Segun Oladeji

 *WEDNESDAY 29 November 2023*  Weekday (34)    First Reading. Daniel 5: 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-25. PSALM Daniel 3: 40-45 (R. 40b) Gospel. Luke 21: 12-19  *CHRISTIAN FAITH IS MARTYRDOM*  My dear, here are some facts about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which runs through us, His faithful followers. Remember, whatever happens to the head, affects the whole body, and since Christ is the head, and we are His body, automatically what happens to Him will also get to us His followers. Here are some highlights among many of what happened to Jesus, and what is still happening to us, His followers to date. 1. If Mary the mother of Jesus could undergo pains and sorrows for being the mother of Jesus, then all good mothers who are Christians should not be surprised to undergo the same for the sake of their children who are followers of Christ; most especially mothers of Priests and Religious. 2. If Joseph the foster father of Jesus could sacrifice for Jesus' care and safety, then good Christi

 *TUESDAY 28 November 2023*  Weekday (34)    First Reading. Daniel 2:31-45 Psalm. Daniel 3: 35-39 (R. 35b) Gospel. Luke 21: 5-11 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *BE CAREFUL OF FAKE PASTORS*  Let me start with some questions. ---Is it possible for an architect who did not go to a medical school, but picks a medical textbook, reads it and automatically becomes a medical practitioner to treat a sick patient? ---Is it possible for an accountant who never studied building technology but suddenly become a civil engineer? ---Is it possible for a professor of linguistics who never studied mechanical engineering to suddenly start to diagnose and repair a faulty car in place of an auto mechanic? ---Is it possible for a computer scientist to read and interpret an Arabic book as a specialist? Hmmm, I guess your answers to the above questions may be as good as mine. On the contrary, why does every individual think he or she can just become a pastor overnight without going into a seminary school of formation

 *Sunday November 26, 2023*   *Thirty-Fourth Sunday of the Year A.*  (Last Sunday of the Year) First Reading. Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17 Psalm 23: 1-6 (R.1) Second Reading. 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28 Gospel. Matthew 25: 31-46 TOPICS FOR REFLECTION  *THE ETERNAL KINGSHIP OF JESUS*   *THE PASSWORD TO GOD'S KINGDOM IS MERCY AND CHARITY.*  God is the King of His Kingdom Therefore...  ---Where there is no king, there will be no kingdom. Jesus is God and king, His kingdom is in heaven ---You are the king of your kingdom (family, society, etc). Jesus is the king of His kingdom  ---Your kingdom is the picture of your kingship, just as Jesus' kingdom is the true picture of His Peaceful and Merciful kingship. ---If you are a king of peace, your kingdom becomes peaceful. ---If you are the king of violence, your kingdom becomes a war zone. ---If you are a king of vices, it means your kingship is earthly. ---If you are a king of virtues, it means you are establishing your kingdom in heaven.

 *THURSDAY 23 November 2023*  Weekday (33)  First Reading. 1 Maccabees 2: 15-27 Psalm 50: 1-2, 5-6, 14-15 (R. 23bc) Gospel. Luke19: 41-44 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *REMAINING STEADFAST IN THE LORD.*  Do you know that it is very easy to boast of remaining steadfast in the Lord when not confronted with death? It is also much easier when we lose the sense of reasoning by condemning others who cannot remain steadfast with the Lord. Do you ever think it is the joy of some people who could not remain steadfast in the Lord?  Let me assure you that remaining steadfast in the Lord has to do with one's strong conviction in what one believes.  The only way to prove one's conviction to humanity and God on the matter of FAITH is when one overcomes the temptation one is confronted with. There is no way you can prove that you are convinced of your faith when it is not yet confronted with temptation, and not just any temptation, but the temptation of what you love most. Naturally, temptation comes

 *Sunday, November 19, 2023*  Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A. First Reading. Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Psalm128: 1-5 (R. 1a) Second Reading. 1Thessalonians 5:1-6 Gospel. Matthew 25: 14-30 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *IF YOUR TALENT(S) CAN NOT SAVE YOU, NO OTHER TALENT CAN.*  My dear, please kindly pay attention to what I want to tell you. Talent is your treasure, do not allow God to regret giving you such a treasure. The wise discover their talents and use them to better their lives and others. Meanwhile the foolish are those who refuse to discover theirs, and those who discover their talents but are not satisfied with them become sad, and frustrated, and fight those who use their talents very well.  Such fools live in permanent bondage of envy and jealousy. Therefore... **If you want to enjoy your life, discover your talent. **If you don't want to be frustrated, become sad and depressed, do not envy the talent of others, else you remain sad till you go to the grave.

