In Your Presence: Recent Episodes

Eric Nicolai

Meditations from different Catholic priests of Opus Dei in Ernescliff College, Toronto, and Riverview Centre in Montreal, Canada. They are times of prayer addressed to men or women, with the intention of providing a personal dialogue with the Lord Jesus Christ present in their midst. They are usually preached in oratories of Opus Dei.

A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, on September 29, on the feast of the three Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael.

Today’s Gospel from the 26th Sunday of Ordinary time does refer to a man casting out devils, and these spirits are bad angels. They too were created by God, but then they disobeyed, freely, they chose wrongly, out of pride.

St. Josemaria evoked them for the first time in October, 1932 while on retreat in Segovia. He established each one to intercede over the apostolates of Opus Dei.

Music: Original music by Michael Lee, of Toronto.

Thumbnail: Archangel Michael Vanquishing Satan, painting by Raphael Sanzio 1518, in the Louvre.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Toronto, September 25, 2024. Today we evoke the courage and resilience of these men and women who came to evangelize the New World: Jean de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues. They arrived in Quebec after a treacherous journey from France. They travelled to Georgian Bay and established a community among the Hurons.

Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to a group of High School boys in the OneUp program at Ernescliff College, Toronto. Matthew 9:9-13: "As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him."

By this short description, Matthew became one of the apostles of Jesus. Chosen specifically by Jesus himself. Jesus wants him to be part of this great adventure in the early church. He pointed at him, and Matthew pointed at himself, and all the publicans seem to point only at their own money, such as the 1599 painting by Caravaggio of the Call of St. Matthew in Rome.

Music: 'Jul' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Thumbnail: Caravaggio, The Call of St. Matthew in the Contarelli chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on September 10, 2024, to a group of priests at Saint Aidan's parish in Toronto. The subject is the figure of Zacchaeus in Luke 19: “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, on the occasion of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, 2024.

The cross is the instrument on which the Lord was executed. It was a Roman instrument of torture, state-sponsored terrorism. Jesus gave an explanation in mysterious words. Enigmatic, somewhat cryptic, evoking an image, a movement, a veiled, almost dream-like quality.

John 3, 13-17: Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.’

What does this mean for those who look upon the cross?

Music: 'Life In Motion' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Thumbnail: Apse mosaic from San Clemente Romano, Rome.

In the Gospel of the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Jesus takes the deaf man aside, away from the crowd. By the finger of God a real connection is made, and he can now hear the Word of God. It is by the finger of God that Jesus will write something in our hearts during prayer. This meditation was preached on September 8, 2024 at Ernescliff College in Toronto.

Music: Original music by Michael Lee.

Thumbnail: Orans figure from the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on August 29, 2024 at Kintore College, Toronto.

Matt 14, 1-12: The account of Herod’s court, with the trendy crowd, an atmosphere of sensuality, a mood of decadence, the latest fashions, everyone vying for attention and positioning themselves in the right place to be noticed. Naturally alcohol was predominant for everyone. Certainly no self-restraint, and as a result, all judgment was disordered, immature, uncontrolled and even abusive.
He was blinded by his own passions, because of what he saw. One of the greatest services we can render to people today is to awaken in them the desire for personal prayer, that silent, interior prayer of the heart so recommended by all the saints in the Christian tradition.
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Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on August 25th, 2024, the twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary time (year B).

The focus is John 6, the denouement of the passages on the bread of life.

John 6, 60-62: After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity)

A meditation preached in the Madawaska Valley at Camp Caribou for Boys, August 20, 2024.

Jesus invited the young rich man to follow him, but he turned around and left, sad. Here's Jesus' response.

Matthew 19:23-30: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity)

Thumbnail: Halfway Lake, Camp Caribou.

This meditation was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to a group of counsellors at Caribou Boys Camp, near Barry's Bay, Ontario. It was August 18, 2024, the 20th Sunday of Ordinary time, Year B.

John 6, 51-58: The tremendous discourse on the bread of life in Capharneum. Jesus said to the crowd: ‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’ Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:

‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. The only bread that could have come down from heaven would be the manna that the Jews discovered in the wilderness, in the book of Exodus.

Music: Original Track by Michael Lee of Toronto.

Thumbnail: Under the pines at Caribou Boys Camp.

https://www.caribouboyscamp.ca

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College in Toronto on August 10, 2024. Yesterday was the feast of St. Edith Stein, Theresa Benedicta of the Cross. Beatified in 1987 then canonized in 1998 by Pope John Paul II. She is one of the 6 patrons of Europe.

Both she and St. Lawrence (today's feast) were martyrs for the faith.

She was a Jew that converted after reading Theresa of Avila, and studying with Edmund Husserl. Then she went on to become a Carmelite nun. She was killed at Auschwitz.

In 1941 she wrote to a friend, who was also a member of her order: "One can only gain a "scientia crucis" (knowledge of the cross) if one has thoroughly experienced the cross. I have been convinced of this from the first moment onwards and have said with all my heart: 'Ave, Crux, Spes unica' (I welcome you, Cross, our only hope)." Her study on St. John of the Cross is entitled: "Kreuzeswissenschaft" (The Science of the Cross).

How does this fit into our vocation?

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity)

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this mediation at Cedarcrest Centre in Belfountain, Ontario, August 2, 2024.

Eph 4, 17, 20-24: I want to urge you in the name of the Lord, not to go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live. Now that is hardly the way you have learnt from Christ, unless you failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus. You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.

provide for us that spiritual revolution. He can transform us. We must rekindle that faith, put it on fire.

Watch out for the negative voice.

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity).

Thumbnail:

A meditation preached at Ernescliff College on the feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 2024.

In the Old testament the prophet Daniel had a vision that foreshadowed the transfiguration: Thrones were set in place

and one of great age took his seat.

His robe was white as snow,

the hair of his head as pure as wool. (Daniel 7, 9-10).

The Transfiguration scene can help us consider what Heaven will be like. In it, some men - Peter, John and James - have an anticipated vision of the glory of God.

Music: Abide With Me by Henry F. Lyte, 1847, internet archive: Fox Aeternum.

Thumbnail: Raphael, Transfiguration, 1520. Vatican Museum.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Cedarcrest Conference Centre in Belfountain, Ontario on August 3, 2024.

Matt 14, 1: Herod made a rash decision under the pressure of his passions and his human respect. We must be contemplatives. What does it mean to be a contemplative in the middle of the world?

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: detail of the face of Christ by Rembrandt, 17th century.

A meditation preached to Lyncroft centre in Toronto, July 28, 2024. It is the 17th Sunday of Ordinary time, year B.

It is the account of multiplication of loaves and fish in John 6 in which the Lord asks the apostles to give the people bread, but then he does the miracle himself. It is an image of the apostolic mandate that we have received. We are apostles. Saint Josemaria said: you are not people who do good apostolic things, you do not do apostolate, you are apostles.

A recollection for priests at Saint Aidan's parish in Toronto, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on July 16, 2024. Based on the parable of the pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14). Two men in a temple, praying, doing a good thing, but with different results. A security camera might have made them appear as two men praying with their own style, or culture. But Jesus sees below the surface, and wants us to recognize ourselves in these men. Only one went home justified.

Music: Original track by Michael Lee from Toronto.

Thumbnail: Gustave Doré engraving from the illustrated Bible, published in 1866.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on July 16, 2024 at Ernescliff College in Toronto.

Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite, on July 16, 1251, and promised a special protection to those who would wear the habit, later the scapulary. All you had to do was wear this garment. Like a protective clothing, and stay faithful. This promise of our Lady boosted the Carmelites street cred. Our Lady became associated with one protecting. They’d emphasize Marian protection, her intercession, the importance of living a life of prayer and service.

Music: Original track by Micheal Lee of Toronto.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Chipnee camp for girls in the Durham region north of Toronto on July 11, 2024, the Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia.

Music: Original track by Michael Lee of Toronto.

A meditation preached on July 8, 2024 by Fr. Eric Nicolai at a camp for girls in the Collingwood area, Ontario.

Matthew 9, 18-26: While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.

Michael

A meditation preached on July 1, 2024, Canada Day, at Tour des Pins Centre in Montreal. The Gospel of the day is from Matthew 8: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” This is after the centurions faith, several amazing cures, people possessed by demons, healed of terrible illnesses.

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.

What is Jesus asking us about our availability and our project of life?

Thumbnail: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Last Supper from 1480, in Florence.

Music: Original music from Michael Lee of Toronto.

This meditation was preached in Ernescliff College by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the feast of Saint John the Baptist, June 24, 2024. He was a voice crying in the desert, the prophecy of Isaiah 40, 3: Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini, rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri.

A voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Byzantine icons show him with a thinner cross, symbolizing his role as the Forerunner of Christ, a parchment, with a set of wings, to show he was like an angel of God, sending a message, the angel of the desert: The wings symbolize his ability to communicate between the divine and humans, similar to angels. These icons also show him with his own head on the ground, testifying to his future martyrdom by King Herod Antipas.

We too have to be precursors. Guide others in their freedom.

Thumbnail: Iconostasis Cephalonia; John the Baptist from 9th century, Vatican museum. For more images see https://www.christianiconography.info/johnBaptist.html

Original music by Michael Lee of Toronto.

This meditation was preached on June 19, 2024 at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto. Josemaria opened his homily saying "we must realize all the richness hidden in the words, “the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

Let’s not lose sight of these riches. Like all the feasts and solemnities, there is something here to enrich us. There are many layers we must tap into in order to discover the love of Jesus.

Music: Original soundtrack by Michael Lee of Toronto, with birds from pixabay.com, SSPsurvival.

Thumbnail: Pompeo Batoni, Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1767 in The Iesu church, Rome.

This meditation was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to a group of priests at St. Paul the Apostle parish in Toronto on June 11, 2024.

Today is the feast of the apostle St. Barnabas. Who was Barnabas? Acts says he spoke boldly, and effectively, and defended St. Paul. We imagine them both speaking with lots of self-confidence. Saint Josemaria dreamt about the responsibility of ordinary Christians in the world playing their role of being salt and light. Matt 5, 13-16: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.

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.

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.

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.

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

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)

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.

Domina ut sit. Mary, may it be. Fix it. Fr. Eric Nicolai begins with a pastoral letter byArchbishop 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."

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.

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/

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to a group of priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal on February 27, 2024.

In one of his letters, St. Paul reflects his deep solicitude and his joy at seeing and experiencing the growth of the faith in the Ephesians. It moves him to thanksgiving and prayer.

Eph 1, 15-20: For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, (...)

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, Three Trees, etching, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 1643.

Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Toronto, on the Feast of the Chair of Peter, February 22, 2204.

Today’s feast is like the result of the prayer of Jesus, or better, the testimony that Jesus gave of his own prayer to the Father for Peter:

“The Lord says to Simon Peter: I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail, and, once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lk 22, 32)

That prayer was immensely efficacious. How could it not? God the Son, addressing God the Father.

Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to a group of diocesan priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal, on February 1, 2024.

Easter Vigil Gospel: Mark 16, 1-7 The women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, had an important task.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

What are the things that are stressing us, and what are the stones in our life that are impeding our faith from moving forward?

Photo: Fra Angelico, Fresco of the Holy Women ant the Tomb.

Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on February 9, 2024 at Kintore College in Toronto. Base on the gaze of Jesus on the crowds. Mark 8, 1-10: A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’

Here we see his mercy for the crowd. Mercy because they were unattended. They lacked food, but this was an image of the starvation of their souls, that they needed to fill themselves more with his salvific truth: the truth of the Gospel.

Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.

Thumbnail: Limbourg Brothers, from Tres riches heures du Duc de Berry Flemish, c. 1411, Musee Conde, Chantilly MS 65, fol. 168v

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto.

Matt 5, 13-16: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world."

And he warned us of losing our tastiness, our virtue of bringing out the good, the winder, the humour of life. Or even the spice.

The Nunc dimittis prayer by the aged Simeon can open our hope to being that light. (Lk 2, 25-32)

Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Thumbnail: Simeon in the Temple by Rembrandt, 1669, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation as the introduction to a retreat for priests of various dioceses at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal. It was preached on February 28, 2024.

Mark 1:21-28: Today’s Gospel about the authority with which Jesus spoke in the synagogue of Capernaum. It was a place of quiet, to read the Word of God, and to pray.

Jesus simply spoke. That is the power of his word. Just like with his word he could create the heavens and the earth. No need for special incantations, or long prayers, or formulas.

But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. He tells him to be quiet. There is no way the devil could say or speak anything of value. In a certain way he is telling each one of us to be quite too, we need to stay silent, because he has much to tell us.

Thumbnail: Jesus expels demon in Possessed man in Synagogue, by James Tissot, 1886. In Brooklyn Museum.

Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to High School boys at Ernescliff College in Toronto on January 27, 2024. It is a commentary of Gospel of Mark 4:35-41 about Jesus calming the storm from the boat of Peter. He mentions how we may have dark storms in our life, but we must confide in God's providence, who is always present next to us, even if he seems to be asleep.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Kintore College, Toronto on the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales, and the memorial of Our Lady of Peace, the advocation for the Prelatic Church of Opus Dei in Rome. This is where St. Josemaria rests, beneath the main altar. Peace can be sewn in our soul through ongoing formation. St. Francis de Sales excelled at this in a time of upheaval in Europe, during the 16th and 17th century.

Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Thumbnail: Portait Francis de Sales, by Attilio Palombi, 1898, Chiesa del Sacro Cuore di Gesu, Rome.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this Introduction to a retreat for High School Boys at Cedarcrest Conference Centre, north of Toronto, January 20, 2024.

Saint Fabian and St. Sebastian. Two early Christian martyrs.

Luke 5, 12-16: The story of the leper. He lived in isolation, cut off from normal contact with others. Unable to interact normally. Looked down upon because of his contagion. He was forced to do weird things, like wear bells, and holler out warnings to others, unclean, unclean…Many thought he was like this because he must have sinned. He was getting his just rewards.

“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean”.

Jesus stretched out his hand before even answering. Of course I want you to be clean. Of course I want you to be part of the community. He is not afraid of him. He is filled with mercy and compassion.

Thumbnail: J. Kirk Richards Christ among the lepers.

Music: Adrift among the infinite stars by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Kintore College in Toronto, on January 18, ant the start of the Octave of prayer for Christian unity.

Mark 3:7-12: Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.

This is the account of the healing ministry of Jesus, and his universal mission to all those ailing people, physically damaged and hurting, but also afflicted by the demons, whose attacks were constant, divisive, agitated, pitting one against the other, loquacious and constantly seeking to break down the unity of Jesus’ plan.

These words are good for us today as we begin the week of Christian unity. After this healing he chose his apostles to continue this task, in unity with Christ and among each other. We too continue.

Music: 'Adrift among the infinite stars' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Thumbnail: Healing of the demoniac. Morgan Library Museum Medieval illustration from Strasbourg, 1430.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to a group of priests in Toronto, on January 16, 2024.

Like brother Lawrence's experience in the 17th century, he saw a tree in the winter, and it was just branches, without leaves or flowers. But upon looking at it, he received the grace to realize that within just a few months that tree would be totally in bloom. This gave him a deep view of the providence of God which would never be faced from his soul.

Formation is “self-cultivation”. This is like irrigating and cultivating a piece of arable land so that it will produce good crops.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on retreat at the Manoir de Beaujeu, west of Montreal, on December 28, 2023.

Today the Holy Innocents. The priest’s vestments are red, the color of martyrs, in memory of those Innocents who gave testimony to Christ, as the opening prayer says non loquendo sed moriendo, not by speaking but by dying, as first fruits for God and the Lamb.

The children die without knowing what is happening; mothers see their innocent lives cut short without knowing why. There is no apparent explanation. The children’s suffering at first glance seems useless and unjust. Their lives bear witness to a truth they aren’t even aware of. But God rewards their total self-sacrifice with eternal glory, with the enjoyment and direct vision of God, And the little ones, wrenched from their mothers arms and made co-redeemers with Christ at such a young age, enjoy in heaven the fruitfulness of their sacrifice: These innocent children were slain for Christ. They follow the spotless Lamb, and proclaim for ever: Glory to you, Lord.
sanctification

Peter

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to families at Kintore College in Toronto, on December 22, 2023.

But today we get the explosion of joy in her Magnificat: Hearing such praise from her cousin, Our Lady replied with words which have become that most beautiful hymn of jubilation: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.

Magníficat ánima méa Dóminum. It is such a rich canticle about God’s intervention in her life, that the Church mandates all priests to recite or sing this beautiful canticle. My soul magnifies, that is, it increases in me, it is a grace-filled moment of joy and anticipation.

Truly a holy moment.

Music: 'Moonlight' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com

Thumbnail: https://rosaryapp.org

Mary went with haste, and did not procrastinate.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on December 20, 2023 at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto.

Luke 1:39-56: Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.

What is the real meaning of that haste. How do we apply it to our life when focused on God's will?

Music: Adrift among the infinite stars, Scott Buckley, chosic.com

A corrected version of the meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Dec 7, 2023.

Matt 7, 24-27: Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Eugene Burnand, House on Rock, 1890s.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to a group of young men at Ernescliff College in Toronto, on December 9, 2023. The Gospel of Mark 10, 17-31 tells the account of the young man who presented himself to Jesus and asked what he must do to obtain eternal life. A challenging exchange ensued. To dig into this, we must have a deep understanding of what a vocation is. Here's one definition: "The vocation is the providential thought of the Creator for each creature, it is his idea-plan, like a dream found in God's heart, because the creature is found in his heart. God the Father wants this to be different and specific for each living person."

Music: Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478, Guitar arrangement by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Cyprien Tanguay (1819-1902) portrait by Antoine Plamondon, painted c. 1832, Quebec, Canada.

We have just begun today the novena to the Immaculate Conception. It starts with the feast of St. Andrew, the brother of Peter. The two became the most effective apostles ever, and they remained faithful to the end, both of them dying by crucifixion. Peter in Rome, Andrew in Greece. The novena has this tone of apostolic zeal. This sense of fervour that we want to be faithful apostles, and truly evangelize. Bring souls to Christ. Today it starts with the most iconic phrase from Jesus: I will make you fishers of men (Matt 4, 19). He did not say you will do certain things. You will do certain apostolic activities. Meetings, and invitations, clubs. No, you will be apostles, in every moment.

This is a shot meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College, Toronto, November 30, 2023.

Music: Handel, Rinaldo Opera, Aria "Lascia che io pianga" Arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Raphael cartoons of the miraculous Draught of Fish, 1515 in Victorian Albert Museum.

St. Josemaria had a magnanimous soul, he drew beauty, and great dreams of ambition to sanctity out of others. What is our greatest ambition? He said: The greatest ambition of the children of God in Opus Dei . . . must always be to serve.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation in Ernescliff College, Toronto, on the eve of the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Music: Lauda Jerusalem (Psalm 147) - Choir of Blessed Pier Giorgio – Aumônerie de Nantes

Thumbnail: Mihail Alivizakis Icon painter.

Yesterday we had the passage from Luke about the blind man who is healed by Jesus also in Jerico. From Matthew we know the blind man’s name, Bartimaeus. Today Luke 19 tells us about another man, also in Jerico, but on the opposite side of the social spectrum. Not a poor blind man without power, money or standing. But a publican, a tax collector who worked for the Roman occupation, and his named is Zacchaeus. Both could not see Jesus: Bartimaeus because he was blind, Zacchaeus because he was too short. To be able to see Jesus he took initiative. This is an analogous to taking our formation more seriously.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College on November 21, 2023.

Music: Handel Rinaldo, Aria Lascia che io pianga, adapted for guitar by Bert Alink.

Today's reading is from Luke 18:35-43, about the blind man of Jerico, healed by Jesus.

This passage lends itself to our prayer, because we can easily conjure up the image, the sounds, the atmosphere, the smells, that the blind man was experiencing. We weren’t there, and we too are blind, in a way. And he reacted.

Saint Josemaria has a long commentary on this passage in Friends of God, from a meditation he preached on October 12, 1947.

How do I really read the Word of God, Holy Scripture, to its fullest meaning?

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College on November 20, 2023.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria Lascia che io pianga adapted for guitar by Bart Alink.

Thumbnail: Anna and Tobit by Rembrandt, 1630, National Gallery, UK.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached today November 11: at the 11th hour, the 11th day, the 11th month in 1918, the bugle sounded to announce the ceasing of all hostilities. Today we remember the fallen.

Now Poppy is emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.

Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

After the 313 edict of Emperor Constantine which conceded to Christians the freedom to practice their religion, Pope Silvester dedicated the Basilica of St. John the Lateran as the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. It was dedicated in 324. What does this mean to us today? Fr. Eric Nicolai gives a brief explanation at Kintore College, Toronto, on November 9, 2023.

Music: Julia Florida played Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Basilica of St. John the Lateran, from Catholic News Report.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches in Kintore College from today's Gospel:

Luke 14, 25-33: ‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” We are building a tower in this life. It must be well-built to resist the storms. We have begun on the foundations of discipline, order, and human virtues. But we must keep going up, and persevere. We count on our will and God's grace.

Music: Waltz No 1 from Op 121 by Ferdinando Carulli Played by Cristian Garcia.

Thumbnail: Gallica BnF of the Eiffel Tour building process. gallica.bnf.fr

Psalm 127: Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt, qui aedificant eam. Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat, qui custodit eam.

Psalm 127: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

We must build on the solid foundations of interior life for us to discover the new Mediterraneans of apostolate in our life.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on October 20, 2023 at Cedarcrest Conference Centre.

Music: Antonio Vivaldi, Nisi Dominus, RV 680, Cum demerit...(Tim Mead)

Sands of Time, Juan Sanchez, on Pixaabay music clips Royalty free.

Thumbnail: Château de Foix, France, 9th century.

Letter from the Prelate of Opus Dei, February 2023:

Understanding also has a close relationship with the extraordinarily important reality of forgiveness: both asking for forgiveness and forgiving. In April 1974, our Father told us that “the most divine reality in our life as Christians, as children of God in Opus Dei, is to forgive those who have hurt us.” And then he added, with great simplicity: “I have not needed to learn to forgive, because our Lord has taught me how to love.”

this meditation at Cedarcrest conference Centre in Belfountain, Ontario, October 21, 2023.

https://opusdei.org/en-ca/article/letter-from-the-prelate-16-february-2023/

It pains us to see such hatred exploding now in the world, from the divisons in politics, the screams, the demonstrations, the protests, and the denunciations. Women against men, left against right, liberal against conservative. The divisions go on. We are not really in a position to offer political solutions. People have been trying for years.

But as Christians, we can seek to refresh and stabilize how we ourselves live out the New Commandment that our Lord gave us. Our Lord foresaw that there would be hate against the disciples continuing his work. He knew it would be painful.

John 15, 18: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. (…) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).

A meditation preached on October 20, 2023, by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Cedarcrest Conference Centre in Belfountain, Ontario, located north of Toronto.

Music: Bert Alink, Mossy Garden.

Thumbnail: Original text of the Mandatum Novum, the New Commandment, from the DYA Academy, installed in 1932 by St. Josemaria in Madrid.

