7th Week of Easter, Wednesday, 20-05-2026

Acts 20:28-38 / John 17:11-19    

The greatest danger for a community or an organization is not a danger from the outside.

Dangers from the outside can be threatening and fearful.

But when the community or organization is united within, then the danger can be warded off.

But the greatest danger is from within the community or organization.

Because it is from within that traitors and betrayers may, and will arise, and that is what St. Paul is saying in the 1st reading.

And these traitors and betrayers will cause the greatest damage to the community or organization.

But why would some people become traitors and betray the unity of the community?

There can be many reasons but mainly it would be pride and selfishness.

They would break away from the truth and think that they are right.

They would tend to love themselves and also want others to love them.

Jesus said this in the gospel: I kept those you have given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one who chose to be lost.

We belong to the faith community of the Body of Christ.

Jesus watches over us and protects us from the evil one and from the dangers of pride and selfishness.

Let us keep united in the truth and love of Jesus, and we will be at peace even in the face of dangers.

7th Week of Easter, Tuesday, 19-05-2026

Acts 20:17-27 / John 17:1-11  

It is difficult for us to imagine a life filled with misfortune and hardships.

If that is really the case, we would surely be moaning and groaning.

After all, what is there to look forward to, except to take one hit after another.

If we think that it is highly unlikely there would be such a person or such a life, then we may need to look again at the first reading.

After his conversion, St. Paul seemed to be going down the road of suffering, hardship and persecution.

He himself said that he had no idea what will happen to him when he goes to Jerusalem.

But the Holy Spirit had made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution awaited him.

But St. Paul said this: Life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided when I finish my race, I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that is to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.

By his life, and with his life, he witnessed to what he said about himself.

We may not have to face the suffering, hardships and persecution that St. Paul faced.

But by our life, and with our life, may we be like St. Paul, bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.

7th Week of Easter, Monday, 18-05-2026

Acts 19:1-8 / John 16:29-33    

A fundamentalist is a person who strictly and literally adheres to a set of basic, foundational principles.

But that set of basic, foundational principles may just be a part of the whole picture.

So, to stick strictly and literally to those limited principles can cause problems and even troubles.

In other words, a little bit of knowledge can be rather dangerous.

In the gospel, the disciples could see that Jesus knows everything and do not have to wait for questions to be put into words.

And because of that they believed that Jesus came from God.

But Jesus warned them that though they believed that He came from God, their faith will be put to the test.

And their faith will be shaken and they will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving Jesus alone.

If the disciples’ faith can be shaken, so can our faith be shaken too.

We may say that we believe in Jesus, but when troubles come our way, we will find it difficult to keep believing.

For all that we say about what we believe in, let us also admit that our faith is not that strong.

It is only when we admit that we are weak, then Jesus who conquered the world will make us strong.

7th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 17.05.2026

Acts 1:12-14 / 1 Peter 4:13-16 / John 17:1-11  

The month of June is just two weeks away. That might be important to know because the school break is in June. 

And along with the school break, then it is holiday time. 

Even though the current worldwide situation is unstable, even though prices from fuel to food has risen, the urge for going on holiday has grown greater. 

Maybe it is the “in” thing to do, and we want to be with the “in” crowd. 

Maybe it has got something to do with the syndrome called FOMO. 

FOMO stands for “fear of missing out”, and it is not just about going for holidays. 

It is the feeling of anxiety or worry that other people are having a great and exciting and enjoyable time without us. 

This often happens when we see things on social media like friends travelling, partying and having a good time and we are left out, or that we have missed some “in” thing. 

So, the fear of missing out stems from some insecurity that we are being left out, or that we are forgotten, or that we are not with the “in” crowd doing the “in” thing. 

For the disciples of Jesus, they were looked upon with suspicion, and consequently they faced rejection, and subsequently persecution. 

They were not with the “in” crowd doing the “in” thing, but they were not affected by the fear of missing out. 

