Show Notes
A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at the new Ellerton Centre in Toronto, on Avenue Road on May 2, 2026. In this very moving passage in St. Paul's letter to the Romans, God helps us see the divine interlacing of the three theological virtues which form the backing upon which the true life of every Christian man or woman has to be woven. Romans 5, 1-5: Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. These virtues are alive in us. They are not dead or dormant, or like dead batteries. Lots of power to them, it drives us to energy. This is the battery that makes us grow in the life of grace.
More from In Your Presence
A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai peached this meditation at a workshop on October 20, 2026, at Cedarcrest Conference in Belfountain, On. A few weeks ago the starting gun was fired for the 3-year preparation for the centennial. In his letter from October 2 2026, the Father used that phrase: "It is not a new beginning, but a new impulse toward fidelity.” Music: The light between us by Shaydow on Bend Sound. Thumbnail:
A meditation preached on October 4, 2026, by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Ellerton Center in Toronto. As we begin these years of preparation for the centennial, we know that we have to continue to grow and mature in this initial yes that we gave to God. The yes of our vocation. We said yes to the invitation to of the Lord, who sent us out. The Prelate has framed in clear terms the purpose of the centennial: A grateful reflection on the past, accompanied by a humble examination of conscience, and a hopeful look towards the future (March 19, 2026). Music: Audiio_MULVEY_Awakening_Awakening_Instrumental Thumbnail: Masaccio, The Tribute Money, 1401, Brancacci Chapel, Santa. Maria del Carmine, Florence.
This meditation was preached at Ernescliff College, Toronto, on October 6, 2026. In 2002, Pope John Paul II pronounced this phrase in St. Peter's Square in front of thousands of faithful: "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." In Dante's Divine Comedy, heaven is portrayed as the highest celestial sphere, the Empyrean, where the Blessed Trinity is adored with the Blessed Virgin and all the saints. Now we know that Saint Josemaría is there too. Music: enrique27naveda-cancion-triste-by Luis Enrique Guerra Naveda Pixabay Thumbnail: The illustration "The Saintly Throng Form a Rose in the Empyrean" by Gustave Doré, created in 1868 for Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.
A meditation preached at Ernescliff College, Toronto, on October 2, 2026. Today is the memorial of the guardian angels. Exodus 23: "The Lord says this: ‘I myself will send an angel before you to guard you as you go and to bring you to the place that I have prepared." Moses guided the people, but did not enter the promised land himself. The Christological interpretation is that Jesus guides us into the true promised land by his grace. We all have a mission in this life, and our angel will guide us. Josemaria received the illumination about his mission on the memorial of the guardian angels. They would help him, and Opus Dei as a whole to mature in the mission. Music: enrique27naveda-cancion-triste-by Luis Enrique Guerra Naveda Pixabay
Our Lord loves the poor: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Matt 11, 4-5) Our Lord includes this among the great wonders: Poverty. How can we live this virtue of detachment as priests? We have the example of the conversion of Zacchaeus, who gave his money to the poor and restituted. This is a meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai to priests at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Stoney Creek, Ontario, on September 22, 2026. Music: enrique27naveda-cancion-triste-by Luis Enrique Guerra Naveda Pixabay Thumbnail: Jean Colcombe, From Vita Jesu Christi by Ludolf of Saxony, French (Bourges), c. 1475-1500, Paris, BNF, MS Francais 178, fol. 89v_2. From http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2016/10/zacchaeus-little-man-in-tree.html