Daily Readings

July 03, 2025, Thursday

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

Reading 1

Acts of the Apostles 10:24–35

In those days: Peter and brothers from Joppa entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 42:2–3; 43:3, 4

*Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams,

so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the living God;

when can I enter and appear before the face of God? 

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

O send forth your light and your truth; they will guide me on.

They will bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. 

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

And I will come to the altar of God, to God, my joy and gladness.

To you will I give thanks on the harp, O God, my God. 

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

Reading 2

1 Peter 1:3–9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Have you believed, Thomas because you have seen me? says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed..

Gospel

John 20:24–29

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Reflection

Saint Thomas is venerated as the Apostle of India. He is hailed as the bridge between Jesus and India because he was instrumental in bringing the Christian faith to this land 2000 years ago. The life of Thomas teaches us many lessons: First, his name Thomas (Twin) indicates twin characteristics - the courage to “go and die” with Jesus (Jn 11:16) and at the same time doubting and refusing to believe that Jesus was risen when the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord. Secondly, Saint John’s gospel presents Thomas as a questioning person. He asks Jesus, “Lord where are you going” (Jn 14:5). It is good to take our questions to Jesus our Master. Questions lead to answers that clarify our doubts and ignorance. Thirdly, his life teaches that being part of a community is necessary. Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to his disciples (Jn 20:24). Being part of the community, formed in Jesus’ name, helps us to withstand all kinds of doubts and obstacles that come our way in following Jesus. Lastly, Thomas proves that a personal experience of Jesus is necessary to proclaim his gospel.

St Thomas, Apostle and Martyr (1st century)

St Thomas, whose Aramaic name te’ômâ, translated “Didymos” in Greek, means the “twin”, was an unlearned simple fisherman from Galilee. He was called by Jesus to be one of his 12 Apostles. A glimpse of Thomas’ great love for his master is evident at the time when he was ready to accompany Jesus to the house where Lazarus had just died, though the other Apostles feared being stoned by the Jews in Judaea —“Let us also go; that we may die with him!” (Lk 11:16) It was his declaration at the Last Supper: “Lord we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5) that drew the assertion from Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6). He is called the “Doubting Thomas” for his refusal to believe in Jesus’ Resurrection when told of it by the other Apostles. Present with them at Jesus’ second apparition, Thomas made that timeless act of faith: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28).

Theomas’ missionary activities are said to have been, among other places, chiefly in India where he is believed to have landed in 52 AD. In fact, he is to Kerala what Saint Francis Xavier is to Goa!  Thomas is believed to have met his death by the spear at Mylapore (now San Thome) in Madras, where the miraculous cross of St Thomas is now venerated.

St Thomas was declared the Apostle of India by Pope Paul VI in 1972.

Reflection: “By this doubting of Thomas we are more confirmed in our belief than by the faith of the other apostles” (St Gregory the Great).

Daily Readings

July 2, 2025

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 21:5, 8–20

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 34:7–8, 10–11, 12–13

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

This lowly one called; the Lord heard,

and rescued him from all his distress.

The angel of the Lord is encamped

around those who fear him, to rescue them.

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

Fear the Lord, you his holy ones.

They lack nothing, those who fear him.

The rich suffer want and go hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

Come, children, and hear me,

that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is it that desires life and longs to see prosperous days?

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

Alleluia

James 1:18

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Gospel

Matthew 8:28–34

At that time: When Jesus came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Reflection

Jesus casts out demons from two persons. The villagers begged Jesus to leave the place because they were worried about their assets while ignoring the invaluable freedom from demoniac possession now being enjoyed by those two men. Here we see two sets of values working parallel to each other: 1) Values of Jesus characterized by the dignity of human life, freedom and joy and 2) Values of this world, characterized by attachments to and enslavement of worldly possessions, demons of greed, consumerism, selfishness, indifference to human suffering, denial of dignity, and a culture of death. Are we on the side of the values of Jesus?

Sts. Processus and Martinian, Martyrs (c. -100 -)

Though about their life nothing much is known, the veneration in which these two martyrs were held by the Christians of Rome goes beyond the 4th century. However, according to Roman Martyrology, they were

warders of the Mametine prison and were converted along with 40 others by the teachings and miracles of two prisoners, Sts Peter and Paul. The warders offered the apostles their liberty. It is said that a sudden flow of water miraculously sprang up in the prison thus enabling Peter to baptize them. Paulinus, the officer in charge, tried to persuade both Processus and Martinian to denounce Christianity. Finding them firm in their resolve to persevere in their new faith they were subjected to cruel torture. They boldly declined to offer incense on the altar of Jupiter, and all through their suffering their only utterance was “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” until they were finally slain by the sword. They were buried by a woman called Lucina, on her own property.

In the 4th century a Basilica was built over their tomb, where, in the course of time many miracles and healings took place drawing great crowds. At the beginning of the 9th century St Pascal I had their

relics transferred to St Peter’s where an altar was built in their honour.

Reflection: “Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same eternal Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day of your life. He will either shield you from

suffering, or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts” (St Francis de Sales).

Daily Readings

July 1, 2025

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 19:15–29

In those days: The angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favour in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there – is it not a little one? – and my life will be saved!” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favour also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. And he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 26:2–3, 9–10, 11–12

Response: O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.

Examine me, Lord, and try me.

O test my heart and my mind.

Your mercy is before my eyes,

and I walk according to your truth.

Response: O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.

Do not sweep away my soul with sinners,

nor my life with those who shed blood,

in whose hands are evil plots,

whose right hands are filled with a bribe.

Response: O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.

As for me, I have walked in my integrity.

Redeem me and have mercy on me.

My foot stands on level ground:

I will bless the Lord in the assembly.

Response: O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.

Alleluia

Psalm 130:5

I long for the Lord, in his word I hope.

Gospel

Matthew 8:23–27

At that time: When Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marvelled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Reflection

The gospel of today presents one of the mighty deeds performed by Jesus. He manifests his authority over the wind and the sea. The disciples are frightened seeing the raging sea. Figuratively, the stormy sea denotes the persecutions, sufferings and struggles endured by the first Christian community, and the boat represents the Church community. For the disciples who lack faith in the presence of Jesus, he is ‘sleeping’. The irony of this episode is that the disciples are not convinced of the power of Jesus who is right in their midst. They focus on the problem of the rough sea instead of placing their faith and trust in the one who has power over the sea and the wind. They fail to take the important journey from doubt to faith and from death to life. What have we focussed our attention on – Jesus or the storm?

Saints Junipero Serra and Gall, Bishop (c.486-c.553)

Saint Junipero Serra

Born on Spain’s island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order taking the name of Saint Francis’ childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of Saint Francis Solano in South America. Junipero’s desire was to convert native peoples in the New World.

Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero’s left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 years, he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there.

Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns.

Junipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988. Pope Francis canonized him in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2015.

St Gall Bishop (c.486-c.553)

The son of a rich father and of a mother who was descended from the family of Vettius Agapatius, a Roman who suffered at Lyons for the faith, Gall resolved to consecrate himself to God and withdrew to the monastery of Cournon, where he earnestly prayed to be admitted there amongst the monks. The Abbot refused until he should have obtained the consent of his parents, which he readily did and thus renounced the world to embrace a life of religious poverty.

Here his eminent virtues distinguished him in a manner that soon attracted the attention of Bishop Quinctain who promoted him to Holy Orders. When the bishop died, in 527, Gall was appointed successor and, in his new position, became known for his humility, charity and zeal, and above all for his patience in putting up with all injuries. Being once brutally hit on the head, he showed no anger or resentment towards his assailant but by his meekness disarmed the savage of his rage.

At another time, a Priest named Evodius insulted him, but the saint, making the least reply, went out to visit the churches of the city. Evodius was so touched by Gall’s meekness that he prostrated himself at his feet in the middle of the street, seeking pardon. From then on they both lived on terms of the most cordial friendship. During the last few years of his life Gall gave himself up for the upbringing of his nephew, who went on to distinguish himself as St Gregory of Tours.

Reflection: “Meekness is a virtue rarer than chastity; it is also more excellent than chastity and all the other moral virtues, for it is the complement of charity, the greatest of the theological virtues” (St Thomas Aquinas).

*****

Daily Readings

June 30, 2025

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 18:16–33

The men set out from Oaks of Mamre, and they looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 8–9, 10–11

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all within me, 

his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your sins,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with mercy and compassion. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He will not always find fault;

nor persist in his anger forever. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

He does not treat us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Alleluia

Psalm 95:8

Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 8:18–22

At that time: When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Reflection 

Today’s gospel explains the cost of discipleship. Jesus does not advertise his brand of leadership by performing populist gimmicks or promising wealth and prosperity to those who wish to follow him. In human terms, following Jesus and his ideals in life would be equal to taking a huge risk. He is an itinerant preacher with no place to lay his head. Those who choose to follow him should expect no worldly comforts and personal gains. But the one who takes the risk of following him should never look back at what has been left behind. Following him should be immediate, total and radical. His followers should not be in two minds and two loyalties. No material object or personal relationship should outweigh one’s discipleship of the Lord.  But such a person will be blessed by God with hundredfold joy in this world and eternal life in the next. Am I willing to follow Christ, who is poor, shunned and rejected?

First Martyrs of the Church at Rome (64 - 314)

In the early years of the Church, persecutions kept breaking out like rash across the vast Roman Empire. But given the present situation, we hardly give those terrible persecutions so much as a thought. One of the first major persecutions began under Nero in the year 64 A.D. and was followed by one under Domitian in 95 A.D. In 107 A.D., Trajan tested the faith, hope and love of the first Christians with another terrible ordeal by fire, prison and the sword. In 135 A.D., Hadrian followed his example and Marcus Aurelius followed suit in 180 A.D. In 222 A.D., Septimus Severus did his best to shake the constancy of the early Christians, followed by Decius in 250 A.D. and Valerian in 257 A.D., the last attempt being that of Diocletian in 303 A.D.

The Church today offers us this Commemoration of the First Martyrs to help us always bear in mind that the blood of martyrs is first and foremost the seed of faith; secondly, to have us prove, as they did, that our faith is a living, vibrant reality; and thirdly, consider the possibility of someday being called upon to bear witness as they did—to our faith and our hope, to our love for God and for our fellowmen, as so many of our contemporaries here in India itself and elsewhere have done.

Reflection: “To die for the truth is not to die merely for one’s faith, or one’s country, it is to die for the world. The blood of martyrs is shed in confirmation of the noblest claim — the claim to feed upon immortal truth, to walk with God, and be divinely free” (Cowper).

Daily Readings

June 30, 2025

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 18:16–33

The men set out from Oaks of Mamre, and they looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 8–9, 10–11

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all within me, 

his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your sins,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with mercy and compassion. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He will not always find fault;

nor persist in his anger forever. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

He does not treat us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Alleluia

Psalm 95:8

Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 8:18–22

At that time: When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Reflection 

Today’s gospel explains the cost of discipleship. Jesus does not advertise his brand of leadership by performing populist gimmicks or promising wealth and prosperity to those who wish to follow him. In human terms, following Jesus and his ideals in life would be equal to taking a huge risk. He is an itinerant preacher with no place to lay his head. Those who choose to follow him should expect no worldly comforts and personal gains. But the one who takes the risk of following him should never look back at what has been left behind. Following him should be immediate, total and radical. His followers should not be in two minds and two loyalties. No material object or personal relationship should outweigh one’s discipleship of the Lord.  But such a person will be blessed by God with hundredfold joy in this world and eternal life in the next. Am I willing to follow Christ, who is poor, shunned and rejected?

First Martyrs of the Church at Rome (64 - 314)

In the early years of the Church, persecutions kept breaking out like rash across the vast Roman Empire. But given the present situation, we hardly give those terrible persecutions so much as a thought. One of the first major persecutions began under Nero in the year 64 A.D. and was followed by one under Domitian in 95 A.D. In 107 A.D., Trajan tested the faith, hope and love of the first Christians with another terrible ordeal by fire, prison and the sword. In 135 A.D., Hadrian followed his example and Marcus Aurelius followed suit in 180 A.D. In 222 A.D., Septimus Severus did his best to shake the constancy of the early Christians, followed by Decius in 250 A.D. and Valerian in 257 A.D., the last attempt being that of Diocletian in 303 A.D.

The Church today offers us this Commemoration of the First Martyrs to help us always bear in mind that the blood of martyrs is first and foremost the seed of faith; secondly, to have us prove, as they did, that our faith is a living, vibrant reality; and thirdly, consider the possibility of someday being called upon to bear witness as they did—to our faith and our hope, to our love for God and for our fellowmen, as so many of our contemporaries here in India itself and elsewhere have done.

Reflection: “To die for the truth is not to die merely for one’s faith, or one’s country, it is to die for the world. The blood of martyrs is shed in confirmation of the noblest claim — the claim to feed upon immortal truth, to walk with God, and be divinely free” (Cowper).

Daily Readings

June 30, 2025

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 18:16–33

The men set out from Oaks of Mamre, and they looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 8–9, 10–11

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all within me, 

his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your sins,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with mercy and compassion. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He will not always find fault;

nor persist in his anger forever. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

He does not treat us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Alleluia

Psalm 95:8

Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 8:18–22

At that time: When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Reflection 

Today’s gospel explains the cost of discipleship. Jesus does not advertise his brand of leadership by performing populist gimmicks or promising wealth and prosperity to those who wish to follow him. In human terms, following Jesus and his ideals in life would be equal to taking a huge risk. He is an itinerant preacher with no place to lay his head. Those who choose to follow him should expect no worldly comforts and personal gains. But the one who takes the risk of following him should never look back at what has been left behind. Following him should be immediate, total and radical. His followers should not be in two minds and two loyalties. No material object or personal relationship should outweigh one’s discipleship of the Lord.  But such a person will be blessed by God with hundredfold joy in this world and eternal life in the next. Am I willing to follow Christ, who is poor, shunned and rejected?

First Martyrs of the Church at Rome (64 - 314)

In the early years of the Church, persecutions kept breaking out like rash across the vast Roman Empire. But given the present situation, we hardly give those terrible persecutions so much as a thought. One of the first major persecutions began under Nero in the year 64 A.D. and was followed by one under Domitian in 95 A.D. In 107 A.D., Trajan tested the faith, hope and love of the first Christians with another terrible ordeal by fire, prison and the sword. In 135 A.D., Hadrian followed his example and Marcus Aurelius followed suit in 180 A.D. In 222 A.D., Septimus Severus did his best to shake the constancy of the early Christians, followed by Decius in 250 A.D. and Valerian in 257 A.D., the last attempt being that of Diocletian in 303 A.D.

The Church today offers us this Commemoration of the First Martyrs to help us always bear in mind that the blood of martyrs is first and foremost the seed of faith; secondly, to have us prove, as they did, that our faith is a living, vibrant reality; and thirdly, consider the possibility of someday being called upon to bear witness as they did—to our faith and our hope, to our love for God and for our fellowmen, as so many of our contemporaries here in India itself and elsewhere have done.

Reflection: “To die for the truth is not to die merely for one’s faith, or one’s country, it is to die for the world. The blood of martyrs is shed in confirmation of the noblest claim — the claim to feed upon immortal truth, to walk with God, and be divinely free” (Cowper).

Daily Readings

June 30, 2025

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 18:16–33

The men set out from Oaks of Mamre, and they looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 8–9, 10–11

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all within me, 

his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your sins,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with mercy and compassion. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He will not always find fault;

nor persist in his anger forever. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

He does not treat us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Alleluia

Psalm 95:8

Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 8:18–22

At that time: When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Reflection 

Today’s gospel explains the cost of discipleship. Jesus does not advertise his brand of leadership by performing populist gimmicks or promising wealth and prosperity to those who wish to follow him. In human terms, following Jesus and his ideals in life would be equal to taking a huge risk. He is an itinerant preacher with no place to lay his head. Those who choose to follow him should expect no worldly comforts and personal gains. But the one who takes the risk of following him should never look back at what has been left behind. Following him should be immediate, total and radical. His followers should not be in two minds and two loyalties. No material object or personal relationship should outweigh one’s discipleship of the Lord.  But such a person will be blessed by God with hundredfold joy in this world and eternal life in the next. Am I willing to follow Christ, who is poor, shunned and rejected?

