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.

St. Joseph the Worker, Friday, 01-05-2026

Genesis 1:26 - 2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24 / Matthew 13:54-58   

In 1955, the Catholic Church dedicated May 1 to "Saint Joseph The Worker". 

The Catholic Church considers St. Joseph the patron saint of workers and craftsmen, besides others.

More than just wanting to honour the contributions of the working class and the rights of workers, the Church, in this feast, wants to teach about the holiness of work which contributes to creation and gives glory to God.

In the gospel, we heard that Jesus is known as "the carpenter's son". 

It means that St. Joseph was a carpenter and that Jesus would have also followed along in learning the trade.

Hence the gospel tells us, and the Church teaches us as well, that Jesus was indeed involved in the ordinary human life and had to work for a living, with all its satisfactions and drudgery.

But where once upon a time when work was seen as a curse because of sin in that "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread" (Gen 3:19), the Son of God has now sanctified work and now by the work of our hands we give glory to God.

So in whatever work we are doing, in whatever profession we are in, let us put our heart into it because we must know that over and above all, it is God that we serve and work for.

And just as St. Joseph taught Jesus to work with His hands, may St. Joseph also pray for us that by the work of our hands, and through the work of our hands, God will bless the world and may we beautify the world through the work of our hands.

4th Week of Easter, Thursday, 30-04-2026

Acts 13:13-25 / John 13:16-20   

The profession of a teacher is not just a job.

To be a teacher is to answer a call to serve by forming others.

Teachers form their students intellectually and also their character and integrity.

A good teacher will always have a revered place in the student’s memory.

In the gospel, Jesus says that no servant is greater than his master, and no messenger is greater than one who sent him.

Similarly, it can also be said that no student will ever forget the lessons of life that was learnt from the teacher.

But pride can come and distort the order of life and the integrity of life.

Because out of pride and disobedience, a servant can try to overthrow his master and desire to be the master.

Out of pride and vested motives, a messenger might want to distort the original message to make it in favour of him.

Jesus is our Teacher, our Master and He is our Word of life.

May we follow His teachings, and may we be faithful and obedient to Him.

May we understand His Word, so that we can echo His Good News of life and love to others.

4th Week of Easter, Wednesday, 29-04-2026

Acts 12:24 - 13:5 / John 12:44-50   

To know what a business or an organization is about, the thing to look for is its core business or its main activity.

That core business or main activity defines the business enterprise and the purpose of the organization.

And that core business or main activity should be so obvious that it goes without saying and it is also like written on its walls.

As for the early Church, the core spirituality and main activity is praying and fasting and the mission is the proclamation of the Word of God.

Even in the church of Antioch, besides the disciples, there were also prophets and teachers.

It was not just the activities of praying and fasting and proclamation of the Word of God, the people in the church were living images of the church’s core spirituality and mission.

So, when the Holy Spirit spoke, they listened and they also knew God wanted Barnabas and Saul to be set apart for a mission.

May we always be focused on the core spirituality of praying and fasting, and be faithful in sharing and proclaiming the Word of God.

So that when the Holy Spirit speaks, we will be able to listen and do what God wants of us.