Daily catholic Reflection: Friday, April 28, 2023, Friday of the Third Week of Easter, Year A

Acts 9:1-20

Ps 117:1bc, 2

Jn 6:52-59          Full Readings

Saint Peter Chanel 

Jesus, the Bread of Life

Brethren, from the first reading, we see that God can use any one of us for his glory and for the proclamation of the Gospel, despite our sinful past and unfaithfulness to the covenant. Obviously, every saint has a past, and every sinner has the future. Saint Paul who was the chief persecutor of the church is now made an instrument of God to carry his name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel. God even promised that he will show him what he will have to suffer for His (God) name. We too can be like St Paul, let us always be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in us, who invites us daily to be witnesses to the Gospel through our life, words and deeds.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Saturday, April 15, 2023, Saturday in the Octave of Easter, Year A

Acts 4:13-21

Ps 118:1 and 14-15ab, 16-18, 19-21

Mk 16:9-15               Full Readings

Saint Caesar de Bus

Go, Preach the Gospel to the Whole Creation

We come to the end of the Easter Week and the final readings sets from the apostolic witness, which is to come, aided by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the belief in the resurrection of Jesus. So, having been with Jesus, learning from him, and having come to the full belief in the resurrection of Jesus, then Apostles are now set and commissioned by Jesus when he appears to them in the room, to go to the whole world to proclaim the good news to all creation. Saint Augustine of Hippo commenting on the Apostles' commissioning says that:

Daily Catholic Reflection: Friday, April 14, 2023, Friday in the Octave of Easter, Year A

Acts 4:1-12,

Ps 118:1-2 and 4.22-24.25-27ab,

John 21: 1-14       Full Readings

Blessed Peter Gonzalez

Cast into the Deep

Brethren, today Jesus appears to the Apostles again, at Lake Tiberias, which is called the Sea of Galilee. We remember the significance of this sea in Jesus' mission. It is where he called his first disciples and did many miracles around there and it was where his ministry started from.  The disciples had gone back for fishing and could not get anything the whole night. Jesus then orders them to cast into the deep for a big catch. What an amazing catch! This Gospel has a fundamental message which Jesus gives to his disciples and to all of us.

Daily catholic Reflection: Thursday, April 13, 2023, Thursday in the Octave of Easter, Year A

Acts 3:11-26

Ps 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9

Lk 24:35-48      Full Readings

Saint Martin I

Peace Be with You

Brethren, Jesus after appearing to various groups of people, we see him today appearing to his disciples in the room they were hiding and greeted them "Peace be with You." They were all astonished and thought they were seeing a ghost, but Jesus proved by showing himself, the wounds, the flesh and by eating with them so that they may come to believe. Why did Jesus really have to appear to different groups of people and do everything to prove that he is alive with his body and soul?

Daily catholic Reflection: Wednesday, April 12, 2023, Wednesday in the Octave of Easter, Year A

Acts 3:1-10 

Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Lk 24:13-35      Full Readings

Saint Teresa of Los Andes

Recognising Jesus in the Eucharist

Brethren, we continue to celebrate Easter and Jesus continues to appear to different groups of people while on the other hand, the Apostles are using the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the light of the Risen Lord to perform miracles and show that really the Lord who was crucified died, was buried and now is indeed alive; he has risen. Do we ourselves believe in this Resurrection, if Yes, let us take that light of resurrection to others.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Sunday, April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday of The Resurrection of the Lord, The Mass of Easter Day, Year A

Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8

Jn 20:1-9          Full Readings

Saint Casilda

The Empty Tomb

Alleluia! The Lord is Alive! He has Risen as He said! Let us Rejoice and shout Alleluia! because this is the day that the Lord has made, let us Rejoice and be glad in it, for the Lord has won over death and sin and has opened for us doors of life, death no longer has power on us. It is the resurrection of Jesus, the basis of our faith, the apex of our faith and the apex Christianity because without resurrection, our is nothing (1 Corinthians 15:14). The first of all proofs of the resurrection was the empty tomb. What is its significance?