First Martyrs of the Church at Rome (64 - 314)

In the early years of the Church, persecutions kept breaking out like rash across the vast Roman Empire. But given the present situation, we hardly give those terrible persecutions so much as a thought. One of the first major persecutions began under Nero in the year 64 A.D. and was followed by one under Domitian in 95 A.D. In 107 A.D., Trajan tested the faith, hope and love of the first Christians with another terrible ordeal by fire, prison and the sword. In 135 A.D., Hadrian followed his example and Marcus Aurelius followed suit in 180 A.D. In 222 A.D., Septimus Severus did his best to shake the constancy of the early Christians, followed by Decius in 250 A.D. and Valerian in 257 A.D., the last attempt being that of Diocletian in 303 A.D.

The Church today offers us this Commemoration of the First Martyrs to help us always bear in mind that the blood of martyrs is first and foremost the seed of faith; secondly, to have us prove, as they did, that our faith is a living, vibrant reality; and thirdly, consider the possibility of someday being called upon to bear witness as they did—to our faith and our hope, to our love for God and for our fellowmen, as so many of our contemporaries here in India itself and elsewhere have done.

Reflection: “To die for the truth is not to die merely for one’s faith, or one’s country, it is to die for the world. The blood of martyrs is shed in confirmation of the noblest claim — the claim to feed upon immortal truth, to walk with God, and be divinely free” (Cowper).

Daily Readings

June 30, 2025

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 18:16–33

The men set out from Oaks of Mamre, and they looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 8–9, 10–11

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all within me, 

his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your sins,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with mercy and compassion. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He will not always find fault;

nor persist in his anger forever. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

He does not treat us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him. 

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Alleluia

Psalm 95:8

Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 8:18–22

At that time: When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Reflection 

Today’s gospel explains the cost of discipleship. Jesus does not advertise his brand of leadership by performing populist gimmicks or promising wealth and prosperity to those who wish to follow him. In human terms, following Jesus and his ideals in life would be equal to taking a huge risk. He is an itinerant preacher with no place to lay his head. Those who choose to follow him should expect no worldly comforts and personal gains. But the one who takes the risk of following him should never look back at what has been left behind. Following him should be immediate, total and radical. His followers should not be in two minds and two loyalties. No material object or personal relationship should outweigh one’s discipleship of the Lord.  But such a person will be blessed by God with hundredfold joy in this world and eternal life in the next. Am I willing to follow Christ, who is poor, shunned and rejected?

First Martyrs of the Church at Rome (64 - 314)

In the early years of the Church, persecutions kept breaking out like rash across the vast Roman Empire. But given the present situation, we hardly give those terrible persecutions so much as a thought. One of the first major persecutions began under Nero in the year 64 A.D. and was followed by one under Domitian in 95 A.D. In 107 A.D., Trajan tested the faith, hope and love of the first Christians with another terrible ordeal by fire, prison and the sword. In 135 A.D., Hadrian followed his example and Marcus Aurelius followed suit in 180 A.D. In 222 A.D., Septimus Severus did his best to shake the constancy of the early Christians, followed by Decius in 250 A.D. and Valerian in 257 A.D., the last attempt being that of Diocletian in 303 A.D.

The Church today offers us this Commemoration of the First Martyrs to help us always bear in mind that the blood of martyrs is first and foremost the seed of faith; secondly, to have us prove, as they did, that our faith is a living, vibrant reality; and thirdly, consider the possibility of someday being called upon to bear witness as they did—to our faith and our hope, to our love for God and for our fellowmen, as so many of our contemporaries here in India itself and elsewhere have done.

Reflection: “To die for the truth is not to die merely for one’s faith, or one’s country, it is to die for the world. The blood of martyrs is shed in confirmation of the noblest claim — the claim to feed upon immort

al truth, to walk with God, and be divinely free” (Cowper).

Daily Reading

June 29, 2025

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Reading 1

Acts of the Apostles (12:1-11)

In those days: Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (34)

Response: From all my terrors, the Lord set me free.

I will bless the Lord at all times; praise of him is always in my mouth. In the Lord my soul shall make its boast; the humble shall hear and be glad.

Response: From all my terrors, the Lord set me free.

Glorify the Lord with me; together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free.

Response: From all my terrors, the Lord set me free.

Look toward him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This lowly one called; the Lord heard, and rescued him from all his distress.

Response: From all my terrors, the Lord set me free.

The angel of the Lord is encamped around those who fear him, to rescue them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.

Response: From all my terrors, the Lord set me free.

Reading 2

Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy ( 4:6-8, 17-18)

 Beloved: I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, alleluia!

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. Alleluia! (Mt 16:18)

GOSPEL

Matthew (16:13-19)

All: Glory to you, O Lord. At that time: When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  

Reflection

Today we celebrate the feast of two spiritual giants in the history of the Church, Peter and Paul. Peter, the head of the Apostles, is assigned the duty to preserve the unity of the Church; and Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles is the fierce defender of the faith. Both of these have contributed to the Church and the Christian faithful, and also in the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church, with its centre in Rome. Peter was a fisherman from Galilee. His world was the Sea of Galilee and the hilly countryside that surrounded it. Andrew his brothers led Peter to Christ. Jesus intended that Peter would be the rock-like foundation on which the Church would be built. Paul was from the university city of Tarsus, the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia, on the South-east coast of what is today’s Turkey. He seems to have been highly educated. His family appears to have been well-to-do as his father was a Roman citizen. He was a zealous Pharisee, who declared himself blameless with regard to the keeping of the Jewish Law. Paul hated and persecuted Christians as heretics and even assisted at the stoning of Saint Stephen. On his way to Damascus, Syria, to arrest another group of the faithful, he was knocked to the ground, struck blind by a heavenly light, and given the message that in persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Christ himself. Jesus entrusted the leadership of the Church to Peter. He also gave him the keys of the kingdom and authority to bind and loose (Matthew 16:19). The Apostle Paul worked so assiduously, resolutely, with a sense of commitment and conviction, and uncompromisingly in spreading the good news. Both of them sacrificed their life in total service and finally laid down their lives for the sake of Christ as Peter was crucified and Paul beheaded. For all their differences, they had at least one thing in common. Both of these men found themselves at odds with the Lord. Peter denied Jesus publicly three times. Paul violently persecuted the followers of Jesus, and thereby persecuted Jesus himself. Yet, their resistance to the Lord did not prevent the Lord from working powerfully through them. Peter was chosen to be the leader of the twelve, the rock on which Jesus would build his Church. Paul was chosen to be the great apostle to the pagans. Today’s feast reminds us that the way the Lord works through us is unique to each one of us. The feast also reassures us that our many resistances to the Lord need not be a hindrance to the Lord working through us. Our failings do not define who we are. Paul would go on to say, ‘the Lord’s grace towards me has not been in vain’. The Lord’s grace towards us in our weakness and frailty need never be in vain if we continue to open ourselves to the workings of that grace, as Peter and Paul did. May the Lord, who is glorified through His Apostles, St Peter and St Paul, continue to bless us all and guide us, His Church, His faithful ones, so that in all our good works and endeavours, we will bring ever greater glory to Him, and bring many more people ever closer to salvation and grace in Him.

Source: The Sunday Liturgy

Saints Peter & Paul (Apostles, Martyrs) (d-c. 67)

On this day, the Church looks back to her origin and celebrates solemnly the memory of the two most important men in her life who moulded her in the early stages. Saints Peter and Paul, the two pillars of the Church, have left an indelible mark on her very foundation and character.

Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah” (Mt 16:17a) was a native of Bethsaida on the shore of Galilee. Married and settled at Capernaum, together with his brother Andrew he earned his living “fishing”, until the Lord called them from being fishermen to become “fishers of men” (Lk 5:9).

St Paul was, next to St John the Evangelist, probably the greatest religious genius known in Christianity. Belonging to the Diaspora and equally familiar with both Jewish and Greek culture, his unique experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was to prove to be the driving force that made him one of the most zealous, dynamic and courageous ambassadors of Christ ever! What emerges from his Epistles (numbering 7 to be precise) which have remained till date a wellspring of truth, testimony and teaching, is not a cold, hard character with a sharp intellect and unfailing willpower but a passionate lover and dedicated follower of Christ.

Both Peter and Paul were men of action, the work of each complementing that of the other. Both ardent lovers of Christ, each could rightly say: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim 4:7-8).

Reflection: “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood.” (St Augustine of Hippo).

Daily Readings

June 28, 2025

Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Memorial

Reading 1

Isaiah 61:9-11

The offspring [of my people] shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Responsorial Psalm

1 Samuel 2:1, 4–5, 6–7, 8abcd

Response: My heart exults in the Lord, my Saviour.

My heart exults in the Lord;

my horn is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth derides my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.

Response: My heart exults in the Lord, my Saviour.

The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the feeble bind on strength.

Those who were full

have hired themselves out for bread,

but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

The barren has borne seven,

but she who has many children is forlorn.

Response: My heart exults in the Lord, my Saviour.

The Lord kills and brings to life;

he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

he brings low and he exalts.

Response: My heart exults in the Lord, my Saviour.

He raises up the poor from the dust;

he lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honour.

Response: My heart exults in the Lord, my Saviour.

Alleluia

Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who kept the word of God, pondering it in her heart.

Gospel

Luke 2:41–51

The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

Reflection

After the celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, reminding us of the special link that Jesus our Lord has with His mother Mary. As we know and believe, Mary was conceived without original sin – she is the Immaculate Conception. To say that Mary’s heart is immaculate is to say that her intentions, her very personality and her character are pure. Her will and her entire inner life are set on God – her heart belongs to Him alone. Mary’s mind and heart were filled with the knowledge of God’s mercy, his mercy that endures from age to age, from generation to generation. Today, let us be thankful to God for the priceless gift of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the world, to the Church and each of us. To many, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a source of comfort in times of personal need and the needs of the Church and the world.

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Historically, devotion to the Heart of Mary grew up in parallel, but at a lesser intensity than that of devotion to the Heart of Jesus, only starting to become more prominent during the time of St John Eudes.

Saint John Eudes brought people to love Christ and the Virgin Mary by speaking tirelessly about their Heart, the sign of the love God shows for us and the communion to which we are called.

Nevertheless,  it was not until after the Apparitions at Rue du Bac concerning the “Miraculous Medal” made to Catherine Labouré in 1830, and the establishment of a society dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, at the Church of Our Lady of Victories in Paris in 1836, that this particular devotion became really well known.

Since then devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has gradually grown more widespread in the Church, particularly since the apparitions at Fatima.

The main difference between the devotions to the hearts of Jesus and Mary is that the one concerned with Jesus emphasizes his divine heart as being full of love for mankind, but with this love for the most part being ignored or rejected, while devotion to Mary’s heart is essentially concerned with the love that her heart has for Jesus, for God.

Therefore, it is not an end in itself, so the love of her heart is meant to be a model for the way we should love God. The fact that her heart is immaculate, that is sinless, means that she is the only fully human person who is able to really love God in the way that he should be loved.

Honouring Mary's Immaculate Heart is really just another way of honouring Mary as the person who was chosen to be the Mother of God, recognizing her extraordinary holiness and the immense love she bestowed on Jesus as his mother, the person who was called to share in and co-operate in his redemptive sufferings.

The aim of the devotion is to unite humankind to God through Mary’s heart, and this process involves the ideas of consecration and reparation. A person is consecrated to Mary’s Immaculate Heart as a way of being completely devoted to God. This involves a total gift of self, something only ultimately possible with reference to God; but Mary is our intermediary in this process of consecration.

Because of the strong analogy between Jesus and Mary, the consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart is closely linked to the consecration to Jesus’ Sacred Heart, although it is subordinate and dependent on it. That is, although the act of consecration is ultimately addressed to God, it is an act that is made through Mary.

Daily Readings

June 27, 2025

Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Reading 1

Ezekiel 34:11-16

Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land.  And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 23:1–3a, 3b–4, 5, 6

Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd;

there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me;

he revives my soul.

Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me along the right path,

for the sake of his name.

Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death,

no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

Your crook and your staff will give me comfort.

Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You have prepared a table before me in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

my cup is overflowing.

Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

for length of days unending.

Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2

Romans 5:5b-11

Brethren: God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Alleluia

Matthew 11:29ab

Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.

Gospel

Luke 15:3-7

At that time: Jesus told the Pharisees and the scribes this parable; “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Reflection

The heart is considered the seat of love. Out of his love for the people of Israel, “the Lord set his heart” on them and chose them, bringing them out of their slavery with a mighty hand. He loved them despite their unfaithfulness. Saint John teaches that God is love and “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (1 Jn 4:9). The Heart of Jesus is the seat of this highest form of love, as Jesus abides in God and God abides in him, in the most perfect form. Honouring the Sacred Heart of Jesus is honouring God, who is love. Jesus reveals his tenderness, gentleness and sweetness of his heart in the shepherd who “leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seeks out the lone one till he finds it” (Lk 15:4). We are invited to experience and imitate the qualities of Jesus’ heart: love, compassion, mercy, tenderness, gentleness and graciousness. Do I make an effort to reach out to others in love and compassion as God Himself did to us in love and compassion by sending His own Son for our salvation?

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotional with long and historic provenance within Christianity, and in modern times has been established as a Solemnity for the universal Church.

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is a celebration that falls 19 days after Pentecost, on a Friday.

In 1856, Pope Pius IX established the Feast of the Sacred Heart as obligatory for the whole Church, to be celebrated on the Friday after Corpus Christi.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is much older. The beginnings of a devotion of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus are found in the fathers of the Church, including Origen, Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Saint Irenaeus, Saint Justin Martyr, and Saint Cyprian. In the 11th century this devotion found a renewal in the writings of Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. This expression was given form by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century in his famous poem/prayer “O Sacred Head Surrounded.”

In the 13th century, the Franciscan St. Bonaventure’s work “With You is the Source of Life” (which is the reading for the Divine Office on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) began to point to the heart as the fountain from which God’s love poured into our lives.

At the end of the 13th century, St. Gertrude, on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, had a vision in which she was allowed to rest her head near the wound in the Saviour’s side. She heard the beating of the Divine Heart and asked John if, on the night of the Last Supper, he too had felt this beating heart, why then had he never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need to rekindle its love.

From that time until the time of St. John Eudes the devotion continues to spread, primarily as a private devotion, but one that was increasingly wide-spread. The Franciscans continued the devotion within their fraternity and their churches, but other religious orders also prayed the devotion: the Jesuits, the Carmelites of Spain, and the Benedictines.

In the late 17th century the devotion was renewed and adopted elsewhere, especially following the revelations to Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque. The saint, a cloistered nun of the Visitation Order, received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart, the first on December 27, 1673, and the final one 18 months later. The visions revealed to her the form of the devotion, the chief features being reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a “Holy hour” on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

The devotion was fostered by the Jesuits and Franciscans, but it was not until the 1928 encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor by Pope Pius XI that the Church validated the credibility of Alacoque’s visions of Jesus Christ in having “promised her [Alacoque] that all those who rendered this honour to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces.”

Daily Readings

June 26, 2025

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 16:6b–12, 15–16 (Longer From: Genesis 16:1–12, 15–16)

In those days: Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.  And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 106:1b–2, 3–4ab, 4c–5

Response: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his mercy endures forever.

Who can tell the Lord’s mighty deeds,

or recount in full his praise?

Response: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

Blessed are they who observe what is just,

who at all times do what is right. O Lord,

remember me with the favour you show to your people.

Response: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

Visit me with your saving power,

that I may see the riches of your chosen ones,

and may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

boasting in the glory of your heritage.

Response: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

Alleluia

John 14:23

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.

Gospel

Matthew 7:21–29

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage is the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This section sums up the notion of who is a true disciple. Not everyone who says or affirms that Jesus is the risen Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven! For Jesus, it is how Christian life is lived out daily that demonstrates whether or not someone is his true disciple. Mere lip service does not matter much. The story of the two persons who built their houses on rock and sand respectively provides a fitting closure to the whole of the Sermon on the Mount. A strong foundation makes it possible for the house to survive even the worst of storms. And a weak foundation leaves the house in ruins. The foundation intended by Jesus is one’s ability and willingness to listen to and live by the word of God. Hearing and doing the word of God means a life of solid foundation and lasting survival despite the storms of life. Jesus, the incarnate Word, is a rock of truth on which we can make decisions and commitments in life.

St Josemaria Escrívá de Balaguer (Priest) (1902-1975)

Josemaria was a man who became a “master of Christian living” by reaching “the heights of contemplation with continuous prayer, constant mortification” and “exemplary docility to the movements of the Holy Spirit.”

