Mass Reading: Sunday - 17th May 2026

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 baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised 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 1:17-23
God made him sit at his right hand in heaven

    May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.

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
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.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 17th May 2026

 

ACTS 1:1-11; PS 47:2-3, 6-9; EPH 1:17-23; MT 28:16-20

Today we celebrate the great feast of the Ascension of our Lord — that moment when Jesus, 40 days after His Resurrection, was lifted up into heaven as the apostles looked on.

It must have been an extraordinary sight. But the first reading tells us they were not meant to stand there for long. “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?”

In other words — don’t just stand there. Do something.

This is a message for us as Christian stewards. We have been given every grace and blessing — through the Mass and the sacraments, through the Word of God, and through the gifts of our time, talent, and treasure.

We are not meant to simply receive these gifts. We are meant to use them — in gratitude to the One who gave them.

Like the apostles, we are called “to be [His] witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” And we do this not by our own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 10th May 2026

First reading
Acts 8:5-8,14-17
They laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit

    Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.

    When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, and they went down there, and prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come down on any of them: they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 65(66):1-7,16,20

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
    O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
    Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

‘Before you all the earth shall bow;
    shall sing to you, sing to your name!’
Come and see the works of God,
    tremendous his deeds among men.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

He turned the sea into dry land,
    they passed through the river dry-shod.
Let our joy then be in him;
    he rules for ever by his might.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Come and hear, all who fear God.
    I will tell what he did for my soul:
Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer
    nor withhold his love from me.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

________

Second reading
1 Peter 3:15-18
In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life

    Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring. And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

    Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life.

The word of the Lord.

________

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 14:15-21
I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth
whom the world can never receive
since it neither sees nor knows him;
but you know him,
because he is with you, he is in you.
I will not leave you orphans;
I will come back to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me;
but you will see me,
because I live and you will live.
On that day you will understand that I am in my Father
and you in me and I in you.
Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them
will be one who loves me;
and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him and show myself to him.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 10th May 2026

 

ACTS 8:5-8, 14-17; PS 66:1-7, 16, 20; 1 PT 3:15-18; JN 14:15-21

On this sixth Sunday of Easter, our readings remind us of both the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the truth that love of God is shown through concrete actions — this is precisely why the stewardship way of life is so necessary.

In our first reading from Acts, we hear that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, yet something was still missing. Peter and John came to them and prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit, “for it had not yet fallen upon any of them.” Only after they laid hands on them did they receive the fullness of what God desired to give.

We, too, have received the Holy Spirit — first at Baptism and more fully at Confirmation. The gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit are essential for living the stewardship way of life. As we draw closer to Pentecost, this is a fitting time to examine our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Do we rely on Him? Do we turn to Him for strength, wisdom, and direction in our daily lives?

Our second reading reinforces this call. “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” Christ must be more than a part of our lives — He must be at the center of them. As His disciples, we are called to surrender every aspect of our lives to Him — our time, our talent, and our treasure.

The stewardship way of life gives us a concrete way to live this out. It allows us to “prove” our love, in a sense, because love is not merely sentiment. “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me,” Jesus tells us.

True love requires courage, humility, and trust. It requires that we lean on the Holy Spirit to help us make Christ the Lord of our lives each day.

But the reward is beyond anything this world can offer. “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us fully embrace the stewardship way of life, so that we may truly sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 03rd May 2026

First reading
Acts 6:1-7
They elected seven men full of the Holy Spirit

    About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.’ The whole assembly approved of this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

    The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
    for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
    with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

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.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

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.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

________

Second reading
1 Peter 2:4-9
Christ is the living stone, chosen by God and precious to him

    The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.

    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
John 14:1-12
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s house;
if there were not, I should have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too.
You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:

‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’

Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: 03rd May 2026

 

ACTS 6:1-7; PS 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 PT 2:4-9; JN 14:1-12


The readings on this fifth Sunday of Easter present us with themes of dwelling places and home. As Christian stewards, we recognize that this world is not our permanent home. We are pilgrims here, making our way through the stewardship way of life toward our true home — heaven.

Yet, as we journey toward heaven, we are called to make our dwelling here — whether we live alone or in a full and busy household — a true “domestic church.” In other words, the stewardship way of life begins long before we set foot on parish grounds. Stewardship starts at home.
We see this lived out in the earliest days of the Church in our first reading from Acts. The community faced a real concern when “their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” When needs are not met within the community — especially basic needs — or when a spirit of service is lacking in our homes and relationships, we are not living as the stewards Christ calls us to be.

Stewardship is not simply about attending Mass once a week, serving in ministries, or giving financially to the parish. These are essential expressions of stewardship. But stewardship begins well before we arrive at church. It begins in our families — our domestic churches. The home plays a vital role in our sanctification because it is the primary place where we learn and practice self-giving love.

Ultimately, stewardship is not something we do — it is who we are. It is a way of living out our baptismal call to follow Christ as His disciples — in our parish life, our work, our relationships, and certainly in our homes.

In our second reading, St. Peter reminds us, “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” He is speaking not only to clergy, but to all the baptized. Each of us is called to participate in this spiritual priesthood through the offering of our daily lives.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “It is here that… all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way ‘by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.’ Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and a ‘school of human enrichment’” (1657).

In our Gospel passage from John, Jesus speaks of heaven as a home filled with dwelling places. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” This is a beautiful image of the glory that awaits us and the personal love our Lord has for us — preparing a place for each one of us who remains faithful to Him.