Instead, they formed for themselves a community of faith that united them in prayer.

The 1st reading says that after the Ascension of Jesus, the apostles and disciples went back to Jerusalem and gathered in the upper room. 

Together with the apostles and disciples were several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus. 

This last mention of Mary together with the apostles and disciples, was an important and significant detail. 

Because Mary was together with the apostles and disciples in continuous prayer. 

The image of the early Church at prayer expressed what Jesus said in the gospel about knowing the one true God. 

And knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent leads us to eternal life. 

Mary and the apostles and disciples were united in prayer because of their faith in Jesus Christ and in the one true God. 

With faith and prayer, the early Church was not affected by the fear of missing out. 

They didn’t have to be with the “in” crowd or doing the “in” thing. 

And it can be said that they were the opposite of FOMO, and that is JOMO, which stands for the “joy of missing out”. 

If they were missing out on what the rest of the world are doing, it is because they had the joy of being belonged to God. 

As Jesus said in His prayer to the Father: They were Yours and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. 

We are in the world, but we are not of the world. 

There is no fear of missing out, but we must be a people of prayer and be a Church at prayer. 

It is at prayer then we profess our faith in the one true God and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent. 

It is in prayer that we proclaim that God is above all. 

God must be above all, especially in the Church, or we will be nothing at all. 

May Mary and the Saints pray for us, that we can miss out on everything, but we must not miss out on God.

6th Week of Easter, Saturday, 16-05-2026

Acts 18:23-28 / John 16:23-28

We might think that if things go our way, life would be easy and we would be happy.

That would, of course, be very nice to imagine, that everything would be as we wanted it to be.

But we know that such is not the case, and it won’t ever be the case.

When we reflect and think deeper about it, if everyone has it their way, this world would be chaotic.

Because everyone has a personal opinion and wants things his way.

In the gospel, Jesus says this: I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask for from the Father, he will grant you.

That might sound too good to be true, but we also know that not everything that we asked God for was granted to us.

God will give us what is good for us because He loves us.

And if we love God, then we should ask Him to give us what is good for us, as well as what is good for others.

Let us pray that we will always love God and know what His will is for us.

When we are united in the love of God, then we will do things His way, and not want to have it our way.

6th Week of Easter, Friday, 15-05-2026

Acts 18:9-13 / John 16:20-23 

We may want to think about that last sentence of the gospel passage that we have just heard when Jesus said: When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.

Yes, we will always have our questions about life, about our faith, about God and about eternity.

And of course we want answers. Yet we only want the answers we want to hear.

For example, when we are having it difficult or when we are suffering, we only want others to sympathize with us and to hear our complaints as we wallow in self-pity.

We feel that everybody is against us and everything is so bleak, and hence the only thing we want to hear is that everybody is wrong and that we are right.

Yes, that is the answer we want to hear when we are having it rough.

But as we heard in the 1st reading, St. Paul had it rough and tough.

He could have just called it quits and not even bothered to listen to the Lord.

But he listened to the Lord and had faith in the Lord and believed that the Lord was with him.

Indeed the Lord was with him and protected him from harm.

The Lord will also protect us from harm and we will even be able to rise from our troubles and difficulties and find joy in life.

When we listen to the Lord's answer, then indeed we will have no more questions.

Ascension (Year A), Thursday, 14-05-2026

Acts 1:1-11 / Ephesians 1:17-23 / Matthew 28:16-20

One of the boring and frustrating moments in life is when we have to wait. 

We don’t like it when we have to wait for someone who is late. 

But the fact of life is that we spend a lot of time waiting. 

We wait for the bus or the train to arrive. 

We wait for the service man or the delivery man to come. 

We wait for our turn to be called to the service counter. 

When we have to wait, we want to know how long we have to wait. 

We want to know what time the things or the people will come. 

In other words, we want to be in control of our time and our schedules. 

We don’t like to waste time or wait for things to happen or for people to arrive. 