It was at the early age of 16 that Josemaria felt called to some as yet unknown but important task. With characteristic faith he responded with the words of scripture: “Here I am Lord, because you have called me” (1 Sam 3:5). Ordained priest in 1925, he took up the study of civil law in Madrid in 1927, his apostolic zeal soon having him interacting with a cross-section of society—artists and academicians, labourers and intellectuals, army-men and clergymen alike. To strive for sanctity by way of living Christ’s own life among his people as enjoined by Baptism was the call that became evident in 1928 when making a retreat. Thus was born Opus Dei whose mission would be “to open up in the Church a new vocational path aimed at spreading the quest for holiness and the practice of the apostolate through sanctification of ordinary work in the world.”

With the rapid spread of Opus Dei came trials and hardships of every kind, financial difficulties assailing the worldwide expansion of apostolic works. Josemaria’s sense of humour, however, stood him in good stead. In 1954, he was miraculously cured of a serious form of diabetes that had troubled him for over a decade.

The heart of Josemaria’s message is: Sanctify your daily life, and sanctify yourself in and through that daily life. Beatified in 1992, he was finally canonized in 2002. 

Reflection: “To be holy is not easy, but it is not difficult either. To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ.” (St Josemaria Escrivá).

Daily Readings

June 25, 2025

Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading I

Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18

In those days: The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look towards heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 105:1–2, 3–4, 6–7, 8–9

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim his name.

Make known his deeds among the peoples.

O sing to him, sing his praise;

tell all his wonderful works!

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.

Turn to the Lord and his strength;

constantly seek his face.

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

O children of Abraham, his servant,

O descendants of the Jacob he chose,

he, the Lord, is our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

He remembers his covenant forever:

the promise he ordained for a thousand generations,

the covenant he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Alleluia

John 15:4a, 5b

Abide in me, and I in you, says the Lord; he who abides in me bears much fruit.

Gospel

Matthew 7:15–20

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognise them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thirstles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognise them by their fruits.”

Reflection

Jesus warns against the deceitfulness of false prophets who lead people astray. They may appear to be true and harmless, like wolves in sheep’s clothing, but they inflict lasting damage on the lives of those they claim to teach and lead. Jesus also gives his disciples a very practical tip on how to distinguish false leaders from true ones: “You will know them by their fruits.” Just as a good tree abounds in good fruits, a true leader can be identified by his life and virtues, his actions and conversations. And a false one can also be identified by the type of life that the person leads. In my own life’s quests, am I guided by false prophets who lead me to destruction, or by true prophets who guide me to life and happiness?

St William of Monte Vergine (Abbot, Confessor) (1085 -1142)

A native of Vercelli in Piedmont (Italy), St William was born of noble parentage, both of whom died while he was still a child. At 14 he gave away all his inheritance before setting out on a pilgrimage to the great shrine of St James at Compostela, Spain. Not content with covering the great distance barefoot, he girded his body with iron bands for harsher penance. In response to divine revelation on his return to Italy, he took up life as a hermit atop the lonely mountain between Nola and Benevento in southern Italy. With more and more men, drawn by his sanctity and miracles, placing themselves under his direction, desirous of following his austere life, he founded a monastery in 1119 and built a church dedicated in honour to Blessed Virgin.

William therefore left them and, Under the munificent patronage of King Roger I of Naples, William erected a number of new monasteries and convents. True to his name, St William wore his faith like a “strong helmet” right until his death in 1142.

The hermits of Monte Vergine were for some time widely diffused throughout southern Italy, but the Holy See joined them to the Cassinese Congregation of Primitive Observance during the last century.

Reflection: “You try, strive and make efforts to reach such a disposition of spirit that you become one with me, that you will be so like mine that you not only don’t desire anything evil, but also the good that I don’t want.” (Jesus, to St Catherine of Siena).

Daily Readings

June 24, 2025

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Reading I

Isaiah 49:1-6

Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.” And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth”.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 139:1–3, 13–14, 15

Response: I thank you who wonderfully made me.

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

You yourself know my resting and my rising;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You mark when I walk or lie down;

you know all my ways through and through.

Response: I thank you who wonderfully made me.

For it was you who formed my inmost being,

knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I thank you who wonderfully made me;

how wonderful are your works,

which my soul knows well!

Response: I thank you who wonderfully made me.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being fashioned in secret

and moulded in the depths of the earth.

Response: I thank you who wonderfully made me.

Reading II

Acts of the Apostles 13:22-26

In those days: Paul said, “God raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.”

Alleluia

See Luke 1:76

You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.

Gospel

Luke 1:57-66.80

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, enquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” and they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And a fear came on all their neighbours. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Reflection

John the Baptist was the one sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Saviour. He was chosen and consecrated even from his mother’s womb for this role. The extraordinary events surrounding his conception and birth show that God had a special plan for him. That is the reason people exclaimed: “What then will this child become!” He perfectly adhered to God’s plan for his life and carried out the mission that was willed for him by God. He knew who he was and what his role was in the fulfilment of God’s plan for the world’s salvation. He also recognized and pointed out the one whose path he was sent to prepare – Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. John would not overstep his role or pretend to be what he was not. He dared to say, “I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.” John’s humility, simplicity, faithfulness to his mission, and fearlessness – these are the qualities that make him the greatest person born of woman. Do I discern and follow God’s plan for me?

St John the Baptist (Martyr)

John the Baptist is the only saint who has his birthday observed in addition to his death day, the honour being restricted to Jesus and Mary.

As Jesus himself says: “Of all the children born to women, there is no one greater than John” (Lk 7:28). Furthermore, while Jesus and Mary were conceived in grace, John, whose name means, “Yahweh is gracious”, was conceived with original sin like all human beings, but was born in grace, having been sanctified in the womb of his mother—“. . . . from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1:15).

Having played his role of preparing the way for the Messiah—“a voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight” (Isa 40:3)—and announcing the Messiah—“Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29)—he graciously fades into the background—“He must increase; I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). And finally, as part of his mission of straightening the Lord’s paths, he does not hesitate to uphold the truth by way of rebuking the ruler of the land, Herod Antipas, for his incestuous affair with the wife of his half-brother. The famous oath made by drunken Herod—who obviously had a shallow sense of honour—to his illegal queen, in response to her daughter Salomé’s seductive dance on his birthday, had the head of the Precursor and forerunner of the Messiah on a platter to the sadistic delight of Herodias. John’s mission was thus complete—he died for the Truth.

Reflection: “In his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ.” (St Bede the Venerable)

Daily Readings

June 23, 2025

Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Genesis 12:1–9

In those days: The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on, still going towards the Negeb.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33:12–13, 18–20 & 22

Response: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as his heritage.

Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people he has chosen as his heritage.

From the heavens the Lord looks forth;

he sees all the children of men.

Response: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as his heritage.

Yes, the Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him,

who hope in his merciful love,

to rescue their souls from death,

to keep them alive in famine.

Response: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as his heritage.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.

He is our help and our shield.

May your merciful love be upon us,

as we hope in you, O Lord.

Response: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as his heritage.

Alleluia

Hebrews 4:12

The word of God is living and active, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Gospel

Matthew 7:1–5

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Reflection

It is said that God does not judge anyone. We earn our judgement by our deeds or misdeeds, especially our acts of judging and condemning others. God does not want any of us to assume the role of a judge for the very reason that no human being is perfect and capable of judging. It is a common tendency to notice and exaggerate the ‘speck’ in others’ eyes while ignoring the ‘log’ in one’s own. Most often the person who tends to find fault with others is the one guilty of those very faults. Jesus never passed judgment on others, even when he knew they were at fault. If we are generous in being positive and speaking well about others, we get good things in return. On the other hand, if we indulge in judging, condemning and gossiping, we get a harsh judgement from God. What is my approach and attitude to others who are imperfect like me?

St Joseph Cafasso (Confessor) (1811-1860)

Born of deeply religious parents at Castelnuovo, Italy, Joseph Cafasso was, as a boy called the “little saint”, and though poor, his talents, industry and piety saw him ordained priest at the early age of 22. He was made prefect, then professor of moral theology, and finally rector of the seminary of Turin. Fr Cafasso, the “Pearl of the Italian clergy”, though small of stature and somewhat deformed, had been the source of blessing not only for the clergy and people of Turin, but the whole world as the spiritual director of the great apostle of charity, St John Bosco. Cafasso had the confidence of all, young and old, rich and poor, even as clergy, bishops, princes and, indeed, all classes of people benefited from his ministrations in the confessional and his Retreats.

He evinced keen interest in the work of St Joseph Cottolengo, the indefatigable advocate of the orphans, the poor and the distressed of all kinds and founder of the “Little House of Divine Providence”.

Joseph Cafasso, who died in 1860, was beatified in 1895 and canonized in 1947.

Reflection: “The dying Saviour on the Cross is a friend who will not terrify you, who will not abandon you. Hope in him, and heaven is yours!” (St Joseph Cafasso)

Daily Readings

June 21, 2025

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious

Reading I

2 Corinthians 12:1–10

Brethren: I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses – though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 34:8–9, 10–11, 12–13 

Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

The angel of the Lord is encamped

around those who fear him, to rescue them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.

Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Fear the Lord, you his holy ones.

They lack nothing, those who fear him.

The rich suffer want and go hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Come, children, and hear me,

that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is it that desires life

and longs to see prosperous days?

Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Alleluia

2 Corinthians 8:9

Though Jesus Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Gospel

Matthew 6:24–34

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage focuses on the theme, of ‘anxiety versus trust’. Anxiety is one of the most common sicknesses across the spectrum. There are a million reasons to worry and be anxious about. And it never ends as we are sunk neck-deep in trouble. Things are not perfect, life is not calm and peaceful. But Jesus says calmly and gently, “Do not worry!” In other words, be calm! Be happy! Your heavenly Father will take care of everything you need. Put anxiety aside in favour of trusting your Heavenly Father for everything you need. Don’t get into worrying about tomorrow – God is already up ahead of you and will take care of tomorrow. Do I trust in and pray to a God who knows and provides for my needs?

St Aloysius Gonzaga (Confessor) (1568-1591)

Aloysius, the eldest son of the Marquis Ferdinand of Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Prince of the Roman Empire, was expected to become a great statesman and soldier. At the age of eight he was sent with his brother to spend two years at the court of Francesco de Medici in Florence (Italy). But deeply absorbed in matters spiritual he took a vow of perpetual chastity and, at age 12, received his First Communion from St Charles Borromeo, a relative, who was then Archbishop of Milan. At 17 years, he entered the Jesuit novitiate.

“I am a twisted piece of iron, and have entered religion in order to get straightened out!” he insisted.  Yet, his motto was: “I was born for greater things”.

In his 22nd year he had a premonition of his approaching death and turned over his theological and spiritual notes to his rector as the only material things to which he was still attached. When a great famine broke out in Italy in 1590, followed by pestilence, the Jesuits opened an emergency hospital, and Aloysius solicited alms and tended the sick. But in March 1591 he himself took ill and succumbed three months later, aged barely 23, with St Robert Bellarmine spending the whole of the last night by his side. He was canonized in 1726, and in 1729 declared the special protector and patron of youth, especially of young Catholic students.

Reflection: “Nothing entitles us to boast of our high birth. The great ones turn to dust the same as the wretched poor. If anything, the ashes of princes smell the more foully!” (St Aloysius Gonzaga).

Daily Readings

June 20, 2025

Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 11:18, 21b–30

Brethren: Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. But whatever anyone else dares to boast of – I am speaking as a fool – I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one – I am talking like a madman – with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 34:2–3, 4–5, 6–7 

Response: The Lord rescues them in all their distress.

I will bless the Lord at all times; 

praise of him is always in my mouth. 

In the Lord my soul shall make its boast; 

the humble shall hear and be glad. 

Response: The Lord rescues them in all their distress.

Glorify the Lord with me; 

together let us praise his name. 

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; 

from all my terrors he set me free. 

Response: The Lord rescues them in all their distress.

Look toward him and be radiant; 

let your faces not be abashed. 

This lowly one called; the Lord heard, 

and rescued him from all his distress. 

Response: The Lord rescues them in all their distress.

Alleluia

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Gospel

Matthew 6:19–23

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

Reflection

Today’s Gospel provides a picture of what our hearts should focus on - earthly possessions or heavenly treasures. What we consider valuable shows us where our heart is and what it is busy with. What is earthly is temporary; no amount of wealth or earthly possessions and hoardings can bring us sustainable happiness and eternal peace. They trigger more worry, anxiety, fear, insecurity and distress as they are simply fleeting agents of deception. We should be content with what we have and live our lives with a sense of gratitude and humility. Our real treasure is found within ourselves where God makes His home, and where virtues of love, goodness, generosity, compassion and kindness bloom freely. Is my heart a divided one, undecided, torn between different or conflicting loyalties, whose light is weak and does not illuminate my path in life?

St Silverius (Pope, Martyr) (-538)

St Silverius was the son of Pope St Hormisdas, who had been married before he became a priest. In 536 when Pope St Agapitus died, Silverius was only a sub-deacon in Rome, but on the insistence of the Ostrogoth King Theodatus, who wanted to forestall any action on the part of the Monophysite Empress Theodora at Constantinople, Silverius was consecrated Bishop and Pope. Theodora had in fact planned to have the Deacon Vigilius made Pope, thus hoping to let the Monophysites gain control of the Sees of Constantinople and Antioch. She now tried to obtain from Silverius the reinstallation of these Monophysite Prelates, and when he refused, attempted to gain her purpose by force and deceit.

When the Gothic general Witiges was devastating the surroundings of Rome, the Byzantine general Belisarius appeared on the scene; the Pope turned to him for help and permitted him to occupy Rome. But Belisarius now proceeded to carry out his Empress’ plans, and on the basis of a forged letter, Pope Silverius was accused of treason and deported to Patara in Asia Minor. There the Bishop of Patara soon became convinced of his complete innocence and communicated the true facts to the Emperor at Constantinople. The latter had Silverius sent back to Italy for retrial, but as soon as he landed at Naples, he was kidnapped by Belisarius’ men and taken to a small island, where, within a very short period of time, he died on 20 June 538 because of privation and harsh treatment — a death considered a martyr’s death.

Reflection: “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

Daily Readings

June 19, 2025

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 11:1–11

Brethren: I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 111:1b–2, 3–4, 7–8

Response: The Lord’s handiwork is justice and truth.

I will praise the Lord with all my heart,

in the meeting of the just and the assembly.

Great are the works of the Lord,

to be pondered by all who delight in them.

Response: The Lord’s handiwork is justice and truth.

Majestic and glorious his work;

his justice stands firm forever.

He has given us a memorial of his wonders.

The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Response: The Lord’s handiwork is justice and truth.

His handiwork is justice and truth;

his precepts are all of them sure,

standing firm forever and ever,

wrought in uprightness and truth.

Response: The Lord’s handiwork is justice and truth.

Alleluia

Romans 8:15bc

You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Gospel

Matthew 6:7–15

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Reflection

Prayer, for Jesus, is a relationship, an attitude, a channel of communication. It is thanksgiving, praise and petition. It acknowledges our insufficiency, our weakness and our vulnerability. It expresses our dependence on God for everything. It presupposes that the one prayed to is ‘Our Father’ and the one praying is ‘the child of the Father’. When we approach the Father as a child approaches its Abba or Daddy, words and phrases do not matter. What matters is our attitude of humility, trust and confidence. This is the uniqueness of the prayer that Jesus taught. Jesus gives his Father to us as ‘our Father’, and we are his children by adoption. This Father listens, understands and accepts his children and provides for their needs. This makes our prayer a lot easier, simpler and more meaningful. How, and with what attitude, do I pray?

St Romuald (Abbot, Confessor) (952-1027)

Born and raised in an illustrious family in Ravenna (Italy), Romuald led a frivolous life until shocked into realization at the age of 20, when he witnessed the murder of a near relative by his father. In order to atone for this crime he entered the Benedictine monastery of St Apollinare at Classe, near Ravenna; but the persistent laxity of its monks made him seek out the hermit Marinus, under whose guidance he went on to live a life of extraordinary severity.

In 996 Otho III had him designated Abbot of St Apollinare, but Romuald resigned the charge after three years and spent the next 30 years wandering all over northern Italy, southern France and north­eastern Spain, reforming monasteries and establishing hermitages for serious and determined souls. His most famous foundation, which endures to this day, is at Camaldoli, charmingly situated in a high wooded glen of the Appennines. Here, in 1012, he at first erected five hermit cells on the “Campus Maldoli”, the land which had been given him by a certain Maldolus. Although Romuald had no intention of founding a new religious order, this was to become the motherhouse of the Camaldolese Order, a joint Congregation of Benedictine hermits and cenobites, which marked the revival of the eremitical life in the Western Church.

