Mass Reflection:. Sunday, 30th May 2021

Today, we celebrate an essential doctrine of our Catholic faith — the Most Holy Trinity. It expresses God as three Divine Persons, unified in One Divine nature. The Trinity is one of the most complex aspects of our faith. It is a topic we could never exhaust nor fully understand until we see God face to face. 

 
Although it is incomprehensible, it is still deeply personal. Through God’s countless revelations to man, we get a glimpse of our awe-inspiring Creator. It is through His revelations that He has invited us into life with Him. 
 
Today, we are called to pour out our hearts in praise and thanksgiving for our Good and Gracious God and to recognize the ways in which we can encounter Him — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 
 
Our First Reading references Moses proclaiming the greatness of our God as he recounts what God did for the Israelites. If we recall, the Israelites struggled with the belief in one God. Yet, Moses aids them in their understanding as He expresses all that God has done for them. God spoke to them in fire, took them out of the land of Egypt through testing, signs, wonders and war. Through His mighty works, God was revealing Himself to the Israelites expressing that He is their one God. 
 
When we reflect on our lives, let us ask ourselves, is God competing for our attention in certain areas of our lives? Have we been blind to the ways He has been encountering us?
 
God is revealing His love and goodness to us each day. Sometimes we notice the moments — like getting a promotion at work when you felt like you were not appreciated, finding out your family is growing after years of praying for a baby, or receiving confirmation on a health problem you have been dealing with for months. Those moments stick out to us because we feel like God has moved a mountain for us. We think, "our God is truly awesome."
 
But there are also moments that we might not notice — small little occurrences throughout the day like beautiful weather, unexpected words of affirmation or a great night of sleep. These are the little moments that God reveals His love and care, and they deserve recognition, praise and thanksgiving. We just need to look through the lens of gratitude and keep our minds and hearts focused on the One who deserves all our attention so that we might notice God is with us. 
 
Our Second Reading, from St. Paul, expresses the relationship of the three Divine Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. By our Baptism, we received the Holy Spirit becoming adopted children of God. It is by the grace of the Holy Spirit that we call God, “Abba, Father!” And it is with the Holy Spirit that we can unite all of our sufferings to Christ so that we might one day rise with Him. 
 
Our relationship with God is right before us. As we became God’s adopted children, we received His endless grace. We can cry out to our Father in a moment of joy or sorrow, invite the Holy Spirit into all that we do throughout our days, and suffer every hardship with Christ Himself. All we need to do is invoke His name in each moment. 
 
In our Gospel, St. Matthew reminds us just how real our God is — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We often read the Scriptures as if they are not applicable to us, distant and unrelatable. And although they were written at a different time, they were written about human beings just like us who encountered the living God. They are as applicable today for each one of us as they were when they were first written. 
 
We have a God that literally became flesh and lived among us. He rejoiced, suffered and loved each day. And He asked people to follow Him that were sinners. It says even the eleven apostles, “worshiped, but they doubted.” He encountered people like you and me. 
 
So, let those words and actions in our Scriptures come alive in us here and now. Let us read them, not as distant history, but real encounters with the Most Holy Trinity — living God. Let us strive to not only encounter Christ in our readings, but also by calling out to God the Father in prayer and to the Holy Spirit in our day-to-day living. May our faith and personal relationship with the Trinity be strengthened.  
 
As we celebrate this glorious Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, may we praise God in word and deed, and may we seek moments to encounter the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each day — through Scripture, prayer, sacraments and blessings throughout our day, as Jesus tell us, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” 

The Liturgy of the Word:. Sunday, 30th May 2021

First reading
Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40 ·

The Lord is God indeed: he and no other

Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

  ‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

For the word of the Lord is faithful

  and all his works to be trusted.

The Lord loves justice and right

  and fills the earth with his love.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

By his word the heavens were made,

  by the breath of his mouth all the stars.

He spoke; and it came to be.