St. Luke, evangelist and apostle, responsible for the Gospel and for Acts of Apostles.

A native of Antioch in Syria and a physician, and one of the early converts from paganism. He accompanied St. Paul on a considerable part of his missionary journey. He was also his companion while in prison at Rome. He was in the thick of it. He saw the growth of the Church. He saw the drama. But he remained faithful because he had converted to Christ. It had deep roots in his soul.

Luke's Gospel is, above all, the Gospel of the Merciful Heart of Jesus. It emphasizes the fact that Christ is the salvation of all men, especially of the repentant sinner and of the lowly. He also preserved some of the most touching of our Lord's parables, for example those of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. We thank him for having left such a beautiful witness of the life of Jesus. He wrote it down, with exquisite detail, especially about the infancy, also the prodigal son account.

Luke felt that one of the most powerful events in the Bible is a response to God’s call. What does man say? Simple: Here I am, Lord. Mary said: ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. This is a word he expects to hear from all.

Thumbnail: Detail of St. Luke Drawing the Virgin by Rogier van der Weyden, 15th century; in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged by Bert Alink.

Matthew 22:1-14: The King who sought to invite people to the wedding feast of his son, but nobody would come. What is to be done? There is nothing for it but to send out into the streets and lanes of the city, the highways and hedges of the countryside, and bring in the poor, the lame, the halt, and the blind, and fill up the vacant seats with guests less favoured, guests who cannot afford to refuse such generosity. Those people are us, and we have been invited, despite our poverty.

Fr. Eric Nicolai peached this meditation at Kintroe college in Toronto on October 15, 2023.

Music: Bert Alink, Mossy Garden.

Thumbnail: Abraham van Beyeren, Banquet Still Life, 1667

Luke 11:15-26: Today’s Gospel has words of Jesus speaking about the devil, and the attempts of demons to overtake us. But if the devil is divided, he falls apart. Unity in the church is what keeps it together. Grace also gives unity to our soul. St. Therese of Lisieux recounts how one of her earliest memory was that of a dream. She saw the fiery looks of two devils staring at her in the garden at Alencon. But her gaze made them scamper away. She said the devil is a coward, and he flees from the simple gaze of a child, in the state of grace.
We too are filled with joy when we realize that God pours his divine grace into our souls. All we have to do is open ourselves to this grace, and we are transformed.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Amores de Estudiante, arrange for guitar by Bert Alink (2018)

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on October 9, 2023 at Ernescliff College in Toronto.

Psalm 116, 12-13 sings: What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.

What a question. What can I render to the Lord, for all that he has really given me? For all he has done? The psalmist feels indebted to God and he resolves to repay him by an act of worship. Regardless of what we do and think today, somewhere there has to be a deep vow of gratitude, of thanksgiving. An openness to acknowledge all that I have really received in my life, in my vocation, my limbs, my sight, but even my suffering, my pain, my tiresome work, because the Lord God has given it all meaning.
That the blows we receive in life "are necessary to hack away what is superfluous from the huge block of marble." Like what happened to Michelangelo when he sculpted the David.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Etty Hillesum 1939.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft centre, Toronto, on October 7, 2023.

Way 267: We've got to be convinced that God is always near us. We live as though he were far away, in the heavens high above, and we forget that he is also continually by our side.

We are sons with a vision because we work in the world that is his world, created by him.

Like Henri Nouwen’s account of the prodigal son, based on the Rembrandt painting from 1669, two years before his death.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches in Ernescliff College of the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, September 29, 2023. It is a special day in the archdiocese of Toronto, dedicated to St. Michael the archangel, thanks to Bishop Michael Powers who came from Montreal in 1842.

In October of 1932 Saint Josemaría made a retreat at the Carmelite convent in Segovia. There he received the inspiration to structure the apostolates of Opus Dei into three works, each under the patronage of an archangel: the Work of St. Raphael, for the Christian formation of young people; the Work of St. Michael, for those who had received a calling to live celibacy in the midst of the world; and the Work of St. Gabriel, for married people.

Thumbnail: An angel, from the retable of Cedarcrest Conference Centre, painted by Jose Ochoa.

Music: Cathedral Music by Oleg Kirilkov from Pixabay.

Matthew 25:14-30. The Parable of the talents.

The man going abroad. The servants with different talents. The one with one talents digs a hole in the ground. To the others he says good, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.

priests on the need to have an adventuresome spirit regarding the gifts we have received.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Cedarcrest Conference Center north of Toronto on September 17, 2023. The focus is some notes of Saint Josemaria Escriva from 1932 in which he writes down a conversation with his spiritual director, Fr. Sanchez who spoke to him about listening to the Holy Spirit. "Don't speak, just listen."

Music: Waltz No 1 from Op 121 by Ferdinando Carulli Played by Cristian Garcia.

Fr. Eric Nicolai gives this meditation to High School boys that are part of the OneUp program of Ernescliff College. It was preached on September 9, 2023.

Luke 5:17-26 The account of the paralytic lower down the roof by his friends. The Lord was moved by their faith. They asked him for the healing of another. Not simply for themselves. A group of friends that ask for their friend. Who took the initiative?

My sense is that one loved him especially, and had more faith, and then he led others along with this power request, that he had the initiative to open the roof. How can we help our friends?

Music: Tears Keep Flowing Tarrega lagrima, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink, 2015.

Thumbnail: Christ healing the paralytic at Capernaum, engraving by Bernhard Rode 1780

Fr. Eric Nicolai welcomes the staff at Hawthorn School (Toronto) to a new academic year, with an appeal to embrace the new challenges with magnanimity and humble joy. St. Peter was called the rock by Jesus, even though he was often emotional and unstable. But with God's grace he became the support that others needed.

Music: Waltz No 1 from Op 121 by Ferdinando Carulli Played by Cristian Garcia.

Thumbnail: Jimmy Stewart from the movie, Its a Wonderful Life (1946).

A meditation preached deep in the Ontario woods to counsellors at Camp Caribou on a lake near Barry's Bay, August 25, 2023.

It is based on the three commandments of love mentioned in th Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 22:34-40: When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

On Youtube, see all the visuals:

https://youtu.be/AHba7XdIDjg

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai early in the morning in the woods at Camp Caribou for Boys, on August 23, 2023. The camp is located near Barry's Bay in Ontario.

You can see the filmed version here:

https://youtu.be/aUJSaYEuSdM?si=WoTHCscs5wlq9zMV

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in a parish in Fort Alexander, Manitoba on August 7 2023.

There are traces of subtle humour in the Gospel. There is a touching moment when the Lord heals the blind man, somewhat gradually, testing him like a doctor might.

Matt 8, 22-36 Do you see anything? Looking up, the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking”.

Trees walking? What did he actually see?

Music: Bert Alink, guitar arrangement, Mossy Garden.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, "Jesus Heals Blind Man", ink drawing, 1655. Rotterdam, Museum Boymans van Beuningen.

Mt 13:1-9: “A sower went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

With the different types of soil that the seed falls on, Jesus sums up the various types of people in the world. Different hearts. This is the real meaning of the formation we receive: it is meant to be an ongoing self-cultivation, like the irrigation of a field, or arable land that will lead us out of ourselves, out of the shell of our own selfishness, like a seed that breaks out and brings forth a plant: as we grow and mature, we thus grow in a capacity for sorrow, and for joy.

A meditation preached at Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai on July 17, 2023.

Matthew 10:34–11:1: Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set/ a man against his father,/a daughter against her mother,/ and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;/ and one’s enemies will be those of his household.

We think of the Lord as the king of peace. Peace on earth and goodwill to men. He heals and brings calm, after the agitation created by the devil.

But then these strange words that seem like there was a typo in the transcription. What does this really mean?

Thumbnail: Joseph John Rosenthal, The raising of the Flag at Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. Public domain.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto in July 2023. It's all about the details of the parable of the sower who went out to sow.

Matthew tells us: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. (Matt 13, 24-29)

The weeds in our life. The danger of becoming toxic to others by our attitude and behaviour Rather we should have the qualities of good vitamins for the system.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga, Lua Branca, Arranged for guitar Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Jean-Francois Millet, The Gleaners, Musée D'Orsay 1857

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai on rest, preached at Lyncroft centre, Toronto, on July 2, 2023.

Mark 6, 30-32: "The apostles came back to Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. Jesus said to them, `Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while.' Many people were coming and going. They could not even eat. So they went away in a boat to a lonely place by themselves."

This articulates the promise of Jesus. Matt 11, 28: “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest”.

It was important that they not stay with his teaching superficially, or remain on the surface. He wanted them deeply formed. To make the Good News truly deeply integrated. They will later have to transmit it to others. They have to be good transmission lines. What really is the significance of rest? Are we habitually resting? And do we do it well in a way that restores us truly? When burnout is so prevalent, we need to see the true meaning of rest and leisure, and examine its relation to work.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Masaccio The Tribute Money, 1424, Brancacci Chapel, Florence.

Homily at the funeral of Fr. Joe Escribano who was among the original pillars of Opus Dei in Canada from 1959. It was preached in French and English by Fr. André Blais at St. George Parish in Ottawa.

https://opusdei.org/en-ca/article/father-joseph-escribano-1933-2023-a-pillar-for-the-beginnings-of-opus-dei-in-canada/

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on June 26, 2023 at Kintore College in Toronto. We know that Saint Josemaría Escrivá died in 1975: after stepping out of that elevator, looking at an image of our Lady, and at that moment he had accomplished his mission here on earth. Going up the elevator was like the first step towards heaven.

Days after his passing, Don Alvaro had to gear himself up for what was coming, and he wrote a long letter to all of us: Nuestro padre en el Cielo. Our Father in Heaven. I remember reading it often. God granted our founder a spiritual paternity that embraced everyone he came into contact with. And since this paternity was completely supernatural, it has only been strengthened by his going to heaven. Here's an account of what it should look like.

Music: Tears keep flowing, Tarrega, played by Bert Alink, 2015

In the first half the 1940s, the number of people in Opus Dei started really increasing, and there were great pastoral needs. This is an account of the first priests of Opus Dei and how they came to be ordained. They were Alvaro del Portillo, Josemaria Hernandez de Garnica, and Jose Luis Muzquiz, ordained by Msgr. Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, the Archbishop of Madrid, in 1944. In this meditation preached on June 25, 2023, Fr. Eric Nicolai takes us through the history of these moments in Spain in the 40s. It was preached in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto.

Music: The Meeting of the Waters Arranged and played by Bert Alink

The Solemnity of John the Baptist, the Precursor. A meditation preached in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, by Fr. Eric Nicolai on June 24, 2023.

Lk 1, 57-66: The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy. (...) All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him."

Good thing Zechariah agreed with the name John. His tongue was loosened and he gave praise to God with the Benedictus. Joy rippled out throughout the region. It was the thanksgiving and joy at understanding the beauty and grandeur of the divine vocation. Each one of us has a divine vocation, a divine purpose. Have I too been filled with wonder at what God has designed for me?

Thumbnail: Piero della Francesca, The Baptism of Christ, 1450s, tempera on wood (National Gallery, London)

Music: Francisco Tárrega's "Lágrima" performed by Pepe Romero on an 1888 Antonio de Torres

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Mark 12, 14-17: Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

In response to this trap, set between the pharisees and the Herodians, on the delicate question of taxes to Caesar, Jesus responds with this phrase: Hand me a denarius and let me see it.

Music: Francisco Tárrega's "Lágrima" performed by Pepe Romero on an 1888 Antonio de Torres.

Thumbnail: Julius Caesar 44 BC. AR Denarius was minted at Rome by moneyer M. Mettius 44 BC.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, June 2, 2023 in Ernescliff College, Toronto.

The account of Jesus cleansing the temple.

Mark 11, 11-26: So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’

He was in the temple, and he is in us, as we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Which is why we make the sign of the cross over our body, in honour of the Blessed

Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit but in the form of the cross.

Music: Waltz Op 121 No 1 Ferdinando Carulli Played by Cristian Garcia.

Thumbnail: Ippolito Scarsella Jesus Driving merchants from the temple, 1580, Capitoline Museum, Rome

Luke 1:39-56: Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went with haste. She goes with haste. There is a sense of responsibility here. She knows and understands her mission. Her purpose. It has been said that after the consultation with the angel, she found her mission, her role in the theo-drama. She had pledged to accomplish it, and was excited. The ego-drama is the play that I’m writing, I’m producing, I’m directing, and I’m starring in.

God taps on our shoulder to tell us what he invites us to do.

Music: The Meeting of the Waters Arranged and played by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Master of the Life of the Virgin, The Visitation with a portrait of donor Johann von Hirtz, 1462.

Acts of the Apostles 2, 1-11. "When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together."

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches to a group of High School students at Ernescliff College in Toronto. On Pentecost the Church was born in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit promised by Jesus descended on the apostles and disciples. Cardinal John Henry Newman reminds us that the Holy Spirit gives life to everything, and He turns “sinners into saints”.

Music: The Meeting of the Waters Arranged and played by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: The Feast of Pentecost. Engraving by Gustave Doré in the Illustrated Bible.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lancemore Centre on May 22, 2023. St. Augustine speaks about the overshadowing of Mary: At that moment, the Holy Spirit, who had already possessed Mary’s soul from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception, came upon her with such exceptional plenitude that He formed within her the sacred Body of Jesus. Justly, therefore, does Mary deserve the name of Spouse of the Holy Spirit: she is His possession, His sanctuary, His temple.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Lyncroft Centre on Ascension Sunday, May 21 2023.

Ascension is traditionally celebrated 40 days after after Easter Sunday. So he was with them for 40 days, in and out, instructing. That’s why it falls on Thursday after the 7th Sunday of Easter. Early Fathers of the church celebrated it on Thursday. It was know to be a great feast.

This now is the hour that the lord spoke about. All four Gospels, presuppose that the period of the risen Lord’s appearances was limited. Paul was conscious of being the last to whom an encounter with the risen Christ was granted. In 1 Cor 15 we have these endearing words of our Lord’s appearances. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Music: Waltz Op 121 No 1 Ferdinando Carulli Played by Cristian Garcia.

Thumbnail: The Ascension, in Passion Book by Albrecht Dürer ca. 1510, Metropolitan Museum, NY.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches a meditation in Kintore College on May 13, 2023. We are unique with are own personal stories. Yet we have a lot in common, a series of bonds that holds us together with a common vocation, a common faith in which we are united. There is real communion among us, we are not isolated verses. Compendium: 194. What is the meaning of the “communion of saints”?

This expression indicates first of all the common sharing of all the members of the Church in holy things (sancta): the faith, the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, the charisms, and the other spiritual gifts. At the root of this communion is love which “does not seek its own interests” (1 Corinthians 13:5).

Music: Francisco Tarrega, Lagrima, played on guitar by Pepe Romero.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches to Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on May 6, 2023. We can ask him to stir up the fire of our faith. Put little twigs and branches into the fire. The best twigs to get that faith raging is the devotion to our mother, as Mother of God.

It may be small now, but little aspirations, glances at images of our Lady are there to awaken something within us. Josemaria would as to “Stir up that fire of faith. Christ is not a figure that has passed. He is not a memory that is lost in history.” Mary seems to stir up devotion in us. She awakens our faith and makes us strong.

Thumbnail: Abraham Bloemaert Virgin and Child 1625 Art Gallery of Ontario

John 14, 1-6: ’Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God still, and trust in me.

There are many rooms in my Father’s house;

if there were not, I should have told you.

I am going now to prepare a place for you,

and after I have gone and prepared you a place,

I shall return to take you with me;

so that where I am

you may be too.

You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:

‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.’

The Lord Jesus understands the internal upheaval of the apostles. He sees clearly that they are troubled, that they are anxious and nervous. I may not even have shown externally, but he could read their hearts well. Now he reads our hearts and invites us to be men and women of peace.

Music: Tears keep flowing by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Mission of the Apostles. Byzantine ivory plaque. Paris, Musee du Louvre 10th century. From article by Robert Bergman, "A School of Ivory Carving in Arnalfi", Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal (v. 9 1974).

John 10, 11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at the start of a university retreat at Kintore College in Toronto. On the theme of the good shepherd, whether we actually hear his voice.

Thumbnail: William Holman Hunt Hunt light of the world, 1851, Keble College, Oxford.

Music: Ernesto Nazareth, Confidencias, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48). Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on April 26 2023. The message “Be perfect...” might cause us to wilt. How can I be perfect even as a human being, much less “as the Father is perfect” – the Infinite, Omnipotent God whom I cannot see, whom (it seems) I know only from a distance? This is an impossible vocation! Indeed it is... if I am relying only on my own efforts. This is why a Gospel reduced to mere human moralism is always either oppressive or watered down to a purely human proposal.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to a group of High School students at Ernescliff College on April 24, 2023.

Today's Gospel is about Jesus walking on the water: as the apostles imagined he was a ghost, he said do not be afraid.

Jn 6:16-21: When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga composer, Lua Branca (Arranged for guitar by Bert Alink).

Thumbnail: Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Jesus walks on Water, 1849 St. Petersburg.

Preceding the account of the washing of the feet, St. John says: John introduces this gesture. It is not present in the other synoptics: “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (Jn 13:1).

He loved them to the end. We should reflect on the meaning of such a phrase, whether in my life, in your marriage, it can be said I have loved, and served to the end of my abilities, or 80% or 50%, or if I have given a lot but then seek out compensations in giving myself extra comforts or other forms of compensation. Or maybe it’s 90% at work, but only the leftover at home.

This is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Ernescliff College at a recollection on April 12, 2023.

Thumbnail: Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles by Meister des Hausbuches, 1475 (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin).

Music: Ernesto Nazareth, Confidências (played by Bert Alink) Museopen.org.

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We are in a dark world, but the light of heaven streams in like a beam of luminosity, and hope, represented by that Easter pillar of light. Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto about the meaning of the Easter Candle and the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians: Death, where is thy Sting? (1 Cor 15, 55).

Thumbnail: The Harrowing of Hell, Russian 15th century icon, St. Petersburg.

Music: A heart that knows its Jesus is living, BWV 134 - II Aria: Auf Gläubige, singet die lieblichen Lieder, open source, from museopen.org.

Holy Thursday includes two important celebrations. The Chrism Mass where all the priests renew their priestly vows, and the bishop blesses the holy oils. It commemorates the Lord’s institution of the priesthood. That's in the morning.

But tonight is the commemoration of the commandment of charity, the mandatum novum, and the institution of the Eucharist, where he ask to do this in memory of me. The power of a memory that can actually bring him back alive.

Thumbnail: Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates at a juvenile detention in the outskirts of Rome, 2023.

Music: Ave Verum Corpus natrium William Byrd, 17th century.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Ernescliff College

about the beginning of Holy Week and the mysterious figure mentioned in the prophesies of Isaiah: the Man of Sorrows. In Isaiah he was a mystery, now he will take on a face, and a name, Jesus of Nazareth.

Music: Prelude -Cello Suite 3- J.S. Bach. BWV 1009. For guitar.

Thumbnail: Roberto Oderisi Italian, The Man of Sorrows with Instruments of the Passion, c. 1354 Cambridge (MA), Harvard Art Museums.

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The passage in today’s first reading from the book of Daniel is the account of Suzanna who is falsely accused by two corrupt elders (Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62). The drawn out account of Suzanna who was spied upon by two elders taken over by their lust for her. The reading uses a fascinating turn of phrase about the temptation of these two men: it says “they suppressed their consciences and would not allow their eyes to look to heaven”. To suppress one’s conscience is a serious thing to do. Another translation says: they perverted their own mind. So that means not listening to the gentle call of the conscience within us is a form of perversion. We would turn away from you and rupture something within us.

Eric

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Today is the solemnity of the Annunciation, an important feast that the church celebrates during Lent. At Mary’s obedient Fiat, humanity is wedded to divinity. It can be thought of as a precursor to Pentecost. The Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and imparts to her the gift of all gifts, a divine son. She is the new Eve that restores those lost gifts. We too can obey the divine invitation. But how do we do it?

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft centre in Toronto on the solemnity of the Annunciation.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai comments on the effects of the gospel account of Jesus and the young rich man (Mark 10, 17-22). He had potential, that's why Jesus chose him. When you see someone with qualities, that works well, and seems to be a good person, you and I think of their potential. The power to become something more. You think of something still unrealized. Its latent within them. Undeveloped. Embryonic. There is a hidden future that gives you hope. What about our apostolic potential?

Preached in the Manoir de Beaujeu, March 22, 2023.

Thumbnail: Jesus and disciples fishing, medieval stained glass detail, Canterbury Cathedral 12th cent. Photo by Chris Beckett, Flickr.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga composer, Lua Branca (arranged for guitar by Bert Alink).

Today, the fourth Sunday of Lent, the church offers the passage from St. John about the man born blind. It is here that the Lord begins to speak about himself as being the Light of the World, and that the apostles too are the light of the world when united to him.

The apostles tell Jesus about this man, stumbling around, not able to advance, and thinking it was a generational problem. His father or grandfather must have been pretty bad, so he inherited this moral evil now in form of blindness.

John quotes Jesus in front of the apostles asking about the blind man:

‘As long as the day lasts

I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;

the night will soon be here when no one can work.

As long as I am in the world

I am the light of the world.’ (John 9, 2)

The meditation was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft centre, March 19, 2023.

Music: Bert Alink, Tears keep Flowing, guitar arrangement, 2015.

The Greek word "apostoloi" means “sent.” It refers to Christ's call to the disciples to continue his own mission: proclaiming the kingdom of God throughout the world.

But what are these apostles proclaiming? Are they giving an instruction about what Jesus spoke about? Were they giving classes, where people sat down and took notes? What was the essential idea that people took away with them after Peter spoke in Jerusalem? One simple idea articulated by Pope Francis: The name of God is mercy. Have you mentioned this to others?

A meditation on the Kerigma of the early Church, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, at Lyncroft Centre, March 15, 2023.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Groucho Marx in the early silent films would say that to have a happy life, we must have good humour have a bad memory. Of course we have good humour, but I don’t agree that we should have a bad memory.

We have to have good humour and good memory, but selective memory for all the good in life. This was the purpose of the transfiguration, in which Jesus showed the apostle the luminosity of the good. It was so that they should remember the good, when things were bad and dark. A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre in Toronto on March 9, 2023.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga composer, Lua Branca, arranged for guitar by Guitar Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Raphael Sanzio, Transfiguration 1520, Pinacoteca Vaticana.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on March 4, 2023.

During Lent our goal is that of St. Paul: "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." (Gal 2, 20).

This identification with Christ has 4 steps in a staircase towards Christ Jesus. The first step in this staircase is the most superficial one: Corporal mortification. The next step in the staircase is the care of little things. The third step is interior mortification. Finally the most difficult step, number 4, is passive mortification.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga composer, Lua Branca (Guitar Bert Alink)

Thumbnail: First Temptation of Christ. Stained glass possibly from the collegiate church of Saint-Etienne. London, Victoria and Albert Museum, C. 1907-1919.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, February 4, 2023.

