Monday of the 6th Week of Easter
Acts 16:11-15  +  John 15:26—16:4
May 27, 2019

   “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify to me.”   

Today Jesus—still addressing us from the Cenacle, at the Last Supper—proclaims the coming of the Holy Spirit. We note from Jesus’ words that—as we profess in the Church’s Creed—the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the God the Father and God the Son.  Jesus Himself describes God the Holy Spirit as the One “whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father”. Continue reading →

The Sixth Sunday of Easter [C]
Acts 15:1-222-29  +  Revelation 21:10-14,22-23  +  John 14:23-29 
May 26, 2019

   “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit… will teach you everything….”   

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading is set at the Last Supper.  Yet Jesus speaks in veiled terms about His Ascension to the Father, which of course took place less than seven weeks after the Last Supper.  In Sunday’s Gospel Reading, we hear Jesus proclaim:  “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father”.  But how could we expect the apostles to rejoice over Jesus leaving them? Continue reading →

Saturday of the 5th Week of Easter
Acts 16:1-10  +  John 15:18-21
May 25, 2019

   “I have chosen you out of the world….”   

In this Easter season, we continue to hear in the First Reading about the flurry of apostolic activity that spread through the world following the first Christian Pentecost.  But what of Mary, the lowly Virgin, mother of the child who grew in this world in order to offer His life in sacrifice for our sins?  What about the mother of Him who is the Good News that the apostles spread throughout the world?  Where is Mary at Pentecost? Continue reading →

Friday of the 5th Week of Easter
Acts 15:22-31  +  John 15:12-17
May 24, 2019

   “This is my commandment:  love one another as I love you.”   

Today’s Gospel passage is often proclaimed at Nuptial Masses.  It speaks to the reality of love.  It gives some concrete form to love.  This concreteness is necessary when one lives—as you and I do—in a culture which equates love with warm, fuzzy feelings. Continue reading →

Thursday of the 5th Week of Easter
Acts 15:7-21  +  John 15:9-11
May 23, 2019

   “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love….”   

The long discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper, recorded in chapters 13-17 of John, has several themes which Jesus touches upon over and over again.  Jesus weaves these themes together, as if his words on this solemn night formed a tapestry of the Good News. Continue reading →

Wednesday of the 5th Week of Easter
Acts 15:1-6  +  John 15:1-8
May 22, 2019

   “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.”   

Jesus today proclaims a powerful metaphor.  He captures the relationships among the Vinegrower, the Vine, and the branches with their fruit.  This metaphor expresses powerfully the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.  Within this relationship we see our place as members of the Mystical Body of Christ. Continue reading →

Tuesday of the 5th Week of Easter
Acts 14:19-28  +  John 14:27-31
May 21, 2019

   “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”   

One of the blessings of the priesthood is ministering to someone laying on his deathbed.  Its certainly true that there’s often grief—sometimes dramatic grief—on the faces of loved ones surrounding the dearly departing.  Yet it’s rare to see someone who is dying cry. Continue reading →

Monday of the 5th Week of Easter
Acts 14:5-18  +  John 14:21-26
May 20, 2019

   “…He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”   

At the Last Supper, Jesus speaks about the role that the Holy Spirit will play in the lives of the disciples after Jesus’ Ascension.  Although Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Advocate”—a legal term sometimes translated “Counselor”—it’s in terms of teaching that Jesus here describes the Holy Spirit’s mission.  “The Advocate… will teach you everything”. Continue reading →

The audio below considers the background and contexts of the Scriptures of Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Easter [C].  Hopefully this will help you in meditating upon the scriptures, and in being open to the Holy Spirit speaking to you during Sunday Mass:

Click HERE to download the audio