Numerous miracles have occurred at the tomb of this saint whose ideal was to turn the entire world into a hermitage and all the people into monastic associates. In 1466 his body was found to be still incorrupt and, since 1481, lies enshrined at Fabriano.

Reflection: “Dear Jesus! My dear Jesus! My unspeakable desire! My Joy! Joy of the Angels! Sweetness of the Saints!” (St Romuald).

Daily Readings

June 18, 2025

Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Reading I

2 Corinthians 9:6–11

Brethren: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 112:1b–2, 3–4, 9 

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

Blessed the man who fears the Lord,

who takes great delight in his commandments.

His descendants shall be powerful on earth;

the generation of the upright will be blest.

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

Riches and wealth are in his house;

his justice stands firm forever.

A light rises in the darkness for the upright;

he is generous, merciful, and just.

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

Open-handed, he gives to the poor;

his justice stands firm forever.

His might shall be exalted in glory.

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

Alleluia

John 14:23

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.

Gospel

Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Reflection

By giving alms to the needy, we imitate God Himself, who is generous towards us. However, this practice can also be corrupted when we give alms with the motive of showing off our ‘generosity’ to be praised by others. Again, prayer puts us in direct contact with God. However, this noble practice has its corrupt side, as people use it as a show of piety to be praised by those who watch them. And, fasting helps us serve God with total love. It brings us face to face with the reality of deprivation and misery being experienced by millions of people in the world. However, when we practise fasting for the motive of getting the approval and sympathy of others, it loses its merit. Saint Paul says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Are we cheerful and rightly motivated in our charity, in our prayers and our penance?

Sts Mark and Marcellian (Martyrs) (- 287)

Sts Mark and Marcellian were twins hailing from an illustrious family in Rome. They had been converted to the faith in their youth and were honourably married. When Diocletian ascended the imperial throne in 284, the persecution of Christians increased. Both Mark and Marcellian were cast into prison and tormented and condemned by Chromatius, Lieutenant of the Prefect of Rome, to be beheaded.

Their friends, however, obtained a 30 days’ respite of the execution, that they might prevail on them to worship the false gods. Tranquillinus and Martia, their afflicted heathen parents, in company with their sons’ wives and their little babes, in vain endeavoured to move them with the most tender entreaties and tears.

On the other hand, St Sebastian, an officer of the imperial household, coming to Rome soon after their commitment, visited them daily and encouraged them to persevere in their faith. The result of the confabulations was the happy conversion of the father, mother and wives, followed by Nicostratus the public registrar and then Chromatius, the judge, who retired after freeing the saints. Mark and Marcellian were hid by a Christian officer of the household in his apartments, in the palace. But they were betrayed by an apostate and recaptured. They were condemned by Fabian—who had succeeded Chromatius—to be bound to two pillars, with their feet nailed to the same. Kept in this posture a day and a night, they were lanced to death the following day.

Reflection: “Persecution shows who is a hireling, and who a true pastor” (St Bernard).

Daily Readings

June 17, 2025

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 8:1–9

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints – and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you – see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 146:1b–2, 5–6ab, 6c–7, 8–9a

Response: My soul, give praise to the Lord.

My soul, give praise to the Lord; 

I will praise the Lord all my life, 

sing praise to my God while I live. 

Response: My soul, give praise to the Lord.

Blessed is he who is helped by Jacob’s God, 

whose hope is in the Lord his God, 

who made the heavens and the earth, 

the seas and all they contain. 

Response: My soul, give praise to the Lord.

It is the Lord who preserves fidelity forever, 

who does justice to those who are oppressed. 

It is he who gives bread to the hungry, 

the Lord who sets prisoners free. 

Response: My soul, give praise to the Lord.

It is the Lord who opens the eyes of the blind, 

the Lord who raises up 

those who are bowed down. 

It is the Lord who loves the just, 

the Lord who protects the stranger. 

Response: My soul, give praise to the Lord.

Alleluia

John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, says the Lord, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Gospel 

Matthew 5:43–48

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Reflection 

It is easy to love those who love us. But Jesus asks us to go beyond this because we are children of our heavenly Father, who is good and generous towards all – the good and the bad alike. This shows the ‘perfect’ nature of God whose other name is ‘LOVE’. By trying to love those who hate us and persecute us, we advance towards achieving that perfect nature of God. To be like one’s father is the desire and aim of every child. Doing what the father does is imitating him in his goodness. Our enemies can be won over not by hatred, revenge and retaliation, but by love and understanding. Saint Paul echoes the same teaching when he says: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this, you will heap burning coals on their heads” (Rom 12:20). Do I go beyond the ordinary and try to imitate God by loving everyone?

St Gregory Barbarigo (Bishop, Confessor) (1625 -1697)

Gregory studied at Padua before entering the diplomatic service. While in Munster, as secretary to the representative of the Venetian republic he met the Papal Legate, Fabio Chigi, who encouraged him to become a priest. Ordained in 1655, he was soon called to Rome as Referendary for the two Signatures (supreme tribunals of the Holy See).

Consecrated Bishop of Bergamo in 1658, he entered the city carrying with him the Acta Ecclesiae Vediolanensis. In 1660 he was created Cardinal and, in 1664, nominated bishop of Padua, where he died in 1697.

The pains he took to fulfil his duties as pastor of souls in his two dioceses is almost unsurpassed. When he took charge of his diocese, it was badly neglected—there were only 30 students in the seminary which was housed in a small dilapidated building; the 300 parishes of the diocese, counting about 250,000 faithful, were ravaged by ignorance. He transferred the seminary to the former monastery of Vanzo, where he was able to gather 100 students, recruiting them himself during his pastoral visits; he set his clergy an example, undertaking to teach catechism to the villagers and to visit all the parishes in his diocese, even the most inaccessible ones, at least twice during his term as bishop, imposing upon himself severe penance, fasting, sacrifice and prayer for the good of his flock. He even restored the University. Within a short span of time, the number of schools doubled, the number of teachers rising five-fold!

Reflection: “The priesthood requires a great soul; for the priest has many harassing troubles of his own, and has need of innumerable eyes on all sides” (St John Chrysostom).

Daily Readings

June 15, 2025

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Reading I

Proverbs (8:22-31)

Thus speaks the Wisdom of God: “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (8)

Response: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!

When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, the son of man that you care for him?

Response: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!

Yet you have made him little lower than the angels; with glory and honour you crowned him, gave him power over the works of your hands.

Response: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!

You put all things under his feet, all of them, sheep and oxen, yes, even the cattle of the fields, birds of the air, and fish of the sea that make their way through the waters.

Response: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!

Reading 2

Romans (5:1-5)

 Brethren, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia. (See Rev. 1:8)

GOSPEL

John (16:12-15)

At that time Jesus said to his disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Reflection

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity invites us to consider what we believe about God, who has revealed himself to us in the Trinity – one God in three persons.

In today’s First Reading, the wisdom personified is seen both God the Creator, and at the same time, as witness to creation. We are reminded that it is only the Trinitarian God Who can explain Himself. As humans, we only participate in God’s Wisdom. Hence, ours is limited while God’s is absolute.

In the Second Reading, Paul tells us that the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Christ is the fullness of God’s love. From this, we have some insight about what this union of the Three Divine Persons looks like. Each of them do their work, yet they remain one and undivided. Speaking about suffering, Paul notes that suffering produces despair in human beings. But he emphasizes that suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; and character produces hope. This hope is in sharing the glory of God which is the ultimate end of suffering. Jesus’ sufferings led to his glory, and believers who are united to Christ will follow the same pattern of receiving the glory as the end-result of suffering.

The short gospel passage from John’s Last Discourse highlights the pivotal role of the Spirit in making known the mystery of God. We should not imagine that the idea of the Trinity was something that the early Church came to easily. The first Christians were Jews and they believed very much in God as one, so they had to grapple with the identity of Jesus that had been revealed to them. This they did, firmly believing that the Spirit was guiding them into the amazing truth about God. They came to see that God’s own inner life had been shown to them as Creator, Saviour and Sanctifier and that as believers they were being asked in some way to live out the life of love that had been made known to them.

The Most Holy Trinity is one of the sublime mysteries of the Church. There are many lessons to learn from today’s solemnity. These include that, we must learn to remain united in faith. Today’s celebration also reminds us that, although we are called to be united, each one of us is unique. This is expressed in the different modes of spirituality which exists in the Church. In spite of these, we are still united in the pursuit of God’s kingdom. So, none should be deprived of his uniqueness. Therefore, as one united, “but not uniform people,” we must continue to work for the progress of God’s kingdom.

Furthermore, just as each of the Three Divine Persons, we must not be selfish or work for our personal gratifications. No member of the Trinity oppresses or takes advantage of the other. So, we must avoid manipulating, oppressing or suppressing other members of our families, communities, and Church. We should learn to live in harmony with one another in spite of our individual differences and uniqueness. We must avoid treating other members unjustly as if they are not important or do not belong to the same family or community of God.

(Source: The Sunday Liturgy)

St Germaine Cousin (Virgin) (c.1579 - 1601)

The daughter of a peasant named Laurent Cousin in Pibrac near Toulouse, France, Germaine was born with a deformed hand and suffered from scrofula (swelling of the glands). While still little, her mother died, and when her father remarried, her stepmother treated her with the utmost cruelty and insisted on her being ostracized, compelling her to sleep with the sheep in the stable. God rewarded the humility and patience with which she bore all manner of suffering and neglect, by granting her a marvellous sense of his presence, and a deep love for the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin.

Germaine used to assemble the village children and teach them to love Jesus and Mary; from her scanty allowance of food which consisted of leftovers from the family table she managed to distribute portions to those who appeared to be in still greater misery than herself.

In reparation for the sacrileges of which the heretics in neighbouring towns were guilty, Germaine subjected herself to additional austerities; people were just beginning to realize her deep-rooted sanctity when God called her to himself in her 22nd year. She was canonized by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1867. Every year an annual pilgrimage takes place on 15 June to the church in Pibrac where her incorrupt body still rests.

Reflection: “If we wish to learn to love God, we must always row against the current; and never cease blocking our own will. The greedier the animal, the tighter must be held the reins!” (Blessed Anna M. Taigi)

Daily Readings

June 14, 2025

Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 5:14–21

Brethren: The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 8–9, 11–12

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all within me, his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your sins,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with mercy

and compassion.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He will not always find fault;

nor persist in his anger forever.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west,

so far from us does he remove

our transgressions.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Alleluia

Psalm 119:36a, 29b

Bend my heart, O God, to your decrees grant me mercy by your law.

Gospel

Matthew 5:33–37

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Reflection

This section of the Sermon on the Mount calls for Christians to be honest and trustworthy. They must be people of Yes or No, and not Yes and No, that is, not unconvincing and wavering. To say Yes or No means to be persons of integrity and honesty, steeped in strong values and convictions, and above any kind of reproach. In other words, a Christian is to be a person of his word. When, on the other hand, a person swears by someone or something,  he shows that he is uncertain of the truthfulness of what he says. People often resort to oaths to conceal a lie. Truthfulness seems to be such a rarity that we think we must end our statements with some sort of vow or oath to emphasize its credibility. “A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday,” says Alexander Pope.

St Methodius I (Patriarch of Constantinople) (A,D.-847)

A Sicilian by birth, Methodius received his preliminary education in his native town, Syracuse (Italy). He went to Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), with the ambition of acquiring a post at court. Instead, he met a monk, influenced by whom, he renounced the world and joined the Monastery of Chenolakhos.

During the second iconoclastic persecution under Leo the Armenian, in 815, he boldly stood his ground in favour of the veneration of the sacred images. However, after the deposition and exile of St Nicephorus, he went to Rome, apparently charged to inform Pope St Pascal I, of the state of affairs. There he remained till the death of Emperor Leo V.

In 821 he returned to Constantinople with a letter from the Pope to the Emperor, Michael the Stammerer, requesting him to reinstate Nicephorus. But Michael, after reading the letter denounced Methodius as a stirrup of sedition and ordered him scourged and deposed. Thus he was persecuted by the iconoclasts who kept him confined in a tomb on the island of St Andrew, for seven years. Summoned to depose before Emperor Theophilus, Methodius boldly asserted: “If an image is so worthless in your eyes, how is it that when you condemn the image of Jesus Christ you do not also condemn the veneration paid to the representations of yourself? Far from doing so, you are continually causing them to be multiplied!” Methodius died of dropsy in 847.

Reflection: “The Saints lost sight of themselves that they might see nothing but God and labour for him alone; they forgot all created objects in order to find only him. This is the way to reach heaven” (St John Baptist Marie Vianney).

Daily Readings

June 13, 2025

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 4:7–15

Brethren: We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke”, we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 116:10–11, 15–18

Response: A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

I trusted, even when I said,

“I am sorely afflicted,”

and when I said in my alarm,

“These people are all liars.”

Response: A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

How precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I,

the son of your handmaid;

you have loosened my bonds.

Response: A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

I will call on the name of the Lord.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

before all his people.

Response: A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.

Alleluia

Philippians 2:15d, 16a

You shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.

Gospel

Matthew 5:27–32

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Reflection

In the section of his Sermon on the Mount in today’s Gospel passage,  Jesus minces no words challenging his followers to hit a higher degree of moral standards when it comes to purity of mind and body. Adultery and any kind of sexual abuse of another do not begin and end with a physical act as such. It begins taking an ugly turn much earlier in one’s mind when one harbours lustful thoughts. Nursing lustful desire and looking at someone with lustful eyes are equally harmful and need to be eliminated from one’s behaviour. In other words, it is not just the action that is sinful, but the thoughts and desires too. To drive home the importance of having a pure conscience and behaviour, Jesus uses the technique of exaggeration as he speaks of tearing out one’s eyes and cutting off one’s hands. It simply means that we must sacrifice that which is temporary to gain that which is eternal. We must turn away from our sins, both mental and physical, and turn to God.  As Saint Paul puts it, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

St Anthony of Padua and Lisbon (Confessor and Doctor of the Church) (1195-1231)

The sight of the bodies of the first Franciscan Martyrs brought back from Morocco in 1220 so inflamed Ferdinand Bouillon with a desire for martyrdom that having obtained permission, he joined the newly founded Mendicant Order of St Francis d’Assisi, taking the name, Anthony. Sent to Morocco at his own request, he soon returned, gravely ill. He joined the 3,000 brethren gathered at Whitsuntide and saw St Francis for the first time. In his humility he so concealed his own learning that he was assigned menial tasks at a monastery near Forli, until the few words he was called upon to speak at an ordination ceremony revealed his astounding gift for preaching!

Anthony could explain Holy Scripture so simply, profoundly and lucidly that St Francis wrote to him thus: “It is my desire that you teach theology to the brethren, provided, however, that the spirit of prayer and devotion be not extinguished.” Teaching and preached throughout southern France and northern Italy, his winning personality, combined with a clear, powerful and pleasing voice, enabled him to impart readily his knowledge to others.

Anthony died in 1231 and was canonized a year later. His relic happens to be what was his most priceless asset, viz., his tongue, the organ with which he gave Padua and Lisbon the breath of God’s love. Found glowing with freshness and redness amidst the corruption of the rest of his remains, the tongue is enshrined in the basilica built for him in 1263.

Reflection: “O blessed tongue, which has always praised God and set on fire the hearts of men with His holy love! It is evident that you have gained untold merits in the Lord’s sight!” (St Bonaventure)

Daily Readings

June 12, 2025

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 3:15–4:1, 3–6

Brethren: Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11–12, 13–14

Response: The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

I will hear what the Lord God speaks;

he speaks of peace for his people and his faithful.

His salvation is near for those who fear him,

and his glory will dwell in our land.

Response: The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

Merciful love and faithfulness have met;

justice and peace have kissed.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth,

and justice look down from heaven.

Response: The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

Also the Lord will bestow his bounty,

and our earth shall yield its increase.

Justice will march before him,

and guide his steps on the way.