In the death and burial of Lazarus Jesus watched the long procession of mourners from the first to the last, and the reason of it all. He understood the very reason for all those mourners. He knew deeply, in its essence how death came into the world with the sin of Adam. He wept for Lazarus, but he weeps for you and me too, because we too will die.

John 11, 38: "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said."

Martha does not think it is a good idea. She says: “Lord, by now he must smell, for it is four days.” Iam fetit. (Jn 11, 39)

Makes sense, since sin and death always give off a bad smell. Bad smell of pride, the high odour of vanity. We must now remove the stone and smell out the bad odour of sin in our life, not to simply cover it over, but to get rid of it. Not simply perfume it.

Thumbnail: The Raising of Lazarus, from a codex prepared in Reichenau, during the reign of Otto III, year 1000, now in the Munich National Library.

Music: Bert Alink, Tears Keep Flowing, 2015.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College, on February 28, 2023. Today’s first reading is from a chapter of Isaiah, an oracle that the prophet made, calling back the exiles in Babylon. Isaiah 55, 10: "And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it."

The image of rain and snow give us an idea of the refreshing nature of our prayer in Lent, and invites us to open the door to his presence.

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity)

Thumbnail: Rembrandt St Jerome Kneeling in Prayer Looking Down etching 1635, Galerie Michael artbrokerage.com

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Kintore College, Toronto, on February 20, 2023. It was in preparation for Lent.

Fulton Sheen defines dirt as matter in the wrong place. If clay is in the garden it is clay, if it is in the house it is dirt. The church then blesses this dirt to show that all things created are good and can be holy. She then smears this dirt on our foreheads saying at the same time the profound spiritual message…Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

In his Lenten message, Pope Francis mentions the scene of the transfiguration, explaining that we have to be like the disciples who made the trek up the hill to follow Jesus in a kind of retreat. It's an uphill path, like a mountain trek that requires effort, sacrifice and concentration.

He says: The Gospel relates that Jesus “was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” (Mt 17:2). This is the “summit”, the goal of the journey.

Thumbnail: JOHANN GEORG TRAUTMANN The Transfiguration, ca. 1750 – 1765 Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity).

A meditation at the Manoir de Beaujeu, preached to a group of priests on January 30, 2023, by Fr. Eric Nicolai

So many Catholics have been baptized, but not transformed. We lament this as due to secularization of society, lack of formation. Bad example, etc. We too must be conquered. What is our soft underbelly? That most vulnerable part of our perseverance. It is the lack of total surrender to Christ in our vocation. The lack of real rectitude of intention in everything.

Music: Bert Alink, Tears Keep Flowing (2015)

Thumbnail: easyimages.net

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This meditation was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at the end of a retreat for priests to the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal, on February 3, 2023.

Easter Vigil Gospel: Mark 16, 1-7 The women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, had an important task.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

We can think now what is the stone in my way to see the real truth about Jesus? What stone stops me from testifying? Stone could be our fear. Stone could be our lack of readiness to give of ourselves. Our anxiety.

Thumbnail: Piero della Francesca Resurrection 1460s in the Palazzo della Residenza in the town of Sansepolcro, Tuscany, Italy.

Music: Mossy Garden by Bert Alink.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at a retreat for priests at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal.

Matt 13:1-9:: That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

We are both soil, ground where the seed arrives, but also sowers ourselves, with the great responsibility of ensuring that the seed takes root, that what we sow with our ministry, with our example, with our good humour and our life, takes root in souls. People look up to us. If there has been loss of prestige and moral standing among priests it is because some had been bad sowers, but also because the seed of God’s word never took root in their soul. It fell but for different reasons didn’t grow, or died.

Thumbnail: Jean-Francois Millet 1854 The Sower. Boston Museum.

Music: Bert Alink, Mossy Garden.

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the conversion of St. Paul. Preached at Lyncroft Centre, January 25, 2023.

Acts 3, 5-10: ‘I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when about midday a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered: Who are you, Lord? and he said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me.” The people with me saw the light but did not hear his voice as he spoke to me. I said: What am I to do, Lord? The Lord answered, “Stand up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.” The light had been so dazzling that I was blind and my companions had to take me by the hand; and so I came to Damascus.

Music: Bert Alink, Mossy Garden.

Thumbnail: Caravaggio, Conversion of St. Paul, 1660, in Sea Maria del Popolo, Rome.

Today, January 18 to January 25 is the Octave of Christian Unity. It finishes with the feast of the conversion of St. Paul on January 25. This Octave was first conceived by Father Paul Watson a Franciscan friar of the Atonement, of Graymoor abbey in 1907. This leads us naturally to pray about the Church in her essence.

CCC 760: all that vast array of creation had really one basic purpose: to have a place of communion, brought about by a convocation. Ecclesia means call, vocation, convocation. The world was created for the church, for this assembly. Even for the mystical body of Christ.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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This is a meditation originally posted on Youtube in August 2021. Here it is re-broadcast in audio form. It was preached at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Coteau-du-Lac, near Montreal, Quebec. The original with video clips of the Manoir, its surroundings and Rembrandt's painting, can be viewed here:

https://youtu.be/tFdA8gPxBtE

Music: Handel Rinaldo opera Aria "Lascia che io pianga" arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The Storm of the Sea of Galilee, 1633, whereabouts unknown since 1990.

This is the introductory meditation for a retreat at the Manoir de Beaujeu, near Montreal, on January 2, 2023, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai.

Psalm 127: Nisi Dominus, Unless the Lord build the house: their labour is but lost that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city: the watchman waketh but in vain.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, Peter Denying Christ, 1660 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College on December 31, 2022 to inaugurate the New Year.

Today's first reading is from the book of Numbers 6, when Moses is told exactly how the priests are to bless.

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

“‘“The Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’

“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

This is one of the earliest blessing formulas conserved to us. In the biblical tradition, the contemplation of the face of God is associated with intimacy. How can we feel the face of God gazing upon us this year with all the hardships and challenges and joys that await?

Music: Nascosta Rosa, sung by the Roman College of Holy Mary in Rome.

Thumbnail: The Volto Santo di Manoppello, the Holy Face of Manoppello, Italy.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, December 21, 2022 at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto.

Phil 4, 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always”. Joy is at the heart of Christian experience. Pope Benedict XVI said that one of the great attraction of WYD was the joy that people saw. It is seen in young people, in the smiles of Pope Francis.

Pope Benedict XVI said “In a world of sorrow and anxiety, joy is an important witness to the beauty and reliability of the Christian faith.”

In a school you learn stuff. What are we going to learn today?

Music: Bert Alink, Mossy Garden, arranged on guitar.

Thumbnail: Raphael, Sistine Madonna 1513 Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Dresden.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on December 18, 2022. Matthew relates it exclusively from the perspective of Saint Joseph, who as a descendant of David represents the link between the figure of Jesus and the Davidic promise. The angel appears to him in a dream, and he was able to discern God's will.

Music: O Holy Night by Christmas choir.

Thumbnail: The Dream of Saint Joseph by Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-1779) Vienna Museum.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College on December 16, 2022.

In the first of his Infancy Narratives, Pope Benedict XVI places us at the very end of Jesus’ life as he stands in front of his accuser, Pontius Pilate. Jesus has already been beaten, one eye is swollen, he is bruised all over, and already has a crown of thorns. It's a sad sight for a king.

While he was interrogating Jesus, Pilate unexpectedly put this question to the accused: “Where are you from?”.

That was the question that was placed to him by his accuser at the end of Jesus’ life, and yet we can start to see an answer right now at the beginning as we consider his coming into this world.

Music: Die Schonsten Deutsche Weihnachtslieder, from YouTube.Berliner Mozartchor Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht. Berliner Mozartchor Kling, Glöckchen, Klingelingeling.

Thumbnail: Gerrit Van Honthorst, Adoration of the child, 1619, from Uffizi Museum, Florence.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on December 13, 2022 in a recollection for priests at St. Aidan's parish Toronto.

After the annunciation, Mary went with haste, 80 km away to Ain Karim. Not slowly, uninterested. The hill country of Judah, would have been understood as the land of David. Where he grew up. She went with meaning and a sense of purpose. This too is how we must see our vocation. Go with haste. It is the opposite of any form of procrastination in our duties.

St. Josemaria says that this is an act of loyalty:

Furrow 371: Turn your eyes towards the Blessed Virgin and see how she practises the virtue of loyalty. When Elizabeth needs her, the Gospel says that she went cum festinatione — joyfully making haste. Learn from her!

Music: Alfred Cottin, Habanera played by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Pieter de Jode II (1606–ca. 1674) after Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), The Visitation, 1625–74. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Today’s proper preface for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a synthesis of this mystery:

For you preserved the most Blessed Virgin Mary
from all stain of original sin,
so that in her, endowed with the rich fullness of your grace,
you might prepare a worthy Mother for your Son
and signify the beginning of the Church,
his beautiful Bride without spot or wrinkle.

She, the most pure Virgin, was to bring forth a Son,
the innocent Lamb who would wipe away our offenses;
you placed her above all others
to be for your people an advocate of grace
and a model of holiness.

And so, in company with the choirs of Angels,
we praise you, and with joy we proclaim: Holy….

A meditation on trust in God, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, on the eve of the solemnity of the Immaculate conception.

Music: J. S. Bach, Prelude (Cello Suite No. 3, BWV 1009) on Museopen.org.Thumbnail: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Immaculate Conception, 1767, Prado, Madrid.

St. Matthew 17:9a, 10-13 in which the disciples asked Jesus if he was Elijah.

I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord. It meant to create a favourable environment, a place that made easy to operate your life. Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on December 3, 2022.

Music: Amores de Estudiante by Carlos Gardel, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink 2018 Public domain in Canada

Thumbnail: Interior panels of the Braque Triptych. c. 1452, Louvre.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on the feast of St. Andrew, Apostle, in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto. Saint Andrew is said to have preached the Gospel in Greece. There, in the city of Patras, he was martyred; he died nailed to a cross, like his divine Master. The priests of Achaia who witnessed his death write that his desire to be identified with Christ was so great that when he was being led toward the place of his martyrdom and saw the cross in the distance, he began to cry out what became a famous prayer; O bona crux, quæ decórem ex membris Dómini suscepísti "O good cross, made beautiful by the body of the Lord; long have I desired you, ardently have I loved you, unceasingly have I sought you out; and now you are ready for my eager soul. Receive me from among men and restore me to my Master, so that by means of you He may receive me who by means of you redeemed me.”

Music: Carlos Gardel, Amores de Estudiante, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink 2018 Public domain in Canada.

Thumbnail: Guillaume Courtois, Painting of the martyrdom of St. Andrew in the church of San Andrea Al Quirinale designed by G-L Bernini in Rome, 17th century.

Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!. This is the very last word of the Bible, and it falls on the very last day of ordinary time. Tomorrow we will turn to advent, preparing ourselves for his coming at Christmas. What does it mean to be alert and ready for our death? Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College, Toronto on November 26, 2022.

Thumbnail: Tympanum from the Church of Ste-Foy, Conques, Paris, along the Way of Santiago. Romanesque.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

St. Josemaria had a sense of excitement about what the Christian family could be like in the modern world. It was like an oasis that was nourished by this powerful underground source of fresh water, a human and divine love coming from the sacramental grace of matrimony. Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation on November 12, 2022 in Lancemore centre in Toronto.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Pieter de Hooch, The Courtyard of a House in Delft, 1658. National Gallery, London.

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Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre: St. Josemaria wrote in the The Way 301 about what he described as that little group of men or a handful of women in the midst of a world crisis. They had a readiness to fight, a deep desire to be saints, and a willingness to fight. He used military imagery.

A secret, an open secret: these world crises are crises of saints.

God wants a handful of men 'of his own' in every human activity. And then... 'pax Christi in regno Christi — the peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ'.

Music: Composed by Chiquinha Gonzaga, Lua Branca, arranged of guitar by Bert Alink.

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A meditation on the nature of freedom, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft Centre, November 2022.

We have been called to freedom (Gal 5:13). By letting Christ reign in our heart we acquire true freedom and conquer the slavery of sin: If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (Jn 8:31-32).

What is this freedom that we are meant to have? We know that it is good, but what exactly is it? Let's reflect more deeply on this. The Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Ocariz spoke of the freedom of the children of God. “True freedom of spirit is this capacity and habitual attitude to act out of love, especially in the effort to follow what God is asking of us in each circumstance” (Pastoral Letter, 9 January 2018, 5).

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Peter Paul Rubens Christ's Charge to Peter, 1616, Wallace collection, London.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College.

Luke 16:1-8: Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd steward:

‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” (...) ‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’

In saving our soul and spreading the Kingdom of God, our Lord wants us to apply at least the same ingenuity and effort as people put into their worldly affairs or their attempts to attain some human ideal.

Josemaría Escrivá wrote in The Way 317: "What zeal people put into their earthly affairs: dreaming of honours, striving for riches, bent on sensuality. Men and women, rich and poor, old and middle— aged and young and even children: all of them the same.  When you and I put the same zeal into the affairs of our souls, we will have a living and operative faith: and there will be no obstacle that we cannot overcome in our apostolic undertakings."

Well, where do you put your greatest energy and zeal? Where do you put the greatest efforts?

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singularity)

Thumbnail: Der ungerechte Haushalter (The Unjust Steward) by Virgilius Solis 1534-1562, copper plate German Digital Museum.

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Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre on November 2, 2022.

In the 19th century, Cardinal John Henry Newman loved the Anglican choral tradition. But he was especially enamoured by the Holy Mass. It was the point of connection with the past, with souls before us, and souls in purgatory. He felt so attracted to the Mass as this timeless ritual that would be the same reality during all ages. Indeed the Holy Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and for that reason it is efficacious. We are present at Calvary. Rather than merely remembering the life and death of Christ, we are present at it and partake of the eternal fruits which flow to us from the altar when the priest stands in the place of Christ and offers the Eternal Victim on the altar to God.

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Jan Van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece, panel from the mystical adoration of the lamb, 15th century.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College on the solemnity of All Saints, November 1st 2022.

I read a book that dramatizes in first person the personality of the Good Thief. As he looked at me, I thought he was trying to smile, and then he said, “I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” He died that day, but we know he became St. Dismas. This is our dream. Saint Josemaria too had that dream: He would repeat that phrase: Dream and your dreams will fall short.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Portico of Paradise, in the Cathedral of San Martin de Ourense, Spanish Romanesque.

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A meditation preached at Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai on October 27, 2022. Today is the Father’s birthday, born in exile in France in 1944. So that makes him 78. Still young in spirit. Since 2016 he has been the Prelate, but known to all of us as the Father. Since Pope Francis’ motu propio, Ad charisma tuendum, on 14 July 2022, his elevation to the episcopacy is no longer an option. What does all this mean for us?

Music: Tan Buen Ganadico, originally composed by Juan del Encina (1469-1529), here sung by the choir of the Roman College of Holy Mary.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to High School boys at Ernescliff College in Toronto on Oct 22, 2022.

On that day, Oct 22, 1978, facing the vast crowd in the square, and beyond, in the whole world, John Paul II said:

Today the new Bishop of Rome solemnly begins his ministry and the mission of Peter. In this city, in fact, Peter completed and fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by the Lord.

The Lord addressed him with these words: "...when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go" (Jn 21:18).

Peter came to Rome!

He talked about the Quo Vadis account, from the famous 19th century novel, by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Pope John Paul II could be seen laughing hysterically, or deeply in prayer. What an example of faith.

Music: Mossy garden by Bert Alink.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto, on October 19, 2022. Pope John XXIII made the prophetic decision to call an Ecumenical council in 1962. Paul VI brought it to completion. Pope John Paul II then figured out how to apply it all. During the Jubilee in 2000, he reiterated some of the essential teaching so of the council. One of these that he found particularly amazing was the universal call to sanctity, as seen in Lumen Gentium.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

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Thumbnail: Vincent Van Gogh, Woman cutting Bread, 1885. Chalk and ink. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Here are some excerpts of the solemn Pontifical Funeral for Father Jose Luis Soria, celebrated by His Grace, The Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, CSB, Archbishop of Vancouver accompanied by Msgr. de Rochebrune, Vicar of Opus Dei in Canada. The celebration took place in the Cathedral of Vancouver on October 14, 2022. May he Rest In Peace.

The full video can be found here:

https://youtu.be/kdPzxfp5wUs

A meditation on fear, preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, at Kintore College, Oct 14, 2022.

Luke 12:1-7: The people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. (...) ‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’

Why be aware of the Pharisees? They knew the law. They were experts. Why? Because it seems a common conclusion that if someone knows the law, and is not truly affected by it, then the law must be to blame. It must not really have the power to transform or to change someone. Yet the Lord relies on our freedom. It is true now as well. Many lapsed Catholics will blame some priest or some religious person’s lack of integrity to justify why they don’t practice.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, Head of Christ, circa 1648-1656, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Wikicommons.

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Lk 1, 11-20 "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. (...) The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

The name means God's strength. he can help us to be more attentive int he Mass, and give us fortitude in the demands of daily life.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Ernescliff College, Oct 9, 2022.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Philippe de Champaigne, The Annunciation, 1644, Metropolitan Museum, NY.

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"All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rom 8,14). These words of the Apostle Paul, which we have just heard, help us understand better the significant message of today's canonization of Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer. With docility he allowed himself to be led by the Spirit, convinced that only in this way can one fully accomplish God's will.

These are the opening words pronounced by Pope Joh Paul II at the canonization of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. It was a sunny day, with a joyful and recollected Pope. It’s been 20 years. 30 years since the beatification. What can we draw from this event?

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, October 6, 2022.

Music: "Tan buen ganadico", by the choir of the Roman College of Holy Mary, Rome.

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Luke 10:25-37: ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’

Who or what are the other robbers in our life?

One might be our sheer busyness.

Busy is not your friend. It makes you feel overwhelmed, tired, and inadequate. If busy were a person, would you spend all day with that person today, and then all day with that person again tomorrow? I don’t think so.

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, October 5, 2022.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The Good Samaritan 1630. Ink drawing, Rijiksmuseum, Public Domain.

That explosion of grace came today in 1928, while he was on retreat with 6 other priests. He had prayed the breviary, read the Gospel, and was reviewing some notes. One note after another. Things were becoming clearer about what he was doing here in Madrid. Before he could formulate an answer, he heard sound of the bells of the church of Our Lady of the Angels drifting through the window, pealing to celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels resounded. It was like the first tremors. And then the silent earthquake hit him, deep in his heart and in his mind.

Preached in Centre Tour des Pins in Montreal, Oct 2, 2022.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Ignacio Valdéz, Painting of Sat. Josemaria, From Our Lady of the Angels, Madrid.

There are nine choirs of angels. One of those choirs, or groups, are the archangels. They are powerful allies in our spiritual battles, because God gave them great power to fight against those demons we have to face on a regular basis. They are spiritual beings that we can’t see, because they don’t have a body. But they really exist. Not just in our minds, or in our collective myths, or our symbols, or our culture. They are as real as your dog, or your sister, or electricity. We can't see electricity, but we can see its effects.

A meditation preached at Kintore College in Toronto by Fr. Eric Nicolai on September 29, 2022.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Music: Francesco Botticini Three Archangels with Tobias, c.1471 Uffizi, Florence.

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Luke 16:19-31: One of the most striking parts of today’s parable of poor Lazarus and the Rich man, the dives, is the way the rich man, even in the afterlife, still speaks of the poor man as a servant who is supposed to do his bidding: “Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.” He needs help, he has never really helped himself or helped overs. But when we step back, we see that both men are quite overwhelmed by life. Lazarus struggles to survive with his poverty and sores, the rich man goes on hardened among all that luxury piling over in his face. Both are overwhelmed in different ways, and we too get overwhelmed. What to do with this feeling? A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, on September 25, the 26th week of Ordinary Time. Preached in Lyncroft Centre in Toronto.

Music: Carlos Gardel (1890-1935), Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Lazarus and Dives,” fol. 78r from the Codex Aureus of Echternach, ca. 1035–40. German National Museum, Nuremberg.

In John 4, we have that wonderful encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” She is transparent, and this is the first moment in her life in which her horizons are suddenly open. She wants more, she wants to speak and understand more deeply what her life is really all about, especially with 5 husbands in tow. Conversions are always possible, even if your life seems a mess.

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, Christ and the Samaritan woman, Arched Print Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts, New York, 1638.

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2 Cor 6, 1: As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says: “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

The reason of our life is that we exist for one single reason: to be the best version of ourselves. Not a low grade. High definition movie. This is the one were you can really see all the details, even on a large screen. This is the nature of sanctity. Not a B&W photo, low density, or without all the colour potential.

Saint Josemaria had this intuition. He had this ability to read into the Gospel all the potential that was locked inside those divinely inspired lines.

What jumped out at him was a single word (in Latin) that opened up for him a whole world of possibilities, of enthusiasm, and generosity in serving God. He was so struck by this one word, that he had it embroidered on altar cloths, written out in stone, and even he would write it out as an aspiration on a piece of paper and use this as a bookmark in his breviary. That single word was Possumus. We can. What does this mean for our sanctity, our holiness? Can we do it? A meditation at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, September 18, 2022.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: The Majestat Batlló is a 12th century Romanesque wooden crucifix, now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.

Matt 14, 12: John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Jesus was deeply affected by the sad news of John the Baptist's death. So he wanted to be alone, to pray. But people came after him, so he cured them and taught them.

Then came the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish. At Herod’s banquet, we see false pride, arrogance, victimization of the righteous, the misuse of power, and murder. At Jesus’ banquet there is compassion, healing, trust, and sharing.

The disciples didn't think they could be up to the task, but Jesus showed them it was possible with his help.

Music: Soledad by Carlos Gardel, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Mosaic "Burnt Church" in Hippos, Israel.

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The prophet Ezekiel speaks about the merciless destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but then God says touch no-one with the mark on their foreheads. (Ezekiel 9). What is this mark? This is the letter TAU, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The form of a cross. It is reminiscent of the mark of Cain (on his brow), which protected him from the punishment he deserved. Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about the saving nature of the Cross of Christ, and how it has such meaning in our life. Preached at Kintore College, Toronto, September 14, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: The Battle of the Milvian Bridge (Giulio Romano) from 1524. In the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City.

Luke 6:39-42: "Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’"

This image of our Lord shows the importance of self knowledge. And that can't go anywhere if we are not humble. Josemaria said that we might become very good in something, but if we lack humility, were like building our temple on sand. Do I really know myself? My biggest defect. The gifts I have received? What area do I have to work on? What is your Achilles heel? Dominant defect. Something you’ve been struggling against. Perhaps today our self-knowledge is fragile, or superficial because we’ve become experts in presenting our best side in social media, in Instagram and Facebook.

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged by Bert Alink. Not monetized.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The artist in his studio, c.1629 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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Saint Josemaria liked the aspiration, Regnare Christum volumus, and it became the episcopal motto of don Alvaro de Portillo. What does it mean?