  He commanded; it sprang into being.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

The Lord looks on those who revere him,

  on those who hope in his love,

to rescue their souls from death,

  to keep them alive in famine.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.

  The Lord is our help and our shield.

May your love be upon us, O Lord,

  as we place all our hope in you.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

Second reading
Romans 8:14-17 ·

The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God

Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

The word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Rv1:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

the God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20

Go and make disciples of all nations

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Liturgy of the Word: Sunday, 23rd May 2021

First reading
Acts 2:1-11 ·
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

The word of the Lord.

 

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 103(104):1,24,29-31,34
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

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

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

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

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last forever!
  May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
  I find my joy in the Lord.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

 

Second reading
1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
In the one Spirit we were all baptised

No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

  There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.

  Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

The word of the Lord.

 

Sequence

Veni, sancte Spiritus

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,
From the 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 delightful 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 us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend:

Give us comfort when we die
Give us life with thee on high
Give us joys that never end.

 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

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

Alleluia!

 

Gospel
John 20:19-23
As the Father sent me, so am I sending you: receive the Holy Spirit

In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’

After saying this he breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday, 23rd May 2021

 

Our Easter season culminates with the glorious feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, meaning "fifty," is the day that the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the apostles in the form of tongues of fire fifty days after Easter. We also celebrate this day as the birthday of the Church, for shortly after this event, St. Peter preached his first homily. 
 
We can imagine how incredible that moment was for the apostles and all who witnessed it. The Holy Spirit was alive and working. 
 
The Holy Spirit is just as alive and willing to work here and now in our day-to-day moments as back at our first Pentecost. It is our call as Christian disciples to be attentive and open to these workings. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God is in us and always around us — yet, we must call upon His name, seek His guidance and become aware of His presence in our lives. 
 
Our First Reading bears witness to the first Pentecost. During this encounter with the Holy Spirit, the apostles and Mary felt a driving wind, there were tongues of fire on the heads of each of them and the Spirit allowed them to speak in different tongues proclaiming acts of God. 
 
We might hear this reading and wish the Holy Spirit worked that obviously in our lives each day. The truth is, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is obvious, we just might be blind to it, or it might be that we have closed ourselves off to the Holy Spirit’s wonderous works. 
 
Our tongues of fire might be a profound conversation with a friend, something that you needed to hear in that exact moment; or a pushed-back deadline at work when you were swamped; or a moment of strength to speak the truth when you typically shy away; or even a closed door to an opportunity for something much, much greater. These are movements of the Holy Spirit in our everyday moments. 
 
The more we take time to recognize them, the more we become aware of them. So, at the close of each day, try examining how the day went. Search for the moments where you witnessed the Holy Spirit working in your daily life and the life of your family and friends. 
 
In our Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us of our unique role as Christian stewards as he says, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord… To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”
 
Each one of us has been given unique gifts from the Holy Spirit. No two stewards are the same. Some of us might be confident in those gifts and some of us might not know what they are just yet. When we discover them and use them for God’s work, they are multiplied beyond what we could have imagined. It is our job to look inward and pray, "Come Holy Spirit, reveal my gifts to me so that I may use them for Your glory."
 
And when we live a life attentive to the Spirit’s workings and gifts, we can better live out Jesus’ call in our Gospel today, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” As disciples of Christ, we are sent out to gather more disciples. If we are constantly striving to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, God will do the rest by showing us the way. 
 
On this Pentecost Sunday, let us give thanks to God for sending us His Holy Spirit. Let us strive to be in tune with the Holy Spirit by looking for the ways God has been working in our lives and let us ask for the grace to know our gifts and talents so that we can put them to good use. 

Mass Reflection: Sunday, 16th May 2021

As we celebrate Christ’s ascension into heaven, we recall that He is not of this world and we were not made for this world. We were made for eternal life. Our readings today remind us that we are called to be set apart as disciples of Christ.
 