Response: The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

Alleluia

John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, says the Lord, that you love one another, just as I have loved you

Gospel

Matthew 5:20–26

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable a to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Reflection

The Gospel passage of today challenges us to go beyond the spirituality and social justice practised by the religious leaders of Jesus’ time. A follower of Christ always has God as his point of reference. In a given situation what would God do or how would God react? As a loving Father full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, God would never harbour anger, hatred or revenge against anyone. As His children, when we come to worship and offer gifts to Him, we should have the same mind and heart, free from all anger, hatred, feelings of revenge and jealousy against God’s children. God always forgives our sins, no matter how grave they are. We imitate him in reaching out to our brothers and sisters with a forgiving heart and thus, as Saint Paul teaches in the First Reading,  be “transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another.”

St John of Sahagun (Confessor) (1419 -1479)

St John has been named after his birth-place Sahagun (or St Fagondez) in northern Spain. A bright, attractive and high spirited lad, Juan Gonzalez Catrillo, as he was baptized, soon came to the attention of the Bishop of Burgos, who had him educated in his own household. Ordained priest at 26, he was made a Canon at the cathedral, and then completed four years of study in theology at the great University of Salamanca. However, in 1463, on recovering from surgery, he decided to join the Hermits of St Augustine in that city, and soon rose to be Master of Novices and eventually Prior.

John had a particularly deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and was often privileged during Mass to behold the Sacred Host resplendent with divine glory. Daily, after rising for Matins, he would remain in the choir for adoration and prayer until it was time to celebrate Mass. A powerful and utterly fearless preacher, he inveighed relentlessly against impurity and vice in high places and the extravagances of feminine apparel. Assassins who had been hired by his enemies, seemed to become disarmed by his angelic sweetness and serenity, and hardened sinners found their innermost consciences revealed to his gaze. Many an enmity and family feud was settled through his intervention.

St John Sahagun passed away on 11 June 1479 as a result of poisoning. He was beatified in 1609 and canonized in 1690.

Reflection: “Reflection is the eye of the soul; it lets light and truth into it” (St Bernard).

Daily Readings

June 11, 2025

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Reading 1

Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3

In those days: A great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

O sing a new song to the Lord,

for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

have brought salvation.

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

The Lord has made known his salvation,

has shown his deliverance to the nations.

He has remembered his merciful love

and his truth for the house of Israel.

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

All the ends of the earth

have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth;

break forth into joyous song,

and sing out your praise.

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp,

with the harp and the sound of song.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn,

raise a shout before the King, the Lord.

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

Alleluia

Go and make disciples of all nations, says the Lord I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Gospel

Matthew 10:7-13

At that time: Jesus said to his apostles, “Proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

Reflection

“Proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’.” Jesus gave this mandate to his apostles as he sent them out to preach, to heal and to drive out evil spirits. The apostles went about doing exactly what Jesus had asked them to. Barnabas was not one of the twelve apostles but got the title ‘apostle’ by his missionary work along with Saint Paul. According to the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit chose him and set him for a special mission: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” His qualification according to the Acts of the Apostles was, that “he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” To be a possessor of good virtues, having strong faith and being filled with the Holy Spirit are qualities all of us need to be followers of Christ and his messengers. Do I have these qualities as a Christian and as a messenger of the Good News of Christ?

St Barnabas (Apostle and Martyr) (c.1- 60)

Barnabas, named Joseph at his birth on the island of Cyprus, settled in Jerusalem and is thought to have studied in the school of Gamaliel at the same time as Saul. Converting to Christianity after Pentecost, he sold all his possessions for the benefit of the Church, earning the surname Barnabas, meaning “son of consolation” or “encouragement”. It was he who welcomed the converted Saul to Jerusalem and sponsored him before the Apostles who at first had found it difficult to believe that their fiercest persecutor had become an ardent propagator of the faith. However, from his previous acquaintance with Saul, Barnabas knew Saul to be utterly sincere in his convictions. To both of these great men, the Church, before long, accorded the title of “Apostle”.

Barnabas readily overcame his Jewish prejudices and rejoiced at the first manifestation of God’s grace among the Gentiles, and together with St Paul, whom he brought from Tarsus, spent an entire year preaching the gospel at Antioch.

In 45, when Jerusalem was grievously afflicted by famine, the two apostles brought assistance from the Antioch Christians to the Mother Church. After their return they set out on their first great missionary journey, taking with them John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas, and began with the evangelization of the latter’s native island, Cyprus, followed by conversions and the establishment of churches with a native clergy in Asia Minor.

Believed to have been stoned to death before the year 61, when John Mark was sent to assist Paul in Rome, Barnabas’ remains were discovered near Salamis on Cyprus in 482, with a copy of Matthew’s Gospel in Hebrew entombed with him.

Reflection: “He was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24).

Daily Readings

June 10, 2025

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

2 Corinthians 1:18–22

Brethren: As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 119:129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

Your decrees are wonderful indeed;

therefore my soul obeys them.

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

The unfolding of your word gives light,

and understanding to the simple.

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

I have opened my mouth and I sigh,

for I yearn for your commands.

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

Turn and have mercy on me,

as is your rule for those who love your name.

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

Let my steps be guided by your promise;

may evil never rule me.

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

Let your face shine forth on your servant,

and teach me your decrees.

Response: Let your face shine forth on your servant.

Alleluia

Matthew 5:16

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Gospel

Matthew 5:13–16

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Reflection

Salt and light are two commodities Jesus used to portray the image of how his followers should behave and live in the world. Salt is not useful to itself. Its usefulness comes to the fore when it is mixed with other objects. When joined to food, it gives taste, preserves and purifies. In the same way, the followers of Christ are called to exist for others, sharing with them the joy and beauty of Christian life, being an agent of purification from sin and evil, and preserving and protecting the teachings and values of Christ. In the same way, light is used to brighten places and help others to see objects. It is difficult to imagine a place without light, either natural or artificial. The followers of Christ help enlighten the hearts and minds of others with the wisdom and knowledge of Christ. At the same time, a lamp without oil and salt without saltiness is useless. In the same way, a Christian without the spirit of Christ is useless and worthless.

St Getulius and Companions (Martyrs) (c.120)

Getulius, the husband of St Symphorosa, had been an officer in the Roman army under Trajan and Hadrian. Upon his conversion to the Christian faith, he resigned his commission and withdrew to his estate in the Sabine Hills, near Tivoli (Italy).

Here he lived in seclusion, surrounded only by a little band of Christians whom he taught and supported. He was one day engaged in instructing some of his people when he was surprised by a visit from Cerealis, the imperial vicar, who had been sent to arrest him. Incidentally, Cerealis himself was won over to the Faith as a result of conversations with Getulius and with his brother Amantius who, though an ardent believer, still remained a tribune in the Roman army.

As soon as the Emperor learned of what had taken place, he ordered the Consul Licinius to apprehend the three men and to condemn them to death unless they consented to abjure their faith. They were brought before the Consul who ordered them to renounce their faith. But they all made a bold confession, whereupon they were imprisoned for 27 days at Tivoli and subjected to diverse forms of torture—to no avail. They were finally beheaded or burnt at the stake on the Via Salaria. With them perished another Christian, named Primitivus. The relics of these Saints were buried by St Symphorosa in an arenarium upon her estate.

Reflection: “Is there anything that a generous heart would not willingly suffer on contemplating Jesus crucified” (St Raphaela Mary Porras).

Daily Readings

June 9, 2025, Monday

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Reading 1

Genesis 3:9–15, 20

After Adam had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 

OR:

Acts 1:12-14

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,

and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women,

and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 87:1–2, 3 and 5, 6–7

Response: Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!

Founded by him on the holy mountain, 

the Lord loves the gates of Sion, 

more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 

Response: Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!

Of you are told glorious things, 

you, O city of God! 

But of Sion it shall be said, 

‘Each one was born in her.’ 

He, the Most High, established it. 

Response: Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!

In his register of peoples the Lord writes, 

“Here was this one born.” 

The singers cry out in chorus, 

“In you, all find their home.” 

Response: Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

O happy Virgin, you gave birth to the Lord; O blessed mother of the Church, you warm our hearts with the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.

Gospel

John 19:25b–34

At that time: Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished”, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

Reflection

On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrated the birthday of the Church, and today, we celebrate the fact that Mary, as the mother of Our Lord, is also the Mother of his mystical body, the Church. In 2018, Pope Francis added a feast day under this title for the Monday following the Solemnity of Pentecost – considered the birthday of the Church. The Father chose Mary from among all women to be the mother of His Divine Son. According to Pope Saint John Paul II, “The title ‘Mother of the Church’ reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ but also of the faithful. She, who is recognized as the mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is rightly proclaimed Mother of the Church.” 

St Ephrem (Deacon, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church) (c.306-373)

The son of a pagan priest in Mesopotamia (Iraq), Ephrem, while still young, was driven from his home on the discovery of his sympathy for the Christian faith. St James, bishop of Nisibis, saw to his spiritual instruction; it is believed that he then spent 8 years with the monks in the Egyptian desert, and that St Basil the Great ordained him a Deacon. He consistently declined the priesthood, however, and years later also the episcopate.

The Roman Empire was losing its eastern provinces in war with Persia, and in 363 the city of Nisibis was returned to Persia. That was a hard blow for the Christian colony, given the fierce persecution of believers in Persia, the faithful fleeing the city in great numbers. Ephrem settled down in Edessa, where he spent the last ten years of his life as a hermit and strict ascetic.

Edessa was at that time a hotbed of heresy, there existing no less than ten heretical sects. Ephrem took issue with them all, by way of preaching and writing. Indeed, declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, Ephrem is referred to as the “Sun of the Syrians” and the “Harp of the Holy Spirit” because he was the most prolific writer of Bible commentaries in the Syrian Church and composed large numbers of liturgical hymns. Amazingly, 20 years after his death St Jerome had this to say of him: “Ephrem, a Deacon of the Church at Edessa, wrote many works in Syriac and became so famous that in some churches his writings are read out publicly after the Sacred Scriptures.”

Reflection: “Virginity will serve as a chariot, lifting heavenward all those who guard it, as did Elias” (St Ephrem).

Daily Readings

June 8, 2025

Pentecost Sunday

FIRST READING

Acts of the Apostles (2:1-11)

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians – we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (104)

Response: Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Or Alleluia.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, how great you are, How many are your works, O LORD! The earth is full of your creatures.

Response: Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Or Alleluia.

You take away their breath, they die, returning to the dust from which they came. You send forth your spirit, and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

Response: Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Or Alleluia.

May the glory of the LORD last forever! May the LORD rejoice in his works! May my thoughts be pleasing to him. I will rejoice in the LORD.

Response: Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Or Alleluia.

SECOND READING

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (12:3b-7, 12-13)

Brethren, no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

SEQUENCE

 Holy Spirit, Lord of light, from Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor, come with treasures which endure, come, Thou Light of all that live. Thou, of all consolers best, Thou, the soul’s delightsome Guest, dost refreshing peace bestow. Thou in toil art comfort sweet, pleasant coolness in the heat, solace in the midst of woe. Light immortal, Light divine, visit Thou these hearts of Thine, and our inmost being fill. If Thou take Thy grace away, nothing pure in man will stay; all his good is turned to ill. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; on our dryness pour Thy dew; wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill; guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on those who evermore Thee confess and Thee adore, in Thy sevenfold gifts descend: give them comfort when they die, give them life with Thee on high; give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.

ACCLAMATION

 Alleluia, Alleluia.

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful; and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

John (20:19-23)  

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Reflection

The feast of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks is the second of the three great Jewish feasts. Its name signifies that it concludes the period of seven weeks which began with the presentation of the first sheaf of the barley harvest during the Passover celebration. Originally, the festival was the time when, with appropriate rituals and ceremony, the first fruits of the corn harvest, the last Palestinian crop to ripen, were formally dedicated.

The harvest feast of Pentecost provided the ideal setting for the public manifestation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For the major festivals like the Passover and the Pentecost Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem. It was an auspicious beginning witnessed by Jews from all parts of the Mediterranean region where they lived. It was also a fitting Divine strategy as the people who witnessed the fantastic event and had put their trust in the apostolic preaching and committed themselves to Christ would nonetheless be its ambassadors.

The outpouring of the Spirit on the apostles is also spectacular. There is the sound from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind which once again reminds us of the first creation. Therefore the birth of the Church was yet another new creation that began with the birth of Jesus. The Spirit itself was a visible phenomenon as it appeared like the tongues of fire, distributed and resting on the apostles. Then the apostles began to speak in foreign languages, attracting the attention of foreign Jews who were amazed to hear their native languages spoken by the Galileans. This is also the phenomenon known as “speaking in tongues” which occurs as the result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. This sets the stage for Peter’s sermon which resulted in the conversion and baptism of about 3000 people (Acts 2:1-47).

Like all harvest feasts, it was a joyful occasion. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the stage was set for the dissemination of the saving message of Jesus. At the time of the ascension Jesus had given his disciples the clear mandate, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.” Jesus had also urged his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. The promise of the Father for which Jesus wanted his disciples to wait in Jerusalem was the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 The feast of Pentecost brings to an end the Easter season and we too are ready to begin our own journey. The Church has done her part and enabled us to journey ahead through the celebration of the Paschal events. With the assurance that we make that journey empowered by the Holy Spirit makes the journey light and fruitful.

Source: The Sunday Liturgy

Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidian (Virgin, Foundress) (1876 – 1926)

Mariam Thresia hailed from a wealthy family in Puthenchira, Kerala. But impoverishment set in with her grandfather having to sell his property for marrying off his seven daughters. Yet, hers was a life that was lived in a manner that challenges modern man to live heroically the values of the Gospel. 

Thresia had a special devotion to and an unfailing trust in the Holy Family whom she saw often in visions and from whom she routinely obtained guidance in her apostolate, praying much and fasting for the conversion of sinners. Thresia also had the mystical gift of the “stigmata”—which she carefully kept hidden from public view. Her frequent ecstasies and levitations had her lifted cross-like, high up on the wall in her room, every Friday. As though to ascertain the depth of her zeal and dedication, the Lord led her through periods of torment by way of diabolical attacks, while she assiduously fought temptations against faith and chastity.

It was in 1913 that with her dream of having a prayer house finally taking shape, Thresia was able to lead the life she had always aspired to—of prayer, penance and austerity. 14 May 1914 marked the canonical erection of the Congregation of the Holy Family with herself the first Superior of the new Congregation.

Mother Mariam Thresia died in 1926 and was beatified during the Jubilee Year 2000.

Reflection: “By the merits of his bitter passion joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself, his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall increase my rewards in heaven besides” (St John More).

Daily Readings

June 7, 2025

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter - Mass in the Morning

Reading 1

Acts 28:16–20, 30–31

When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar – though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.” He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 11:4, 5 and 7

Response: The upright shall behold your face, O Lord.

The Lord is in his holy temple;

the throne of the Lord is in heaven.

His eyes behold the world;

his gaze probes the children of men.

Response: The upright shall behold your face, O Lord.

The Lord inspects the just and the wicked;

the lover of violence he hates.

For the Lord is just and loves deeds of justice;

the upright shall behold his face.

Response: The upright shall behold your face, O Lord.

Alleluia

John 16:7, 13

I will send the Spirit of truth to you, says the Lord; he will guide you into all the truth.

Gospel

John 21:20–25

At that time: Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Reflection

John the Evangelist concludes his Gospel with a rhetorical exaggeration technique to get an important point across to his audience. He wants to say that not all that he saw, witnessed and heard could be recorded in the gospel. They are far more, perhaps not in length, but in greatness and meaning, than what he could write in these few pages with his limited resources and finite understanding. The significance of each word and each deed that Jesus said or did could be described and explained infinitely. But the things that he recorded are for the benefit of his audience. In John  20:31, he makes a similar claim, “But these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing, you may have life in his name.” From what John says we can conclude that the story of Jesus is incomplete and it will never be completed. It will continue to be written down, spoken of, listened to and fascinate, inspire, enlighten, enliven and transform people until this world comes to an end.

Venerable Thomas à Kempis (Confessor) (1379 -1471)

Thomas à Kempis is so surnamed after his native town of Kempen near Cologne (Germany) where his father was metalsmith. His elder brother John had become one of the “Brethren of the Common Life”, a movement founded by Gerard Groote for the fervent revival of early Christian devotion, humility and simplicity in the love of God and neighbour.

At 13, Thomas placed himself under Radewyn, the able successor of Groote. In 1413 he was ordained Priest, was twice elected sub-prior, and for 58 years devoted himself with enthusiasm to transcribing manuscripts, preaching, instructing the younger brethren, and to reading and meditating in strict poverty and retirement. His most celebrated work, “The Imitation of Christ”, was first published anonymously in 1418; he is also known as the author of numerous devout prayers and Latin hymns. “Commit yourself with full confidence to God! Leave to him the ‘I will’ and the ‘I won’t.’ Let there be but one heart and one mind for you and God.”