We have to go back to the origin of kings in the Old Testament. The book of Judges ended with its haunting antiphon, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21, 25)”

This stark conclusion connected two realities: Israel’s kinglessness and the galloping relativism of God’s people. After the distressing ending of the Conquest and Judges period, the story turns more hopeful with a short “golden age” in the period of the Royal Kingdom, which consists of four acts, each focused on a key leader of God’s people: Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Michelangelo, David, in Florence. From https://youthareawesome.com.

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In Today's recollection at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on how we can really pray properly, deeply, effectively, and piously, in a way that shows abandonment, and real love. It is our essential means of communication and union with the Blessed Trinity. The Gospel often speaks about the Lord withdrawing: "He withdrew to the wilderness and prayed" (Lk 5:16): it was prayer and recollection, both interior and exterior. This is our model.

Music: Carlos Gardel, "Soledad" (1890 – 1935) arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: King David in Prayer. Book of Hours M.53 fol. 99v Bologna, 1497 Morgan Library and Museum, New York City.

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A meditation for the staff at Hawthorn School for Girls in Toronto, preached at the start of the academic year on August 31, 2022 by Fr. Eric Nicolai, the chaplain.

https://hawthornschool.com

Music: excerpt from Eminem, Lose Yourself (2002)

Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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Readings from Tuesday in the 22nd week in Ordinary Time: 1 Corinthians 2, 10-16: After his failed attempts in Athens, Paul makes his way to Corinth, and he speaks about the spiritual person and the animal person: "An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God" (1 Cor 2, 15). The Vulgate says: Animalis autem homo non percipit ea quæ sunt Spiritus Dei.

St. Josemaria said: “We have no alternative, there are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life. And you and I can only live the life of God, a supernatural life” (Friends of God, 200).

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached in Ernescliff College, on August 30, 2022.

Music: Carlos Gardel, "Soledad", arranged by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Paul at his writing desk by Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1629, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nurmeberg.

With his invectives against the way the scribes and Pharisees observed the Law, our Lord does not despise or reject the Law; he is simply telling people to get their priorities right: there is no point in attending to secondary details if one is neglecting what is really basic and important — justice, mercy and faith.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Camp Caribou near Barry's Bay, Ontario.

Music: Charles Gounod, Ave Maria from MuseOpen.org

Thumbnail: James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Annas and Caiaphas , 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray woven paper. Brooklyn Museum, NY.

Luke 13, 22-30: Strive to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.

Who are these many? It seems limited to a certain type of people, even if many are called. The person has to adapt himself, he has to be a certain way in order to enter. It is a call to conversion. I want to pass through that door Lord. The narrow door of fidelity to my vocation. But maybe the focus should not be on whether the door is narrow, but that we ought to strive to enter.

Preached at Lyncroft Centre, August 21, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Jan Luyken and others, The Narrow Gate, 1690s. From fineartamerica.com

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Matt 22, 34-40: ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

We cannot give the Lord the scraps. Just barely give him what we can conjure up. No, all our might is how we hone into the strengths and qualities and graces we have been given. When you have a heartfelt relationship with God, it moves beyond the simple formalities, niceties, and correctness. For some, the idea of loving God with all their heart seems too challenging. They become too aware of their limitations, their flaws. It's like too much pressure. What is the state of your heart.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Hans Memling, Christ Giving His Blessing 1478 Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasedena CA.

But we cannot really experience the mercy of God without true conversion. We see this in the beautiful account of the father with two sons in Luke 15. There was the younger one who left in an escapade of sensuality, and then there was the older brooding one who stayed behind in his own resentment. Are we the younger one or the older one? A virtue that brings us together is hospitality.

Heb 13, 2: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Music: Gymnopedie No 1 - played by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt Van Rijn, Rembrandt and Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son in the Brothel, 1635 Dresden art Gallery.

In Revelation 12: The woman flees into the desert, where she is miraculously fed (an allusion to the manna of the Exodus). It is added that the woman is given "the two wings of the great eagle" like the people of the Exodus (Ex 19, 4). The belief in the Assumption is ancient. But Pope Pius XII wanted to make it more clear. On the 1st May 1946 Pope Pius XII decided to send a letter to all the bishops of the world regarding the proposal to definitively define the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It seems that most bishops would agree. But it took some time, and some events had to take place. By November 1st, 1950, it was clear. Here is an account of what it all means.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, August 15, 2022.

Music: Charles Gounod, "Meditation on the 1st Piano Prelude of J.S. Bach" Ave Maria, arranged for piano solo, played by Greg Tait, on https://musopen.org.

Thumbnail: Peter Paul Rubens Assumption of Mary, circa 1637, Liechtenstein Collections.

From the Gospel of Sunday 20th Week in Ordinary Time: Ignem veni mittere in terra, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur? I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! (Lk 12:49.)

Like Moses standing before the bringing bush, let us now take off our shoes, our sandals, because we are on holy ground, we are close to the love of God. In this oratory, we are used to coming in here, and we may forget that it is a truly holy place.

In the Bible, fire is often used to describe God’s burning love for men. St. Maximilian Kolbe is an example of a saint whose heart was on fire with the Love of God. How can my love of God spread like a wildfire?

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, Sunday, August 14, 2022.

Music: Calos Gabriel (1890 – 1935), Soledad, arranged by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Sébastien Bourdon Moses and Burning Bush 17th century Hermitage Museum.

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Today, August 9, is the 80th anniversary of the death of St. Edith Stein, killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz along with thousands if other Jews.

She was a profound and an intense woman. Just look at her photo as a Carmelite, with those penetrating eyes. It is said she was always an over-achiever. Born in Germany in 1891, she studied under Edmund Husserl, and converted to Catholicism, and eventually known by her religious name, St. Teresa Benedicta of the cross. How beautifully she embraced the cross that God sent her, and her people. Here is a meditation to help us deep in the meaning of humility. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Copper Ridge Conference Centre, north of Vancouver, BC.

Music: Bert Alink, Mossy Garden.

Thumbnail: The so-called "passport" photo taken in the doorway of Cologne Carmel. A passport picture that Edith Stein (1891–1942) had to have taken for her passport (ca. December 1938-1939) before moving to Echt, Netherlands.

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One of those central untouched aspects of the spirit of Opus Dei turns around friendship: our surrounded by friends, how we deepen in them, experience them, encourage our friends, get help from them. The Beatles used to say I Get By with A little Help from my Friends. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

How painful that must have been when some disciples stopped going with him, after the discourse of the bread of Life in John 6. These were not simply followers that had accepted his ideas, they were his friends. They could have disagreed with what he said, but stayed as his faithful friends. Things would eventually fall into place. Yet then some left.

John 6, 61: "Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you? Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Copper Ridge Conference Center in Britannia Beach, July 31, 2022.

Music: Beatles, With A Little Help From My Friends (Remastered 2009) · The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ℗ 2009 Calderstone Productions Limited (a division of Universal Music Group)

Released on: 1967-06-01 Producer: George Martin. Composer Lyricist: John Lennon. Composer Lyricist: Paul McCartney

Music at beginning and end: Guitar arranged by Bert Alink, Mossy Garden.

Thumbnail: Christ Calling His First Disciples, by Adam Brenner (1800–1891) from Leicester Museum & Art Gallery

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Jeremiah 26, 11-16: First reading is from a sermon by the prophet Jeremiah in the temple. He’s warning them that the temple will be destroyed. So there is this confrontation between Jeremiah and the authorities of Judah. He declares his innocence like Christ and is eventually saved by the intervention of the king.

In the Gospel of the day we have the account of the death of John the Baptist (Matt 14, 1-12). Now Herod is in his own party, so he is in his own element. The wine is flowing. He has nobody to guide him. He has already a pretty hedonistic attitude, and this leads to the beheading of John the Baptist. Titian has a spectacular painting of the moment when Salome gives the head of John the Baptist to her mother, Herodias. It dates to around 1515 and I remember seeing it with excitement in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. Lord, let me not be afraid of the cross, or what people call the cross.

The seal of Opus Dei: the Cross at the heart of the world. It is not like a medal that encircles the cross, or restricts its extent, or where it ought to be. The circle is not just a circle. It is a globe.

Music: J.S. Bach, "Jesu, meine Freude", BWV 227.

Thumbnail: Titian, "Salome with the head of John the Baptist," 1515, Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome.

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Matt 13, 24-30: The parable of the seeds sown in the field. There was good seed, but also weeds.

Weeds all through the wheat is a dangerous poison. You think you're collecting some good wheat, but it is actually quite toxic. This meditation was preached at Copper Ridge Conference Centre, in Britannia Beach, BC, about an hour north of Vancouver, Canada. July 23, 2022.

Music: Adoramus Te, Christe was composed by Théodore Dubois (1837-1924).

Thumbnail: Vincent Van Gogh, The Sower, 1988. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

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Matthew12:46-50: While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Picture now the Lord stretching out his arms in a gesture of inclusion, as though he were embracing everyone in the family, as part of that covenant, as though he were saying that his followers are part of an intimate family, and can really feel at home, feel welcomed, feel together.

The people of Israel too felt themselves to be part of a family. There were foreigners, outsiders, but also those of our family. A chosen people, the apple of God’s eye.But now the Lord extends that inclusion in the family, by referring to God’s will, not to blood, not to the people of Israel.“For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Music: Una rosa me diste, by the Choir of the Roman College of Holy Mary in Rome.

Thumbnail: 1940s Belgian art deco holy card of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary by Jos Speybrouck.

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Pope Francis, in referring to the saints, gives us this answer: God chooses certain people so that we might see more clearly the reality of sanctity, so that we might see that it is He who sanctifies . . . This is the first rule of sanctity: Christ must increase and we must decrease (Homily, 9 May 2014).

In Todays Gospel, from Luke 10:38-42, Jesus tells Martha: "Por unum est necessarium". One thing is necessary. What is that necessary thing in my life? We must search for sanctity like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, as the only real way home.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, July 17, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

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Gospel from the fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary time (c): Luke 10:25-37: There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live".

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, July 10, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The good samaritan, Etching, 1633, fourth (final) state. Sotheby's.

In her book "Maybe You Should talk to someone" (2019), Lori Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients’ lives. We too are like patients, with all these inner chambers. These are chambers that we must prepare to open up, so that we can be helped to see how all the machinery is working. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre on July 6, 2022.

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

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One of the most inspiring, and hopeful passages in St. Paul is in his letter to Timothy, where he gives him pastoral instruction in dealing with the people of God.

1 Tim 2, 4: God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

It is our dream. To be illuminated by the truth itself.

St. Josemaria Escriva said in Furrow 221: Be sure of this: you need to be fully formed to face the rush of people that is going to press upon us with a specific and urgent question: “Well then, what’s to be done?”

What does it mean to be fully formed? Fr. Eric Nicolai peaches at Chipnee Camp in Fort Burwell, Ontario, July 2, 2022.

Music: Handel’s Rinaldo opera, aria, “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Fra Angelico St Peter Preaching in the Presence of St Mark 1433, museum of San Marco, Florence. Wiki Commons.

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Matthew 9:1-8: Jesus got in the boat, crossed the water and came to his own town. Then some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’ Do I trust in God's forgiveness of my sin? What really is sin?

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches to some campers at Chipnee camp, at Port Burwell, Ontario, on June 30, 2022.

Music: Handel’s Rinaldo opera, aria, “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Christ healing the paralytic at Bethesda, by Palma il Giovane, 1592, Collezione Molinari Pradelli, Castenaso, Italy.

Acts 12:1-11: tells us about Herod who had James executed by the sword. Since this was pleasing to the Jews, he thought he would go after Peter too. You can imagine the hostility in the air when you execute someone and it makes them happy. Though Paul and Peter had some differences, their unity is symbolized by the famous kiss of peace, where they embrace on their way to their martyrdom.

Preached in Ernescliff College on June 29, 2022.

Music: Faith of Our Fathers | Fountainview Academy | The Great Controversy.

Thumbnail: Greek Icon of Peter and Paul embrace.

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The opening prayer for today’s feast has to squeeze the spirit of Saint Josemaria and all his dreams into one simple and brief Collect. It is hard to reduce something you love and have dedicated yourself to just a few words. But this collect is like the directors cut, approved and vetted by our holy mother the church.

"O God, who raised up your priest Saint Josemaría in the Church to proclaim the universal call to holiness and the apostolate, grant that by his intercession and example we may, through our daily work, be formed in the likeness of Jesus your Son and serve the work of redemption with burning love."

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, on June 26, 2022.

Music: Lauda Jérusalem (Psalm 147) - Choir of Blessed Pier Giorgio – Aumônerie de Nantes, France. Mélodie : Théodore DECKER. Harmonisation : Pierre BAGNERIS. Director : Cécile DUVIVIER. Sung online on Palm Sunday 2020.

Thumbnail: From a children's book by Miguel Ángel Cárceles; Isabel Torra, "Historia de un sí. Vida de San Josemaría Escrivá". (Rialp, Madrid 1993).

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St. Josemaria would be moved deeply when he said with faith that part of the Creed, that produced a pause, when he prayed:

Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam! I believe in one Holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. — I can understand why you pause to relish your prayer: I believe in the Church, one, holy, Catholic and apostolic.. (The Way 517)

It is as though he wanted to savour something to taste its beauty. Savour it, like a good wine. To re-acknowledge the mystery, which he well understood that he did not understand.

Today is feast of Thomas More and John Fisher. Both are stellar examples of love and fidelity to the Church, during times of great confusion in the 16th century.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, June 22, 2022.

Music: Franz Schubert Impromptu no. D899 by Chiara Bertoglio.

Thumbnail: Hans Holbein, The Younger, Sir Thomas More 1527 Frick Collection(Google Art Project)

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With his encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," Pope John Paul II intended to reawaken "Eucharistic wonder" in the Church.

"The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfillment of the promise: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this presence with unique intensity." (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 1)

A meditation given at Kintore College, June 18th, 2022, on the eve of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Thumbnail: Tabernacle from Kintore College, Toronto.

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Matt 6, 19-23: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkness, what darkness that will be!’

The Lord is warning us of the apparent treasures that we can be seduced by. Treasures on earth.

Jesus’ illustration of the two eyes points to two ways a person can view the riches of this world. A bad eye alludes to the ancient Near Eastern notion of the evil eye, which looks at other people’s possessions with envy and covetousness and is miserly with one’s own. In contrast to this selfish spirit, the sound eye is a generous one (see Prov 22:9 RSV).

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College, June 17, 2022.

Music: Prelude -Cello Suite 3- J.S. Bach. https://musopen.org.

Thumbnail: https://www.laurajdavis.com

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Matt 5, 43: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.

We make friends by loving them.

The answer to our loving others is almost always a deep and abiding friendship. No matter who they are, or what they believe.

The example of the healing of the centurion's servant in Luke 7.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, June 15, 2022 at Lyncroft Centre.

Music: Ave Verum Corpus II

Thumbnail: Healing the servant of the Centurion, fresco, Dionysiou Monastery, Holy Mountain, 1547

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Matthew 5: But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

The Lord is suggesting something to us about our gaze, about how we look at others. I want to understand what you mean here Lord: it seems that the way we look at someone expresses his deeper intention, our deeper desires. Jesus says this to us in the section where he speaks about adultery. He reminded his disciples of the old law, how it prohibited adultery, but in the new law, there is a push to integrity, to authenticity, greater interior and exterior coherence.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College (Toronto), June 10, 2022.

Music: Linda Ronstadt - Just One Look (Live) From Youtube: https://youtu.be/IsEwBzfdMnk

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Toller Cranston from Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-N0324-0010,_Toller_Cranston. Wikipedia.

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Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down his disciples came to him. And He opened his mouth and taught them (Matt 5:1-2).

And the Beatitudes begin.

Matthew 5:13-16: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Ernescliff College in Toronto, June 7, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Bloch (1834 - 1890), oil own copper (1873). In The Museum of National History, Frederiksborg, Denmark.

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John 20, 19-23: Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

This breathing of Jesus recalls God's action who, in the creation, "formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being" (cf. Genesis 2:7). Only God can pick up a bit of mud, look at it, breathe, and bring it to life.

How conscious am I of God's Holy Spirit breathing in my soul?

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the solemnity of Pentecost, at Lyncroft Centre, June 5, 2022.

Music: Gregorian chant: Veni Creator Spiritus, from Youtube channel Adoration of the Cross.

Thumbnail: Hours of the Holy Spirit: Pentecost | Hours of Henry VIII, in Latin | Illuminated by Jean Poyer | France, Tours | ca. 1500 | The Morgan Library & Museum, New York City.

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Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” (Lk 22)

"Do this inn remembrance of me," as a memorial of me. Thus Christ directed the apostles (and successors) to celebrate a new “memorial" that would replace the one celebrated in the Jewish Passover. This memorial rite has a special efficacy: it not only helps the community of believers to “remember" Christ's redeeming love, his words and gestures during the Last Supper, but also, as a sacrament of the New Law, makes the reality signified truly present: Christ himself, 'our Paschal Lamb' (1 Cor. 5:7), and his redeeming sacrifice: this would take place the next day on the cross.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation in preparation for the solemnity of Corpus Christi, in Ernescliff College, June 4, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

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Lk 24, 46-53: The account of the ascension: Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

St John Chrysostom says. “The cloud was a sure sign that Jesus had already entered heaven; it was not a whirlwind or a chariot of fire, as in the case of the prophet Elijah (cf. 2 Kings 2:11), but a cloud, which was a symbol of heaven itself.

Jesus is in heaven, as our mediator, he is hidden from view, but is active and present as our saviour. This must bring us joy, to sing with Beethoven who was deaf when he composed his Ninth Symphony (1824) using the Ode to Joy, written by his friend Friedrich Schiller.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on May 29, 2022, solemnity of the Ascension.

Music: Ludwig Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 - IV. Presto - Allegro Assai from European archive in Museopen.org.

Acts 1,3: Tells us about those absolutely luminous days that our Lord spent with the disciples. He was teaching, they were learning everything they needed to know for their mission. He was entrusting them. He was opening their horizons. With Jesus there are no improvisations. Success comes from careful planning, and then rigorous and constant execution. They were being prepared for Pentecost.

The Lord said: "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you shall know him because he will dwell with you, and be in you" (Jn 14: 16-17).

Think how great the HS must be for Christ to utter these words:

"It is to your advantage that I go away…" (Jn 16,7)

Picture the invisible Holy Spirit active in your soul now. Are you aware of him acting in your mind? In your will? In guiding your conscience? The first Christians were. It certainly made them move. Gave them deep sense of responsibility. St. Josemaria had a prayer to the Holy Spirit. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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John 14: Jesus said to his disciples: "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words."

Yes, you are a living house, a home for God. But you should allow Him to do what He pleases to shape you into the person you need to be. This is applied to how faithfully we live our vocation.

A meditation preached on Sunday May 22, 2022 in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto.

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Thumbnail: Gian Lorenzo Bernini St. Peter's Baldachino in Rome, the Holy Spirit, dated 1623-1634.

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1809: Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about how we can live this virtue.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Cardinal virtues painting in Holy Rosary Parish, Toronto.

In the Church of Jerusalem two men were proposed to the community, and then lots were cast for their names: "Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias" (Acts 1: 23). Precisely the latter was chosen, hence, "he was enrolled with the eleven apostles" (Acts 1: 26). The apostles understood firstly that they absolutely needed to be 12, in line with the 12 tribes of Israel. To have been chosen by lot means he was not chosen for his qualities, that he could maybe have vented about. Let's meditate on how well anchored we are in the virtue of humility, especially now when the main emphasis is always gaining in self esteem. Preached in Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai, May 14, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

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Today, May 12, is the feast of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo (1914-1994). He was the first successor of Saint Josemaria Escriva. He was an engineer who became a priest and worked closely with Saint Josemaria Escriva until his death in 1975. His life was imbued with that "charism of normality" which characterizes all those humble people who reach the summit of perfection without doing anything out of the ordinary. Fr. Eric Nicolai preached in Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on May 12, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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It's the month of May, the month of Mary. Josemaria said: Our Opus Dei was born and grew up under the mantle of our Lady. She has been a good Mother, comforting us, smiling at us, helping us in the difficult moments of the blessed battle to bring forward this army of apostles in the world". It is amazing to see that when she appeared on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531 to Juan Diego. How can we increase our devotion this month? What can we do?

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College, May 7, 2022

Music: Iniquitates by Arnold den Teuling. from https://imslp.org. Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0

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Thumbnail: Piero della Francesca, Madonna del Parto, 1457. Museum of Monterchi, in the province of Arezzo, Italy.

Introductory meditation for a retreat at Kintore College, May 5, 2022. Starting with the passage of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8), Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about possibilites of entering into true prayer.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Rembrandt Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery 1644 National Gallery, London.

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John 21:1-14: Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias. One senses in Peter’s return to fishing that he is invaded by discouragement. As though all had gone back to normal. No real sense yet of what the real meaning of the resurrection was. It had not sunk in. But they captured 153 fish. What does this mean? Preached at Lyncroft Centre, April 22, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. Open source

Thumbnail: James Tissot, Jesus at the Sea of Tiberius. 1886-1894. Brooklyn Museum.

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St. Mark, Evangelist. What was his life like to be able to write such a best seller? Fr. Eric Nicolai recounts the adventures of his life, and how he went on apostolic voyages with Paul and Barnabas. He had great courage.

Music: Amores de Estudiante (composed by Carlos Gardel) arranged by Bert Alink 2018. Public domain in Canada

Thumbnail: Andrea Mantegna, St. MArk Evangelist (1448) Städelsches Kunstinstitut Frankfurt.

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This night’s Vigil is the greatest and most noble of all solemnities. Augustine said his wounds were the badges of his victory, the same wounds now decorate him, now embellish the beauty of his risen body. Faith in the truth of the resurrection of Christ can imbed itself in us so that we live always with a true, deeply-rooted supernatural vision. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Cedarcrest Conference centre in Belfountain, Ontario, during a High School Retreat.

Music: Lobo de Mesquita Dominica in Palmis by Regencia Maria Ines Guimaraes. Open Source.

Thumbnail: The Resurrection of Our Lord Tapestry in the Vatican Museum. "Scuola Nuova" series episodes of the Christ Life. From a Cartoon of Raphael's school. Brussels, 1524-1531. Workshop of Pieter van Aelst.

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Today, in the office of readings from Holy Saturday, there is an ancient text from the early Church. All about Christ's descent to the dead, to free Adam and Eve and the just. He extended his hand to them, and to us now. Reach out to him in prayer. The Resurrection is represented in different ways, from traditions stemming from Western traditions, like Piero della Francesca from the 1460s. Here Christ is conquering over the external world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Resurrection_(Piero_della_Francesca)

Eastern icons show him descending to the dead, freeing those in Sheol, like Duccio's version inspired by Eastern icons. Both are an invitation to learn the art of prayer in the silence of Holy Saturday. Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, at Cedarcrest Conference centre in Belfountain, Ontario.

https://www.cedarcrestcc.ca

Music: Adoramus Te, Christe was composed by Théodore Dubois (1837-1924).

Thumbnail: Duccio di Buoninsegna - Descent to Hell 1309 (Siena Museum)

There are many places in the Bible that speak of the generosity of the people of God. In Exodus 36:1-7, we are told that Moses built the sanctuary of the temple sumptuous and grand. Mary of Bethany broke open the alabaster jar over Jesus' feet. Paul is amazed at the generosity of the Corinthians: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."

