In Your Presence

John 21, 2: Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
John says it is the Lord. Clearly, the recognition as a Eucharistic “seeing‑Jesus”: the disciples’ first proper confession of the Resurrected Lord at the dawn‑shore meal. He recognizes because he was a contemplative. Because he loved Jesus, was close to him, so close, so faithful. He was humble. In December of 1976 , Blessed Alvaro said: "Be convinced that humility is always a starting point"(Family letters II, 113)
Music: Heartbreaking by Kevin MacLeod incompetech chosic.com
Thumbnail: James Tissot, Christ on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias, 1886-1894. Opaque watercolour over graphite, Brooklyn Museum.

This is the first meditation from a year end retreat at Saint Augustine's Seminary in Toronto, begun April 13, 2026. We begin with the account of the discouraged disciples of Emmaus.
Preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai in Saint Augustine Seminary.

Thumbnail: MS Visuals
Music: Kevin Macleod, White Lotus.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on Holy Saturday, April 4, 2026 at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto.
The last thing we remember from Good Friday was that he was buried. Without commentary. You only bury someone when you’re absolutely clear that he is dead. He fully participated in the human destiny of death. Jesus travelled the path of death right to the bitter and seemingly hopeless end in the tomb.
The first shock began with the empty tomb. On its own, this is not enough to prove the resurrection, but it is the essential premise. Lets see how the early church framed this.
Music: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Thumbnail: Rembrandt, The supper at Emmaus, 1648, Louvre, Paris.

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai at Lyncroft Centre in Toronto, on April 2, 2026, Holy Thursday. Two Masses today: the Chrism Mass, which commemorates the institution on the Priesthood, and the bishop blesses the Holy oils.  Then the Mass of the Lord’s supper. The day is called In Cena Domini, “At the Lord’s Supper.”
The meaning of the oils, the last supper, and the command of charity.
Music: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Thumbnail: Leonardo Da Vinci, Last Supper, 1595, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan.

A meditation preached at Kintore College, Toronto on April 1, 2026, Wednesday of Holy Week.
Matt 26:14-25: One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on, he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
What are you willing to give me? That was Judas’ calculation: How much is Jesus worth? He is asking them: How much is he worth to you, so that I make this be profitable, he is saying… He was not even sure how seriously they would take him. This question, What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?, came from Judas, but it can also come from Jesus himself to us. He says to us: How much are you willing to give me? How much time, all your dedication, your reputation, your future plans, your time, your comfort…
Thumbnail: Rembrandt, Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver, circa 1629, at the Morgan Library & Museum, New York.
Music: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.