In the 1st reading, Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what God had promised, and that is the Holy Spirit. 

The pressing question that the disciples would want to ask is, when will it be, what time will it be, what day will it be. 

Jesus said: It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided on His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses. 

In other words, all will be in God’s time, and all will be done in God’s way. 

Jesus assures us in the gospel that He will be with us always, to the end of time. 

Jesus has ascended into heaven, and He is the Lord of all creation, and he is the Lord of all time. He is Beginning and the End, He is the Alpha and the Omega.

Knowing that Jesus is with us always, let us continue His saving mission on Earth. 

Let us use the time we have to share the gospel teachings with others and help them to be disciples and to be baptised. 

Even in waiting, let us spend that moment to talk with the Lord Jesus.

There are many things that we want to tell Him, and there are also many things that He wants to say to us.

So, the time spent in waiting is best spent praying and listening to the gentle voice of the Lord Jesus.

May our time be in God’s time. 

Then our time on Earth will be meaningful to ourselves, and we will use our time to be helpful to others.

6th Week of Easter, Wednesday, 13-05-2026

Acts 17:15, 22 - 18:1 / John  16:12-15  

Nature teaches us about the many aspects of life.

Nature is like a mother, and that is why we call nature “Mother Nature”.

A mother nurtures her children slowly and helps her children to understand life.

So, our knowledge about life and nature does not come only from books or that we can learn everything at one go.

We learn about life and nature slowly and gradually by what we see and by what we experience.

In the 1st reading, Paul mentioned about how God raised Jesus from the dead.

At this, some of his listeners burst out laughing, while others were interested in knowing more about it, and followed him and became his disciples.

In the gospel, Jesus said that He still has many things to say to His disciples, but they would be too much for them to grasp at that moment.

We too may not understand the mysteries of our faith.

But let us be patient and keep pondering and one day, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what we need to know.

Then our faith will grow and be strengthened, and we will bear fruits of faith accordingly.

6th Week of Easter, Tuesday, 12-05-2026

Acts 16:22-24 / John 16:5-11  

There are many things in this world that are beyond our knowledge and understanding.

Yet, we often think that we know a lot and with science and technology, we are able to find an explanation to everything and have a solution to every problem.

But when something baffles us and we can’t find an explanation or a solution, we may still not want to admit that we don’t know.

In the 1st reading, who could really give an explanation for the doors of the jail that flew open and the chains that fell off from all the prisoners?

Of course, earlier on there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations.

But could that be an acceptable explanation?

Or how about when the gaoler and his whole family were converted and baptized there and then? 

These events are of the past and though they are recorded, we also do not know all the facts.

But we also have to admit that one of the most difficult things to explain is when people have a change of heart.

When people, or even ourselves, admit that we are wrong, it is not necessary that it was mere human intervention or that there was a spectacular event.

As Jesus said in the gospel, He will send the Holy Spirit who will show the world how wrong it was about sin, about who was in the right and about judgement.

Yes, it is by the power and by the light of the Holy Spirit that God will reveal to us about the mysteries of life.

And it is by the revelation of the Holy Spirit that we will know who we are and who God is, and then we will know what God wants of us.

6th Week of Easter, Monday, 11-05-2026

Acts 16:11-15 / John 15:26 - 16:4  

We human beings naturally want to have peace.

But the strange thing is that in order to have peace, we do the defensive.

As the saying goes, in order to have peace, we prepare for war.

And in order to secure peace, human beings even go on the offensive to eliminate all threats and possible dangers.

So, human beings want peace, but the strange thing is that they use violence to try to achieve it.

Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate to protect us.

The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of truth.

The truth is that no armour or security can protect us or give us peace.

Jesus wants us to know that the Holy Spirit is our Advocate and we will be protected from danger and harm.

In other words, God is our Protector, and when we live our lives in truth, we will be at peace.

