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

1st Reading               Acts 5: 27b-32, 40b-41 Psalm                          30:2 & 4, 5-6, 11-12 & 13b (R. 2a) R:// "I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up" 2nd Reading             Revelation 5: 11-14 Gospel                         John 21:1-19 GRACIOUS OPPORTUNITIES Happy New Month! Friends, we are in May, the fifth month of the year. Whatever is associated with the number 5 comes with Grace. Five is the number of Grace. It is the reason why Jesus multiplied 5 loaves of bread for 5 thousand people. This is the gift of God. The month of May could be seen as a month of grace. Additionally, as Catholics, we should use this month to seek many graces from God as the month of May is the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the Rosary Month. We should use this delightful avenue ...

1st Reading     Acts 5:12-16 Psalm               118: 2-4, 22-24, 25-27a (R. 1) R:// "Give praise to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever" 2nd Reading     Revelation 1: 9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 Gospel                John 20: 19-31 LET THERE BE PEACE Beloved, today we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Year C), also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. This designation was established by Pope John Paul II on April 30th, 2000, during the canonization of Sr. Faustina Kowalska. Divine Mercy Sunday is a beautiful occasion that celebrates God's love and mercy. Upon examining today’s readings, we observe that the Gospel is the same across all three liturgical years. The Gospel passage for today is from John 20:19-31, while the other readings differ. The Gospel narrative tells us about two post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples as a group. This is where we have the famous man, Tho...

1st Reading         Acts 10: 34a. 37-43 Psalm                    118: 1-2, 15c-17, 22-23 (R. 24) R:// "This is the day the Lord had made; let us rejoice in it and be glad" or Alleluia 2nd Reading       Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8 Gospel                  John 20: 1-9 THE TOMB IS NOT ENTIRELY EMPTY This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad (Ps. 118: 24).  Dear friends, the much anticipated day, the day for which we have been preparing for a length of 40 days has finally come. Today is Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord. This Sunday is the mother of all sundays. The other Sundays are "little easters." Our Lord is risen, and this strengthens our hope that the Messiah came and has done the work of redemption. The Lord is truly risen, alleluia.  Let us drink from the treasury of today's Gospel passage fro...

1st Reading     Genesis 1: 1-2:2 (Ps. 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 13-14, 24 and 35c —R. cf 30) 2nd Reading   Genesis 22: 1-18 (Ps. 16: 5 and 8, 9-10, 11 — R. 1) 3rd Reading    Exodus 14:15-15:1 (Ps. Exodus 15: 1b-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18 — R.1b) 4th Reading    Isaiah 54: 5-14 (Ps. 30: 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b — R. 2a) 5th Reading    Isaiah 55: 1-11 (Ps. Isa. 12: 2-3, 4bcde, 5-6 — R. 3) 6th Reading   Baruch 3: 9-15, 32 -4: 4 (Ps. 19: 8, 9, 10, 11— Jn. 6:6c) 7th Reading     Ezekiel 36: 16-17a, 18-28 (Ps. 42:3, 5bcd; 43:3, 4 — R. 42:2) Epistle            Romans 6: 3-11 Gospel             Luke 24: 1-12 GUARD AGAINST DISBELIEF  Beloved, today we are at the Vigil of Easter. What this means is that the following day is Easter itself, and we are keeping watch in this most holy night. This is the vigil of all vigils in the Church's year because it anticipates the highest...

1st Reading         Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Psalm                   31: 2 and 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17 and 25 (R. Lk. 23:46b) R:// "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" 2nd Reading       Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Gospel                 John 18:1-19: 42 BE STRONG Beloved, as we experience the silence of the Triduum, let us keep a few points from the Gospel passage from John 18:1-19:42 in mind to help our meditation. The Passion narrative according to John is read every year on Good Friday.  I suggest that we focus on Peter's denial. This has much to teach us about the various areas that we can also deny the Lord. In all, the final question will be, "Will I also deny the Lord?" We need to understand that Peter is a man of extreme zeal and faith. He is like many of us. He is that person who would zealously want to stay with Jesus and go through every moment with him. How...

1st Reading           Exodus 12: 1-8, 11-14 Psalm       116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18 (R. cf. 1 Cor. 10: 16) R:// "The cup of blessing is a participation in the blood of Christ"  2nd Reading          1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 Gospel                      John 13:1-15 THE WORK AND THE WORKER ARE INSTITUTED Friends, today, we commence the Sacred Paschal Triduum with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. In this Mass, we recall the gift of the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood. Therefore, we celebrate the work and worker. Let us take a few noteworthy details from the first reading and the Gospel narrative. Let us begin with the first reading from Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14. This is a passage that is read on every Holy Thursday at the Mass of the Lord's Supper. The narrative is found within the surgence of the plagues. The flow of the occurrence of the plagues is interce...

1st Reading           Isaiah 50: 4-7 Psalm                      22: 8-9, 17-18a, 19-20, 23-24 (R. 2a) R:// "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 2nd Reading        Philippians 2: 6-11 Gospel                   Luke 22:14-23:56 BE A HELP TO THE HELPLESS Beloved, today is Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Year C). This year, we have the passion narrative from the Gospel according to Luke. In year A, we read from Matthew, and in year B, we read from Mark. Because we are in Year C, we are reading from Luke. John's account of the Passion is read on Good Friday every year.  I would like us to look at three groups of helpers in the narrative according to Luke. There are three groups of people I want us to pay attention to. Jesus is on the way to the cross and to be killed.  The first person is Simon of Cyrene. He came unto the sce...