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 by Archbishop 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.