Preached at Lyncroft Centre, April 13, 2022

Music: Adoramus Te, composed by Théodore Dubois (1837-1924)

Thumbnail: St. Mary Magdalene anoints Christ's feet, 1450 - 1500; 1600 - 1610. National Library of the Netherlands, Public Domain.

The ancient church took up the practice of the adoration of the cross. Then added the singing of the Reproaches (Improperia), an ancient and haunting chant that the Church does on Good Friday. "My people, What have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!" (Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi.)

Fr. Eric Nicolai helps us to prepare to live Good Friday in this meditation on the Cross, preached at Ernescliff College, on April 10, 2022.

Music: "Ave Verum Corpus" by William Byrd (c.1539/40--1623) Public Domain.

Thumbnail: Follower of Jan Mostaert, 1520 (National Gallery London).

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Numbers 21:4-9: Tells us about the Israelites left Mount Hor. They are in the wilderness and complain to Moses about their food, about their discomfort. God sends these fiery serpents and they are bitten. Moses intercedes for the people, but God asks him to fashion a bronze serpent and put it on a standard. Then a connection with the Gospel of John, 8, 21-30: They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said: ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself.

So why does Church choose to veil crosses in Passion week?

Music: "Ave Verum Corpus" by William Byrd (c.1539/40--1623) Public Domain.

Jn 13:1: "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." These words of the apostle can rekindle in us a deeper love and awareness of what happened at the Last Supper. Fr. Eric Nicolai goes through the details of this central event: St. John narrates the washing of feet (vv. 4-11) and Jesus’ explanation of why he did it (vv. 12-17). It then mentions the denunciation of the betrayer (vv. 18-32) and ends with the teaching of the new commandment (vv. 33-35) and the prediction of Peter’s denial (vv. 36-38). Preached on April 1, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament, 1464-1468, by Dieric Bouts, St Peter’s Church, Leuven.

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John 5, 18: "I tell you most solemnly, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees the Father doing..."

Jesus was not merely a wise teacher. He was intertwined with God the Father and sent by the Holy Spirit. He says these encouraging words: If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8, 31)

To be set free implies that one is already in a prison in some way, or that one is constrained, limited. Am I constrained by my own selfishness? A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre on March 30, 2022.

Mention was made of Jean Twenge's book, The Narcissism Epidemis:

http://www.jeantwenge.com/the-narcissism-epidemic-book-by-dr-jean-twenge/

Music: Alfred Cottin (1863-1923) Habanera, played by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Jean Bourdichon, The Holy Trinity, c. 1503-1508. Miniature from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany, Queen consort of France (1477-1514)

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Today we celebrate the anniversary of the ordination of Saint Josemaria, which took place on March 28, 1925 in the chapel of San Carlos, a 17th-century baroque gem attached to the seminary of Zaragosa. Fr. Eric Nicolai recounts the history and invites us to examine our own readiness to do God's will. Preached at Kintore College, March 28, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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Lk 1, 35: The Holy Spirit will come upon you…and the power of the most high will overshadow you… We are always overshadowed by God's presence, but also interconnected by among each other through grace.

A meditation on how to live this interconnectedness, this communion of the saints.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, March 20, 2022

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

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Today is the ninth anniversary of the inauguration of the pontificate of Pope Francis. There are a number of keys through which he has sought to serve the church: Among them we have fraternity, Divine Mercy, the custodianship of St. Joseph, and youth.

Being a protector was truly all about very practical decisions. St. Joseph, said the Pope, is an extraordinary figure, not because of any astonishing charism or special status, but because he accomplished extraordinary acts of service in his daily life. “God looks on the heart, and in Saint Joseph, He recognized the heart of a father, able to give and generate life in the midst of daily routines.”

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, March 19th, 2022

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Saint Joseph. Francesco Grandi. Sacro Monte della Beata Vergine del Soccorso - Ossuccio, Italy.

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Gospel Lk 4: 1-13: Picture Jesus in the desert. The desert is an inhospitable place. Dry sand, rocky, the occasional shrub, and no water. Hot in the day, freezing at night. I too want to be resolute during this Lent, these 40 days. But with your help Lord, we can. Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects here on our temptations.

Jaime Sanz Santcruz wrote an amazing book, Reilusionate.

https://www.amazon.ca/Reilusiónate-Spanish-Jaime-Sanz-Santacruz-ebook/dp/B09H2RPFKW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GIZFNDV8R3BN&keywords=Reilusionate&qid=1646968079&sprefix=reilusionate%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-1

Music: Handel, 'Ombra mai fu' from Serse, HWV. 40 Piano Glen Hoban.

Thumbnail: Ivan Kramskoi, Jesus in the Wilderness, 1872. Public domain.

Psalm 50: "Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me ...a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn..."

In Latin: Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam...

These are words on king David's lips after he sinned. He was confident that God would forgive him. In this meditation, Fr. Eric Nicolai invites to fill ourselves with a deeper sense of God's mercy, expressed in frequent confession.

Music: Oliveira Miserere No.1 Coro Vox Brasiliensis organ composed by Manoel Dias de Oliveira. On https://musopen.org. Public domain.

Thumbnail: Pieter de Grebber, King David Chooses from Three Plagues, ca. 1635–40 Utrecht. Public domain.

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We began with the ashes on our forehead: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return" (cf.Gen 3:19). Pope Francis said: "The dust sprinkled on our heads brings us back to earth; it reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return."

This is the itinerary we now embark upon: Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. All geared to inner conversion. Will this be the best lent of my life? The liturgical colour has changed to purple. This will set the tone.

A meditation preached in Lyncroft centre in Toronto, by Fr. Eric Nicolai.

Music: A. Vivaldi, Nisi Dominus, RV 608 - IV. Cum dederit.

Mark 10:17-27 The young rich man

This passage was used by JP2 for the first inaugural WYD back in 1985 in his letter "Dilecti Amici". Pope John Paul II explained that Jesus met a number of young people, but this meeting of Jesus with the young rich man was the richest in character, in content. It has a universal and timeless character. How have I responded to this call? This is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College in Toronto, on February 28, 2022.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink .

Thumbnail: Hans Memling, Portrait of a Young Man, ca. 1472–75 Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Matt 13, 44-46: The parable of the hidden treasure, and the fine pearl.

If we found a great treasure, we would do everything possible to safeguard it. Our vocation is like that hidden treasure, but also like that pearl, it is unique to us, and we were allowed to find it. God has been working at it for years, just like a tiny pearl in its shell. Fr. Eric Nicolai describes the beauty of our life in Christ.

Music:Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Base of the Medieval Chalice of Abbot Suger (1081 – 1151). Now in the National Gallery in Washington DC.

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College, Toronto, on February 14, 2022, the anniversary of the founding of the womens' branch of Opus Dei (1930) and the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross (1943). How do they all fit together?

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Photo of Saint Josemaria from 1967, from the Historical institute of St. Josemaria Escriva. https://www.isje.org/it/istituto-storico/

Meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College: The dimensions of our apostolic task are outlined by two fishing scenes from the Sea of Tiberias, which offer a glimpse of the way Christians navigate through history. One is the Master’s forceful invitation to be daring – “Put out into the deep!” (Lk 5:4); and the other is the words of the Beloved Disciple, “It is the Lord!” (Jn 21:7), reflecting the attentive, perceptive faithfulness that enables us to recognise Jesus.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: KB den Haag 76 F 5, St. Bertin Bible abbey (France), c. 1190-1200.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, recounted in Luke 2, 22-40. The aged Simeon said this child was "a light for revelation to the gentiles." Does Jesus really light up my life? Does this provide me with a unified narrative in everything I do?

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

"You Light Up My Life" written and composed by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack album to the 1977 film of the same title. It won best song in the 1978 Oscars.

Thumbnail: parchment originates from East Anglia, dated to 1310, in the National Library of Wales (Wiki Commons).

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College in Toronto on January 31, 2022. A scribe, perhaps dazzled by all these wonders, comes up to Him and says: Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go (Mt 8:19). We only know Jesus’ answer: Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20). What does this answer mean?

Music: Claude Debussy, Clair De Lune L32, arranged for guitar by Angel Romero. Museopen.org

Thumbnail: Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Rome, dating to the 6th century (Wiki Commons)

Meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary time (Year C). The first reading is from the prophet Jeremiah, sometimes called the weeping prophet. It recounts the beautiful description of his vocation. Then St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 13) describes the gift of charity and how we can live it to the full.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Claude Monet, Camille assise sur la plage à Trouville sur Mer, 1870.

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St. John tells us that Jesus assisted at a wedding as a guest. It took place at Cana. The Catechism says that the Church sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence. The wedding started with regular wine, but it ran out, and was left with water, and then came the really premium quality wine. It is an image of the love present natural marriage and in the Sacrament of Matrimony. A meditation preached at Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai on January 22, 2022.

Music: J.S. Bach, "Komm, süsser Tod", BWV 478 - Guitar Transcription by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Paolo Veronese, Wedding Feast at Cana (1563) Louvre. Wikimedia Commons.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on January 16, 2022, at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto. Luke 18:10: The pharisee and tax collector in the temple… Egotism has a lot in common with parasites... When it settles in the soul, there is no medication that can definitively expel it. It comes back again and again. It reproduces itself constantly. It reappears at the worst times and it takes us a while to realize the immense damage it does to us. So how can we get rid of it?

Music: Amazing Grace (Sublime Gracia) - Violin- Ayako Ishikawa, Internet music archive.

Thumbnail: Gustave Doré (1832-1883) from his "La Grande Bible de Tours", first issued in 1866: Pharisee and publican.

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai, preached at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, January 14, 2022.

Mark 2:1-12: Today we have the friends of the paralytic. They were expecting a cure, they were not expecting that the Lord would forgive sins. If only God can forgive sin, it means that they all had a clear sense of the severity of sin.

Music: Soledad, by Carlos Gardel, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Pope Francis speaks frequently of the need to generate greater unity between the different generations. The parable of the prodigal son, his older brother and his father, related by Jesus, can help us to delve into this topic. (Lk 15)

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto on January 12, 2022.

Much of the ideas were taken from a Spanish article by Diego Zalbidea, "Agradar a Dios (VI): hermanos que miran al Padre. Unidad entre generaciones distintas." https://opusdei.org/es/article/hermanos-que-miran-al-padre/

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935), "Lua Branca" (white moon), played on guitar by Bert Alink.

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Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to a group of priests in Toronto at St. Aidan's parish. Joseph Ratzinger said: Only through the Son could we learn what a Father truly is. He is the only son of God. But through baptism he has made us adopted sons and daughters. But only through the Son can we learn this truth. And this is a truth we must seek to contemplate more and more. How? By reading, by forming our mind, our heart, our conscience, our vision, so that we see everything through this lens of fatherhood.

Music: Handel, Rinaldo Opera, aria Lascia ch'io pianga, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Cedarcrest Conference Centre. The feast of the Baptism of the Lord, a dimension of Epiphany, closes the Christmas season and opens it outward into Ordinary time. Also the 120th birthday of Josemaria, born in 1902.

Luke 3:15-16: A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, ‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Music: Amazing grace (Sublime Gracia) - Violín- Ayako Ishikawa on Internet Archive.

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We are all well aware that the figures that are always placed in the extremities of the nativity scene, far off, sometimes even forgotten, are the magi. Sometimes with their turbans and elaborate clothing, at times with their camels, always with their rich treasures for the child.

But why is Joseph often absent in these early representations? Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches to Lyncroft centre on January 2, 2022 and gives us an answer.

Thumbnail: fragments of sarcophagi displayed in the Pio Cristiano Museum - all carved in the 4th century

Music: Bach Prelude -Cello Suite 3 Openmusic.com

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John was a native of Bethsaida, a town of Galilee on the northern shore of the Sea of Tiberias. His parents were Zebedee and Salome, and his brother James the Greater. The words of John the Evangelist, whose feast we celebrate today, resound in our hearts: "Et Verbum caro factum est - the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1: 14). Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches from Ernescliff College on why God became man.

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged by Bert Alink

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Luke 2, 1-14: The beautiful account of the decree of Cesar. He wanted to get an idea of the extension of his kingdom. We experience some of that fullness. Christmas is always a special day. A unique time. It often connects us with our childhood, the mystery and innocence of that time, and this is maintained by the numerous Christmas carols we learned. Sacred music that helps you to pray, as you stand at church, or in front of the lighted tree, symbol of Christ.

Fr. Eric Nicolai recounts the origins of the famous hymn Holy Night, Silent Night, by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber, 1818.

Music: Die Schonsten Deutsche Weihnachtslieder, YouTube

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Fr. Eric Nicolai streamed this meditation from Ernescliff College on December 23, 2021, about the Magnificat of Our Lady (Lk 1, 46-56)

In these days as we approach Christmas, we are filled with expectation. It is a combination of deep desire, and excitement at something apparently new, even though we know exactly what is going to happen.

Let us never loose a sense of newness to our life. We really have to be aware if we start feeling blazé, and get inured to a sense of wonder that is proper to this time. The magnificat of our Lady is a way to keep sense of thanksgiving to everything we do.

This will also be available on YouTube.

Music: Canción del camino by the choir of the Roman college of Holy Mary, Rome.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on December 19, 2021 at Lyncroft Centre.

Every year the liturgy leads us to Christmas with three guides: Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. The first announced the Messiah from afar, the second showed him present in the world, the third bore him in her womb.

The visitation of Mary to her cousin was done in haste, because she was deeply convinced of her mission.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

We are in preparatory phase: The octave to Christmas. Fr. Eric preaches about today's Gospel from St. Matthew on the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1, 1-17)

For Matthew, two names are of key significance if we are to understand Jesus’ provenance: Abraham and David.

The story of the promise begins with Abraham, following the dispersal of mankind after the building of the Tower of Babel. Abraham points ahead to what is yet to come. He is a wayfarer, not only from the land of his birth into the promised land, but also on the journey from the present into the future. His whole life points forward, it is a dynamic of walking along the path of what is to come. It is really open to universality. This why Jesus would say, make disciples of all nations. This family will extend much further than you know.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia ch'io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Francesco Mancini, Flight in Egypt, Pinacoteca Vaticana, 1679.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Pavillon Soulanges in Quebec on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Today Mexicans all over the world will be singing las mañanitas, with their sombreros, guitars, and violins. Here is the account of Juan Diego and his vision of our Lady. Plus words that connect this to the Eucharist.

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged by Bert Alink

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the mystery of the annunciation, an event, a moment in time. It was a direct communication between God who came in the form of an angel, and transmitted himself directly in the Holy Spirit. What does this tell us about Mary's vocation, and our vocation?

Preached on December 2, 2021.

It can be thought of as a precursor to pentecost.: The HS comes upon Mary and imparts to her the gift of all gifts, a divine son.

Music: Amores de estudiante by Carlos Gardel, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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On Day 2 of the Novena to the Immaculate Conception, Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Ernescliff College on the birth of Mary, and her realization of her divine vocation.

Music: Adeste Fideles by John Francis Wade (1711-1786), arranged for guitar in 2017 by Bert Alink

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Fr. Eric Nicolai begins the Novena to the Immaculate Conception at Ernescliff College, on November 30, 2021, feast of St. Andrew, the brother of Peter. The two became the most effective apostles ever, and they remained faithful to the end, both of them dying by crucifixion. Jesus made them fishers of men. How does this fit into the Novena?

Music: Adeste Fideles (John Wade Francis), arranged by Bert Alink (2017).

Thumbnail: Immaculate Conception by Peter Paul Rubens (1628) Prado Museum, Madrid.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about how we can be actively engaged in the Holy Mass: to do so worthily, attentively and piously.

Music: Amores de Estudiante (Carlos Gardel) Arranged by Bert Alink 2018 Public domain in Canada.

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Luke 19, 45-48: My House shall be a house of prayer, you have made it into a house of thieves…God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle where he would dwell among the Israelites (Ex 25:40). King Solomon, also in obedience to a divine instruction, built the Temple of Jerusalem (1 Kings 6-8), where people went to render public worship to God. Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation at Ernescliff College on November 19, 2021.

Music: "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" (Melody J. S. Bach in St. Matthew Passion), arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

The meaning of commitment is seen in the story of the farmer who had breakfast a pair of fried eggs with Iberian bacon. Well, in that splendid breakfast involved the contribution of the hen. But the pig however, was truly committed.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about freedom and commitment at Lyncroft Centre, on November 17, 2021.

Lk 14, 28: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Imagine not being able to finish what we’ve begun years ago. However many years ago you were baptised, you want to finish. You want to persevere in that loyalty to God, fidelity to your vocation, that yes which began long ago, and yet you still have more ahead…

We ask: how is my tower going? a tower needs good foundations. Needs human prudence, patient daily work, so that it can weather storms, the earthquakes. But especially the role of freedom in this undertaking.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935), "Lua Branca" (white moon), played on guitar by Bert Alink.

From a meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, November 12, 2021.

Today's Gospel is filled with apocalyptic language: the story of Noah and the ark, the image of Lot fleeing from Sodom and his wife perishing as she looked back; and how the Son of man will be revealed. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. (Luke 17, 27)

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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In this meditation at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on November 10, 2021, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on aspects of the famous book "The Spirit of the Liturgy," by Cardinal Ratzinger (Ignatius press, 2000). It is strongly influenced by German theologian, Romano Guardini, who wrote his book of the same title in 1918. It is a deeper way to understand the nature of Christian worship, and in particular the Holy Mass.

Music: Mossy Garden, arranged by Bert Alink.

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Ignem veni mittere in terram (Lk.12,49)

“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, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. ..

What is this fire that the Lord speaks about? A mediation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, Nov 6, 2021.

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College on November 1, 2021, solemnity of all saints.

Psalm 145, 10-11. ”All Thy works praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints give thanks unto Thee: they show the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power.”

Today’s Office of reading in the breviary, from St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “The Saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs…. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning” (Disc. 2, Opera Omnia Cisterc. 5, 364ff.)

How inflamed am I to be a saint? Acts 5, 15: They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.

People who passed within Peter’s shadow were healed, not by Peter’s shadow, but by God’s power working through Peter. These miracles of healing attracted people to the early Church and confirmed the truth of the teachings of the Apostles and the fact that the power of God was with them.

The shadow of his person healed them. Grant that we may cast the right shadow.

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail, Peter healing with the casting shadow, by Massacio, Milan, c. 1425.

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Today is the 31st Sunday of Ordinary time (B), in which Jesus emphasizes the most important commandment of the Law of Moses: In Hebrew, the "Shema", the command to love God, and to love your neighbour as yourself. Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches today (Oct 31, 2021) from Lyncroft centre in Toronto, outlining the 3 aspects of that love: Love of God, love of others, and love of self. Which one of those needs to be fortified now in my life?

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Thumbnail: Michelangelo, Wooden Crucifix, 1493-1494 (S.Spirito, Florence) from arthistory390 on Flickr.com

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches a meditation to Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on October 27, 2021, on the notion of having sound judgement, sound criteria. How to develop it, and what it means. We see it in an introductory passage of The Way, a book of aphorisms by St. Josemaria Escriva.

Music: Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on Oct 25, 2021 at Kintore College, on the healing of the woman bent over in the synagogue (Lk 13, 10-17)

An encounter with Jesus always brings great healing and dignity. That is because Jesus does not see us as we see our selves or as others see us. In his eyes, we all have great value because we are beloved of God and made in his image. The woman whom Jesus healed had been so stripped of her dignity that she was considered less important than a thirsty barnyard animal. At least they could be cared for on the Sabbath!

It speaks of our need to go from mere human vision, to a truly supernatural vision of our life. Jesus can grant us this grace.

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: From an ancient Christian Sarcophagus.

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches a meditation from Lyncroft Centre on October 20, 2021.

Luke 11, 1-14: When the apostles saw the Lord go off to pray, I’m sure they wondered what he was talking about. They could see he was not in some sort of private monologue, just thinking things to himself, much less stewing over something that the pharisees had said. He was not brain storming on his own. He was clearly in conversation with someone. So they asked him to teach them how to pray.

Now he gives them a new name, that God is “our Father”, he is close to us, we can trust him.

Years later Paul would use Jesus’ own word for God: Abba.

Music: Mozart, Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink. www.museopen.org

Thumbnail: 15th-century French miniature (Courtesy of New York Public Library)

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Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches this meditation in Lyncroft centre, Oct 17, 2021.

Jn 6, 25-27: When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.”

Formation helps us to focus and understand what is really true about our life. Not just about what we feel. Sometimes we might just feel something. Ongoing formation helps us to see the signs of human vision, too much feeling, too much emotion, too much human vision.

What really is your focus? What have you come here to look for? The food that perishes? Mere impressions? The impression you make on others? Being well thought of? Or the food that will lead to eternal life?

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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Thumbnail: Mosaic from Sant'Apolinnare Nuovo in Ravenna. (Photo Nick Thompson in Flikr)

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai during a retreat at Cedarcrest Conference, outside of Toronto. It was preached on October 8, 2021.

It is about being ready for death.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935), "Lua Branca" (white moon), played on guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rogier Van der Weyden, Descent from the Cross (1435) Prado Museum in Madrid.

Today is the 19th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Josemaria in 2002. John Paul II and a massive crowd of 300 thousand faithful. 500 from Canada. The Pope pronounced very solemn words, the text of the canonization decree: "In honor of the Blessed and Undivided Trinity, for the uplifting of Catholic faith and the increase of Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and that of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and our own, after careful deliberation, having called frequently upon God's help, and with the advice of many of our brother Bishops, We declare and define Blessed Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer to be a Saint, and We inscribe his name in the catalogue of the Saints, ordaining that, throughout the universal Church, he be devoutly honored among the Saints. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Here is how all that works out in our life, to see if the very purpose of the Canonization gels with our life.

Preached in Kintore college on October 6th, 2021.

Music: Mourning Dove - Zachariah Hickman, on YouTube free music.

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Our Pope decided to take his name. This was not a superficial gesture. Saint Francis’ radical desire to be poor lead him to become one of the most beloved Catholic saints of all time. On pilgrimage in Rome, threw a large sum of money at the tomb of St. Peter and traded clothes with a beggar, after which he began to ask for alms. He wanted not only to give alms, but wanted to see what being poor was like. What did it mean to walk around, depending on the charity of others? What kind of life would this be like? This was an important step in what was to culminate in Francis’s pure embrace of Lady Poverty. Do I live poverty some way?

Preached at Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai, October 4, 2021

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935), "Lua Branca" (white moon), played on guitar by Bert Alink.

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A meditation preached in Lyncroft Centre in Toronto on Oct 1, 2021 by Fr. Eric Nicolai.

We begin October with the feast of St. Therese. She inspires us because she had such deep desires for sanctity. For living out the call from God in her life. This does not mean that it was easy for her, or that she even found it easy to discern her vocation. She came to discover that she could be like the beating heart of the church.

Josemaria discovered the beauty of sanctity in the ordinary. God gave him a light one day. This month we will examine this and give thanks.

