DATE : 28/1/2021, Thursday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time (B)
EVENT : St. Thomas Aquinas, P.D (Memorial)
COLOUR:White
READINGS : Heb. 10:19-25; Resp. Psalm 24:1-2.3-4ab.5-6; Mark 4:21-25.
THEME: FREE YOUR MIND SO THAT YOU CAN SHINE BRIGHTER
Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this Twenty-Eight day of January, which is also the memorial of a great personality in the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, I wish to reflect with you on the theme: " Free Your Mind So That You Can Shine Brighter". Beloved, At. Thomas Aquinas whom we celebrate today was a man who did not allow human actions to affect his life. So, he shone like never seen before. Born to a rich and influential Aristocratic family in A.D 1225, he received the best education at the hands of the Benedictine. While in school, his teacher and fellow students mocked him because of his chubby nature and even nicknamed him, 'the dumb Ox'. Because he was fat and slow at comprehension. However, he later joined the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest. He got hold of the then novel Aristotelian philosophy which was just coming into the Wast from the Muslims, and he used it to explain some of the truth of the Christian faith. One of his invaluable classic is the ' Summa Theologiae ', which is a great resource book in the Church today. He made several contributions to the Church's Eucharistic liturgy, and he died in 1274. Thus, despite the negative energies thrown at him, St. Aquinas freed himself of them all and that made him to shine so brightly.
Beloved in Christ, there is an Igbo proverb that says, 'whoever is holding another person on the ground is also on the ground himself'. Thus, you cannot expect to be happy, to shine brightly, to wax fully and to attract positive energies to yourself, when your heart is filled with hatred, bitterness, resentment and vengeance. According to medical and psychological findings, we require and use up more energies to sustain negative emotions than positive ones. Negative emotions generate toxic hormones which aid quick aging process and can affect sensitive organs in our body. Spiritually, bitterness, hatred and unforgiveness are mostly the enemies of prayers. They block our prayers from reaching to God and block God's blessing from getting at us.
In the various readings of today, especially the first reading, Heb.10:19-25, the author warns that we should keep our heart free from bitterness and bad conscience. For like little lamps, God has deposited his lights in us. So, we can either decide to trim out lamps and allow our lights to shine brightly, or we could focus on the winds of distractions and let our lights to go out. Child of God, no matter the kind of reaction metted at you, do not allow people to determime how you feel at each moment. Instead, use the stones of wrong doings and offenses thrown at you to build brick houses and towering mountains where you like St. Thomas Aquinas can climb and shine brightly for all to see. God bless you.
Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8)
LET US PRAY : Lord Jesus, help me with your grace, to convert the wrong energies within me to positive forces for greatness in my life.....
The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.
May Almighty God bless you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit......Amen
@ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪
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