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

1st Reading        Acts 14:21–27 Resp. Psalm       Ps. 145 2nd Reading      Rev. 21:1–5a Gospel                 Jn. 13:31–33a, 34–35 "LOVE LIKE JESUS" As we enter into the 5th Week of Easter we also draw closer to Ascension Day. This is brought to better perspective when Christ spoke about his soon departure (Jn. 13:33). In view of this, Jesus tells his disciples about what he demands of them. What he demands of them is summed up under the subject of LOVE (àgapē, love of persons and things). One interesting thing to note is that the command of Jesus is a familiar law to his contemporaries. The disciples he is addressing are already aware of the law of love. In Lev. 19:18, it is evident that "you shall love your neighbour as yourself". This is not a new thing to the Jew. Infact, they are required to Love God (Deut. 6:5). What then is new about Jesus' command? What qualifies it to be a new ...

1st Reading       Acts 13:14,43–52 Resp. Psalm      Ps. 100: 3b 2nd Reading     Rev. 7:9,14b–17 Gospel                Jn. 10:27–30 Two Key Features of a Good Sheep, a Good Disciple Happy Sunday! We are still in the season of Easter and today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. We thank God for giving us Shepherds (leaders) to whose care we have been entrusted. The image of the Good Shepherd is clear in Christ who laid down his life for us. The Gospel is very short. Inspite of its brevity, it is dense with messages to help us attain blessed happiness.  We can understand the text within a broader scope from vv. 22-30. Here, some Jews supposed to have been wondering whether Jesus is the Messiah asked if he is actually the one. These Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah even when Jesus said it (v. 25). They cannot reconcile their belief in Jesus with the works of Jesus as testimony that he...

1st Reading     Acts 5:27b-32.40b-41 Resp. Psalm    Ps. 30 2nd Reading   Rev. 5:11-14 Gospel             Jn. 21: 1-19 Hope amidst Looming despair Dear Friends, today is the 3rd Sunday of Easter and the Word of God keeps us within the framework of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, particularly to his disciples. These appearances are in a bid to inspire hope and affirm in the hearts of the Disciples and believers that Jesus is truly risen. In the Gospel, Jesus reveals himself to 7 of his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias: "Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples" (v. 2). It seem to suggest that these disciples were returning to their 'former way of life', their life prior to their call to discipleship. Hopelessness drives in us a sense of despair and makes us think that we are unredeemable, that the only way to restore hope is to return...

1st Reading Acts 5:12–16 Resp. Psalm Ps. 118. 2nd Reading Rev. 1:9-11a,12-13,17-19 Gospel Jn. 20:19–31 "Divine Mercy, Peace amidst Fear" Dear friends, today is the Second Sunday of Easter and, as it has been since the year 2000, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy is a gift of God to humanity given in an apparition by Jesus to Sr. Fasting Kowalska. In the words of Jesus to Sr. Faustina, "humanity will not find PEACE until it turns trustful to DIVINE MERCY". The Word of God turns our attention towards the PEACE that God gives. Infact, in the Gospel Jesus tells the disciples, " PEACE be with you" (Jn. 20:19).  In the first reading, we hear that the apostles, granted the power by God, performed many signs and wonders among the people, especially in the temple area of Solomon's Portico . We know Solomon to be the wisest and wealthiest king that ever lived. He is the son of David and successor of his throne. His name comes from the Hebrew wo...

1st Reading      Acts 10: 34a. 37-43 Resp. Psalm     Ps. 118. 2nd Reading   Colossians 3:1-4 Gospel              John 20: 1-9 "Early, while it was still dark" Alle luia, the Lord is Risen! Today is Easter Sunday and the Word of God, particularly the Gospel passage, draws our attention to that mysterious event which strengthens our hope and 'increases our faith' (Lk. 17: 14). If Christ had not risen from the dead,...[our] faith would have been in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). The Gospel recounts the resurrection of Jesus. Within the narrative in the Gospel according to John 20, I propose 4 acts that are shrouded in mystery and accompany the fact that "he had to rise from the dead" (John 20: 9). They are: "early in the morning, while it was still dark" (v. 1), "...stone removed from the tomb" (v. 1), "the other disciple whom Jesus loved" (v. 2), "THEY have taken the Lord from the tomb" (v. 2) [who are the THEY]. Let ...

GOSPEL BEFORE PROCESSION (YEAR C) — LUKE 19:28-40 BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD Dear friends, today we begin the Holy Week with the celebration of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord . We commemorate the free and triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. He, "the lamb of God" (Jn.1:29), enters freely as he is not bound under force to do so. This is differentiated from the case of unblemished lambs that, according to Jewish tradition, are brought to Jerusalem on this same day for sacrifice a day before the Passover feast. The Passover is near and it is incumbent on every male Jew to journey to Jerusalem to celebrate (Deut. 16:16).  Particularly, we notice the praise of the multitude: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Lk. 19: 38). This is a combination of two statements. The first is from Psalm 118:26, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord". The second c...

The Contrasting Identities We have been ushered into the 24th Sunday with readings from Isaiah (50:5-9), James (2:14-18) and Mark (8: 27-35) while the Psalmist affirms his position such that amidst the uncertainties of life he will "walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. 116: 9) The first reading opens with a beautiful declaration: "The Lord has opened my ear" (v. 5a). This declaration with the mention of the ear seem to carry the theme of last Sunday's reading with the whole issue about the 'ephphata' wherein we concluded that listening to God's Word is important. Today's first reading informs us about the challenges in resolving to listen only to God's Word and give it precedence.  This Sunday we have the second part of Isaiah which runs from chapters 40 to 55. Singularly, we have an excerpt from the 3rd Servant song in perspective. This servant suffers humiliation at his resolve to listen to God's voice as he ...