Category: Year A

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“HE WHO LOVES IS BORN OF GOD AND KNOWS GOD” (1 John 4:7)

⏰Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus C (23 June 2017) ????Deut 7:6-11; Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8 and 10 (R.v.17ab); 1 John 4:7-16; Matt 11:25-30 My dear, in the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we celebrate love. The Heart of Jesus is the heart of love. Jesus is God and God is love (1 John 4:16). It then means that Jesus is love. In his apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in France, Jesus said, pointing to his heart, “Behold this heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing to testify its love...

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“HE WHO EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE FOREVER” (John 6:58)

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year A) Deut 8:2-3, 14b-16a; Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 (R.v.12a); 1Cor 10:16-17; John 6:51-58 “He Who Eats This Bread Will Live Forever” (John 6:58) The celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, in a very special way, invites us to reflect on the rich deposit of our faith which informs our celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Beyond that however, it affords us of the opportunity to reflect well on what we believe in so as to ensure that we are not dancing outside the...

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“…LIVE IN PEACE, AND THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU” (2 Cor 13:11)

SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY Exod 34:4b-6, 8-9; Dan 3:29-30, 31, 33, 32, 34 (R.v.29b); 2 Cor 13:11-13; John 3:16-18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen (2Cor 13:14). The theology of the Holy Trinity remains a mystery which is beyond full human understanding. The reality of the idea of the three persons in one God spreads through the entire scriptures but it is more obvious in the New Testament. The first instance is at creation right at beginning of the book of...

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THE SPIRIT OF EMPOWERMENT

Pentecost Sunday (Year A) Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1ab and 24ac, 29bc-30, 31 and 34 (R.v.30); 1Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 Happy birthday to all of us, sons and daughters of the Church. This is the day when we celebrate the birth of the Church. On this day of Pentecost, we celebrate the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus and those gathered with them (cf. Acts 2:1-11), a fulfillment of Jesus promise to them. This outpouring serves one important purpose – empowerment. Remember that towards the end of his earthly life, Jesus was constantly telling them...

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ALL GLORY IS FOR GOD AND FROM GOD

Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A) – World Communication Day Acts 1:12-14; Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8a (R.v.13); 1 Pet 4:13-16; John 17:1-11a Beloved in Christ, as we celebrate today, the world communication day, the Holy Father, Pope Francis encourages us to tell our story in the midst of the crisis that has enveloped the world. This story is the story of our faith. He warned us against telling stories that are fake and give false hope. We should rather tell the Gospel story, which will renew and strengthen us and the world. And so today, we tell the story of...

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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...

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CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 23; 1Pet 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10 Take a short trip back to the Old Testament. Most of the people that God appointed as leaders of Israel were professional shepherds: Jacob, Moses, David, etc. Apart from the fact that sometimes, sheep are stubborn and so need a man of patience, they are equally fragile and so need devoted protection. A good shepherd is always ready to lay down his life for the sake of his sheep (see 1Sam 17:34-36). See how this attitude reflects the action of the shepherd in the parable...

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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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THE DOUBTING THOMAS, COMMUNITY LIFE AND THE DIVINE MERCY

⏰SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) ????Acts 2:42-47; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15ab, 22-24 (R.v.1); 1 Pet 1:3-9; John 20:19-31 The three readings that we have in our Liturgy of today bring out the role of faith in the life of every Christian. The First Reading and the Gospel point out the influence of the Christian community in harnessing that faith. In the First Reading, the early Christian community lived a common life that helped them to grow in this faith. Four things characterized their community spirit: They devoted themselves to (a) the teaching of the Apostles Magisterium (b)...

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“BEHOLD THE POOREST KING THAT EVER LIVED…”

⏰Palm Sunday (Year A) 📖Isa 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18a, 19-20, 23-24 (R.v.2a); Phil 2:6-11; Matt 26:14 27:66 🎤“BEHOLD THE POOREST KING THAT EVER LIVED…” The above statement comes from the Stations of the Cross at the station where Jesus was stripped of his clothes. What does being poor mean here? It definitely does not mean poverty because another statement follows, “…Possessing nothing, I own all.” Hence that must be pointing to something in the neighborhood of one of the beatitudes that says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:3). So as we...