In our Gospel, Jesus makes it clear that as Christian disciples, we do not belong to the world. He prays to God the Father, “I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.” 
 
We must stop and ask ourselves, "Who do we belong to?" The answer is that we belong to our Loving and Gracious God, “that they may be one just as we are one.” But, do we act like we belong to God? How we spend our time, what we do with our talents and how we spend our treasures are a good reflection of who or what we belong to.  
 
Does our time reflect time with God, our families and friends? Are our talents used to serve our families, friends, fellow parishioners and those in need? Does the way we spend our treasure glorify God? Is it put to good use? Our lives should be a direct reflection of Whose we are. 
 
Being a disciple of Christ will not always be easy. As our early disciples experienced, “I gave them your word, and the world hated them.” But it is because we were not made for the world. We were made to be saints, truly a calling that is out of this world. 
 
Although we do not belong to the world, Jesus clearly prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.” We are called to live in this world and to not become consumed by it. We need to keep our minds and hearts fixed on our goal — eternal life. 
 
In order to not become consumed by the world, we need to be on guard from the evil one. As Christian stewards, we must be aware of what we bring into our homes, what we watch on television or social media, what we read, what we listen to and who we call friends. And when we keep a disciplined prayer life and remain close to the sacraments, we will increasingly become aware of the areas of our lives that are becoming consumed. 
 
In our Second Reading, St. John expresses that he, along with others, “have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.” Living set apart from the mainstream world becomes much easier when we recognize, experience and personally encounter Christ’s love for us. His love is radical and His home for us in heaven is unthinkable. If we only knew the reality of both those things, we would do anything to love the Lord and be with Him. 
 
Jesus’ ascension is a good reminder for us that we, too, are called to heaven. Let us strive to live our lives as a reflection of this goal in mind. And let us pray for the grace to understand just a fraction of God’s Perfect Love for us and for the grace to express our love in return. 

The Liturgy of the Word: Sunday, 16th May 2021

 

First reading
Acts 1:15-17,20-26 ·

'Let someone else take his office'

One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – there were about a hundred and twenty persons in the congregation: ‘Brothers, the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus – after having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours. Now in the Book of Psalms it says:

Let someone else take his office.

‘We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.’

  Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.’ They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.

The word of the Lord.

---

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

  all my being, bless his holy name.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

  and never forget all his blessings.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

.

For as the heavens are high above the earth

  so strong is his love for those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west

  so far does he remove our sins.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

 

The Lord has set his sway in heaven

  and his kingdom is ruling over all.

Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,

  mighty in power, fulfilling his word.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

 

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Second reading
1 John 4:11-16 ·

Anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him

My dear people,

since God has loved us so much,

we too should love one another.

No one has ever seen God;

but as long as we love one another

God will live in us

and his love will be complete in us.

We can know that we are living in him

and he is living in us

because he lets us share his Spirit.

We ourselves saw and we testify

that the Father sent his Son

as saviour of the world.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

God lives in him, and he in God.

We ourselves have known and put our faith in

God’s love towards ourselves.

God is love

and anyone who lives in love lives in God,

and God lives in him.

The word of the Lord.

---

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Jn14:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;

I will come back to you,

and your hearts will be full of joy.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel	John 17:11-19

Father, keep those you have given me true to your name

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

keep those you have given me true to your name,

so that they may be one like us.

While I was with them,

I kept those you had given me true to your name.

I have watched over them

and not one is lost

except the one who chose to be lost,

and this was to fulfil the scriptures.

But now I am coming to you

and while still in the world I say these things

to share my joy with them to the full.

I passed your word on to them,

and the world hated them,

because they belong to the world

no more than I belong to the world.

I am not asking you to remove them from the world,

but to protect them from the evil one.

They do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth;

your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

I have sent them into the world,

and for their sake I consecrate myself

so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Liturgy of the Word: Thursday, 13th May 2021

 

First reading	Acts 1:1-11 ·

Jesus was lifted up while they looked on

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptized with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

  Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’

  As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

The word of the Lord.

