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.