 *TUESDAY 14 November 2023*  Weekday (32)  First Reading. Wisdom 2: 23-39 Psalm 34: 2-3, 16-19 (R. 2a) Gospel. Luke 17: 7- 10 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *FR. RICCARDO GERMANETTO CRS. HAS PLAYED HIS PART.*  My dear brethren, kindly permit me to dedicate today's reflection to my formator whom the Lord called to himself yesterday, 13th November 2023. As fate would have it, today's first reading is for the dead, while in the Gospel, Jesus stated clearly that at last, as an unworthy servant, we have only done what was our duty.  The souls of the righteous are certainly in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them w

 *MONDAY 13 November 2023*  Weekday (32)  First Reading. Wisdom 1: 1-7 Psalm 139: 1-10 (R. 24b) Gospel. Luke 17: 1-6 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *USEFUL ADMONITION*  Jesus is the wisdom of God. However, this wisdom of God convicts and exposes the foolish. Wisdom will never dwell in the hearts of the following people...  1. A deceitful person 2. A person who lives, dwells and promotes sin 3. A person who celebrates evil thoughts 4. A person who slanders his or her family and friends  5. An unrepentant guilty soul without remorse. 6. A foolish person. Do you know that even if wisdom built His house in the heart of the above categories of persons, their foolish spirit will suppress this wisdom of God? Therefore, anyone who loves righteousness, if faced with temptation, will strive to overcome it but if in the process he or she falls, will be quick to make reconciliation with God. Rulers of the earth, leaders at every category inclusive, think of the Lord with uprightness, and seek him with sinc

 *Sunday, November 12, 2023*  Thirty-Second Sunday of the Year A First Reading. Wisdom 6: 12-16 Psalm 63: 2-8 (R.cf.2b) Second Reading. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 Gospel. Matthew 25: 1-13 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *TO BE READY IS WISDOM, AND NOT TO BE READY IS FOOLISHNESS.*  Jesus is God, the Wisdom of God. Anyone who seeks Wisdom seeks Jesus who is God. The first reading presents to us the beautiful relationship of Jesus the Wisdom of God with humanity.  Wisdom is radiant and unfading- Christ. Wisdom (Christ) can easily be found by those who love her and is found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her. He who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for he will find her sitting at his gates.  To fix one’s thought on Christ the Wisdom of God is perfect understanding, and he who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets

 *Saturday November 11, 2023*  Weekday (31) Ordinary Time B. V. M on Saturday Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop  First Reading. Romans 16: 3-9, 16, 22-27 PSALM 145: 2-5, 10-11 (R. 1) Gospel. Luke 16: 9-15 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *LOVERS OF MONEY ARE NATURALLY DISHONEST*  What you are conscious of influences your way of life. It is easy to be an honest person, but much easier to be a dishonest person. God is honest, while satan is dishonest.  So, choose one, you cannot serve the two of them together.  Jesus said: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Anyone who seeks God seeks honesty, while those who do not seek God do not seek honesty. The moment we hold onto the pillar, the source of our life which is God, it will not be a big deal, to be honest. On the contrary, the moment we let go of the pillar of our life, and we begin to pursue the shadow, and since

 *SUNDAY 5 November 2023*  31st Sunday of the Year      First Reading. Malachi 1: 14-2: 2, 8-10 PSALM 131 Second Reading. 1 Thessalonians 2: 7-9, 13 Gospel. Matthew 23: 1-12 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH*  Jesus is the fullness of Wisdom while the scribes and pharisees are the epitome of emptiness. Jesus led by example, while the scribes and Pharisees imposed unbearable rules on people.  In truth, Jesus' presence was a big threat to the scribes and Pharisees.  My dear, always remember that  *** Wisdom is a threat to foolishness *** A wise person is a threat to a fool *** An intelligent person is a threat to an unintelligent person  *** The educated are a threat to the uneducated *** Virtue is a threat to vice, just as good is a threat to evil. The wise are filled with wisdom, while the fools are empty of wisdom. The wise are filled with humility, while the fools are filled with pride. The fools never lead by example, only the wise do. Therefore, in life, the best

 *Saturday November 4th, 2023*  Weekday (30) Ordinary Time Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop  First Reading. Romans 11:1-2, 11-12, 25-29 Psalm 94:12-15, 17-18 (R.14a). Gospel. Luke 14: 1, 7-11 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *HUMILITY IS LIFE*  Do you know the full meaning of EPPP? 😆 😆 😆  It means,  Empty Poor Proud Person (People) Just try to observe those who make the loudest noise within your vicinity, they are the empty poor proud people. Surprise? 😮  Well, do not be because... 1. Empty people are proud people, 2. Empty vessel seeks the position of honour, where you see a person or people struggling for power, know that such a person or people have nothing to offer.  3. They seek for position of power to fill their emptiness. Just observe people in your community, church, society, or around you who struggle for power, such have no single clue of what to do. These are the people who will always be aggressive and feel insecure yet with the power they have, they bully, oppress, suppress, call

 *Thursday November 2, 2023*  Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (ALL SOULS) First Reading.  Wisdom 3: 1-9 Psalm. 23: 1-6 (R.1 or 4) Second Reading.  Romans 5: 5-11 Gospel. Matthew 5: 1-12 or John 6:37-40 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION   *LIFE IS TOO SHORT, ONE DAY WE SHALL DIE: PRAY FOR THE DEAD*   *(2 Macc. 12)*  Death and Humanity are never friends, yet she is inevitable.  Death awaits all of us Death is a passage to eternity  Death is not the end, but a means to the end of our mortal life to eternity which is either Heaven or Hell.  Invariably, death is a transformation.  Nothing lasts forever.  No man lives forever  Today we live, tomorrow we are dead  The rich and the poor will die, and the earth and all worldly wealth will remain.  Do we all know that the CASKET is our special room, while Mother Earth, the ground is our BEAUTIFUL MANSION?  The joyful mystery of life is that we come into the world with nothing, and we shall certainly leave this world with nothing. (Vanity upon vani