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.