6th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 10.05.2026

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 / 1 Peter 3:15-18 / John 14:15-21  

Last Thursday, 8th May, was a significant and meaningful day for the Church. 

If we are wondering about the significance and meaning of that day, then we need to recall the events of one year ago. 

On the 8th May 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the new Pope. 

The pre-election and post-election stories were interesting and maybe even amusing. 

We may remember the family of seagulls perched on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, just before the white smoke bellowed from the chimney. 

There was also a baby seagull in that family, and some commented that the seagulls were having a bird’s eye view of the Conclave. 

And those seagulls appearing before the white smoke was interpreted as a good sign. 

And some people also remembered that seagulls were also present on the roof at the election of Pope Francis. 

That was the pre-election event. When Cardinal Robert Prevost was presented as the new Pope, the comments came in fast. 

So, he is the first American Pope. But he was literally an unknown candidate, and he was not among the so-called favourites. 

And the American Cardinals don’t quite know who he is. 

For all that had happened one year ago on 8th May, the meaning and significance are now being slowly unfolded. 

And there is no doubt that the process of the election of Pope Leo XIV was guided by the Holy Spirit. 

In the gospel, Jesus says that God will send another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to be with us forever. 

An Advocate is a protector, an Advocate also means a person who speaks in favour of or plead for someone. 

The Spirit of truth protects us from falsehood and from going the wrong way. 

And the Spirit of truth is also the Spirit of love, for truth and love are like the two sides of the same coin. 

Truth without love is cold and hard, and it can be used to accuse, to judge and to condemn. 

Love without truth has no principles or directions, and it is like a kite that is not grounded with a string. 

Through the Spirit of truth and love, God has chosen Leo XIV to be the Pope to lead the Church in this anxious and challenging times.

With the Spirit as the Advocate, Pope Leo XIV has spoken out for the respect of the dignity of the person, as well as the dignity of nations, in the midst of hostilities.

Pope Leo XIV has taught us to speak the truth with love. 

The truth is the truth and nobody can deny it, even if nobody admits to it. 

And the truth spoken and acted with love is like a light that silently scatters the darkness. 

And as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we honour our mothers for being our advocate, just as Holy Spirit is the Advocate of the Church. 

Very often, our mothers have the first say and also the last say. 

But we also acknowledge that whatever they say, they say it with truth and love. 

That is why we often say this: My mother used to tell me ... 

Yes, we remember the truth because it was spoken with love. 

May God bless our mothers as they teach us about the truth of life with love in their hearts. 

And may the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, protect us from danger and evil. 

And may the Spirit of truth help us to be witnesses of the truth that is lovingly proclaimed with the love of God.

5th Week of Easter, Saturday, 09-05-2026

Acts 16:1-10 / John 15:18-21   

The world has come to such a state that doing good may lead to some kind of misunderstanding.

Maybe there is just too much bad and wickedness around and the world is getting used to it.

So even if it is said that this world is bad and wicked, it is acceptable and no one would really make a fuss about it.

Maybe that is the obvious and glaring reality and we think it is normal.

However to be good and to do good is like an oddity and an exception.

Even to have a religion and to be religious may look like suspicious.

But that kind of world view should not deter us from being who we are and what we are called to do.

We are disciples of Jesus and we live according to His teachings and His way of life.

After all, even when Jesus was in this world, He was rejected and persecuted right to being crucified on the Cross.

But for those who accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, He gives them power to face and to overcome the evil in this world.

Evil and wickedness can only grow and multiply when good people do nothing about it.

By being disciples of Jesus, we want to bring goodness back into the world.

It is in doing good, that we be the witnesses of the holiness of God in this world.

5th Week of Easter, Friday, 08-05-2026

Acts 15:22-31 / John 15:12-17    

It is understandable that we have the tendency to do what is easy.

After all, why would we choose to do what is challenging and difficult?

To put it bluntly, we tend to be lazy and choose what is easy, or even to do nothing at all.

But when we try to avoid challenges and difficulties, we will miss out something important in life.

