"STAY WITH US, LORD" (Luke 24:29)

1st Reading              Acts 12: 1-11 Psalm                         34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R. cf 5b) R:// "From all my terrors, the Lord set me free" 2nd Reading           2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 Gospel                      Matthew 16: 13-19 THE CHRIST BEYOND NEEDS AND WANTS Peace and Goodness, friends! Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, two great apostles. Today is also the last Sunday in the month of June. We thank God for his graces and providence. Let us look at the readings, especially the Gospel passage from Matthew 16:13-19. The Gospel passage has parallels to Mark 8: 27-29 and Luke 9: 18-20.  The passage can be seen in the light of various themes. It could be seen as Peter's declaration of faith or the identity of Jesus. Regardless, I suggest we consider a few points from the na...

1st Reading               Genesis 14: 18-20 Psalm                          110: 1, 2, 3, 4 (R. 4cd) R:// "You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek" 2nd Reading            1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 Gospel                      Luke 9: 11b-17 GIFT OF SELF Peace and Goodness, friends! We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year C) — Corpus Christi. This is the second of the Solemnities of the Lord during Ordinary Time. Today's celebration has to do with the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life. Let us quickly dive into the readings.  Our first reading is from Genesis 14: 18-20. This is a relatively short passage but dense from all perspectives. Suddenly, we hear of a mysterious person, Melchizedek. He met Abram when Abram was returning...

1st Reading            Proverbs 8: 22-31 Psalm                       8:4-5, 6-7a, 7b-9 (R. 2a) R:// "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!" 2nd Reading          Romans 5:1-5 Gospel                     John 16: 12-15 WALKING IN WISDOM Peace and Goodness, friends! We resume Ordinary Time, and today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The dogma of the Holy Trinity holds a special place in Christianity in that it makes Christianity a distinct religion. The Christian God is not merely a God but a Triune God. The dogma is that in the Godhead, there are 3 persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Let us try and untangle the Word of God and see what possible meanings they could hold for Trinity Sunday. Right from the Gospel passage (Jn. 16:12-15), we begin to see the three persons ...

1st Reading       Acts 2: 1-11 Psalm                 104: 1ab and 24ac, 29bc-30, 31 and 34 (R. 30) R:// "Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth" 2nd Reading     Romans 8: 8-17 Gospel                John 14: 15-16, 23b-26 UNITE IN THE SPIRIT Peace and Goodness! Friends, as we draw the curtain down on the Season of Easter, today, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit — Pentecost Sunday. Let us quickly dive into the readings for the day. We need to realise that in all three liturgical years, the first reading is from Acts 2:1-11, and it is about the event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. What is actually the event of Pentecost? Understanding this will serve as a background to understanding the events of the first reading. What we know as "Pentecost" as a word comes from the Greek language. "Penta" is the Greek for "five". Pent...