Category: Fifth Week

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter (16 May 2020) 📖Acts 16:1-10; Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 (R.v.1); John 15:18-21 Do you know that what constitutes a scandal may not really be something sinful? That is the point that St Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 concerning the food offered to idols. That is also why he had Timothy circumcised before he could follow him to a mission (cf. Acts 16:2-3) even after the gentiles had been dispensed of it by the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). How do you treat matters that could affect the faith of other people negatively? Remember...

⏰Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter (15 May 2020) 📖Acts 15:22-31; Ps 57:8-9, 10-12 (R.v.10a); John 15:12-17 Truth! The Scripture says that the knowledge of the truth will set us free (cf. John 8:32). See how the acknowledgement and appreciation of the truth (Acts 15:24-29) brought so much joy to the gentile-converts in Antioch (Acts 15:31). The apostles and elders did not mind that their judgement would not go down well with their fellow Jews who were at helm of the oppression of the gentiles. They must have been governed by the zeal to bear the fruit of love...

⏰Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter (17 May 2017) ????Acts 15:7-21; Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 10 (R.v.3); John 15:9-11 Whenever the followers of Jesus are faced with serious crisis, they always refer it to the disciples in Jerusalem. With the circumcision-associated crisis that rocked the early Church, they made recourse to the disciples which led to the convoking of the First Jerusalem Council (cf. Acts 15:1-21). Beyond the matters of crisis, most important decisions and clarification of the matters of faith were also left at the feet of the apostles and elders of the early Christians (see Acts 2:37). These...

⏰Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter (13 May 2020) 📕Acts 15:1-6; Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5 (R.v.1); John 15:1-8 The devil is not happy when the house of God thrives in faith and enjoys great peace. Consider that in the light of the contributions of the Jews towards the building of the early Christian community (Acts 15:1). They know that their insistence on circumcision would hinder more gentiles from embracing the faith. Remember that for an average Jew, salvation is prerogative of the Jews only (cf. Acts 11:2-3 – Peter was accused of feasting with the gentiles). Today, that same...

⏰Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter (12 May 2020) 📖Acts 14:19-28; Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21 (R.v.12a); John 14:27-31a Imagine St. Paul going back into the same city that stoned him close to death (cf. Acts 14:19-20). That was quite a display of an uncommon courage. For you to be able to bear authentic and courageous witness to God, you need to encounter Christ and be convinced of the message you carry. It is only then that one can begin to see the cross and sufferings as pathways to eternal life (cf. Acts 14:22). The important question for us today...

⏰Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter (11 May 2020) 📖Acts 14:5-18; Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16 (R.v.1ab); John 14:21-26 The time that Jesus had to spend with his disciples was getting shorter and so he had to prepare them for that time that he would no longer with them. One important thing that they need to do, which we too need to do as this working week begins, is to surrender all to Jesus and love him because that guarantees the Father’s love for us (John 14:23). Remember that we can love Jesus by being faithful to all that he...