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LOVING GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY

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  Friday of the 7th week of Eastertide  Acts 25:13-21  Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20 John 21:15-19 In today’s first reading from Acts 25:13-21, we observe that after Paul’s incomplete trial before the Sanhedrin, a group of Jewish opponents conspires against him. Paul is currently in Caesarea, a Roman-controlled city on the coast of Judea. Still, he recognizes that he will not receive a fair hearing in Jerusalem because of his accusers' hostility. Therefore, he requests, as a Roman citizen with certain legal protections, to be tried before Caesar in Rome, aligning with his understanding of his divine calling to preach the Gospel there, as mentioned in yesterday’s reading. Today’s gospel passage (John 21:15-19) is a well-known account where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. This exchange also hints at the manner of Peter’s future martyrdom, as Jesus mentions that Peter will eventually face a death of disapproval for his faith. Having denied Jesus three times ea...
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Oneness of mind, unity in spirit.

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  Thursday of the 7th week of Eastertide  Acts 22:30,​23:6-11  Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11 John 17:20-26 Jesus continues his priestly prayer for his apostles, but this time his prayer extends to all believers and to those who are yet to believe in His name. This prayer unites everyone in faith in Jesus, emphasizing that faith is the foundation of spiritual life and the pathway to divine truth. The message of faith is the message of truth, highlighting that spiritual truth leads to salvation—being delivered from sin and eternal separation from God. Our salvation is from God, who is our refuge and strength, the ultimate protector in times of trouble. As Jesus preserved Paul’s life through divine intervention to carry out his mission of spreading the Gospel, so also God will make use of us, guiding and equipping us along our spiritual journey. God will make a way for us, opening doors where there seem to be none. Yes, the Lord of hosts, the commander of angels and armies, is wit...
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YOUR WORD O LORD IS TRUTH FOR YOU ARE THE TRUTH

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  Wednesday of the 7th week of Eastertide  Acts 20:28-38  Psalm 67(68):29-30,33-36 John 17:11-19 We have cried tears of sorrow over Paul’s farewell at Miletus, imagining the heartfelt embrace, the grief, and the sacred sorrow of a community losing its beloved apostle. Yet, perhaps those tears have clouded our eyes to the danger lurking within our own communities. Paul isn’t just saying goodbye—he’s warning us. “Savage wolves will come among you,” he declares, and some will even emerge from within, twisting the truth to gather followers for themselves. These aren’t obvious enemies at the gate or villains in disguise. They are insiders—leaders, voices fluent in God's language. Every bitter comment in online battles, every doctrinal scalp seized on social media, every so-called “defense of orthodoxy” that leaves someone spiritually wounded—these too are wolves dressed in holy vestments. They’ve mastered the art of crying at the right liturgies. In the Gospel, Jesus prays, “C...
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The hour has come

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  Tuesday of the 7th week of Eastertide  Acts 20:17-27  Psalm 67(68):10-11,20-21 John 17:1-11 In today’s gospel, Jesus discusses his own glory and that of his Father. What is the nature of this glory? It is the cross and here is the thing. Through the cross, God demonstrates the extent of his great love for sinners and the power of Jesus' redemptive sacrifice, which nullifies the debt of sin and reverses the curse of condemnation (Romans 8:1). Jesus honored and glorified the Father through his obedience and willingness to endure the cross for our sake. In the context of sacrifice, the highest form of honor is not attributed to those who simply fought and survived, but to those who voluntarily sacrificed their lives for their fellow citizens. Jesus freely and willingly offered his life out of obedience to the Father and love for humanity. Jesus invites each of us to deepen our personal relationship with the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who created us in love—to uni...
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Because the Father is with me

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  Monday of the 7th week of Eastertide  Acts 19:1-8  Psalm 67(68):2-7 John 16:29-33 In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that we should be brave,for he has conquered the world.  One important lesson that emerges is that, with Christ’s death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection, the meaning of the cross takes on multiple significances. Through His death, heaven is united with earth, and the cross becomes a key part of Divine Providence. From that moment on, the cross functions as a pulpit; it is seen as the greatest symbol of God's eternal love. Christ’s death on the cross is the perfect, once-and-for-all sacrifice that secures our redemption. It represents the height of divine self-revelation and signifies divine solidarity with human suffering. It embodies the eternal act of forgiveness and remains a lasting model of discipleship. Furthermore, it is the point where Satan is banished from the world. The cross embodies the beauty that rescues the world and the lo...
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  Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A)   Acts 1.12-14;   Ps 26;  I Pet 4.13-16;   Jn 17.1-11   This is eternal life: that they know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent.   Today’s gospel passage is taken from that great prayer of Our Lord which is known as His Priestly Prayer, in which He addresses His Father in a very moving dialogue in which he, as Priest, prays for Himself and his disciples, and offers to the Father the imminent sacrifice of His passion and death.  In this prayer, He speaks of his glory, a glory which He has from the Father, a glory which will be revealed on the cross. The word ‘glory’ refers to the splendour, power, and honour which belong solely to God. And now in His death, and then more clearly in His resurrection and ascension, Christ’s divinity is being revealed. He has for thirty years voluntarily disguised His divinity, but now that divinity will be manifested through His humanity, when the apostles ...
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  The Ascension of the Lord  Acts 1:1-11  Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9 Ephesians 1:17-23  Matthew 28:16-20 WHERE CHRIST HAS GONE, WE ASPIRE TO FOLLOW  In observing today’s significant feast, we acknowledge multiple aspects, including the profound mystery of Christ. Among these, we particularly recognize the extraordinary and wholly unmerited elevation of our human nature. When Christ was born and assumed our human nature, the union between His divine nature and ours was irrevocable. From that moment, human nature was no longer distant from the divine—separated, cast away, or excluded. At the Ascension, Christ returns to His Father’s throne and takes us with Him, that is, He elevates our human nature to heaven, united with His Divinity within His one Person.  Where He has gone, we aspire to follow, as we are now potentially able to do so. The foundational conditions for this potential were established at the Ascension. Our task now is to actualize this potential thr...
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