We will not find meaning and direction in life, and after a while we might even feel lethargic and melancholic about life.

In the gospel, Jesus gave us a commandment, and that is to love one another, as He has loved us.

Loving others can be challenging and difficult. 

It can also be tiring and even seem like a thankless task.

But we know that Jesus loved us and He even laid down His life for us.

As we ponder about life and love, we will also remember what Jesus said about life.

If we want to save our lives, we will lose it.

But when we offer our lives to serve and to love others, we will gain meaning and direction.

And most of all, we will gain blessings from God, and we will also see how beautiful life and love is.

5th Week of Easter, Thursday, 07-05-2026

Acts 15:7-12 / John 15:9-11    

Human beings are adventurous.

We like to be on the move to make discoveries.

So we go to new places to see the sights, to taste the food, to wonder at the cultures and practices of other peoples.

But no matter how far we may go, and no matter how excited we may be by our experiences, there is usually one eventuality.

And that is we will usually return home.

We will usually return to our roots and to where we belong.

In the gospel, Jesus said to His disciples:

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love.

But because of our adventurous and curious tendency, we may get tired of the usual faith practices and teachings.

So we may tend to look around for new ideas and other interesting ways to discover the spiritual and the supernatural.

But there is also the possibility that we might end up like a kite without being grounded by the string.

But more importantly, let us remain in the love of Jesus with the prayer forms of the Church.

In remaining in the love of Jesus, we will be able to find the joy of being with the one true God.

5th Week of Easter, Wednesday, 06-05-2026

Acts 15:1-6 / John 15:1-8  

In the 1st reading, there was a disagreement about the practice of circumcision.

There were long arguments, and the apostles and the elders had to meet to look into the matter.

But for a group of people to be united in one faith and one practice, they also must have a common love.

It is only with that common love for Jesus that the early Church can grow and be what it is today.

But as Jesus said in the gospel, He is the vine and we are the branches.

In order to be united in love and bear fruit, we must be pruned.

We must cut off what leads us to sin that will cause disunity and scandals.

Let us remain close to Jesus and make our home in Him.

With the common love for Jesus and united in His love, we will also be able to bear fruits of faith and love.

5th Week of Easter, Tuesday, 05-05-2026

Acts 14:19-28 / John 14:27-31   

The word “peace” is a word that is mentioned often and we may know what it generally means.

It may be generally understood as the absence of conflict.

It may also be understood as calm and stillness.

But it may be helpful to understand what peace means in the Bible.

The Hebrew word “shalom” may be translated as peace.

Shalom has a few meanings: wholeness, completeness, sound health, safety, and prosperity.

To greet another person with the word “shalom” or “peace” signifies a blessing of total well-being.

In the gospel, Jesus said to His disciples:

Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.

The disciples of the early Church understood and experienced that gift of peace from Jesus.

Paul and Barnabas experienced stoning and persecution, but they went on with the peace of Jesus in their hearts.

They put fresh hearts into the other disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith.

They faced many hardships, but they had the peace of Jesus in their hearts.

We too have that peace of Jesus in our hearts.

Let us also share the peace of Jesus with others.

The world cannot give us that peace that Jesus has given us.

5th Week of Easter, Monday, 04-05-2026

Acts 14:5-18 / John 14:21-26  

As Christians, we are disciples of Jesus.

And as disciples of Jesus, we have a mission in this world.

Our mission is to reveal the presence of Jesus for others.

In the 1st reading, Paul and Barnabas went around preaching the Good News.

Then Paul saw a crippled man listening to the Good News and he saw that the man had faith.

So Paul said to the crippled man, “Get to your feet – stand up.”

And the crippled man jumped up and began to walk.

When the crowd saw that, they got excited and thought that Paul and Barnabas were gods disguised as men.

Paul and Barnabas tried to tell the crowd that they were just messengers of God, but the excitement of the crowd was overwhelming.

