Category: Fifth Week

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“PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU” (John 14:27)

⏰Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter (1 May 2018 – Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker) 📖Acts 14:19-28; Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21 (R.v.12a); John 14:27-31a Today is a day of many beginnings and celebrations. It is the first day of the month and in the Church, this is one of the two months of special devotion to our Mother Mary, our great intercessor. It is also the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker and the Workers Day. Over the time, our workers are not well treated all over the world. Considered from the Nigerian perspective, one could view the...

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HE IS THE VINE, WE ARE THE BRANCHES (cf. John 15:5)

⏰FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR B) 📕Acts 9:26-31; Ps 22:26b-27, 28 and 30, 31-32 (R.v.26b); 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8 Last Sunday, we reflected on Jesus the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Today, we reflect of Jesus, the vine that gives life and provides strength to his disciples, the branches. Without the vine, the branches are nothing. After all these lessons that show us how much God loves and cares for us, next Sunday, which would be the last Sunday before the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, Jesus would now send forth his disciples to...

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DO WE GATHER SOULS FOR CHRIST OR SCATTER THEM?

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...

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STAND FOR THE TRUTH!

⏰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...

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ABIDE IN JESUS SO THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE (cf. John 15:11)

⏰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...

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STRIVE TO REMAIN WITH JESUS

⏰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...

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BE CONVINCED OF YOUR FAITH; JESUS IS IN CHARGE!

⏰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...

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“NOT TO US, O LORD, BUT TO YOUR NAME GIVE THE GLORY” (Ps 115:1)

⏰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...

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JESUS, THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

⌚Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A) ????Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (R.v.22); 1Pet 2:4-9; John 14:1-12 As the end of his earthly life continued to draw nearer, Jesus continued his teachings to his disciples which were geared towards consolidating their faith and strengthening their will to remain with God. In the second major division of the Gospel of St. John, which is also referred to as the Book of Glory, he teaches his apostles the reality of life without him physically with them, thus preparing them for the time they will not see him. In the first division, the...