Reflection: “Sometimes we are moved by passion, and think it zeal.....we are quick enough in perceiving and weighing what we bear from others, but we think little of what others have to bear from us” (Imitation of Christ, Bk II,5,1).

Daily Readings

June 6, 2025

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Reading I

Acts 25:13b–21

In those days: Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix, and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defence concerning the charge laid against him. So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 11–12, 19–20ab

Response: The Lord has fixed his throne in heaven.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all within me, his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all his benefits.

Response: The Lord has fixed his throne in heaven.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so strong his mercy for those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west,

so far from us does he

remove our transgressions.

Response: The Lord has fixed his throne in heaven.

The Lord has fixed his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom is ruling over all.

Bless the Lord, all you his angels,

mighty in power, fulfilling his word.

Response: The Lord has fixed his throne in heaven.

Alleluia

John 14:26

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Gospel

John 21:15–19

When [Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and] they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Reflection

Jesus has specific reasons  for asking Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” It’s not settling scores, but removing all guilt and remorse from the mind of Peter. Peter had denied his Master three times at a moment of weakness. But Jesus would not allow Peter to suffer any more from the weight of his guilt. The triple denial and its guilt would be cancelled by the triple affirmation of Peter’s love for Jesus. What stands out in this most intimate moment is not the question of Peter’s love for Jesus, but Jesus’ love for Peter and for all those who would deny him through sin and weakness. Jesus loves us so much that he does not want us to live under the weight of our sin and the resultant guilt but in the joy of his love and friendship.

St Norbert (Bishop, Confessor) (c.1060-1134)

St Norbert was related to the German imperial house and was a Canon at Xanten Rhineland (Germany), his birthplace. He nevertheless led a worldly life as almoner at the court of Emperor Henry V until, in 1115, he narrowly escaped death by lightning that had thrown him off his frightened horse. An utterly changed man, he thenceforth led a life of severe penance, received Holy Orders and attempted to reform the Chapter at Xanten. But meeting with persecution and ridicule, he renounced his canonry, gave all his possessions to the poor and wandered barefoot and penniless to St Gilles in France, where Pope Gelasius II gave him faculties to preach wherever he went.

In 1121, at the request of Pope Callixtus II and Bartholomew, the Bishop of Laon, Norbert founded the Relgious Order of Canons Regular of Strict Observance at Premontre under the reformed rule of St Augustine, for parochial, educational and missionary work. It grew with such rapidity that by 1131, there were already 500 Priests, Clerics and Lay-brothers.

Through his zealous preaching, Norbert had the people of the Low Counties abandon the Sacramentarian heresy, i.e., the denial of the Real Presence. As chancellor and adviser to the King, he accompanied the latter’s army to Rome to aid the cause of the rightful Pope, Innocent II against the pretensions of the anti-pope Pietro di Leoni. Soon after his return to the north, Norbert fell critically ill and died in 1134 and was canonized in 1852.

Reflection: “He was a most eloquent preacher; after long meditation, he would preach the Word of God and with his fiery eloquence, he purged vices, refined virtues and filled souls of goodwill with the warmth of wisdom” (Biography of St Norbert).

Daily Readings

June 5, 2025, Thursday

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Reading 1

Acts 22:30; 23:6–11

In those days: Desiring to know the real reason why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the Council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamour arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 16:1–2a and 5, 7–8, 9–10, 11 

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

you yourself who secure my lot.”

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord before me always;

with him at my right hand,

I shall not be moved.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

And so, my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

even my flesh shall rest in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to hell,

nor let your holy one see corruption.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

You will show me the path of life,

the fullness of joy in your presence,

at your right hand, bliss forever.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

R. Alleluia.

John 17:21

May they all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, so that the world may believe that you have sent me, says the Lord.

Gospel

John 17:20–26

At that time: [Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed, saying,] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Reflection

Jesus continues his passionate prayer for his disciples. It is a prayer with a perennial value for Christ’s disciples of all times and places, including us. The main focus of this section is “that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” Jesus visualises and prays for perfect oneness, the type of oneness that existed between him and his Father. The Trinitarian unity was founded on perfect love. Where there is no love, there is fear and suspicion. The painful reality of disunity, division, mutual suspicion and bitterness among the members of the body of Christ is a scandal today more than ever. The early Christians lived “with one accord devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). But as time went by, the spirit of unity disappeared and the spirit of competition and disharmony began to rule the followers of Christ. Let us today pray and work for unity in our own communities and life situations.

St Boniface (Bishop, Martyr) (c.673-755)

St Boniface was born of noble Anglo­-Saxon parents at Crediton (England). Baptized Wynfrid, a name which meant “Joy and Peace”, and trained in sanctity and knowledge from the age of five by the Benedictines, he excelled in preaching and expounding the Sacred Scriptures.

In 722 he was consecrated regional Bishop of Hessia and Thuringia and his name Latinized to Boniface, a name which means “doing good”. It was in Hessia that he dauntlessly felled the huge oak tree consecrated to the heathen god of thunder, and when the much-feared dire consequences expected failed to materialize, the German tribes one after the other converted to Christianity. In Hessia was established a missionary centre for the training of native clergy.

When Boniface was made Apostolic Legate in 738, he reorganized the Church in Bavaria and held the first German Synod in 742. In 748 he was made Archbishop of Mainz and Primate of Germany.

In his 75th year Boniface undertook one more missionary journey to Friesland, but the heathen inhabitants murdered him along with 12 clerics and 40 converts at Dokkum in 755. The greatest achievement of this “St Paul of Germany”—as Boniface is popularly known—was the unification of all individual missionary endeavours on the basis of his two guiding principles: first, the restoration of the obedience of the clergy to their Bishops in union with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome; and second, the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries.

Reflection: “Let us not be dumb dogs, sleeping sentinels, hirelings that fly at the sight of the wolf, but watchful and diligent . . . in season and out of season” (St Boniface).

Daily Readings

June 4, 2025

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 20:28–38

In those days: Paul said to the elders of the Church of Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 68:29–30, 33–35a, 35b and 36d

Response: You, kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Summon forth your might, O God; 

your might, O God, 

which you have shown for us. 

From your temple high in Jerusalem, 

kings will come to you 

bringing their tribute. 

Response: You, kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord who rides on the heavens, 

the ancient heavens. 

Behold, he thunders his voice, his mighty voice. 

Come, acknowledge the power of God. 

Response: You, kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies. 

Awesome is God in his holy place. 

He is God, the God of Israel. 

He himself gives strength and power 

to his people 

Response: You, kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Alleluia

See John 17:17b, 17a

Your word, O Lord, is truth; sanctify us in the truth.

Gospel

John 17:11b–19

At that time: [Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed, saying,] “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Reflection

Jesus asks his Father to keep the disciples united in his name, “that they may be one, even as we are one.” Disciples of Jesus do not belong to the world although they are in the world, experiencing its struggles and hardships. They are part of the world, make meaningful contributions through selfless service and by fighting against all that is evil. Yet, as Saint Paul writes, “our commonwealth is in heaven” (Phil 3: 20). Jesus prays that his disciples be sanctified, that is, to make them holy and pure, freed from sin. This is the ultimate state to which all of us have a calling. As Pope Francis says in Gaudete et Exsultate, “We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves.”

St Francis Caracciolo (Confessor) (1563 -1608)

Baptized Ascanio at his birth on 13 October 1563 in the Abruzzi, Italy, this scion of a noble family in Naples, fell victim in his youth to a terrible skin disease akin to leprosy. However, at 22, when he dedicated his life exclusively to God’s service, he found himself suddenly cured, went on to study theology at Naples, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1587.

In 1589, together with St John Augustine Adorno, he founded the Minor Clerks Regular, a religious Congregation (both contemplative and active) which prohibited its members from aspiring to ecclesiastical dignities, called for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in rotation and for continuous mortification in addition to the three usual vows. At his profession, Ascanio took the name of Francis. He became the first superior of the Naples congregation, and towards the turn of the century made three trips to Spain to found houses in Madrid, Valladolid and in the famous university city of Alcala, where his Clerks were to teach science.

Francis Caracciolo was an indirect descendant of St Thomas Aquinas on his mother’s side, and like his illustrious ancestor, was known for his angelic purity. A friend of the poor, he practised great austerities, always travelled on foot, and begged for crusts for his sustenance. God granted him the gifts of prophecy and of reading hearts. As an author he is famed particularly for his “Seven Stations of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Francis died on 4 June 1608 and was canonized by Pope Pius VII on 24 May 1807.

Daily Readings

June 3, 2025

Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs

Reading 1

Acts 20:17–27

In those days: From Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance towards God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.’’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 68:10–11, 20–21 

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

You poured down, O God, a generous rain;

when your people languished,

you restored their inheritance.

It was there that your flock began to dwell.

In your goodness, O God,

you provided for the poor.

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Day after day, may the Lord be blest.

He bears our burdens;

God is our saviour.

This God of ours is a God who saves.

The Lord our Lord provides

an escape from death.

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Alleluia

John 14:16

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you for ever.

Gospel

John 17:1–11a

At that time: Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.”

Reflection

In this section of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, he passionately prays for his disciples. Jesus knew that it was time for him to return to the Father. He would not want his beloved disciples to be abandoned and lost. He taught them the truths of the Father, he shared with them his love and life. He passed on to them the authority that he had received from his Father. He empowered them with the power of the Holy Spirit. He would love them till the end, even to the point of dying for them and sharing his body and blood with them. Now as he leaves them, he would not want them to be scattered and lost like sheep without a shepherd. Thus he prays to his Father to guard them and keep them together in his love. Jesus’ prayer is offered for each one of us because we belong to him and his Father. It shows how precious we are in his sight, how much he loves us and how he wishes that we be blessed with eternal life.

Sts Charles Lwanga, Joseph Mkasa and Companions (Ugandan Martyrs)  (-c.1886 - 1887)

The White Fathers started missionary work among the native tribes of the Upper Nile region in 1878, and the first baptisms took place on Easter Saturday the following year. Some of these men had been converted from Islam to Protestantism before becoming Catholics. With their stiff resistance to the immoral demands of the vicious King Mwanga began the persecution of the rapidly spreading Catholic faith in 1886. Joseph Mkasa, the chief of the royal pages, and Marumba, the headman of a district, were among the first to suffer martyrdom, closely followed by Mkasa’s successor Charles Lwanga.

It was Charles who enabled the rest to retain their individual purity and to cling unto their faith. The Church today venerates the 22 Negro boys and young men ranging in age from 13 to 30 years, for the courage, reminiscent of the early Christians, with which they endured the cruelest tortures. Thirteen of the Martyrs were burned, the rest met death through various other ordeals. Some of them were put to death on 3 June 1886.

These were the first African Negroes to be beatified (1920). Besides these, some 80 others were killed in this persecution. As St Augustine says: “The martyrs were bound, imprisoned, scourged, racked, burnt, rent, butchered — and they multiplied.”

The Ugandan martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI on 18 October 1964.

Reflection: “First, have great love for Jesus Christ. Second, be faithful to the Church. Third, be strong and courageous; be happy and joyful always. Because, remember this always, the Christian life is a most beautiful thing” (Pope Paul VI).

Daily Readings

June 2, 2025

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 19:1–8

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptised?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptised with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 68:2–3, 4–5ac, 6–7ab

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Let God arise; let his foes be scattered.

Let those who hate him flee from his presence.

As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;

like wax that melts before the fire,

so the wicked shall perish

at the presence of God.

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God;

they shall exult with glad rejoicing

O sing to God; make music to his name.

The Lord is his name;

exult at his presence.

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Father of orphans, defender of widows:

such is God in his holy place.

God gives the desolate a home to dwell in;

he leads the prisoners forth 

into prosperity.

Response: You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

Alleluia

Colossians 3:1

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Gospel

John 16:29–33

At that time: The disciples said to Jesus, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Reflection

Jesus speaks of a time when he would be left alone, being abandoned by his own closest disciples whom he had chosen, trained and befriended for three years. Yet Jesus is not overcome by fear and anxiety nor does he backtrack from fulfilling his mission. He has just one goal in life: to carry out the will of his Father for the salvation of the world, as he is convinced of the Father’s filial love for him. He is sure of this as he says, “Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Jesus’ conviction of the Father’s loving presence and his total dedication to his mission are inspiration and motivation for us to be courageous in the midst of misunderstanding, loneliness, persecution and rejection. His words, “Take heart, I have overcome the world,” should ring in our ears and motivate us to be his courageous disciples in today’s world of darkness and chaos.

Sts Marcellinus and Peter (Martyrs) (A.D. - 304)

St Marcellinus was a Priest during the reign of Diocletian in Rome and St Peter an exorcist, i.e., someone authorized by the Church to deal with cases of demonic possession. They were said to have been condemned and cast into prison for their faith. In prison the two strengthened the faith of those of their fellow-prisoners who were Christian, and succeeded in making new converts, too, among whom were the jailer Arthemius, his wife and their daughter.

When they were taken out for execution, Marcellinus and Peter were privately brought to a wood called the Silva Niagra and there beheaded. Their persecutors had already dug the graves before the execution so that the place of their burial would not be known to the other Christians. However, the secret was divulged by the executioner himself who later became a Christian. Two devout women, Lucilla and Firmina, rescued their relics and interred them honourably in the catacomb of Tiburtius on the Via Lavicana. Emperor Constantine had a basilica built over the crypt in which they were buried. He later buried his own mother, St Helena, there, too.

Pope Damasus I composed a poetic epitaph for Sts Marcellinus and Peter that was apparently founded on the report of their executioner. They are commemorated in the Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I).

Reflection: “If we wish to save our soul, we must resolve to do violence to ourselves. ‘The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away’ (Mt 11:12). He who does not do violence to himself will not be saved” (St Alphonsus Liguori).

Daily Readings

June 1, 2025

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Reading I

Acts of the Apostles (1:1-11)

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (67)

Response: God goes up with shouts of joy. The Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Or Alleluia.

All peoples, clap your hands. Cry to God with shouts of joy! For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, the great king over all the earth.

Response: God goes up with shouts of joy. The Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Or Alleluia.

God goes up with shouts of joy. The LORD goes up with trumpet blast. Sing praise for God; sing praise! Sing praise to our king; sing praise!

Response: God goes up with shouts of joy. The Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Or Alleluia.

God is king of all the earth. Sing praise with all your skill. God reigns over the nations. God sits upon his holy throne.

Response: God goes up with shouts of joy. The Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Or Alleluia.

READING 2

Ephesians (1:17-23)

Brethren, may the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia. Alleluia.

Go and make disciples of all nations, says the Lord; I am with you always, to the end of the age. Alleluia. (Mt 28:19a, 20b)

GOSPEL

Luke (24:46-53)

At that time Jesus said to his disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Cel: The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection

The First Reading as well as the Gospel of Today deal with the Ascension of Jesus. Though coming from the same author, the accounts of the Ascension at the end of Luke’s Gospel and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles have remarkable differences. According to the Gospel the Ascension took place on Easter Sunday itself but in Acts there is an interval of forty days during which the Lord Jesus appeared to his apostles.

The significant details of the Ascension given in Acts 1:1-11 are as follows. The risen Christ commands his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Ascension is the movement of the Eternal Son, in his assumed and glorified humanity, from earth to heaven in order to sit at the right hand of the Father. The Acts’ description of the Ascension focuses on the screening cloud, precisely as it does in the transfiguration account. The cloud is symbolic of the divine glory. The Ascension functions as the last appearance of the risen Christ, as he takes leave of his assembled followers.

Paul brings in another perspective to the Ascension. As Paul prays for the Ephesian Community, he intercedes that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation may be given to the Christians of Ephesus. Once they receive the Spirit they will be enlightened. The risen and glorified Jesus reigns over the whole universe as God has placed all things under his feet.

What does the celebration of the feast of Ascension require of us? It definitely requires of us a closer look at the way we live our Christian commitment. When Jesus began his journey to Jerusalem that would culminate in his gruesome death, he was absolutely certain that his death would give way to his resurrection. Do we live our lives in such a way that we are confident to face God?