Daily Catholic Reflection: Saturday, April 8, 2023, Holy Saturday At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, Year A

Gen 1:1-2:2

Ps104:1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35

Gen 22:1-18

Ps 16:5,8-11

Ex 14:15-15:1

Canticle: Ex 15

Isaiah 54:5- 14

Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13

Is 55:1-11

Canticle: Is 12

Bar 3:9-15.32-4:4

Ps 19:8-11

Ezekiel 36:16-17,18-28

Ps 42:2-3,5,4,43:3-4

Romans 6:3-11,

Ps 118:1-2,16-17,22-23

Mt 28:1-10          Full Readings

Saint Julie Billiart

He is not Here, Heis Risen

Brethren, Easter is here, let us celebrate, dance and rejoice that the Lord has risen from the dead, that the stone which was rejected has become the cornerstone, that Jesus is alive and that has conquered sin and death. This is what we call Easter, which begins on the time we sing Gloria in the Vigil mass today until Pentecost. It is the time to reap the fruits of what we have been fasting for, the labours, prayers and almsgiving which we have done throughout the forty days, it is the time to receive that light of Christ, and as we died to sin through our baptism, let us rise with him, with pure hearts, mind and bodies and walk in the light of the risen Christ forever.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Saturday, April 8, 2023, Holy Saturday During the Day (No Mass)

Reading I: Job 14:1-14 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24

Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16

Reading II: 1 Peter 4:1-8

Gospel: Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42          Full Readings

See also Easter Vigil Reflection

Saint Julie Billiart

Silent Day with Mary

Brethren, during the day of this Holy Saturday and in fact from yesterday after Jesus was crucified, is a sad moment for Christ Apostles and those who had believed in him. There is a great silence.  The Savior has died.  He rests in the tomb.  Many hearts were filled with uncontrollable grief and confusion.  Was He really gone?  Had all their hopes been shattered?  These and many other thoughts of despair filled the minds and hearts of so many who loved and followed Jesus.

On another hand, the Pharisees, chief priests and the prosecutors are on one side rejoicing for uprooting Jesus off from the land but also anxious if he may resurrect from the dead and they are put to shame. That's why they have employed the guards to watch over the tomb and sealed it with the stone so that nobody can steal him. 

While it's sadness, confusion on those who looked at him, the Messiah, die on the cross, it is joyful moment to the Holy Souls down in the land of the dead for Jesus has gone to finish up his mission of bringing salvation also to the dead, it was part of his mission, for when he resurrects, he will rise with him all the souls. Therefore, Jesus to complete his mission has to die, not only for the living but also to bring salvation to the dead for he is the Lord of all, heaven earth, in water, underground and world of the dead. 

 

As Christians, hope is not gone, we know Saturday night is coming, he is going to triumph over death, but let us take the reality of this Holy Saturday as silent as it is, in fact no mass during the day, to reflect upon Jesus' works and deeds, his words while he was still on Earth, how he was betrayed, persecuted, crucified, died, was buried, and figure out the experience of the tomb. We enter into the reality of losing a loved one, but with hope of eternal life, and we pray for our loved ones who rest in the tombs and have not got salvation and forgiveness of sins that Jesus may bring salvation to them and rise with them upon his resurrection. Therefore, this Saturday's message is the message of hope, not hope in a worldly sense, rather, it’s the message of divine hope.  Hope and trust in God’s perfect plan.  Hope in the fact that God always has a greater purpose.  Hope in the fact that God uses suffering and, in this case, death as a powerful instrument of salvation.

Holy Saturday is an ideal day to ponder the pondering heart of our Blessed Mother. There are several times in Sacred Scripture where we are told that Mother Mary pondered the mysteries of her Son’s life in her heart. She was one of the few who stood by Him in His agony and death. She stood before the Cross and prayerfully pondered His perfect sacrifice. The Blessed Mother held His dead body in her arms and pondered where His spirit had gone. And today she keeps vigil, pondering His imminent return to her.

