolai begins with a pastoral letter by Archbishop Leo of Toronto: "When faced with uncertainty and perplexing events in her own life, Myriam of Nazareth did not “wonder” but “pondered,” not fully understanding, yet always remaining faithful (Lk 2:19).
A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, preached on May 5, 2024.
Thumbnail: Our Lady of El Pilar, Zaragoza, Spain.
Music: Guitar by Bert Alink, from Handel's Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia che io pianga."
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And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3, 16)
Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on May 2, 2024 at Kintore College in Toronto about divine filiation.
Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
Thumbnail: The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca 1439-1460, National Gallery, London.
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation in a retreat at Kintore College on May 1, 2024, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to Christianize the concept of labor and give to all workmen a model and a protector. But it was meant to be a way for all to see work through a different lens. Not one of class struggle, but in the light of God’s plans for us in Work, in our study, our human formation. Imagine, this could be a time of spiritual awakening, an encounter, a surprise. God is the God of surprises, as Pope Francis says. Joseph can intercede for us so that we discover this surprise during this retreat.
Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
Thumbnail: Saint Joseph the worker, from the retable in the shrine of Torreciudad, Spain, sculpted by Juan Mayné. https://torreciudad.org/en/
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on April 28, 2024, the fifth Sunday of Easter at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto.
Acts 9:26-31: Barnabas explained how the Lord had appeared to Saul on his journey. Barnabas convinces the apostles about the newly converted Paul. Why are they convinced? Because Paul had spoken boldly in defence of the Lord. What does it mean for us to be bold, to be daring in defence of the faith?
Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
Thumbnail: Raphael di Sanzio, Study for St. Paul preaching in Athens, 1515, chalk sketch, in Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy Public domain.
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This is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on March 15th 2024 at Ernescliff College. It is based on Wisdom 2, 12-20:
Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father.
Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries."This reality of what is to come serves as a principle of hope in our life. A principle of stability, a guiding post for meaning and purpose in all that will happen.
Music: 'First Snow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
Thumbnail: Disputation of the sacrament by Raphael, 1509, Apostolic Palace, Vatican city.
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Fr. Eric Nicolai peached this meditation at Lyncroft centre in Toronto on April 6, 2024. What is God’s will? Before the Lord was arrested, the apostles were with him, ostensibly to protect him, but they couldn’t stop the soldiers from arresting the Lord. Judas came with the chief priests. But the Lord was praying, and abandoned entirely to the Lord. Jesus is kneeling, he is sweating blood of anguish. But he said yes to God's will. When I work, I must be acting out of love and confidence on God’s will for me.
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A meditation preached on April 3 by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Toronto. Today we get one of the most famous appearances of Jesus: His appearance suddenly walking next to the disciples of Emmaus. They were looking down, maybe hoping for someone to give them a lift, but no cars were passing. He managed to explain everything to them, and they recognized him.
Thumbnail: Robert Zund, On the Road to Emmaus, 1877, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland. -
The Victimae Paschali is an ancient sequence dating to the 11th century. It is an option to sing it or recite it during the Easter Octave. Fr. Eric Nicolai dives into this profound and ancient sonnet about the discovery of the empty tomb. Preached at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on April 1, 2024.
Music: Chant of the Easter Sequence by Sisters of Aquinas Victimae Paschali Laudes.
Thumbnail: Convento di San Marco, Resurrection and Women at the Tomb, fresco, Fra Angelico (ca 1400-1455). Photo taken by Catherine Pawluch.
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation in Kintore College, Toronto, on March 27, 2024. What a contrast between the gratitude and generosity of Mary of Bethany and the painful betrayal of Judas, one who was from his inner circle (Matthew 26:14-25). The searing and painful treachery of Judas' infidelity is a danger we must be aware of.
Thumbnail: Kiss of Judas, fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, 1304.
Music: VOCES8 'Ave Verum' by William Byrd.
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A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on Palm Sunday, 2024.
All the witnesses of the events that occurred at the Passover of that year in Jerusalem preserved the searing memory of the most significant events suffered by the one whom they confessed as the promised Messiah. They recorded all this that was suffered by the Lord with the specific intention of extracting the salvific power, the sheer redemptive content and redemptive message of every word, every gesture, even the very braying of the donkeys, and the distant sound of the cock and a unique moment. It all had meaning.
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A meditation preached on March 20, 2024 at Hawthorn School for Girls.
We are closing into the end of Lent. Yesterday we celebrated the solemnity of St. Joseph. We have been meditating on this figure during Lent. Sometimes seen as the silent type in the corner, who doesn’t say much. He may have taught Jesus the art of carpentry, yes. But that does not mean he was silently stepping back in the background all the time.
Jesus did know how to speak quite eloquently in public. He captivated people with his parables, and his images. Humanly hu must have seen that in Joseph.
Perhaps Joseph was not just the silent type who doesn’t say much at the cocktail party. Maybe he also learnt from him great eloquence and language, and images.
Crosses are covered now so that we can integrate the meaning of the cross in our life, more interiorly. That means understanding suffering and pain. Joseph guides us.
Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
Thumbnail: Commercial print of Joseph, from Sanctified Souls Shop
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March 19, 2024 is the solemnity of St. Joseph, the foster Father of Jesus. On this occasion, Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to Ernescliff College, Toronto.
Today we go from the Trinity on earth, Mary, Jesus and Joseph, to the Trinity of heaven, Father, son and Holy Spirit.
Matt 1, 20: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
There, with this vision, we can immediately renew our vocation renew our yes to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, hand in hand with Joseph, who prompts us to do this, because he was so used to doing this in his life, it was a yes that coloured everything he did, a response to a call, a correspondence to a divine invitation, summons from the father to be there for his mission on earth.
Matt 1, 24: …And Joseph awoke from sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, taking his wife to himself…
Obedience made it possible for him to surmount his difficulties and spare Mary.
Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College on March 13, 2024.
John 5:17-30: Jesus said to the Jews, ‘My Father goes on working, and so do I.’ But that only made them even more intent on killing him, because, not content with breaking the sabbath, he spoke of God as his own Father, and so made himself God’s equal.
He gives signs of his divinity, indicating that his actions are the work of the Father.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger commented this passage in 2002 on the occasion of a congress on Ordinary life, during the canonization of Saint Josemaría Escrivá in Rome. There were a number of articles published in Osservatore Romano, and his was the best: Letting God Work.
He was struck by the name, Opus Dei. Our Father said he didn’t want to be founder of anything, that he had not invented anything, that the Lord had simply made use of him. Thus it was not his work, but Opus Dei. He was only an instrument with which God had acted.
He let God work.
Thumbnail: James Tissot, Christ Reproving the Pharisees, 1836-1902, in Brooklyn Museum.
Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College, Toronto on March 10, 2024.
We started Lent with the figure of the devil tempting Jesus in the desert.
First , this is an opportunity today to ask for conversion. Like the 40 years of the Jews in the desert, or 40 days of Moses on the Mountain, or Elijah 40 days too. It must lead to conversion, we can’t just roll on and on and stay the same person without real change, without deep conversion. That is the first goal, but ultimately we already know the result: that Jesus conquers this evil, and we too will overcome our demons.
Thumbnail: Juan de Flandes, Temptation of Christ in the Desert, 1500 collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com
- Daha fazla göster