Music: Claude Debussy, Suite Bergamasque L75-3 Clair De Lune Played by Peter Frankl (1962). Internet Archive.

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Today is a great solemnity in Toronto, as our Cathedral is dedicated to St. Michael the archangel. There used to be a feast day dedicated to St. Michael, but after the reform they were all united into one feast. But that’s ok that they be a unity, because they are interceding for us to keep us very united in the church. What do their names actually mean, how real are they?

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College, Sept 29, 2021.

Music: Mozart, Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Pedro García de Benavarre, Saint Michael, 1470, Hispanic Gothic, in the Isabella Stewart Gardiner museum, Boston, MA.

Preached at Kintore College, by Fr. Eric Nicolai, Sept 27, 2021.

Luke 9, 51-56 Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem.

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.(Lk 9, 51-53)

Jesus, we are told, was to be received up to heaven: Curious words, but they refer to the end of his life, and the purpose of what he was doing. They refer to the moment when Jesus will leave this world and ascend into heaven, after his passion.

Our Lord will say this more explicitly during the Last Supper: “I come from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father” (Jn 16:28).

To do that, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

By making his way resolutely to Jerusalem, towards his Cross, Jesus freely complies with his Father’s plan — for his Passion and Death to be the route to his Resurrection and Ascension.

Resolutely, meaning with intense desire. Not with half hearted direction. Decisively, unwaveringly. Steadfastly. Also bravely, and full of courage and joy.

We’re all going somewhere. We have set are feet in a direction. Do you know where your life is going? What it is really all about? Where you will end up? Or have you built something int he wrong place, like Gerizim, where the Samaritans people their temple.

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to some Toronto priests in St. Lawrence, martyr parish on Sept 14, 2021, feast of the Exalatation of the Holy Cross.

Today we read those stunning words from the hymn of the morning prayer:

He endured the nails, the spitting, Vinegar, and spear, and reed;

From that holy Body broken, Blood and water, both proceed:

Earth, and stars, and sky, and ocean By that flood from stain are freed.

And in one of the passages in Andrew of Crete where he quotes about the power of the cross.

And if you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself. Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.

Think of the tremendous scene in the Gospel of the barren fig tree. (Mark 11:12-25)

Thumbnail: 12th Century ivory crucifix of Canosa di Puglia, Italy Byzantine origin.

At the end of Chapter 24 of Matthew, the Lord speaks about his second coming, about eventual judgement, and therefore that we will have to give an account of everything that we have received in this life. Things may go well, we may be humanly considered a success, get prizes, recognition, but he is the one who will really be the one to give the real prize, eternal life.

It is a stirring call to responsibility, not to fear or meant to cause an attitude of forced submission. That was chapter 24.

But chapter 25 is the whole area of practical application in the parable of the talents.

Music: Claude Debussy Suite Bergamasque L75-3 Clair De Lune, Played on Piano by Peter Frankl (1962)

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Thumbnail: Rembrandt drawing of the parable of the talents, reed and ink, Louvre, 1652

Luke 6, 39-42: Jesus first speaks of the blind leading the blind.

Strong emphasis on the character of his followers. The virtues that he wants you and I to acquire. These are a series of sayings or aphorisms that are not merely what you are meant to do, but the kind of man or woman you're meant to become.

The issue is one of character and commitments issuing forth in action. Hence it is so essential for us to destroy even the minimal possibility of hypocrisy. We’d be like the blind leading the blind. The first vision we need is the nature of our own wretchedness. Our dominant defects. Those character flaws. Maybe we haven’t even been fighting against them because we haven’t even considered them.

In what way am I truly blind?

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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Thumbnail: The blind leading the blind, by Dutch painter Pieter Brueghel the Younger, 1568

A meditation preached to High School boys at Cedarcrest Conference Centre in Belfountain, Ontario. It was preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai, focused on the earthquake in the history of humanity, the watershed moment, that shaped the fate of our species: original sin, as recounted in Genesis 3.

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Music: Handel, from the opera. Rinaldo, aria Lascia ch'io piango. Arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt engraving of Adam and Eve, 1638.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (year B).

Based on Mark 7, 1-8, 14-15, 21-23: the teaching on ritual purity. How do I realize inner purity of heart, and rectitude?

Music: Topaz, guitar arrangement by Bert Alink

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Preached by Fr. Juan Lopez Agúndez in Bowmont centre in Calgary, Alberta.

John the Baptist said of Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God” (Jn 1, 35) He came to understand that he wanted to follow Jesus out of love. The desire is the engine of the will. When we desire, then our will moves us to our goals. The desire makes it easier to reach our goals.

Mozart, Adagio in C Major K. 356 Arranged for guitar by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Jacopo del Casentino, St. John the Baptist, c. 1330, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Bartholomew, or also known as Nathanael, was described as a man in who there is no duplicity, no guile. Let us ask for simplicity and humility, and never rely merely on appearance or facade. He appears in Michelangelo's famous Sistine chapel from 1534. This great apostle will pray for us today.

Music: Mozart Opera Rinaldo. "Lascia ch'io pianga", played by Bert Alink.

Feast of St. Bartholomew, preached in Ernescliff Centre on August 24, 2021, by Fr. Eric Nicolai

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Mark 1, 29-39: All the demons he expelled, all the sickness….Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Mk 1:24). Through the people they possess demons are able to publish this fact. But our Lord, using his divine powers, orders them to be silent. Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.

Spiritual direction can help us come closer to the truth about ourselves, and avoid lies.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preached to priests of the archdiocese of Toronto, at St. Aidan's parish on August 17, 2021.

Music: Handel, Rinaldo Opera, Aria Lascia ch'io Pianga, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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A Meditation by Fr. John Lopez Agundez from Calgary on how to educate our heart, and channel our passions for the true, the good and the beautiful. God promises the prophet Ezekiel that he will give him a heart of flesh (Ezek 11, 14-20), one that will replace his heart of stone. Let us meditate on what God asks of our own heart.

Thumbnail: Prophet Ezekiel, by Michelangelo, Sistine chapel, Rome.

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria Lascia ch'io Pianga, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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From Ernescliff College in Toronto, Fr. Eric Nicolai prepares for the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, and the memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe on August 14. The evil that took place in Auschwitz is difficult for us to understand. How can one stand by and allow this to happen? Here we see the pressing need for the formation of conscience.

Music J.S. Bach, BACH Cello Suite no. 1 - Prelude in G, BWV 1007

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Lawrence was a martyr in the 3rd century, Edith was a martyr in the 20th century. Both lived lives that became a sign of Christ's cross. How can my life too be a holocaust?

Music: Handel Opera, Rinaldo, Aria "Lascia che io pianga", arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Today is the the anniversary of the dedication of the basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, first dedicated by Pope Sixtus III in 435 on the occasion of the definition of the council of Ephesus on Mary, the Mother of God. It holds special treasures, like the earliest mosaics of th Christian Era, and one of the earliest icons of our Lady, attributed to St. Luke, evangelist. Fr. Eric Nicolai tells the legend of the name, Our Lady of the Snows, and how this can be an invitation for us to live better our dedication to chastity and holy purity, in our state in life. Preached at the Manoir de Beaujeu, Aug 5, 2021.

Music: Handel’s Rinaldo opera, aria, “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. https://musopen.org

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On the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, July 31, 2021, Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches from the Manoir de Beaujeu about how Ignatius read about the exploits of great saints, and this led to his conversion. Many were in love with the Eucharist. We can too can make the Holy Mass the root and centre of our interior life.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

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Thumbnail is Blessed Alvaro del Portillo celebrating his last Mass in the cenacle in Jerusalem, March 22, 1994

July 26th is the feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin. Anne is the Patroness of the Province of Quebec, and big celebrations take place today at St. Anne de Beaupré. Especially because of her relics there. Fr. Eric Nicolai outlines the origin of the devotion to Anne, and how we can become sons and daughters God, modelled on the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Preached July 26, 2021 at the Manoir de Beaujeu.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

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Thumbnail: St. Anne de Beaupré

St. Bridget was a native of Finsta in early 14th century, in Sweden. She married at age 13 and bore 8 children. 28 years of happy marriage, her husband died.

When she was just a child, St. Bridget received a vision of Christ scourged and hanging on the Cross. In sorrow, she asked him who had treated him like this.

Christ answered, "They who despise me, and spurn my love for them." From that time on, the young St. Bridget had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. How do I meditate on the wounds of Jesus? Here Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at the Manoir de Beaujeu, where he tells pf the example of St. Josemaria's experience in 1938. Meditation was preached on July 23, 2021.

Music: Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

More meditations can be found on my Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Matthew 10:16-23: Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.

This is a warning that Our Lord issued several times to warn against discouragement. He knew it would happen, and we know persecution has often happened throughout the history of the church. He knew it would not be a walk in the park.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, July 9, 2021.

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.ernescliff.ca

www.opusdei.ca

Matt 13:31-33: The mustard seed is tiny, but it can become a large and leafy tree. We should become a leafy tree and give fruit in our life around us. A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre on July 3, 2021.

For videos of meditations:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Thumbnail: Rembrandt etching, 1630s.

Since the most ancient times the Church of Rome has celebrated the Solemnity of the Great Apostles Peter and Paul as a single Feast on the same day, 29 June. It was through their martyrdom, that they became brothers; together they founded the new Christian Rome. (Pope Benedict XVI June 29, 2008). A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ernescliff College on June 29, 2021.

Music: Chiquinha Gonzaga composer, Lua Branca (Arranged for guitar by Guitar Bert Alink)

A homily preached on June 26, 2021 at the parish of Martha and Mary in Mississauga, by Msgr. Fred Dolan.

First reading: Isaiah 49, 1-6

"Islands, listen to me, pay attention, remotest peoples. The Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.

He made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in his quiver."

He promises that a new servant of the Lord is coming, someone who will really restore the city of Zion. Applied to Jesus, but also his forerunner, John The Baptist.

He was to be a voice crying in the wilderness, to make way the way for the Lord. Make way for the action of grace in souls around him. This is why he was calling to repentance. But we can also picture him as a child, contemplate him playing with Jesus, his cousin. Don't say much, just contemplate them...

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, June 24, 2021

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Thumbnail: Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, sometimes called The Burlington House Cartoon, 1499 (National Gallery in London)

Mark 4:35-41:

What power in those words of the Lord, who faces down the treacherous storm in front of him, that sea that men feared and that seemed to unfurl its wrath against them. The sea is a force so fierce that no human might can contain it, ever….

And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again.

Trust in God: This is the message of the Gospel. On that day, what saved the disciples from shipwreck was the fact of taking Jesus in the boat, before beginning the crossing.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, June 21, 2021

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633 (Stolen from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990)

Matt 6, 19-23: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal.(...)‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light.

Why won’t material goods, recognition, prosperity, even fame satisfy? Because we were made for God. Our heart is made for you Lord.

Augustine: Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you. (St. Augustine’s Confessions (Lib 1,1-2,2.5,5)

Josemaria Escriva speaks about becoming souls of worth in the introduction to the Way. Soul of criteria.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, June 18, 2021

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The Supper at Emmaus, 1629. Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, France.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the most perfect reflection of the love and purity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Yesterday was the solemnity of the Sacred Heart, a long standing devotion in the church that has taken on different forms. It started in that moment when John testified to what he saw, as Jesus’ side was violently pierced by a sword: look upon him whom they have pierced. Preached June 12, 2021 at Lyncroft Centre, Toronto.

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.opusdei.ca

A meditation inspired by the pastoral letter by Thomas Cardinal Collins, archbishop of Toronto, entitled Heart Speaks to Heart. In the midst of the pandemic, and all the suffering that it supposes he is opening his heart about the love that will keep us afloat, and that is still capable of transforming us, despite all the devastation: it is the power of the Sacred heart.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, June 4, 2021

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Thumbnail: Stained glass detail from a window in the Sacred Heart (Dahlgren) chapel in Georgetown University.

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Lk 1, 39-41: Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah.

Why did Mary go with such haste? What was her purpose in this trip? She teaches us quite a lot about the spirit of service we must have with those around us. Know how to serve as they would need to be served. This is from a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College on May 31, 2021.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

Thumbnail: Antependium from Straßburg, detail [1410] tapestry Frankfurt Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt Museum of Applied Art.

We have just finished the Easter season, ending it with the solemnity of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes ands fires up the apostles in the cenacle. Before they were afraid and doubtful, now they are on fire and ready to undertake the mission. It is what we call "the time of the church".

Which is why we are now in the season called “Ordinary Time”. Not ordinary in the sense of boring, or unappealing. But ordinary in the sense of the normal, habitual action of God in the world, through in the Church.

This ordinary time also has solemnities, or special feasts that are outside the Easter season. They are Trinity Sunday, the solemnity of Corpus Christi, and then the Sacred Heart.

Sunday is the solemnity of the blessed Trinity. The Church invites us to meditate on Matthew 28:16-20 where the apostles where with Lord in Galilee. Some still doubted. What does this mean? Preached in Lyncroft by Fr. Eric Nicolai in preparation for the feast of the Blessed Trinity.

Music: Romance anonimo Jeux interdits (Pierre Laniau?)

We’ve often heard that phrase of our Father: “God he takes a risk with our freedom.”

What does this mean?

Josemaria Escriva: God wants us to cooperate with him in this task which he is carrying out in the world. He takes a risk with our freedom. I am deeply moved by the Jesus born in Bethlehem: a defenceless, powerless child, incapable of offering any resistance. God gives himself up to men; he comes close to us, down to our level.

As St. Paul says: ”Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." God respects and bows down to our freedom, our imperfection and wretchedness. He agrees to have his divine treasures carried in vessels of clay; he lets us make them known; God is not afraid of mixing his strength with our weaknesses. (Christ passing 113)

Music:

Handel, Rinaldo Opera, Aria Lascia ch'io pianga, arranged by Bert Alink. '

Museopen.org

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.ernescliff.ca

www.opusdei.ca

With this global marathon of prayer during May, in union with Pope Francis, we ask our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, for an end to the pandemic. Josemaria Escriva would say we are under the mantle of our Lady. She is also spouse of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches during the monthly recollection during the month of May.

Music: Claude Debussy, Reverie. Played by Simone Renzi

https://musopen.org/music/4505-reverie/

This meditation can also be found on YouTube: Check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

In 1944, Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri (1916-1975) attended Mass in Madrid and had an experience of the closeness of God. With time, she came to know Saint Josemaria Escriva, and ended up dedicating her life in Opus Dei as a numerary. She served Madrid, Mexico, and Rome. She was cheerful and always full of enthusiasm for love of God. Fr. Eric Nicolai gives an account of how this happened in her life, and how we too are called to real sanctity and must reject any complacency in our life. Her memorial is celebrated on May 18.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College, May 18, 2021

Music: Andrien Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.ernescliff.ca

www.opusdei.ca

May 12 is the memorial of Bishop Alvaro del Portillo (1914-1994), who was the Prelate of Opus Dei and first successor of Saint Josemaria. He was beatified by Pope Francis on September 27, 2014. The prayer card for his intercession reads: O God, merciful Father, you granted your bishop Blessed Alvaro, the grace of being, with our Lady's help, an exemplary pastor in the service of the Church and a most faithful son and successor of Saint Josemaría, the Founder of Opus Dei. Grant that I also may respond faithfully to the demands of the Christian vocation, turning all the circumstances and events of my life into opportunities to love you and to serve the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Here are some reflections to help us bring about greater fidelity in our life.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Kintore College in Toronto on May 12, 2021

Music: Andrien Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.ernescliff.ca

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Since Pentecost is coming up on May 23, we wanted to prepare for that marvellous solemnity by understanding how grace acts in our soul.

Grace is the life of God in humans: it is the life of God (one and three) and therefore must be considered as essentially “un-created” in character, as something that is divine in origin and divinizing in effect. It is not some kind of liquid substance that seeps into our soul and cleans it out. It is more like God himself entering our apartment, with mop and bucket and powerful instruments to do the cleaning. But he still has to do it. The mop, the vacuum cleaner, the cleaning agents don’t work on their own. Some people have these little robots that they let loose in the house during the day, and it runs around the house, bumps into walls, and does some cleaning.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto,May 7, 2021

Music: Andrien Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.ernescliff.ca

www.opusdei.ca

Lk 24, 35-48: The disciples on the road to Emmaus had realized that their hearts were burning within them. It was afire of longing to be with the master, to stay with him. Mane nobiscum Domine, was the prayer that expressed that inner fire.

But in that moment of agitation, he comes among them and says peace be with you. Shalom. A common Jewish expression. But here it has the sense of salvation.

We must seek to be like a calm lake, where the sun is easily reflected. But if we are agitated, we are like a lake with waves, ripples, the sun glistens, but is not truly reflected like in a mirror.

Before you make any decision, you must be at peace. You must be tranquil. You must be serene.

Anxiety seems tone growing. It can be stifling, almost paralysing. Even in small things. Some saints were as prone to worry and anxiety as the rest of us are. But, by placing their trust in the Lord's presence and care, they were able to overcome their fears.

Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, April 18, 2021

Music: Andrien Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

www.ernescliff.ca

www.opusdei.ca

In the discourse on the bread of life (John 6), some of the disciples are scandalized by the words of Jesus, and no longer go with him. "Will you also go away", he asks the apostles? Peter says: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." During hard times we realize we have made a commitment, and we must keep our word. Stay faithful, no matter what. Fidelity means a readiness to fight. To struggle. We do so now during the ups and downs of the pandemic. (Preached in Lyncroft centre by Fr. Eric Nicolai)

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Thumbnail: George Bellows, Dempsey and Firpo (1924), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

See other meditations: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Saint Josemaria did his first communion April 23, 1912, at the age of 10. By a decree issued in 1910 by Pope Saint Pius X, the age requirement was lowered to when the use of reason is acquired, "which is at about the age of seven.” He was well prepared. He learned the prayer of spiritual communion, which did not keep to himself, but transmitted to thousands of others. The spiritual communion can be memorized: "I wish my Lord to receive you with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your most Holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervour of the saints".

Music: Guitar: Anonymous romance : Jeux interdits (Pierre Laniau)

Today Pope Benedict XVI turns 94. He was baptized on the very day that he was born. Re-born in the Holy Spirit. He affirmed in 2012 that he could say that life is good: "It becomes a true gift only if, along with it, we are given a promise that is stronger than any evil that could threaten us, if it is immersed in a power that ensures that it is good to be human, that there will be good for this person no matter what the future brings. Thus, with birth is associated rebirth, the certitude that, truly, it is good to be alive, because the promise is stronger than evil. This is the meaning of rebirth by water and the Holy Spirit: to be immersed in the promise that only God can make — it is good that you exist, and you can be certain of that whatever comes. With this assurance I was able to live, reborn by water and the Holy Spirit."

Today’s Mass is about going beyond human calculations. John 6:1-15: Multiplication of loaves and fish.

Other meditations can be found on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

In this meditation, Fr. Eric Nicolai speaks about the account of Christ washing the disciples feet, in which John says he loved them to the end (Jn 13:1). What does this mean? What do we mean by unconditional love? Do I really love even if I’ve lost feelings? Preached on April 9, 2021.

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https://www.lyncroft.ca

Thumbnail: Jacopo Tintoretto. Christ Washing His Disciples' Feet, c. 1545-1555. Oil on canvas, 154.9 × 407.7 cm. Gift by general subscription, 1959. © Art Gallery of Ontario

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJnuPiQ7Ks8

Music: Handel’s Rinaldo opera, aria: “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches Easter Sunday at Lyncroft Centre.

Yesterday we talked about the dark, materialistic dialectic of poets like Bertold Brecht and philosophers like Nietzsche, who said God is dead. We killed him. Very dire and sad visions. But now we have come out of that dark night. Against this background I think we can hear the message of Easter in a new way. Christ is risen! There is justice for the world! There is complete justice for all, which is able retroactively to make good all past sufferings, and this is because God exists, and he has the power to do it.

For more about the resurrection in art:

https://www.pev.ca/upcoming-events

Videos of meditations:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Music: Handel, Opera Rinaldo, Aria Lascio ch'io pianga, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Isenheim altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches a meditation at Lyncroft hospitality centre in Toronto. It is Holy Thursday, so he touches on the three great mysteries commemorated today: The priesthood, the Holy Eucharist, and the Commandment of Love.

Music: J.S. Bach, "Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV 229.

Thumbnail: Albrecht Durer, Engraving of the washing of the feet, 1510. Detroit Institute of Arts Museum.

https://www.dia.org/art/collection/object/last-supper-43117

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn8BmK4a9nqgLi0kGWJieug

A meditation at Kintore College, Toronto by Fr. Eric Nicolai on March 29, 2021. St. John the Evangelist gives us the account of Jesus' arrival at Bethany with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. He felt at home. Mary took this alabaster jar and broke it open. She did not carefully pry open the vessel, and simply offer a few drops. She was not stingy. She did not hold back. She did not keep any for herself, or for a future occasion. She gave it all. She is an example of generosity, magnanimity, and magnificence in the way she humbly anointed the Lord’s feet. The hole room was filled with the aroma of that perfume.

Music: Matt Maher, Abide with Me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIuC9-4aB7Q

Thumbnail: Detail from Bernardino Luini, Mary Magdalen c. 1525 (National Gallery of Art Washington, DC)

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft centre. This is March 28, and coincides with the anniversary of the priestly ordination of Saint Josemaria Escriva in 1925. He recounts the symbols used today, Palm Sunday, and makes references to the moments leading up to Josemaria’s ordination.

Thumbnail: The Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem by Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin (1842-1845). Located in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris.

Music: J.S. Bach, "Komm, Jesu, komm", BWV 229. https://musopen.org

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on the eve of Palm Sunday (March 27, 2021), inviting us to be enamoured with the figure of Christ and to meditate his passion and death this week. It can help us be men and women of real integrity.

Music: J.S. Bach, "Komm, Jesu, komm", BWV 229. https://musopen.org

Thumbnail: Bartolomé Murillo, Ecce homo, (17th century) private collection, Sothebys.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft centre on the eve of the fifth Sunday of Lent, and invites us along the lenten pathway, interiorizing the mystery of the cross. It can help us to grow in penance and mortification.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Meditation in Ernescliff College by Fr. Eric Nicolai, priest of Opus Dei, March 13, 2021/

There are punishments in the Bible, like the flood, the plagues, and they always have a pedagogical purpose. Like the serpents that bit people in the dessert, God told Moses to fashion a bronze serpent so that people could gaze on it and be cured. So the son of man would be lifted up on the earth, s that we would. gaze on him and be cured. Pope Francis said that the painful things we experience are painful, they make us suffer, but they should not only make us complain. Big ones or little ones, can be an opportunity for us to embrace them, and grow.

The origins of the devotions to the sorrows and joys of Saint Joseph. Then the seven Sundays of Saint Joseph.

Music: Handel opera, Rinaldo, Aria Lascia che io pianga, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

Meditations by Fr. Eric Nicolai:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

On March 13, 2013, Pope Francis was elected as the 266th successor of St. Peter, not so he could shine, and outdo everyone, but so that he could serve as Bishop of Rome, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, vicar of Christ, servant of the servants of God. What a responsibility. He is the visible foundation and source of unity, and as pastor of the entire Catholic Church.

Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, said that each new Pope is like a gift for the church, but that is slowly unwrapped, through years of ministry, writings, decrees, and images for the people of God.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches this morning in Lyncroft after a month away due to Covid restrictions, asking how we have unwrapped the gift that is Pope Francis.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Many images can be seen if you see this meditation on my YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/LX6YUg2fhnk

On March 6, 2021, Pope Francis had an inter-religious ceremony with leaders of Jews, Muslims, and representatives of other religions at Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, the common father of these religions.

He is on a small stage, blown in the dry winds, surrounded by a stark desert where Abraham came from. They’ve laid out a wide red carpet in the audience. Everyone is separated. There is a small stage. A large screen.

It is all centred around the covenant that God made with Abraham at Ur in Genesis 15, 4-6. In Genesis humanity had been dispersed with the Tower of Babel. It was the confusion of languages and the dispersion of humanity over all the earth (cf. Gn 11: 7-8).

At this point, with Abraham's call, the story of the blessing begins: it is the beginning of God's great plan to make humanity one family through the covenant with a new people, chosen by him to be a blessing among all the peoples (cf. Gn 12: 1-3). This divine plan is still being implemented; it culminated in the mystery of Christ.

The pope urged humanity to look to the stars, as Abraham did.

Opening words:

This blessed place brings us back to our origins, to the sources of God’s work, to the birth of our religions. Here, where Abraham our father lived, we seem to have returned home. It was here that Abraham heard God’s call; it was from here that he set out on a journey that would change history. We are the fruits of that call and that journey. God asked Abraham to raise his eyes to heaven and to count its stars (cf. Gen 15:5). In those stars, he saw the promise of his descendants; he saw us. Today we, Jews, Christians and Muslims, together with our brothers and sisters of other religions, honour our father Abraham by doing as he did: we look up to heaven and we journey on earth.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

When we hear the words of Jesus who says Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5). in Latin as beati pauperes spiritu.

Joseph was poor, but he was not among the poorest of society of the time. He was not among the totally abandoned, bedraggled, homeless, that lived from hand to mouth. These would have been in the lowest class of society. The Lord gave them hope, some consolation. But Joseph had a trade. He was an expert, and worked for a living, as did so many others. He would have had a heart for these too, by fair work, well done, never over charging.

In the encyclical letter Patris corde, Pope Francis praises Joseph, but underlines his normality, he’s like an everyday guy. As so many normal people are being affected by the pandemic.

We heard about Blessed Guadalupe de Landazuri. At the beatification in 2014 that she was classified among the saints. Not as a virgin, not as a religious, but quite simply as a saint. No real qualifications needed. But when she is described briefly, just to identify her, people said she was a chemist.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

Thumbnail is St. Joseph the worker, from the altarpiece of Torreciudad in Huesca, Spain.

my YouTube channel:

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A meditation at Ernescliff College, Toronto, by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the Second Sunday of Lent, focused on the Transfiguration of the Lord in Mark 9, 2-10.

When I think of this scene, I go to Raphael’s 16th century depiction, commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de Medici, the later Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), and conceived as an altarpiece for the Narbonne Cathedral in France. Now it is in the Vatican museum, and there is a mosaic version in the Vatican Basilica made in 1774, by Stefano Pozzi. How can I too see Jesus as he really is, in all his divinity and splendour? We must see him in that prism. This is what happens to someone in love. Are you in love? Are you transfigured?

The whole account of the Raphael painting is in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_(Raphael)

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Multiplicity, 2017)

Many images can be seen if you see this meditation on my YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/LX6YUg2fhnk

Readings for Thursday of the First week of Lent

Book of Esther 12, 14-16, 23-25

Psalm 138 Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me

Matthew 7, 7-12: Everyone who asks, receives.

A homily by Fr. Eric Nicolai in a streamed Mass from Ernescliff College, Toronto.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Singularity 2017)

St. Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) was from Sudan, she was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. She was sold as a slave and beaten frequently, but eventually she found her way to Venice where she discovered a new master, kind and forgiving, Christ, the true "paron", the "master" who knew her and loved her. She was able to make her scars into an opportunity to love. Today we call this reframing.

Optimal work website about reframing:

https://www.optimalwork.com

See Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Spe Salvi (2007)

http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

This same meditation is available on YouTube with images and short clips:

https://youtu.be/DOOyycPzPUE

The Beatitudes Matt 5, 1-12: Today we want to enter and look at the foundations of our faith. What kind of woman does God want you to be? Let us go back to that hill, that mount, that grassy slope where our Lord stood, and transmitted to us what we have to be through the paradoxes of the beatitudes.

The most noble words, the most magnetic and powerful words that our Lord proposed to these massive crowds on the hills of Judea were the beatitudes. They are made up of beautiful ideals, yet at the same time hold deep paradoxes: They are paradoxes because they reflect the completely different way in which God sees things, as opposed to the way the world sees them. Samuel says: God does not see as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16, 7). Maybe we too have been infected by that human way of seeing the ideal man, the ideal life, the truth about what it really means to be happy, to be serene, to be satisfied. Yet our Lord says no: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

If you and I really live the beatitudes, if we truly incorporate into our lives those divine words from that hill, we will be light of the world, we will be salt of the earth, preserving it from corruption.

Thumbnail: Jean-Francois Millet, The Gleaners, 1857. Musée D'Orsay, Paris.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity, 2017)

See latest meditations: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

This month we celebrate February 14, the founding of the women’s branch of Opus Dei in 1930 and Priestly Society of the Holy Cross in 1943. The priestly society is an association for diocesan priests attached to Opus Dei.

We celebrate this day as a feast of our Lady, Mater Pulchrae Dilectionis , Mother of Fair Love.

So what does this invocation mean? How can we deepen our understanding today of this? Fair love. Pulchrae. Beauty. Purity.

It is at the beginning of this book of wisdom literature, where wisdom is personified. Applied to Jesus, but also to Blessed Virgin.

Ecclesiasticus, Book of Sirach 24, 24: Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis et timoris et agnitionis et sanctae spei.

Sirach 24, 24 (Douay-Rheims Bible) :I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.

Music: Adrian Guerenguer, Fall (Singularity 2017)

Thumbnail: Our Lady of Fair Love, chapel at the University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain.

See other meditations: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Matt 5. 4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The reality of mourning. This is not just a code that the church has transmitted. The beatitudes are a source of inspiration and strength through thick and thin. Because he who proclaimed them is risen and alive. He suffered but rose. His friends mourned his loss, but also rejoiced unbelievably when they saw him speaking to them, alive.

As soon as someone dies, they begin to know corruption.

It is our duty in this world to keep them really alive.

Lk 6, 21, 25: Blessed are you that weep now for you shall laugh…. Woe to you that laugh now, you shall mourn and weep. We live in a world that is marked by sorrow and grief. Everyone’s journey will find its way there eventually. Now many have experience the COVID pandemic in different ways: some lost a loved one, others the loss of normality, of being with friends, distance, in your room…

But this is to be expected in this world. Often we flee from it. We try to act as though it never really affected us. We try to go over it, around it, underneath, all but really face it head on.

It can be hard stuff. Sorrow and joy mingle in our life. We carry them like scars. Here's how we can be comforted...

Music: Adrian Berenguer, FAll, Singularity (2017) Artlist.io

See tore videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn8BmK4a9nqgLi0kGWJieug

Gen 1, 20-2, 4. We are reading about the work of creation. The divine persons are actively engaged. Yesterday we heard about the spirit of God, the wind over the waters, the breath hovering over the sea, then entering into it and giving it all life. We use these words in the Easter vigil when we bless the baptismal water.. That hovering over the waters. That anxious desire to sanctify that water so that it would become for us a life source on earth itself, but the communicating vehicle of our own supernatural life.

Gen 26-27: Let us make man in our image.

This is a break, this is a change of tone, this is like a pause, a moment in which God, the Trinity seems to stop and look at itself, in the plural, each person of the trinity is here intimately involved…

Let them have dominion. Over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air….

This is the stewardship that God wants us to have for creation, not absolute unbridled control or power. Stewardship of the plants yes, of our environment yes. But there is more.

CCC 307: Though often unconscious collaborators with God's will, they can also enter deliberately into the divine plan by their actions, their prayers and their sufferings.(Cf. Col 1:24) They then fully become "God's fellow workers" and co-workers for his kingdom.(1 Cor 3:9)

You have given me this responsibility of my world, of my life, of my vocation, of my supernatural family that I’m in. Of the very circumstance that you’ve entrusted me with.. But for that, I cannot be agitated or in inner upheaval. It just won't work.

There is a remarkable passage in the breviary from Diadochus of Photice. Little is known of his life. He lived from around 400 to 485 A.D. Full text is here:

http://blog.adw.org/2016/02/making-a-quiet-place-for-our-lord-this-lent-a-meditation-on-a-teaching-from-diadochus-of-photice/

He talks beautifully about maintaining the stillness of mind in the midst of struggles. Josemaria Escriva said in The Way Silence is the door-keeper of the interior life. (281) Full chapter is here: https://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-chapter-12.htm

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, Album Singularity 2017:

https://adrianberenguer.bandcamp.com/album/singularity

For more meditations see my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

The seal of the Work: the Cross at the heart of the world. It is not like a medal that encircles the cross, or restricts its extent, or where it ought to be.

The circle is not a circle. It is a globe. And inside that globe, that planet, that world, are you and me and the entire world of human beings, all of God’s creation.

Paul Miki and his companions were raised on crosses in the 16th century in Japan. They forgave their executioners. In 1931, Saint Josemaria had a mystical experience as he raised the host after the consecration. He heard the words from John 12: "And when I am lifted up on the earth, I will draw all things to myself….” He understood that this was Christ referring to being lifted up on the cross, but in a fuller sense he also understood that it would be the men and women of God who would lift the cross of Christ with his doctrine and to the summit of all human activities.

How do we draw all things to Christ? How does that happen? What indeed is the attractive, the magnetic power of the cross of Christ?

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, (Album Singularity, 2017)

Today, January 31, 2021, we start the seven Sundays of St. Joseph, that just and upright man that God entrusted Mary and Jesus to. We do this in the Year of St. Joseph. We meditate on the joys and sorrows of St. Joseph. Like when he saw Mary pregnant. He was going to divorce her privately to make it look like he was the problem. It was a difficult decision, but then he went to sleep. That’s when God spoke to him. He went from a great sorrow, to a great joy. Pope Francis has a statue of the sleeping Joseph, he uses it when he has to make an important decision. He places a piece of paper under the head of the sleeping Joseph. Joseph was truly a man of peace.

Yesterday we saw how Jesus was sleeping in the storm at sea. He rose and told the sea and the wind: Be quiet, be still. (Mk 4)

But now today this expression, to be silent, to be quiet, comes back.

Mark 1, 21-28: It is in the synagogue, and it is not to the sea and the waves, but to the devil himself, possessing a man. It is early in the ministry. He has just chosen his collaborators.

Mark, 1, 25: “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”

Et comminatus est ei Jesus, dicens: Obmutesce, et exi de homine.

Lets see how we can have that calm, that serenity, that peace over the temptation of anxiety and worry.

This is a meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai, at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto.

For other meditations, see: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, Album Multiplicity 2017

Mark 4, 35-41: The account of the storm at sea. The whole time, during this storm, the Lord was asleep. Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said Be quiet! Be still….

The Holy Father Pope Francis used this account last year when the pandemic broke out and we saw the first signs of death and lockdown all around us in March of 2020. It seems as though the Lord was asleep.

Some people are good, have faith, go to Mass, receive plenty of formation, but are cold and dry when trying to pray. There is virtue, and even struggle. They try, but it is as though there was nobody there. They feel everything is cold and theoretical. They don’t feel anything. They don’t feel as though Jesus is there. In my heart I don’t feel anything. Like when you get a bad connection on the phone, cutting out. You can’t understand the other.

These souls seem to be good earth, but there doesn’t seem to be any communication. I don’t feel anything.

What is the solution?

Deep down, when you look at it, if there is a lack of real connection with Jesus, there is also deep down a lack of affective connection with others. Meaning connection, empathy, understanding.

Here’s how to move forward.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall Album Singularity 2017

Thumbnail: Rembrandt's Storm at Sea, 1633, stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

Lk 14, 28: ”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

Jesus said we are building tower.

The daily building of that tower is also in our use of time. He says this to show that if mere human prudence means that a person should try to work out in advance the risks he may run, with all the more reason should a Christian embrace the Cross voluntarily and generously, because there is no other way he can follow Jesus Christ. Sometimes that regards how we build the tower, or the house of our sanctification.

Famous C.S. Lewis passage from Mere Christianity.

“Imagine yourself as a living house. You have one version of renovation, but God wants something quite different. He doesn't just want just a quaint cottage, he wants to build a palace. So he too can live and take his place in it.

How happy we were when we heard Pope John Paul II say these words to the pilgrims in St. Peter’s square on Oct 7, 2002:

St Josemaría was chosen by the Lord to announce the universal call to holiness and to point out that daily life and ordinary activities are a path to holiness. One could say that he was the saint of ordinary life. In fact, he was convinced that for those who live with a perspective of faith, everything is an opportunity to meet God, everything can be an incentive for prayer. Seen in this light, daily life reveals an unexpected greatness. Holiness is truly within everyone's reach.

He doesn’t actually mention “work”, or professional work, but this is indeed the activity that all of us are engaged in everyday. So even on a holiday, when we’re not “working”, we’re engaged in an activity that sanctifies us.

Music: Adrain Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity) 2017.

Thumbnail: Construction Eiffel April 15, 1888 Roger Viollet Getty Images

January 23 is the anniversary of the election of the Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz which took place in Rome in 2017.

He was elected, meaning chosen by his confreres. Simple ceremony. No big sudden changes. There is unity and continuity. Some changes that are really only cosmetic, that are changes with the times, and with the desire of the pope.

He does not go and simply reverse everything his predecessor did.

We are also in the Octave of Christian Unity. Jesus prayed for the unity among his apostles.

Pope Francis said Wednesday that the Lord did not command that His disciples be united. No, He prayed. He prayed to the Father for us, so that we might be one. This means that we are not able to achieve unity with our own strength.

Above all, unity is a gift, it is a grace to be requested through prayer.

Each one of us needs it. In fact, we know that we are not capable of preserving unity even within ourselves. Even the apostle Paul felt a painful conflict within himself: wanting the good but inclined toward evil (see Rm 7:19). He had thus grasped the root of so many divisions that surround us – between people, in families, in society, between nations and even between believers – and inside us.

Division inside us comes from sin. The true remedy begins by asking God for peace, reconciliation, unity. So we need to ask for it in prayer. It is a gift we really need.

Pray with other Christians. Listen to them. Protestants and Orthodox. Do I ever pray for unity in the family? In the church? In the country? Do I realize that it is part of my duty too?

The Prelate said in a homily last year:

“May we rely more on you, Lord, and less on our own strength. And when we experience our own weakness, help us to be happy, knowing that you have chosen us with this weakness, because you love us.” (Homily, 23 January 2020)

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall, Album Singulairty (2017)

Thumbnail: Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz received by Pope Francis after being elected Prelate in 2017

See videos of meditations:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

Today Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the first reading from the Second Sunday of ordinary time, the account of Samuel’s vocation (1 Sam 3, 3-10, 19.)

We start with the back story of Hannah, who was childless. She went to Shiloh, to the temple. She prayed ardently. The priest there was Eli, who was pretty flaky, and he in turn had two sons who also became priests, and they were Hophni and Phinehas. They were corrupt, and immoral. In fact the book of Samuel itself says that they were “scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.” (1 Sam 2, 12) But Hannah gives birth to Samuel and eventually brings him to the temple where he is brought up by Eli.

Eventually Samuel is brought up in the temple. He is awoken several times by the Lord who calls out to him. But it took a while to engage. It had something to do with sleepiness. How can I hear your voice Lord, if I sit back?

Talk now to him, he is listening, and you too are listening. Give me greater light and understanding about myself, and how I am answering to your call. Engaging pro-actively not just in the work I have to do, the many things that need to be done: but the pro-active spirit of dialogue with you.

The exchange is beautiful it really reflects the kind of promptness that should be in our soul.

Here I am Lord. Your servant is listening.

Samuel alone would not have known how to act. He was kind of lost. But though Eli is not perfect, he has his flaws, he nevertheless serves as an instrument for Samuel to discover his divine task.

Back 40 years ago, in 1981 the movie Chariots of Fire won four Oscars, including Best Picture. Great music by Vangelis. Amazing opening scenes of these British runners running on the beach… One of the film’s cornerstones is the importance of faith and prayer, discerning what God really wants. Eric Liddell is in the church of Scotland. He says that faith can be “compared to running in a race. It’s hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul,” especially when trying to live it with naturalness in one’s daily life. When facing the difficult choice between training for the Olympics or abandoning everything for the missions which his parents insisted on, Liddell tells his sister, “Jenny, I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

Music opening and closing: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, Album Singularity (2017)

Middle clips: Vangelis - Chariots of Fire - Theme Song, from Internet archive: https://archive.org/details/tvtunes_21754

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about Mark 2, 1-12: The healing of the paralytic in Capernaum.

The first word of Jesus is very simple :“Courage, your sins are forgiven”.

Courage: that meant that the paralytic must have been quite discouraged, probably somewhat depressed, maybe even in despair. He lacked the energy to do anything about his situation. He probably thought to himself I’m useless, I can’t even walk, I can’t get around, I can’t help anyone, what am I good for? This must’ve clouded his vision, and made him perhaps cynical and negative about life. Perhaps that’s partly why his friends brought him to see Jesus.

Music: Adrien Berenguer, Fall (Album Singularity 2017)

Thumbnail: Baptistry wall painting of the Paralytic, AD 232. Now at Yale art Gallery, from French Excavations at Dura-Europos, Syria.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the empathy of Jesus, how he saw in the depth of the soul.

Matt 9, 35-36: Our Lord began to go to the towns and villages preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and curing the sick and the afflicted...

There two attitudes of the Lord that we too must have: empathy and urgency, both seem to fit together in a unique puzzle that gives us the loving face of Jesus.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, FAll, album Singularity (2017)

Thumbnail: Raphael, Miraculous draught of fishes (1515) tapestry in the Victorian Albert Museum, London.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches in Lyncroft Centre about the birthday of Saint Josemaria Escriva in Basbastro in 1902. We always celebrate this birthday at the beginning of the year, when we’re looking at it with hope, wondering how it will turn out, what will history say about 2021. We haven’t seen 2021 yet, but we can wonder if it will make a mark: not a splotch, or a stain, but a significant mark that will inspire us further to sanctity, and to be an instrument of sanctity. Our Father must continue to leave his mark. Perhaps hidden, but real.

I heard that Fr. Javier Cremades died yesterday in Madrid at 74 years old of a pulmonary disease. He was the architect of the WYD 2011. He was ordained for Opus Dei in 1973. He was enamoured of Christ. Full of energy and imagination, and plenty of sense of humour. He was one of the many examples of people on whom Saint Josemaria left his mark, the mark of love of Christ.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, Album Singularity (2017)

Thumbnail: Josemaria Escriva as a child

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the virtue of humility at Ernescliff College.

Lk 4, 16-30 The account of Jesus in Nazareth reading in the synagogue.

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me...." The Fathers of the Church see this verse as a reference to the three Persons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon me (the Son): (cf. Origen, Homily 32).

Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces the coming of the Lord, who will free his people of their afflictions. In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfilment, for he is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to his people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission the Father has entrusted to him. These phrases, according to Luke (vv. 18-19), are his first messianic declaration. But many did not believe him. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders he had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they insolently demand that he perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change their hearts.

What is the best recipe to arrive at real humility?

Music: Andrian Berenguer, Fall, album Singularity (2017)

Thumbnail: James Tissot (1836-1902), Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper Brooklyn Museum.

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft Centre, Toronto, on January 3, 2021.

For the Church which believes and prays, the Wise Men from the East who, guided by the star, made their way to the manger of Bethlehem, are only the beginning of a great procession which winds throughout history.

Readings of today's Mass are from Book of Isaiah 60, 1-6 and Psalm 71 (72)

Isaiah 60, 6: "…camels in throngs will cover you, and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; everyone in Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord."

Pope Benedict XVI says that all kinds of factors could have combined to generate the idea that the language of the star contained a message of hope. But none of this would have prompted people to set off on a journey, unless they were people of inner unrest, people of hope, people on the lookout for the true star of salvation. The men of whom Matthew speaks were not just astronomers. There were “wise.” They represent the inner dynamic of religion toward self-transcendence, which involves a search for truth, a search for the true God and hence “philosophy” in the original sense of the word.”

Restless? Meaning anxious to tap into something great and beautiful, outside ourselves, beyond ourselves, beyond what we can even imagine.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, Album Singularity (2017)

Image: Georges Trubert, France 1469, "The Adoration of the Magi". From the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

This is the last meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in 2020. We're about to make a transition to a new calendar year, with the great solemnity of the Mother of God. Mary not only carried Jesus in her womb but also supplied all of the genetic matter for his human body, since it was through her—not Joseph—that Jesus “was descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3). In the fifth Century Nestorius had objected to this, and said Mary was only the mother of the nature. But the church rejected this claim, saying she was not only mother of a nature, but also of the person. She was mother of God, theotokos, in Greek.

One of the ancient philosophers once remarked that man differs from the beasts essentially because he can, as it were, raise his head above the waters of time.

The beasts are like fish swimming in the water; they are simply carried along by the stream of time. Man alone can raise his sights above the water and so become master of time.

But do we really do that? Are we not, too, mere fish in the sea of time, carried along by its currents without a clear view of whence time comes and whither it goes? Do we not become so completely absorbed in the details of daily life, with its constant demands and troubles, moving from deadline to deadline, duty to duty, that we are no longer able to perceive ourselves?

This should be an hour, then, for emerging from the water and trying for a moment to look beyond the sea of time to heaven above and its stars, so that in the process we may lay hold of ourselves as well.

Music Adrian Berenguer, Fall, (Album Singularity) 2017

Fr. Eric Nicolai gives one of the first meditations at a retreat at Ernescliff College, Dec 26, 2020. This is on the mystery of vocation. God chooses and calls everyone: He chose us in Christ, that we should be holy and blameless in his presence through love (Eph 1:4).

He chose Abraham in Christ. He chose Sarai his wife. He chose Jacob, changed his very name to Israel, and then saved Moses from sure destruction, and chose him to lead his people. He chose David. He chose Jeremiah, and Ezekial, and Daniel, and Ruth, and even Melchisedek, that mysterious figure whose purpose it took so long to figure out.

He chose Mary, he chose John the Baptist. He chose you and me. Don’t let this pass as a fait accompli. Experience it.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, Fall, from the album Singularity (2017)

Thumbnail: Prophet Jeremiah by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel

Preached Christmas Eve at Kintore College:

Psalm 88: 2-5: I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;

through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.

Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,

that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

This is from this evening’s responsorial psalm. A beautiful exultation of who we will give praise through hymns and songs when we adore God. Isn’t it wonderful how Christmas is known for carolling, for the many beautiful Christmas songs, Christmas concerts that we hear very year these hymns, and we never get used to them? They evoke our childhood, a time of simplicity and confidence.

Especially important is the theme of joy because God has come close to us, and has made himself vulnerable like a little child. We also focus in on the tenderness of Mary and Joseph. The purity of Mary and the protective gaze of Joseph.

But no manger scene is complete without an ox and an ass in the picture.

Music: Die Schönsten Deutsche Weihnachtslieder : Helige Nacht.

Thumbnail: Duccio di Buoninsegna Nativity 1308, National Gallery, Washington, DC.

This is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Kintore College on December 23, 2020. He was connected on Zoom to the families of the residents.

Today, as we approach the birth of the saviour, we look more closely at the preparation. The immediate anticipation to this extraordinary moment. We saw yesterday how this expectation is is expressed in the O antiphons, where each antiphon to the Gospel is preceded by an O…

O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Dayspring) or Rising Dawn, O Rex Gentium (O King of Nations), until we can sing O Emmanuel (O God with Us).

O Emmanuel, means he is with us. So finally Christmas means he is with us. But wait, he is already with the Blessed Virgin as she runs to her cousin Elisabeth, who also now has become pregnant with John the Baptist.

Two pregnant women. Fragile, delicate, filled with hope. This was not an easy trip, Joseph was there to protect. He took the task seriously. After Christmas we will celebrate the Holy Family. Let us now pray for all the families who will have to connect by zoom.

How to be an example of service, of gift of self? Example of Sigrid Undset, who wrote Kristan Lavransdatter and won the Nobel prize for literature in 1930. Readiness to serve, like a little donkey. “Ut iumentum”. Donkeys in the centre. Blessed Virgin Mary “Ancilla Domini”. Say it devoutly. Pope Gregory The Great (+609) “Servus servorum Dei”, servant of the servants of God.

Music: Adrian Berenguer, the song is called “Fall” from his album Singularity (2017).

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the role of the Holy Spirit in our life. Our Lord told the apostles: "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you shall know him because he will dwell with you, and be in you (Jn 14: 16-17). And then: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”. And we have heard his summons – “be my witnesses throughout the world” – (Acts 1:8). These were the very last words which Jesus spoke before his Ascension into heaven. How the Apostles felt upon hearing them, we can only imagine. But we do know that their deep love for Jesus, and their trust in his word, prompted them to gather and to wait; to wait not aimlessly, but together, united in prayer, with the women and Mary in the Upper Room (cf. Acts 1:14).

The Holy Spirit is described as the great unknown. A shadowy, mysterious figure. But his role in our sanctification is absolutely essential. Even in everything we say, he acts, silently. Here's how it happens.

Music: Adrian Guerenger, Fall (2017) from Artist.io

Thumbnail: The Annunciation, Philippe de Champaigne, 1644. Public domain.

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)

This is the introductory meditation to silent retreat, preparing people to pray intensely for the next 5 days.

Music: Adrian Guerenguer, Fall. (2017)

Here is the story of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin and his encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531. She wanted a shrine built, she gave him a souvenir of that encounter, and transformed Mexican society with massive conversions from paganism to Christianity. Fr. Eric Nicolai tells the story here.

Music: Adriá Guerenger, Fall.

More meditations on www.youtube.com/ericnicolai

What does the word advent even mean? It comes from the Greek word parousia, which means presence, or arrival. Advent means the arrival of the Lord that has already begun but has only just begun. It has begun silently. John the Baptist ended up in prison. He was expecting Jesus to come with his winnowing chaff. Instead he came quietly, with only some miracles and healings. He sent his own disciples to ask Jesus if he was really the one. “God’s presence had begun... but what a difference from what the Baptist had imagined! No fire fell from heaven to consume sinners and bear definitive witness to the just; in fact, nothing changed at all in the present world. Jesus went about preaching and doing good in the land, but the ambiguity remained. Human life continued to be an obscure mystery that man has to pursue with faith and hope into the world’s darkness. A meditation preached at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto by Fr. Eric Nicolai.

Music: Holy Night by Christmas choir

Thumbnail: "St. John the Baptist in Prison Visited by Two Disciples" (1455-60) by Giovanni di Paolo (Art Institute of Chicago)

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Lyncroft centre, Toronto, in the early morning of December 8, 2020.

In his eternal design for his Son to become man, God also chose Mary as the Mother of the Word Incarnate. This plan had an essential effect both in the manner in which the Word would become flesh—the Word not only became man; he became the descendent of Adam—and on the form of Mary’s motherhood would take.

Her's is a perfect and complete motherhood in all its aspects; in it the person of the Virgin is found to have a total, absolute reference to the Person of the Redeemer and to the Salvation of the world. The early icons of Jesus being held by his mother, in her lap. She is upright. She points to him. He blesses. These icons had a Greek name: Hodigateria. It means she is "showing the way to salvation". She showed us that way by point to her Son, and making him present in her. She is truly co-redemptrix.

The thumbnail is a famous icon of the Hodegateria.

Music; Adrian Burenguer, "Fall". Album Sungularity (2017)

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke expressly points to her virginity. He uses the Greek word parthenos, twice. He’s stressing that she is a young woman and that she was a virgin.

Gabriel appears to Zecharia. Formal setting of the temple. Here in Nazareth, he is sent to Mary. She does not have to leave where she was. The angel enters the house. There is like an inversion here. It means that in the incarnation God comes to men and enters the house. Previously men had to go out of their house and go and find him in the temple to enjoy the presence of God and venerate him there. Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on the meaning of Mary's vocation and our vocation.

Music: Adrain Berenguer, Fall (2017)

Thumbnail: La Anunciación, by Fra Angelico (between 1430 and 1432), from the Prado Museum in Madrid. Wikicomons.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches in Lyncroft centre on December 5, 2020: Advent, time for a new conversion. How is that going to happen? In this recollection this is not som much like ascending to a hight mountain, but imagine now that your task is to clear the ground for the helicopter to land (got that image from Bishop Robert Barron). Like the Vietnam scenes in a Francis Ford Coppola, with the wind blowing as helicopters landing and the soldiers with the drill sergeants clearing the place for their comrades. The helicopter is coming in to give them assistance and take them away to a safe place. Knowing the our Lord is near, that He is coming to seek us, stirs up the desire to prepare our heart through a new conversion. Make his paths straight (Mt 3:3): Discovering what has become twisted in our life, removing the obstacles, in order to encounter our Lord with joy. Raising our sight with a renewed supernatural outlook.

Music: Adrian Guerenger, "Fall", from his album "Singularity". Artilist.io

See meditations on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/ericnicolai

Mark 13:33-37 speaks about being alert and ready for the coming of the master. How does this actually happen in our life? Here is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre on ways of staying awake.

Music: Composer is Adrián Berenguer, the song is "Fall", Album: Singularity (2017).

Today, November 28, is the anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution “Ut Sit” from 1982, in which Pope John Paul II establish Opus Dei as a Personal Prelature. It was the definitive canonical suit that Opus Dei needed in order to have that new energy in the mission of the church. Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches on this 38th anniversary in Lyncroft centre and explains its significance.

Music: FALL - Adrian Berenguer (Album Singulairty) from Musopen.org

Catherine Labouré was a nun in the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity on Rue du Bac in Paris. On November 27th, 1830 Our Lady appeared to her and entrusted Catherine with the task of forging of the Miraculous Medal. The Virgin said that the medal would be a sign of love, a pledge of protection and source of grace for those who would trust in it. The Virgin herself showed Catherine what the medal should look like. This medal started being circulated in France. She really did everything she could to get it into as many people as possible. Even the back side had an M for Mary, and a cross, and stars, and two hearts. Took on great popularity. She was canonized in 1947.

What is the role of popular piety in our life? Does a medal help? (A meditation preached at Lyncroft centre by Fr. Eric Nicolai)

Music: Handel Rinaldo opera, aria, Lascia ch’io pianga, arranged by Bert Alink.

On Saturday November 21, 27 deacons we’re ordained in Rome for the Prelature of Opus Dei. Among them the first Lithuanian, a Croatian, a young Japanese and a Montrealer, Fadi Sarraf, originally fromSyria. It was a moment of joy, but with all the masks present, absence of families that couldn’t come, and the careful distancing, one could sense that they were taking advantage of the grace of the pandemic. What exactly is this grace, and how can we take advantage of it?

Summary of the ordination: https://opusdei.org/en-ca/article/21-november-ordination-of-27-deacons-in-rome/

Music: Handel, Rinaldo Opera, Aria Lascia ch’io pianga, played on guitar by Bert Alink.

More meditations on Youtube.com/ericnicolai

Fr. John Lopez Agundez preaches from Montreal about the challenge of becoming saints in our world, in our work.

Music: Recordações do passado (Souvenirs from the Past) a Valsa for piano (1885) by Ernesto Nazareth arranged for guitar by Bert Alink non monetize. From https://musopen.org

Thumbnail: pexels.com

Matt 25, 14-30: You have been faithful in small things: come and join in your master's happiness.

In this 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, the last of the liturgical calendar before Christ the King, the Church presents us with the Gospel of the talents. The story of the master who settles his accounts with his servants. We all love to hear these words: ”well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibility." Or I will entrust you with much.

Good and faithful servant. For what? For being faithful, dutiful in little things. This includes your abilities, but also all the amazing apostate you can do. Your example with friends, to help them to pray. Your good works with them. Peace and fraternity at home. Ability to work. To teach them to work.

But even among successful people with house and family and job, it is always sad to see wasted talent, since people never plan to squander their talents. They may fail to use them, usually not because they decide to ignore them, but because they never decide to make them fully fruitful.

God does not want us to do shoddy work, but this can be confused with a fruitless perfectionism. Have I fallen into the trap of perfectionism?

Music: Mozart: Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Rembrandt Van Ring, Parable of the talents, drawing in reed pen and bistre, c. 1652, Louvre collection.

More meditations on www.youtube.com/ericnicolai

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)

Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects at Kintore College. In the 1650s a Spanish priest from province of Navarre, Pedro Auxular, wrote a book in Basque titled Gero, which means Later. A book about the practice of the Christian life. The title is striking: later. He warned his reader of the danger of leaving for later the most important aspects of life.

So we want to speak today of that Later, but in a different sense, not simply as later, but as the hereafter. Gero is really about the eschaton. The last things, which the church wants us to reflect on now, not later.

Music: Mozart, Adagio in C major, K. 356 - Guitar Arrangement - Bert Alink. In Openmus.org

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

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.

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.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft centre about Luke 14, 1-6, where Jesus asked whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

“Now on a sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees. ‘Is it against the law’ he asked ‘to cure a man on the sabbath, or not?’ But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away."

By "lawful" they meant obligation. Whether the law permitted you or not. Sunday obligation during the pandemic. Do we have to go to Mass? What time do you have to go in order to fulfill the Sunday precept?

What if I arrive after the homily, before the creed? At the offertory? But could it be that with such questions, we don’t go there out of love, out of desire to be with you, Lord, but simply to fulfill an obligation? It seems to be forged in guilt. As though I had to only do things out of obligation, to ensure I pass, like an exam at school. Not really out of generous love.

Music: From Handel’s opera Rinaldo, Lascia ch’io pianga, played by Bert Alink

Thumbnail: Rembrandt, 100 Gilder Print, 1649.

Luke 13:10-13 : "One sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that left her enfeebled; she was bent double and quite unable to stand upright. When Jesus saw her he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are rid of your infirmity’ and he laid his hands on her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God."

Looking at this woman we can make our own the words she must have addressed to him: Straighten me up Lord!

Straighten me up during this meditation Lord, during this time in my life, so that I not be overly focused just on the dirt at my feet… I’ve kept my eyes low on the ground, in the dirt, in too much human vision. I’ve been bent over, I’ve been crooked and contorted, not standing up with confidence and calm. Let us be positive. Let us dream.

Pope Francis said in Macedonia (May 2019), addressing the young people: “Let me tell you that one can never dream too much. One of the big problems people have today, including so many young people, is that they have lost their ability to dream. They don’t dream, either much or little. When someone does not dream, when a young person does not dream, that empty space gets filled with complaints and a sense of hopelessness.”

Music: Handel’s opera, Rinaldo, with the aria, Lascia ch’io pianga, played by Bert Alink

Psalm 17 (18): 2-4, 47, 51: I love you, Lord, my strength.

My rock, my fortress, my saviour. My God is the rock where I take refuge; my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold. The Lord is worthy of all praise, when I call I am saved from my foes.

I love you, Lord, my strength.

Long life to the Lord, my rock! Praised be the God who saves me,

He has given great victories to his king and shown his love for his anointed.

Today's psalm from the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) invites us to experience God as our rock and our shield. How does this happen in my prayer? In my thoughts? Fr. Eric Nicolai opens some possibilities in this meditation in Lyncroft Hospitality Centre.

Music: Handel's opera, Rinaldo, aria Lascia ch'io pianga, played on the guitar by Bert Alink.

A meditation preached in Lyncroft Hospitality Centre on the Gospel of the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) on the Gospel of the New Commandment.

Music: Handel's Opera Rinaldo, aria: Lascia ch'io pianga, played in guitar 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

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Kintore College. He recalls being in Rome during the years of the beatification of Josemaria Escriva by Pope John Paul II. Like a catapult officer on an aircraft carrier, he pointed the way to the battle.

Music from Handel's opera Rinaldo, the aria is Lascia ch'io pianga, played by Bert Alink.

An account of the first Canadian born saint, Marguerite D’Youville, born in Varennes, Quebec in 1701. She faced poverty and lots of difficulties but nevertheless accepted these challenges with joy and optimism, confident of God's loving providence. Even when her convent burnt down to the ground in 1765. She was always aware that God always looks upon us with a gaze of love.

Music compose by Handel, from the opera Rinaldo, the aria Lacia ch'io pianga, played on guitar by Bert Alink.

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.

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.

The praise addressed to our Lord's mother was reinforced when he spoke about her being blessed because she embraced the Word of God, meaning the will of God. Everything hung in the balance when the Angel Gabriel announced God's plan of redemption. The universe was waiting for her response. This is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft hospitality centre in Toronto, on Oct 10, 2020.

See other meditations at www.youtube.com/ericnicolai

Music from Handel's opera, Rinaldo. The aria Lascia ch'io pianga, played the guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937), The Annunciation, at the Philadelphia Museum of art.

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 gives the opening meditation at a workshop at Cedarcrest Conference Centre in the Calendon Hills, in the village of Belfountain, north of Toronto. It is a rich truth that we must access habitually as a responsibility.

Music from Handel’s opera, Rinaldo, Lascia ch’io pianga, played on the guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail: Saint Jerome in prayer, drawing by Rembrandt (1635)

For more meditations, go to www.youtube.com/ericnicolai

September 29th is feast of the Archangels. From Kintore College, Fr. Eric Nicolai invites us to consider the role of the archangels in the history of salvation. When were they created by God? What happened to Satan in the battle with Michael? Each Archangel was invoked by St. Josemaria when he was on silent retreat in Segovia in 1932. They would protect the different apostolates of Opus Dei: St. Michael would watch over celibate numeraries, St. Gabriel would be in charge of supernumeraries, and St. Raphael of young people.

Music: Handel, Lascia ch'io pianga (1711), guitar by Bert Alink.

For other meditations see www.youtube.com/ericnicolai

Today, September 27, is the anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, first successor of Saint Josemaria. It took place Madrid in 2014. In a letter to the Prelate of Opus Dei, Pope Francis quoted a commonly-used phrase of Blessed Alvaro: "Thank you, forgive me, and help me more". Developing a habitual spirit of thanksgiving can protect us from the triggers of bad moods, gloominess and become more aware of God's presence in our day. Start with thanksgiving at the first moment of the day when you wake up.

Music: Handel, Lascia ch'io pianga, guitar by Bert Alink.

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.

Prov 21, 1-6; 10-13: The lying tongue is chasing a bubble over deadly snares….Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Ernescliff College and invites us to read these words of Solomon slowly. We sense words about the poisonous nature of pride, addressed to us. And how we need to build humility. One way is through what Pope Francis has called the theology of the encounter: "Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption." (Evangelii Gaudium 8)

Music: Handel, Lascia ch'io pianga, played beautifully on the guitar by Bert Alink.

Thumbnail painting: Piero della Francesca, Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, circa 1465. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. He is seen presiding proudly over his lands in a double portrait with his wife the Duchesse Battista Sforza.

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. John Lopez Agundez preaches about hope as the source of optimism: There's no optimism without hope. The hopeful man realizes he is a pilgrim walking to heaven; he does not look back, he looks forward. Josemaria saw the DYA academy bombed out during the Spanish Civil War, but shortly after that setback, he preached to the others about optimism. He was still hopeful and transmitted this to others around.

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.

She was born because God had chosen her from all eternity. Today it is not so much about her qualities, or what she did. Just that God brought into this world and that alone is worth celebrating. Like John the Baptist she is on the threshold between the Old Testament and the New. "Mary, the Daughter of Zion and ideal personification of Israel, is the last and most worthy representative of the People of the Old Covenant but at the same time she is "the hope and the dawn of the whole world." With her, the elevated Daughter of Zion, after a long expectation of the promises, the times are fulfilled and a new economy is established" (LG 55).

The triptych of Nativity of the Virgin by Pietro Lorenzetti (1335) in the Cathedral of Siena.

The music is by Handel, Lascia chi's pianga, played on the guitar by Bert Alink.

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.

Fr. John Lopez Agundez preaches about the experience of St. Josemaria when he celebrated Mass: time seemed to stop. How can we follow Mass more devoutly and more focused on the supernatural reality in front of us?

A meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai: Jesus says he must suffer, and Peter says God forbid…and he is rebuked with the strongest possible words: that he is satan. Meaning an obstacle to the salvific plans. This is about seeing our life too humanly, approaching challenges too passively. Do I experience the temptation of not embracing the cross that will make us grow in love?

Opening and closing guitar composed by F. Händel, Lascia ch'io pianga. Played by Bert Alink.

Painting of Saint Peter gazing at the keys, by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591 – 1666) also know as Guercino, in the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the dramatic account of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist and the situation in Herod's royal court. Herod’s banquet. The decadent and sensual atmosphere. The trendy people. Yet John defended the truth, telling it plainly to those who needed to hear it. John was not a whiner or complainer. He was tough. An example to help us defend the truth to our friends.

The painting is from Andrea Solario, "Salome with the head John Baptist (1506) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The introductory aria is from Handel guitar piece, by Bert Alink Rinaldo: Aria "Lascia che io pianga".

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about St. Monica (331-387), who prayers for years for the conversion of her son Augustine. He was brilliant, cultured, and had a wide circle of friends, but was seduced by the world. God gave in to her persevering prayers when he drew Augustine (354–430) to himself through beauty.

Fr. Eric Nicolai invites us to imagine Jesus saying these words to the Pharisees: "woe to you pharisees, you hypocrites…" (Matt 23, 23-26). I don’t know what it sounded like in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. But the tone was important. Sternest words of condemnation that ever came from our Lord's lips. There was also tone of deep sorrow. This is an invitation to examine how often we seek to ingratiate ourselves with others. To win applause. Or am I somehow sad when I am forgotten? When I am passed over? Let's often rectify, to do everything for God the father. We have the example of Dora del Hoya who worked in the domestic administration of the centres of Opus Dei in Rome. She served all her life, and was ready to disappear. That is one of the main reasons her cause of canonization was opened in 2012.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the nature of joy, expressed as cheerfulness. This can be an obligation of charity, a duty to light up the house around us. Here are some examples about how to bring this about in our life.

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches at Lyncroft Hospitality centre in Toronto. The Queenship of Mary is the logical corollary of her assumption, and the natural expression of Christ's kingship over all the universe.

Painting is Pierre-Claude-François Delorme, "La Vierge" (1834) in the château de Compiègne, France

Fr. Eric Nicolai preaches about the solemnity of the Assumption, and the dormition of our Lady, how it was fitting that the Lord should want her body and soul in heaven.

August 14th is his feast day: Here is a meditation by Fr. Eric Nicolai on the account of of how Maximilian received the red crown of martyrdom and the white crown of holy purity.

Bishop Alvaro quoted from an old letter of Saint Josemaria: The Father advises his children: "Endeavour to be in Mariano's school always. It is the school of little things." Saint Josemaria would sometimes sign his letters, "Mariano", as a way to honour our Blessed Mother. But the School of Mariano is all about the delicate drive to put love in the small things of everyday. Here is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at the Manoir de Beaujeu describes the heights of this school, and the dangers of getting a failing grade, like scruples and perfectionism.

Using the parable of the weeds sown by an enemy in the what field (Matthew 13, 24-43), Fr. John Lopez Agundez of Riverview Centre in Montreal, tells about the enemies that might affect our apostolate, such as thinking that it is all about doing diverse things, rather than being an apostle. Or the danger of indifference about souls. Plus all the good things the Lord invites us to do in order to evangelize with his Word.

In this meditation at Ernescliff College, Fr. Cris Graas helps us to consider how we are to respond to evil that we see around us. Referring to the parable of the cockle that was sown in among the what, he opens horizons for us, as we meditate on how to understand evil in this world.

In this meditation to High School students, Fr. Eric Nicolai mentions the early Christians, who suffered persecutions right from the start. The Lord sends us out into an apostolic dynamism, despite what it might cost us. Today polls show that Catholics are often afraid to share their faith, and are not ready to persuade others of their faith. Catholics are among the least likely to want to persuade others of there faith. The current situation of evangelization makes it more necessary than ever to give priority to personal contact. This relational aspect is at the heart of the mode of doing apostolate that St Josemaría found in the Gospel narratives.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai (July 9, 2020) at St. Ann's Parish in Hamilton, Ontario for a group of priests from Toronto and Hamilton.

This is a summary of a talk given by Juan Luis Lorda during the 23rd Day of Priestly Encounters, in Valladolid in 2015. We are made up of intellect, will and affectivity, or, in more general terms, we have a heart. But what this exactly means is somewhat opaque and hard to define. How does the heart help us in our decisions? There is a fascinating discussion of classical and modern authors, in particular Dietrich Von Hildebrand's book, The Heart (1965). Also I try to examine the essential relationship between the heart, and our affinity to virtue, or how one ought to live an upright life.

Thumbnail: Auguste RODIN (1840-1917), Plaster bust of Camille Claudel (around 1882).

King David was chosen by God, because Yahweh knew his heart.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on March 19, 2020 in Toronto, on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, who intercedes for us as protector, and helps us to overcome the paralysis of fear. He intercedes for us to protect us in our divine vocation and to give us a supernatural sense of our mission, of that covenant that God made with us.

An account of the life of Saint Josemaria Escrivá, hauled up in hiding in the Legation of Honduras in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. His isolation and seclusion with friends has parallels with our current Pandemic. Preached in Toronto