Category: Third Week

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IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, THERE IS JOY AND PEACE (CF. PS. 16:11)

⏰THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER 📕Acts 3:13-15, 17-19ab; Ps 4:2, 4, 7 and 9 (R.v.7b); 1 John 2:1-5a; Luke 24:35-48 Imagine the pains that the disciples had to bear at the death of Jesus. The experience must have been like that of the chicks that were separated from the mother hen. They were now exposed to persecution and so, they started hiding away for safety. That explains the setting of todays Gospel where Jesus came to meet them behind closed doors. That was also the reason why some of them were running away to Emmaus. So after calming the fears of...

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“LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT” (Acts 7:59)

⏰Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter (02 May 2017 – Memorial of St. Athanasius) ????Acts 7:51 – 8:1a; Ps 31:3bc-4, 6 and 7b-8a, 17 and 21ab (R.v.6a); John 6:30-35 Can you be brave enough to also make that last option for God? Remember always that heaven is our goal. All our struggles and way of life must be directed toward helping us to achieve that goal. Otherwise, we shall be running off the track. When Stephen was about to die, he cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). That kind of declaration can only be made by...

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“DO NOT LABOUR FOR THE FOOD WHICH PERISHES, BUT FOR THE FOOD WHICH ENDURES TO ETERNAL LIFE” (John 6:27)

⏰Monday of the Third Week of Easter (1 May 2017 – Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker) ????Acts 6:8-15; Ps 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 (R.v.1b); John 6:22-29???? Today is a day of many beginnings and celebrations. It is the first day of the week and the month and in the Church, this is one of the two months of special devotion to our Mother Mary, our grorial 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 situation as one...

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THE HOLY EUCHARIST: SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

⌚Third Sunday of Easter Year A (26 April 2020) 📖Acts 2:14, 22-33; Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 (R.v.11a); 1Pet 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 Do you really want to understand why the Church has the Liturgy of the Word before the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist? Read the story of the journey to Emmaus that we have in today’s Gospel (Luke 24:13-35). As the disciples journeyed towards Emmaus, bothered about the recent happenings of Jesus’ death and reported resurrection, Jesus himself prepares them well to receive him again at the breaking of the Bread by first breaking the Word for...

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“RISE AND GO… AND HE ROSE AND WENT” (Acts 8:26-27)

⏰Thursday of the Third Week of Easter (04 May 2017) ????Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 (R.v.1); John 6:44-51 ????”RISE AND GO… AND HE ROSE AND WENT” (Acts 8:26-27) My dear, by virtue of our baptism, we are made co-redeemers with Christ. In the concluding part of the Stations of the Cross, he addresses us, “My job as man is done. What is left is you…” How well have we been doing that which is left for us? In John 6:44-51, Jesus presents himself as the only channel to eternal life. Many people do not still understand this just as...

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“LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE” (John 6:68)

⏰Saturday of the Third Week of Easter (21 April 2018) 📕Acts 931-42; Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 (R.v.12); John 6:60-69 Believing in Christ and following him is not an easy venture. It calls for selflessness and absolute trust in God. The Christian truths are not based on what one wants to hear. Hence, anyone who wants to follow Christ must deny himself, carry his cross and follow him (cf. Matt 16:24). That demand for self emptying is not an easy one but one can accept it as St. Paul did for the surpassing value of knowing Christ (cf. Phil 3:8). Unless...

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“A LIGHT FROM HEAVEN FLASHED ABOUT HIM” (Acts 9:3)

⏰Friday of the Third Week of Easter (20 April 2018) 📕Acts 9:1-20; Ps 117:1, 2, (R. Mark 16:15); John 6:52-59 My dear, in John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world.” The evangelist had earlier informed us that this Light shines in darkness and darkness cannot withstand it (cf. John 1:5). In Matt 4:14-16, this Light brings freedom to those in darkness. All these are represented in the experience of St. Paul at his conversion. St. Paul was a zealous persecutor of the Christians before the great Light shone on him on his way to Damascus. One...

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“THIS ILLNESS WILL NOT END IN DEATH; RATHER IT IS FOR GOD’S GLORY” (John 11:4)

⏰Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter (18 April 2018) 📕Acts 8:1b-8; Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a (R.v.1); John 6:35-40   My dear, sometimes, God allows us to face some challenges because through them, a greater good would come up for us. It was through the persecution of Christians that the Good News was able to leave Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (see Acts 8:1-8), so that others might also believe in Jesus, the Bread of life and be saved (cf. John 6:35-40). Don’t get this point wrongly! Some people might now begin to argue that if God allows...

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“LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT” (Acts 7:59)

⏰Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter (17 April 2018) 📕Acts 7:51 – 8:1a; Ps 31:3bc-4, 6 and 7b-8a, 17 and 21ab (R.v.6a); John 6:30-35 Can you be brave enough to also make the last option for God? Remember always that heaven is our goal. All our struggles and way of life must be directed toward helping us achieve that goal. Otherwise, we shall be running off the track. When Stephen was about to die, he cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). That kind of declaration can only be made by one who is not attached to...

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“DO NOT LABOUR FOR THE FOOD WHICH PERISHES, BUT FOR THE FOOD WHICH ENDURES TO ETERNAL LIFE” (John 6:27)

⏰Monday of the Third Week of Easter (11 April 2016) 📕Acts 6:8-15; Ps 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 (R.v.1b); John 6:22-29 My dear, at the beginning of this new week, we are all invited to reflect on the content of or the basis for our faith. Is our faith built upon Christ the cornerstone or based on our selfish interests? In the Gospel, Jesus accused the people of seeking him not because they believe in him but because they had enough bread to eat. It was that same kind of selfish approach that initiated the jealousy and plot against Stephen in Acts...