Ponder her pondering heart. Try to unite your own heart with hers. Try to understand what she was thinking and hoping. Try to feel what she felt this sorrowful day. Try to experience her faith, her trust and her joyful expectation. So many people in this world walk in despair and confusion. So many have lost hope in the new life that awaits them. So many have their own form of interior death without allowing God to draw them into His Resurrection. So many people today need the hope that was so alive in the heart of our Blessed Mother that first Holy Saturday.

Spend time in silence today.  Try to enter into the reality of Holy Saturday. Let divine hope grow within you knowing that Easter is soon to come.

Let us Pray.

Dearest Mother Mary, on that first Holy Saturday, you kept vigil for your Son. You allowed the divine gift of hope to grow within you, and you allowed that hope to be your strength in the midst of the horror of the Cross. Pray for me that I may ponder your beautiful heart this day so that I, too, may be filled with hope as I endure the challenges of this earthly life. Give me a heart of joyful anticipation as I await the grace of new life our Lord so deeply desires to bestow upon me. Mother Mary, pray for me. Amen

Be blessed.

See also Easter Vigil Reflection

REFLECTION ON THE SEVENS WORDS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS

REFLECTION ON THE SEVEN WORDS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS

"I thirst." (In 19:28)

From the wood of a cross sanctified by his blood, God's own Son expresses the purpose of his becoming man. Jesus, one like us in all things but sin, thirsts for the souls of those he came to save. That is, every person on earth, beginning with Adam. Jesus wants to love us, and wants us to love him in return. So he thirsts. The thirst that Jesus experiences at his death endures throughout the ages. This last word of Jesus provides a first word for every Christian. No one should begin a day without remembering before all else that Jesus thirsts for his or her soul. "We love because he first loved us" (1 Jn 4:19). The priority of the divine initiative takes on human expression in the words of a thirsty, dying man.

Daily catholic Reflection: Friday, April 7, 2023, Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, Year A

Is 52:13—53:12

Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25

Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Jn 18:1—19:42           Full Readings

Saint Julie Billiart

Jesus, the Victorious King

Today is Good Friday, the Commemoration of the Lord's Passion as he shows us the greatest act of love to humanity. Good Friday is a day of penance for the whole Church, to be marked by fasting and abstinence from meat. No mass is celebrated that day. Today is called Good Friday alternative for 'Holy' while it's a dark day when Jesus died because though there is death of Jesus, there is more of good in the death of Jesus and no evil in it. It's good because it is the day Christ "showed His great love for man and purchased for him every blessing."

Daily Catholic reflection: Thursday, April 6. 2023, Holy Thursday -Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Year A

Ex 12:1-8, 11-14

Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18.

1 Cor 11:23-26

Jn 13:1-15            Full Readings

Saint Crescentia Hoess

The Significance of Jesus' Washing of the Feet

Brethren, today we begin the most sacred Triduum, the greatest Feasts in the life of the Church. Tonight we celebrate the Last Supper with our Lord. The Church then keeps vigil in prayer until midnight. Tomorrow, though Holy Communion that was consecrated on Holy Thursday is distributed, the Mass is not celebrated and the tabernacle is empty. We venerate the Cross, recall the Passion, and experience the silence of the death of our Lord. On Holy Saturday, the Liturgy is not celebrated until the sun sets and we begin the Easter Vigil celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Sunday, April 2, 2023, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Year A

Procession Gospel: Mt 21:1-11

Reading I: Is 50:4-7

Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Reading II: Phil 2:6-11

Gospel: Mt 26:14—27:66            Full Readings

Saint Francis of Paola

Jesus, Abandoned and Crucified Man

The entrance Gospel above shows Jesus asking for a colt and entering into Jerusalem. What a solemn welcome, what a hail, it was so marvelous from the crowd. It was just four short days before He would be arrested, He was received with great joy. As He entered, riding a donkey, the crowds spread their cloaks, strewed palm branches before Him and cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Mt. 21:9). Jesus was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He was given a Kingly welcome.