Although we may not be addressing crowds and performing miracles of healing, our mission is just as important.

We are messengers of the Good News that will also make us signs of God’s presence in this world.

And because Jesus has made His home in our hearts, then our mission is to bring others back home to God.

May we always love Jesus and others will see that love and they will come home to the God of love.

5th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 03.05.2026

Acts 6:1-7 / 1 Peter 2:4-9 / John 14:1-12  

One of the deepest desires in life is to be happy. 

To be happy may mean that we don't have any anxieties and worries. 

It may also mean that we don’t have to face the struggles and troubles of life. 

So, if there are no anxieties and worries, no struggles and troubles in life, then we would be happy in life. 

But happiness in life seems to be so elusive. The moments of happiness are short and few. 

Whereas, anxieties and worries, struggles and troubles, seemed to come one after another. 

All these forms the burdens in our hearts and make us drag our feet along in life. 

We are anxious and worried about our health, our future, our financial security, our work stress, our children, our parents. 

Our hearts are troubled when relationships with family members, relatives and friends become tensed due to some misunderstanding or quarrels. 

That is enough to say what we already know, and that is, life is difficult. 

Sure, life is difficult, but that is not the end of the statement; it is just a pause. 

Because in the gospel, Jesus said this to His disciples: 

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, in trust in me. 

Jesus made a promise to us that there are many rooms in His Father’s house, and He has prepared a place for us there. 

That promise is our greatest assurance and consolation from Jesus. 

In short, Jesus is telling us that He has already saved us and that He will bring us to heaven. 

So, it means that while we walk in the struggles and troubles of life, our minds and our hearts should be on the promise of above. 

But we get distracted by the anxieties and worries of life. 

And with that, our hearts become disturbed, and we forget about the promise of that place in heaven. 

Yes, we forget because we get distracted. 

We get distracted by the anxieties and worries, about the struggles and troubles, and our hearts become disturbed. 

And when we look at the distraction, and reflect upon the disturbance, what is the cause of it?

Well, the question is not about what, but about who is the cause of it. 

Needless to say, the devil is the cause of it; he is the cause of our disturbance and distraction. 

He wants to distract and disturb us so that we will forget about the promise of Jesus. 

He wants to bring our minds and hearts down to the things of earth and forget about the promise of above. 

We see that in the 1st reading when there was a problem in the early Church about the distribution of food. 

But, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles chose seven men to look into the task of the distribution of food. 

As the apostles pointed out: It is not right for us to neglect the Word of God so as to give out food. 

So, when we don't do what is right, our hearts will be troubled. 

And when we neglect we will also forget. 

So, we need to look at our anxieties and worries, and also our struggles and troubles. 

It is like looking at our reflection in a basin of water. 

We will not be able to see a good reflection when the water is boiling. 

Only when the water is still and calm, then can we see our reflection clearly. 

May the consoling and assuring promise of Jesus put out the sharp flames of distraction and disturbance in our hearts. 

May Jesus our Saviour, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, lead us towards that place in heaven which He has promised us.

4th Week of Easter, Saturday, 02-05-2026

Acts 13:44-52 / John 14:7-14    

A book is not judged by its cover.

So, appearances can say one thing, but the essence can be something else.

But there is no doubt that much emphasis and importance are placed on image and appearances.

So when image and appearance do not match the essence and character, then it would lead to confusion and contradiction.

In the gospel, Jesus tells Philip that to have seen Him is to have seen the Father.

Jesus goes on to explain that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him.

And the words that Jesus says is not from Himself. It is the Father, living in Him, who is doing all the work.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called Christians, which means that we are a reflection of who Jesus Christ is.

Even if we don’t publicly identify ourselves as Christians, our character and integrity should reflect the person of Jesus Christ.

The one profound expression of our Christianity is the love of God.

When others see us as a person of love, they would see presence of Jesus Christ in us.

Let us love as Jesus Christ loves us, and others will know we are Christians by our words and actions.