(Source: The Sunday Liturgy)

St Justin, Martyr (c.100-166)

St Justin was born of pagan parents in Samaria (Syria). Equipped with a good education, he earnestly sought instruction from various pagan philosophers, but none could satisfy his ardent thirst for truth or tell him anything definite about God. He once drew a venerable old Christian into a lengthy philosophical discussion which led him to take up the study of the Prophets.

Having witnessed firsthand the trials and torments of Christian martyrs he was astonished at their fearlessness. And so it was that the living faith of the martyrs, combined with a study of the Scriptures, brought about his conversion.

Leading an austere and holy life he travelled about Asia Minor (Turkey), preaching the truth about Christ. To rebut the novel ideas of the heretic Marcion, who was then troubling the Church, Justin wrote a number of treatises which were highly prized by St Jerome, but which are now unfortunately lost. Only the two apologias (defence of Christianity), which he addressed to the Emperors Anotoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, and his famous “Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon” are extant.

“The greatest blessing I can wish you, is that you might come to realize that wisdom is given to every man through this Way of Life, and that someday you too might come to believe as we do that Jesus is the Christ of God!” wrote Justin.

St Justin is the first great Christian apologist, and the Patron of Catholic philosophy.

Reflection: “There is nothing which we more earnestly desire than to endure torments for the sake of Our Lord Jesus Christ; for this is what will promote our happiness, and give us confidence at his bar, where all men must appear, and be judged” (St Justin).

Daily Readings

May 31, 2025, Saturday

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading I

Zephaniah 3:14–18 (Or Romans 12:9–16b)

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

Or

Romans 12:9–16b

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour.  Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Responsorial Psalm

Isaiah 12:2–3, 4bcde, 5–6  

Response: Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

Response: Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Give thanks to the Lord,

call upon his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples,

proclaim that his name is exalted.

Response: Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Sing praises to the Lord,

for he has done gloriously;

let this be made known in all the earth.

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel.

Response: Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Alleluia

See Luke 1:45

Blessed are you Virgin Mary, who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to you from the Lord.

Gospel

Luke 1:39–56

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring for ever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Reflection

The Feast of the Visitation illustrates Mary’s heart filled with love for her neighbour, inspired by her unparalleled devotion to God. Just as to her cousin, she is the Visitor who always seeks to fill our lives with her maternal care, aid, and heavenly graces. As children, it is indeed our duty to create in us a welcoming atmosphere for Our Blessed Mother. In turn, Our Blessed Mother would expect us to be visitors who bring good news to the persons we meet. Mary, who brought physical, emotional, and spiritual consolation is our model in all corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Let us touch the lives of people around us with the love that is following the will of God, and not with arrogance, selfishness, and pride.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This feast commemorates the visit of the Virgin Mary, pregnant with the child Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptizer. It was at the Annunciation that Mary was informed of old Elizabeth’s pregnancy (Lk 1:36), prompting her to go “with haste” (Lk 1:39) to be of help to her cousin, thereby commencing her involvement in the work of redemption. What followed is awe-inspiring! At the sound of Mary’s greeting, the child in Elizabeth’s womb is sanctified and cleansed of original sin (cf. Lk 1:44) as foretold by the Angel Gabriel to Zechariah (cf. Lk 1:15) and in a leaping instant begins his mission of bearing witness to the light. Indeed, as David danced for joy before the Ark of the Covenant of old, John, the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, leaps for joy before Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant that brings God’s presence into the world! Then, “ . . . . filled with the Holy Spirit”, Elizabeth boldly declared Mary the most “blessed” among women, the Mother of God (cf. Lk 1:41-42) — the first formal acknowledgement as it were of the “Theotokos”!

The feast of the Visitation was first heard of in 1263, when it was adopted by the Franciscans, its observance extended to the whole Church in 1389 by Pope Urban VI in supplication for the end of the Great Schism.

Reflection: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!” (Mary - Lk 1:46).

Daily Readings

May 30, 2025

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 18:9–18

[When Paul was in Corinth,] the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this. After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 47:2–3, 4–5, 6–7

Response: God is king of all the earth.

All peoples, clap your hands.

Cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High,is awesome,

the great king over all the earth.

Response: God is king of all the earth.

He humbles peoples under us

and nations under our feet.

Our heritage he chose for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loves.

Response: God is king of all the earth.

God goes up with shouts of joy.

The Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing praise for God; sing praise!

Sing praise to our king; sing praise!

Response: God is king of all the earth.

Alleluia

See Luke 24:46, 26

Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and enter into his glory.

Gospel

John 16:20–23a

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me.”

Reflection

Jesus assures his disciples that the Father will provide whatever they ask in his name. While the prayer of petition is not the sum and summit of prayer, it is its indispensable aspect that brings spiritual benefits. If we remember that we are children of God, we will make our prayer of petition with childlike simplicity. God, in His infinite goodness, gives us countless blessings, even without asking for them. There are some things that God will never grant us, or he would delay the reply and make us wait, no matter how earnestly we pray. According to Saint Augustine, God says no to our petition because we pray without trust, lacking humility and perseverance, or because we ask for bad things, things that are harmful to us.

St Joan of Arc, Virgin  Martyr (1412-1431)

The “Maid of Orleans” and liberator of France, Jean d’Arc was a native of Domremy in Lorraine. The youngest of five children of a poor peasant farmer named Jacques, she was from her 13th year conscious of supernatural “voices” directing her. Three years later these voices (Sts Michael, Margaret and Catherine) insistently urged her to lead the French King’s armies to victory over the English, just when their complete defeat seemed imminent — “It is God who commands it!”

In the ensuing winter, however, many military advantages were lost through procrastination and political jealousies, and when Joan was captured at Compiegne by the Burgandians, the urgrateful Charles abandoned her to her fate — she was sold by her captors to the English, who, in order to rid themselves of one who inspired their troops with superstitious terror, had her condemned for witchery by subservient prelates and judges. In 1431, just 19, she was burned alive at the stake at Rouen. A generation later, a re-trial of her case, at the request of her family, established Joan’s complete innocence.

Joan of Arc was canonized in 1920 and is the Patron of France.

Reflection: “Accept everything with willing heart. Do not mind your martyrdom; at the end you shall come to the Kingdom of Paradise” (Voices to St Joan of Arc).

Daily Readings

May 29, 2025

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Reading I

Acts 18:1–8

In those days: Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titus Justus, a worshipper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptised.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 98:1, 2–3ab, 3cd–4

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

O sing a new song to the Lord, 

for he has worked wonders. 

His right hand and his holy arm 

have brought salvation. 

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

The Lord has made known his salvation, 

has shown his deliverance to the nations. 

He has remembered his merciful love 

and his truth for the house of Israel. 

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen 

the salvation of our God. 

Shout to the Lord, all the earth; 

break forth into joyous song, 

and sing out your praise. 

Response: The Lord has shown his deliverance to the nations.

Alleluia

See John 14:18

I will not leave you as orphans, says the Lord; I will come to you, and your hearts will rejoice.

Gospel

John 16:16–20

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

Reflection

The frequent references to sadness and suffering express the environment of the communities at the end of the first century in Asia Minor for whom John wrote his Gospel. They lived in a difficult situation of persecution and oppression, which caused sadness. In this situation, the Apostle brings the salvific event of the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ endured the suffering and attained the glory, and has prophesied both the suffering and glory of his followers. So, the persecution of Christians, and any suffering in the name of faith should be lived in the light of the experience of the death and resurrection of Jesus. A person bears suffering and persecution when he/she knows that suffering is the way and the condition to attain perfect joy. 

St Cyril, Martyr (-251)

True to his mother’s training, Cyril when a still a child, would repeat the name of Christ at all times and confessed that the utterance of this name moved him strangely.

His father, a heathen and an idolator, hated Christianity and would beat and revile him for the faith he professed. Young Cyril bore all with Christian joy and when he was driven away by his father from the shelter of his roof he said he had lost little and would receive a great recompense instead.

It being a time of general persecution, the governor of Caesarea, learning about Cyril, had the child brought before him. The persecutors initially tried tempting him in various ways to apostatize and, later, even led him to the place of execution and showed him the horrible instruments of torture. But no threats could make him show the slightest sign of fear. The Governor pitying perhaps his tender years, offered him freedom and besought him to return to his home and inheritance. But the blessed youth replied: “I left home gladly, for I have a greater and a better reward which is waiting for me!”

Cyril was then taken to the fires as if for execution but was brought out once again to be re-examined. Still, he remained filled with his unwavering heavenly desire and protested against the cruel delay of his executioners. Blandishments and added threats were of no avail in moving the little confessor, and the judge suffered him at last to win the eternal crown he craved for!

Reflection: “Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for of such is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16).

Daily Readings

May 28, 2025

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 17:15, 22–18:1

In those days: Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed long and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way towards him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 148:1–2, 11–12, 13, 14 

Response: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights.

Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his hosts.

Response: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all judges of the earth,

young men and maidens as well,

the old and the young together.

Response: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted,

his splendour above heaven and earth.

Response: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

He exalts the strength of his people.

He is the praise of all his faithful,

the praise of the children of Israel,

of the people to whom he is close.

Response: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Alleluia

John 14:16

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you for ever.

Gospel

John 16:12–15

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Reflection

The Gospel presents an essential link between the working of the Holy Spirit and our grasping the truth more profoundly. The Truth is Jesus himself and the Word of God contains the truth which is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. According to Dei Verbum, “the Church taught by the Holy Spirit, moves toward a deeper understanding of the Sacred Scriptures so that she may increasingly feed her sons with the divine words” (DV §23). Pope Benedict XVI was categorical in stating the impossibility of an authentic understanding of Christian revelation apart from the activity of the Holy Spirit (VD §15). Disposing ourselves to the inspiration of the Spirit is necessary for us to know the Truth and to live Him.

St Germanus

Germanus (c. 496 – 28 May 576) was the bishop of Paris and is venerated as a saint in both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to an early biography, he was known as Germain d'Autun, rendered in modern times as the "Father of the Poor".

Germanus was born near Autun in what is now France, under Burgundian control 20 years after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, to noble Gallo-Roman parents. Germain studied at Avallon in Burgundy and at Luzy under the guidance of his cousin Scallion, who was a priest.

At the age of 35, he was ordained by Agrippinus of Autun and became abbot of the nearby Abbey of St. Symphorian. He was known for his hardworking and austere nature; however, it was his generous alms-giving which caused his monks to fear that one day he would give away all the wealth of the abbey, resulting in their rebellion against him. While in Paris in 555, Sibelius, the bishop of Paris, died, and King Childebert had him consecrated as the bishop of Paris.

Under Germain's influence, Childebert is said to have led a reformed life. In his new role, the bishop continued to practice the virtues and austerities of his monastic life, working to diminish the suffering caused by the incessant wars. He attended the Third and Fourth Councils of Paris (557, 573) and also the Second Council of Tours (566). He persuaded the king to stamp out the pagan practices existing in Gaul and to forbid the excess that accompanied the celebration of most Christian festivals. Germanus died in 576 AD.

Daily Readings

May 27, 2025

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 16:22–34

In those days: The crowd of Philippians joined in attacking Paul and Silas, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds; and he was baptised at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house, and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 138:1–2a, 2bcd–3, 7c–8

Response: With your right hand you save me, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart; 

you have heard the words of my mouth. 

In the presence of the angels I praise you. 

I bow down toward your holy temple.

Response: With your right hand you save me, O Lord.

I give thanks to your name 

for your merciful love and your faithfulness. 

You have exalted your name over all. 

On the day I called, you answered me; 

you increased the strength of my soul. 

Response: With your right hand you save me, O Lord.

With your right hand you save me; 

the Lord will accomplish this for me. 

O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; 

discard not the work of your hands. 

Response: With your right hand you save me, O Lord. 

Alleluia

See John 16:7, 13

I will send the Helper of truth to you, says the Lord; he will guide you into all the truth.

Gospel 

John 16:5–11

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Reflection 

The Gospel passage focuses on three aspects of the workings of the Holy Spirit. First, the Holy Spirit is in the business of pricking our consciences whenever we sin, and he encourages us to repent. Our repentance is responding to the merciful promptings of the Holy Spirit. Second, the Holy Spirit convinces us that to be made righteous by God the Father, we have to believe in Jesus, whose precious blood cleanses us of our sins. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit, in exposing to us what sin is and by convincing us about righteousness, makes clear to us that there will be judgment. A life attuned to the Spirit would be conscious of the dangers of sin, of the salvific acts that won for us, and the certainty of judgment. 

St Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop, Confessor (-605)

A Roman by birth, Augustine and 40 other Benedictine monks were deputed by Gregory the Great in 596 to evangelize England. Disturbed by rumours of the brutality of the locals, the band attempted to return mid-way. However, admonished by the Pope, himself a Benedictine, they persisted. Landing in the spring of 597, with interpreters from France, they were received hospitably by King Ethelbert of Kent and invited to live at Canterbury. Entering in solemn procession, bearing an image of Our Lord and a Cross, and chanting an ancient litany, they immediately established their Benedictine routine together with the preaching mission. The King, who had married the Frankish Princess Bertha, a Catholic, was deeply impressed by Augustine’s spiritual message and personal sanctity, and asked for baptism at Pentecost. More than 10,000 of his subjects were baptized the day following Christmas.

The following autumn, Augustine was consecrated bishop by St Virgilius, Archbishop of Arles, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury with jurisdiction over all the southern British dioceses which were being established. He failed, however, in enlisting the support of the Celtic Bishops of Wales in the evangelization of the Anglo-Saxon conquerors and getting them to conform to Roman practice in the matter of the Easter date. 

About seven years after his arrival in England, St Augustine passed to his reward in 605, leaving behind a rich legacy of no less than 12 new dioceses.

Reflection: “I will not live an instant that I do not live in love. Whoever loves does all things without suffering, or, suffering, loves his suffering” (St Augustine).

Daily Readings

May 26, 2025

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest

Reading 1

Acts 16:11–15

Setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptised, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 149:1–2, 3–4, 5–6a and 9b

Response: The Lord takes delight in his people.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel rejoice in its Maker;

let Sion’s children exult in their king.

Response: The Lord takes delight in his people.

Let them praise his name with dancing,

and make music with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people;

he crowns the poor with salvation.

Response: The Lord takes delight in his people.

Let the faithful exult in glory,

and rejoice as they take their rest.

Let the praise of God be in their mouths.

This is an honour for all his faithful.

Alleluia

John 15:26b, 27a

The Spirit of truth will bear witness about me, says the Lord; you also will bear witness.

Gospel

John 15:26–16:4a

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.”

Reflection

The message of Pope Francis for the 2021 Diocesan World Youth Day was to courageously bear witness to Jesus Christ, in the footsteps of Saint Paul. The Pope has defined Christianity on several occasions not as a school of ideas or a collection of beautiful temples, but as a living people who follow Jesus and bear witness to him. This witness sometimes ends up giving one’s life as is evident in the lives of martyrs. A Christian who does not take the dimension of martyrdom seriously does not understand the road that Jesus has indicated. It is through the gift of the Spirit that we can face the trials that come in our lives. The Spirit gives us the strength to face martyrdom as we bear witness to our faith.

St Philip Neri, Confessor (c.1515-1595)

Giving up his commercial activities at the age of 26, Philip Neri went to Rome to seek his own sanctification and that of his fellowmen. He led a disciplined life of prayer and penance and studied philosophy and theology; he frequently visited the Seven Churches—a 12-mile pilgrimage which he would perform on foot after sundown, often spending entire nights in the catacomb of St Sebastian. In 1548 he founded a confraternity to care for poor pilgrims and started the monthly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Ordained priest in 1551, he went on to become an outstanding confessor and counsellor, combining as he did popularity with deep piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy. He would celebrate Mass with loving delight and devote his afternoons to engaging young men and boys in talks, games or visits to the Seven Churches, bringing home to the minds of people spiritual truths in the most unusual but efficacious ways. From 1564, several of his followers became priests and settled down with him at the Church of San Giovanni de Fiorentini, praying and eating in common, celebrating the Eucharist and preaching regularly. This sowed the seed of what was to become known as the “Oratory”, whose distinctive feature was the regular afternoon session of informal talks held in a little room above the Church concerning spiritual matters.

An outstanding mystic of the Counter-Reformation, Philip passed away on the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1595 and was canonized in 1622.

Reflection: “We must take care of little faults, for he who once begins to go backward, and to make light of such defects, brings a sort of grossness over his conscience, and then goes wrong altogether” (St Philip Neri).

