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

For more meditations, check my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos

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.