 

---

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

 

All peoples, clap your hands,

  cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,

  great king over all the earth.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

 

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.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

 

God is king of all the earth,

  sing praise with all your skill.

God is king over the nations;

  God reigns on his holy throne.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

 

---

Second reading
Ephesians 4:1-13 ·

We are all to come to unity, fully mature in the knowledge of the Son of God

I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

  Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would:

When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners,

he gave gifts to men.

When it says, ‘he ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.

The word of the Lord.

---

Gospel Acclamation	Mt28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia!

Go, make disciples of all the nations.

I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

Alleluia!

 

---

Gospel	Mark 16:15-20

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News

Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them:

  ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’

  And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday, 9th May 2021

Our readings today call us to love as Christ loves. This request from our Lord is no small endeavor. It is something we must work at every day in every moment. When we put it at the forefront of our minds and hearts, and strive to live it out each day, it will transform our lives and impact others, too. 
 
As St. John tells us in our Second Reading, it is “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” Recall that God loved us first, not because of what we do for Him, but because He created us out of love. His love for us is pure and radical.  
 
In our Gospel, Jesus says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The ways Jesus has loved us and continues to love us are endless. 
 
Jesus has loved us by dying for our salvation; by giving His entire Self to us in the Eucharist; by sending forth His Spirit to be with us always; He loves us through the sacraments, pouring out His never-ending grace and mercy; He loves us as we are, despite any faults and shortcomings; He loves us through the many blessings He bestows on us and even the trials we endure. His love for us is deeply personal, boundless, and always selfless and sacrificial.  
 
We are called to imitate this love. And He tells us the greatest way to do this when He said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
 
It is difficult to live that out in our humanity. Yet, it is made much easier when we faithfully love Christ. The fact of the matter is, as our love for Christ increases, so too does our capacity to love others.  
 
There are countless times throughout each day when we can do just that — giving up time each morning that we spend listening to the news and instead spending it in prayer; waking up Saturday morning to attend daily Mass instead of sleeping in; talking to God in the car on the way to work; regularly going to confession. These are simple ways to express our love for the Lord by laying down our lives for Him. 
 
The more we find ways to love the Lord, the more we will find it easier to lay down our lives for others — for instance, by responding to your spouse with kind words in their moment of weakness, anger or frustration; driving your kids to another event or activity after you have been in the car all day; saying prayers for the slow person on the road instead of mentally attacking them. 
 
These are the small ways that we can emulate Christ, put aside our selfishness and serve others.
Christ’s command to “love one another as I have loved you” may seem daunting. Yet, Christ would never ask something of us that we cannot live out. All we need to do is take baby steps.
Look at each moment and think, "How can I better love Jesus right now?" or "How can I lay down my life in this moment?" for it is in loving Christ that we will better love others, and it is in loving others that we love Christ Himself.  

The Liturgy of the Word: Sunday, 9th May 2021

First reading
Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48

The pagans have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have

As Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, knelt at his feet and prostrated himself. But Peter helped him up. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘I am only a man after all!’

  Then Peter addressed them: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.’

  While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too, since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, ‘Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have?’ He then gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 97(98):1-4

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Sing a new song to the Lord

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

  have brought salvation.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

The Lord has made known his salvation;

  has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

  for the house of Israel.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen

  the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

  ring out your joy.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Second reading
1 John 4:7-10 ·

Let us love one another, since love comes from God

My dear people,

let us love one another

since love comes from God

and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,

because God is love.

God’s love for us was revealed

when God sent into the world his only Son

so that we could have life through him;

this is the love I mean:

not our love for God,

but God’s love for us when he sent his Son

to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation	Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him.’

Alleluia!

Gospel	John 15:9-17

You are my friends if you do what I command you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘As the Father has loved me,

so I have loved you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments

you will remain in my love,

just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

and remain in his love.