Daily Readings

May 25, 2025

Sixth Sunday of Easter

FIRST READING

Acts of the Apostles (15:1-2, 22-29)

In those days some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barnabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (67)

Response: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Or Alleluia.

O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your salvation.

Response: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Or Alleluia.

Let the nations be glad and shout for joy, with uprightness you rule the peoples; you guide the nations on earth.

Response: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Or Alleluia.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. May God still give us his blessing that all the ends of the earth may revere him.  

Response: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Or Alleluia.

SECOND READING

Book of Revelation (21:10–14, 22–23)

The angel carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed – on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.” Alleluia! (Jn 14:23)

GOSPEL

John (14:23-29)

At that time Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.

Reflection

When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch after the First Missionary Journey, they encountered a problem regarding the admission of the Gentiles into the Christian fold. The problem was created by some Jewish Christians who while coming to Antioch spread the news that the observance of the Mosaic Law was necessary for salvation. When neither Paul nor the community of Antioch was able to solve the problem by themselves, the community decided to forward the problem to the apostles in Jerusalem. The meeting of the apostles and delegates in Jerusalem about 50 A.D. is the famous Jerusalem Council. When the meeting was held, the apostolic and presbyteral college of Jerusalem officially recognized the evangelization of Gentiles, which has been initiated by Peter and carried out on a wide scale by Paul and Barnabas. The decision of the Council was that new coverts did not need to go through the ritual of circumcision to become Christians. The only demands were some dietary restrictions.

The Book of Revelation from which the Second Reading is taken, closes with a majestic view of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly Church of the future, the veritable kingdom of God. The heavenly Jerusalem that John sees as coming down from heaven is a glorious entity. The radiance of the New Jerusalem is like that of a precious stone. The twelve gates of the wall have names of twelve tribes of Israel inscribed on them.

In the gospel of today, Jesus tells that those who love him and live their life according to his teachings will experience the presence of the Father in them. Jesus qualifies the Holy Spirit as the Counsellor who will teach and help us to remember the things taught by Jesus. The disciple who loves Jesus will keep his Words. There was one of the disciples who kept the commandments to an exceptional degree and loved Jesus. This was the disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus promises peace to the disciples and urges them not to be troubled by his departure. Jesus’ death is not the end; it is the beginning of a process of his going back to the Father who sent him.

Source: The Sunday Liturgy

St Bede the Venerable, Confessor, Doctor of the Church (673 -735)

A native of Northumberland (England), Bede was educated from his 7th year on at the dual Benedictine monastery of Sts Peter and Paul at Wearmouth-Jarrow under its founder, St Benedict Biscop. In his own words, “From that time I spent my whole life in that Monastery, devoting all my efforts to the study of the scriptures, and amid the observance of the monastic discipline and the daily charge of singing in the church it has ever been my delight to study or teach or write.”

His piety, learning, and gentle character drew to him hundreds of scholars to whom he imparted all the patristic riches of the former centuries as well as the treasures of science then available. He wrote more than 40 books on history, chronology, physics, music, philosophy, poetry and medicine. Undoubtedly the most learned man of his age. His general world history and his Ecclesiastical History of the English People have earned for him the title of “Father of English history”.

Greatly noted for his holiness, Bede was at times so overcome with devotion that he would shed tears and, when not studying or teaching, spend long hours in prayer, coming to be called “Venerable” during his life-time itself. In his last years he was constantly ill, yet he worked and prayed right up to the end.

Declared a Saint and Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1899, his relics are entombed in the Galilee chapel of Durham Cathedral.

Reflection: “He alone loves the Creator perfectly who manifests a pure love for his neighbour” (St Bede the Venerable).

Daily Readings

May 24, 2025

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 16:1–10

In those days: Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 100:1–2, 3, 5

Response: Cry out with joy to the Lord all the earth.

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness.

Come before him, singing for joy.

Response: Cry out with joy to the Lord all the earth.

Know that he, the Lord, is God.

He made us; we belong to him.

We are his people,

the sheep of his flock.

Response: Cry out with joy to the Lord all the earth.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,

eternal his merciful love.

He is faithful from age to age.

Response: Cry out with joy to the Lord all the earth.

Alleluia

Colossians 3:1

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Gospel

John 15:18–21

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”

Reflection

The world hates Jesus because his presence demands some type of response involving belief or unbelief in him. This hatred of the world is directed towards the disciples of Jesus because when we try to follow and imitate him, we resemble him and are transformed into Christ in Holy Communion. This transformation and representation of Christ is painful for those who have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Rom  1:25). When we experience hatred in the world, we are in the good company of Christ along with all the prophets and saints. As Christians, we are challenged not to conform ourselves to the world (Rom 12:2), but are called to change the culture of this world and bring about Christ’s Kingdom here and now.

Our Lady Help of Christians

I promise,” St Bridget once heard our Lord say to his Immaculate Mother, Mary, “‘to hear graciously all who ask a favour of me in your name, even if they are sinners — provided that they have the will to amend their ways.” It was at the foot of the cross, that Mary was officially, formally commissioned by the Lord himself to take care of all the redeemed— “Woman, behold thy son” (Jn 19:26).

Pope Pius VII was imprisoned by Napoleon in 1808, but after the battle of Leipzig the 74-year-old Pontiff was once more set free, and in 1814 he returned to Rome in triumph. After Napoleon’s “Hundred Days” had been brought to an end in 1815 by the allied victory at Waterloo, Pius VII instituted today’s feast for the Papal States in thanksgiving to God and the Blessed Virgin, and to commemorate the anniversary of his return from Napoleonic captivity.

The devotion to Mary under the title “Help of Christians” was actually fostered and propularized by Don Bosco who himself had a very deep devotion to Mary Help of Christians. He even erected a Basilica in her honour under that title in Turin in 1868 and later, in 1872, went on to found the Salesian Sisters under her patronage, viz. the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians).

Reflection:“May the Blessed Virgin help us to be faithful to the teachings of the Church and obtain for us the grace of perseverance in serving God on this earth, so as to join her one day in the kingdom of heavenly glory” (St John Bosco).

Daily Readings

May 23, 2025

Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 15:22–31

In those days: It seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 57:8–9, 10–12

Response: I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples.

My heart is ready, O God;

my heart is ready.

I will sing, I will sing your praise.

Awake, my soul! Awake, lyre and harp!

I will awake the dawn.

Response: I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples.

I will praise you, Lord,

among the peoples,

among the nations sing Psalms to you,

for your mercy reaches to the heavens,

and your truth to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may your glory shine on all the earth!

Response: I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples.

Alleluia

John 15:15b

I have called you friends, says the Lord, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Gospel

John 15:12–17

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

Reflection

Often we live with the illusion that we can choose whatever we want.  Advertising and marketing are based on freedom of choice. But there are many areas of our life in which we do not have any choice or over which we have no control, and that includes our birth, parents, talents, strengths and weaknesses, temperaments, inclinations, etc. So, in many things related to our life, we do not choose but it seems that they choose us. God has chosen us in our current state of what we are and how we are. If so, then the fundamental question before us is why did God choose me? Why have I been given this blessing, this burden, this responsibility? Yet another realization we need to treasure is that God has chosen us because He truly believes in us.

St John Baptist De Rossi (Confessor) (1698 -1764)

This Roman Priest, coming from an impoverished family and educated with aid from benefactors, was attracted especially to the apostolate among the herdsmen, labourers and teamsters of the Roman Campagna and would preach to them in the early morning or late evening when they congregated in the Campo Vaccino. The remainder of the day he spent visiting the sick poor in the hospital of St Galla, and near it in 1731 he established a refuge for the unfortunates who wandered the streets by night.

Due to occasional epileptic spells, resulting from excessive mortifications while a student of philosophy and theology with the Dominicans—he was ordained by special dispensation on        8 March 1721—he never dared to hear confessions himself; however, while convalescing in Civita Castellana in 1738, the local bishop insisted on his taking up that pastoral ministry too, and in this he proved himself so effective that he was given the unusual faculty of hearing confessions in any church in Rome. Thenceforth he spent many hours a day hearing confessions particularly of prisoners, the poor and illiterate in the hospitals or in their homes.

Born on 22 February 1698 at Voltaggio (Geneva), Italy, John Baptist de Rossi passed away in Rome on 23 May 1764 and was buried at the altar of the Blessed Virgin in the Church of Trinita de Pelleghrini. Beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1860, he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on 8 December 1881.

Reflection: “To deserve Paradise, we must work without intermission” (St John Baptist de Rossi).

Daily Readings

May 22, 2025

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 15:7–21

In those days: After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to the apostles and the elders, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 96:1–2a, 2b–3, 10

Response: Tell among all the peoples the wonders of the Lord.

O sing a new song to the Lord;

sing to the Lord, all the earth.

O sing to the Lord; bless his name.

Response: Tell among all the peoples the wonders of the Lord.

Proclaim his salvation day by day.

Tell among the nations his glory,

and his wonders among

all the peoples.

Response: Tell among all the peoples the wonders of the Lord.

Say to the nations, “The Lord is king.”

The world he made firm in its place;

he will judge the peoples in fairness.

Response: Tell among all the peoples the wonders of the Lord.

R. Alleluia.

John 10:27

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; and I know them and they follow me.

Gospel

John 15:9–11

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Reflection

Jesus invites us into a relationship of love that exists between the Father and Jesus himself. To remain in this love is to keep His commandments. Jesus kept the commandment or the will of the Father, by carrying the cross to the place of his crucifixion and drinking of the chalice of suffering. So too, when we obey the commandments of the Lord, more concretely the commandment to love one another, we remain in his love and enter into the loving relationship of the Father and the Son. Believers are those who produce much fruit by obedience. In return, they remain in the love of the Father. In short, believers in Christ will experience the Father’s blessing and enjoy the gift of joy because of their faithful obedience.

St Rita of Cascia, Widow (1381-1457)

Margherita (Rita), at 18, desired to become an Augustinian nun but meekly married in deference to her parents’ wishes. Deriding Rita’s piety her quarrelsome husband, Paul, inflicted tremendous suffering on her by his drunken rages. Her fervent prayers, severe penances and loving visits to the poor and the sick so touched God’s heart that He granted her husband the grace of a complete conversion. When a few years later he was found stabbed to death on a mountain path, Rita’s grief in that sad hour was intensified by an anxiety over the fate of his soul even as she strove to forgive the murderer from her heart. Not so, however, her two sons who, on growing to boyhood, caused her grave concern by their wayward lives, determined to avenge their father’s death. In response to Rita’s plea, God took them to Himself within a year, rather than permit them to commit such a sin.

Now 30, Rita’s original desire to enter the convent resurfaced but she was refused on account of convent rules permitting the entry only of virgins until God indicated His express wishes by a miracle: during the Assumption Vigil, arrived her three patron saints, Augustine, John the Baptist and Nicholas of Tolentino who, conducting her to Cascia, placed her at the foot of the Blessed Sacrament in the convent chapel where the nuns found her at Matins. The untouched locks on the convent doors convinced them to accept the truthfulness of her simple explanation.

Canonized in 1900, the innumerable favours obtained through her intercession in desperate cases since her death in 1457 have procured for her the title of the “Saint of the Impossible”.

Reflection: “Being poor, and caring little for our physical needs, rather, having no regards for ourselves, helps immensely in restraining our sensuality” (St Rita of Cascia).

Daily Readings

May 21, 2025

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 15:1–6

In those days: Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 122:1–2, 3–4ab, 4cd–5

Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

And now our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Jerusalem is built as a city

bonded as one together.

It is there that the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord.

Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

For Israel’s witness it is

to praise the name of the Lord.

There were set the thrones for judgment,

the thrones of the house of David.

Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Alleluia

John 15:4a, 5b

Abide in me, and I in you, says the Lord; whoever abides in me bears much fruit.

Gospel

John 15:1–8

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.”

Reflection

The Gospel invites us to abide in Christ, allowing him to reside in our lives. Just as the vine is nourishment for the branches and the fruits it produces, Jesus is our source of nourishment. Thus, the call is to cultivate our relationship with him by spending time in his presence. When we abide in Christ, we remain stable and steady. When we keep our eyes fixed on him, our eyes are removed from the problems that concern us. Jesus can cause all things for good. This involves everything he does to make us fruitful; pruning and removing sinful desires, attitudes, and actions that prevent us from being fruitful in the life that God created us to have.

Saint Cristóbal Magallanes Jara (Priest, Martyr) (1869 – 1927)

Saint Cristóbal Magallanes Jara, also known as Christopher Magallanes was killed without trial on the way to say Mass during the Cristero War after the trumped up charge of inciting rebellion.

He was born in Totatiche, Jalisco, Mexico on July 30, 1869. He worked as a shepherd in his youth and enrolled in the Conciliar Seminary of San José in Guadalajara at the age of 19

Cristóbal was ordained at the age of 30 at Santa Teresa in Guadalajara in 1899 and served as chaplain of the School of Arts and Works of the Holy Spirit in Guadalajara. He was then designated as the parish priest for his home town of Totatiche, where he helped found schools and carpentry shops and assisted in planning for hydrological works, including the dam of La Candelaria. He took special interest in the evangelization of the local indigenous Huichol people and was instrumental in the foundation of the mission in the indigenous town of Azqueltán.

Magallanes wrote and preached against armed rebellion, but was falsely accused of promoting the Cristero Rebellion in the area. Arrested on May 21, 1927, while en route to celebrate Mass at a farm, he gave away his few remaining possessions to his executioners, gave them absolution, and without a trial, he was killed four days later with Agustín Caloca in Colotlán, Jalisco. His last words to his executioners were "I die innocent, and ask God that my blood may serve to unite my Mexican brethren."

Daily Readings

May 20, 2025

Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 14:19–28

In those days: Jews came [to Lystra] from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Then they passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 145:10–13ab, 21

Response: Your friends make known, O Lord, the glory of your reign.

All your works shall thank you, O Lord,

and all your faithful ones bless you.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign,

and declare your mighty deeds.

Response: Your friends make known, O Lord, the glory of your reign.

They shall make known your might

to the children of men,

and the glorious splendour of your reign.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;

your rule endures for all generations.

Response: Your friends make known, O Lord, the glory of your reign.

Let my mouth speak the praise of the Lord;

let all flesh bless his holy name

forever, for ages unending.

Response: Your friends make known, O Lord, the glory of your reign.

Alleluia

See Luke 24:46, 26

Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and enter into his glory.

Gospel

John 14:27–31a

At that time; Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”

Reflection

The peace that the world gives is dependent on circumstances. It is simply the absence of problems, disturbances, or inconveniences. The peace that Jesus gives is different from that. He has promised peace despite the situations of life. However, the path to receiving this peace comes from giving every situation to God in prayer. This peace does not mean that the situation will resolve or dissipate. Yet regardless of what happens, when we give it to God in prayer, then we will experience His peace and the need to be troubled or afraid departs. It will come from resting in the loving arms of our Saviour knowing that he is in control and that he will carry us through any situation of life.

St Bernardine of Siena Confessor (1380 -1444)

Orphaned early in life Bernardine was brought up by a maternal aunt in self-discipline in an atmosphere that fostered an ardent love for God in him. At 17 he joined the ascetical “Confraternity of Our Lady” which was attached to the famed hospital of Siena for the relief of the sick and the poor. When the plague broke out in the city during the Jubilee year 1400, he, with 12 young friends, voluntarily ran the overcrowded and understaffed hospital for four months, bringing hope and succour as much by his singular cheerfulness and sympathy as by his charitable ministrations. Two years later he distributed his inheritance among the poor and joined the strict Franciscan Observantines.

People, by the thousands, flocked to attend his early Mass in an open square, after which he would preach penance and propagate devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. A series of 45 sermons, embracing every topic from the dignity of man, Christian moral education, sanctification of the family and desirability of peace to the proper ethics to be observed in business and government, held on consecutive days and sometimes lasting three or four hours, and each taken down verbatim by a regular listener, has come down to us together with his amusing anecdotes and jokes, all timeless in charm and freshness.

When Bernardine was Vicar General of the Observants, they were said to have grown during his lifetime from 130 friars to 4,000. The numerous miracles that followed his death led to his canonization in 1450.

Reflection: “In all your actions see in the first place the Kingdom of God and his glory; persevere in brotherly charity, and practise first all that you desire to teach others” (St Bernardine of Siena).

Daily Readings

May 19, 2025

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 14:5–18

In those days: When an attempt was made [at Iconium] by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel. Now at Lystra there was a man sitting, who could not use his feet; he was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ‘‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.