I have told you this

so that my own joy may be in you

and your joy be complete.

This is my commandment:

love one another, as I have loved you.

A man can have no greater love

than to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends,

if you do what I command you.

I shall not call you servants any more,

because a servant does not know

his master’s business;

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

You did not choose me:

no, I chose you;

and I commissioned you

to go out and to bear fruit,

fruit that will last;

and then the Father will give you

anything you ask him in my name.

What I command you

is to love one another.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Liturgy of the Word: Sunday, 02nd May 2021

First reading
Acts 9:26-31
Barnabas explained how the Lord had appeared to Saul on his journey

When Saul got to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple. Barnabas, however, took charge of him, introduced him to the apostles, and explained how the Lord had appeared to Saul and spoken to him on his journey, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Saul now started to go round with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord. But after he had spoken to the Hellenists, and argued with them, they became determined to kill him. When the brothers knew, they took him to Caesarea, and sent him off from there to Tarsus.

    The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.

The word of the Lord.

______

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 21(22):26-28,30-32

You, Lord, are my praise in the great assembly.

My vows I will pay before those who fear him.
    The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.
They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.
    May their hearts live for ever and ever!

You, Lord, are my praise in the great assembly.

All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,
    all families of the nations worship before him;
They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust.

You, Lord, are my praise in the great assembly.

And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him.
    They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,
declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn:
    ‘These things the Lord has done.’

You, Lord, are my praise in the great assembly.

_____

Second reading
1 John 3:18-24
The commandment of faith and love

My children,
our love is not to be just words or mere talk,
but something real and active;
only by this can we be certain
that we are children of the truth
and be able to quieten our conscience in his presence,
whatever accusations it may raise against us,
because God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence,
and whatever we ask him,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn15:4,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
Whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
John 15:1-8
I am the vine, you are the branches

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes to make it bear even more.
You are pruned already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
but must remain part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,
and they are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it.
It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
and then you will be my disciples.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday, 02nd May 2021

Our readings today teach us what it means to bear fruit as disciples of Christ. We hear in each of our readings that it is from the Lord that good effects will be produced in our lives. 
 
In our first reading, we hear about Saul and the other apostles that were preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and defending the faith. These disciples knew that they were doing the will of God by the good effects of their work, as it states, “The church throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria was at peace,” and again, “It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.”
 
We must take note that the work they were doing was “with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.” It was not their work alone, but the work of God. They spread the Good News in His name and with the aid of the Holy Spirit. 
 
If we take this reading and apply it to our lives today, we must ask ourselves, ‘how is God bearing fruit in my life?’ and ‘have I invited the Holy Spirit to work in my life?’ The reality is, the more we try to produce good effects in our lives, the more we will become disappointed if all we are relying on is our own efforts. It is only by inviting the Holy Spirit into our everyday moments that we will see goodness poured out. 
 
Jesus clearly tells us how to do this in our Gospel, as He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” We can remain in Christ by staying faithful to His commandments and frequently receiving the sacraments. And our day to day moments should be a reflection of those commitments.
 
That could mean opening our day with a prayer of thanksgiving, setting aside time for intentional prayer, smiling at those we see on the street, asking God for help as we begin our work day, cleaning up after the kids in gratitude, praising God in moments of trial, taking time to listen to our spouse after a long day. To remain in Christ means, in all that we do, we do it with the Lord.
 
When we live a life like that—as a branch never separated from its vine—God will produce bountiful fruit in our lives. 
 
And thankfully, all that does not bear fruit will be taken away. As Jesus tells us, “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” By remaining in Christ, our Lord will remove all the ugly in our lives and form us into more fruitful disciples.
 
Let us begin this week reflecting on these questions, ‘how is God bearing fruit in my life?’ and ‘have I invited the Holy Spirit to work in my life?’ Then let us consider the areas of our days that we can more fully invite the Lord into. May we strive to stay connected to the Vine.