Fifth
Sunday of Easter
| First reading | Acts 6:1-7 |
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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 continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.
| Responsorial Psalm |
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| Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19 |
| Second reading | 1 Peter 2:4-9 |
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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.
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.
| Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’
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 |
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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.’
Reflection
by Fely Santiago
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me."
This is what I love about the Easter season because it is full of HOPE. It does not end on Good Friday. Resurrection Sunday always follow. It renews our spirit knowing that God assures us of His love. We need not be afraid and troubled.
In the last Lenten retreat I attended, Bro. Bo Sanchez mentioned that to experience profound PEACE, you only need 3 things – GRATITUDE, HUMILITY and COMPASSION.
What are you grateful for today? It is so easy to give thanks for the big things we ask for or the big dreams or goals that we pray for. But it is better if we can also be grateful even for the small things. Like when we wake up each day to a new life! Sometimes we take this for granted. Thank God for the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water to quench our thirst, the blessings of our spouses, children and family. So many things to be thankful for. In good times or bad times, give thanks. Gratefulness is a powerful force in the life of the believer. Always find something to thank God for. Gratitude and faith go hand in hand. When we are grateful, it shows our faith in God. We can thank God for what He has done in the past and what He will do in the future. Gratitude is also the magic to receive abundant blessings!
Second thing you need to experience profound peace is humility. When you learn to be humble even if you have been hurt and betrayed, you will find peace. If you are angry and want revenge then your heart and your mind is never at peace. The more you will be hurt in the process. One of the reasons why there is so much trouble in the world is because of pride. Everybody wants to be in control, to be more powerful. To have peace we need the opposite – humility. And we can always start it with our own family. Parents show humility to your children. Spouses can also do the same.
Peace can reign in our homes if we also have compassion for one another. Serve one another with compassion. All of us go through difficulties and challenges every day. We are not perfect. We also have our brokenness, our woundedness. We are weak. What we need is loving compassion to accept each other’s weaknesses. Instead of complaining and whining for the mistakes of others, let us be more accepting and compassionate.
Gratitude, humility and compassion can start in our respective homes. Let us not compete with one another. Let us serve our family with gratitude, humility and compassion and surely peace will reign in our homes. Then we can expand it to our community and eventually, to our country and hopefully, to the whole world! This is our dream, that we all attain peace in the whole world!
This is what I love about the Easter season because it is full of HOPE. It does not end on Good Friday. Resurrection Sunday always follow. It renews our spirit knowing that God assures us of His love. We need not be afraid and troubled.
In the last Lenten retreat I attended, Bro. Bo Sanchez mentioned that to experience profound PEACE, you only need 3 things – GRATITUDE, HUMILITY and COMPASSION.
What are you grateful for today? It is so easy to give thanks for the big things we ask for or the big dreams or goals that we pray for. But it is better if we can also be grateful even for the small things. Like when we wake up each day to a new life! Sometimes we take this for granted. Thank God for the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water to quench our thirst, the blessings of our spouses, children and family. So many things to be thankful for. In good times or bad times, give thanks. Gratefulness is a powerful force in the life of the believer. Always find something to thank God for. Gratitude and faith go hand in hand. When we are grateful, it shows our faith in God. We can thank God for what He has done in the past and what He will do in the future. Gratitude is also the magic to receive abundant blessings!
Second thing you need to experience profound peace is humility. When you learn to be humble even if you have been hurt and betrayed, you will find peace. If you are angry and want revenge then your heart and your mind is never at peace. The more you will be hurt in the process. One of the reasons why there is so much trouble in the world is because of pride. Everybody wants to be in control, to be more powerful. To have peace we need the opposite – humility. And we can always start it with our own family. Parents show humility to your children. Spouses can also do the same.
Peace can reign in our homes if we also have compassion for one another. Serve one another with compassion. All of us go through difficulties and challenges every day. We are not perfect. We also have our brokenness, our woundedness. We are weak. What we need is loving compassion to accept each other’s weaknesses. Instead of complaining and whining for the mistakes of others, let us be more accepting and compassionate.
Gratitude, humility and compassion can start in our respective homes. Let us not compete with one another. Let us serve our family with gratitude, humility and compassion and surely peace will reign in our homes. Then we can expand it to our community and eventually, to our country and hopefully, to the whole world! This is our dream, that we all attain peace in the whole world!
Prayer
Father God thank You for Your offering of peace. This is what we need in this troubled times. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with us. Help us to be grateful, humble and compassionate to our families and our fellowmen. Let not our hearts be troubled because You are always there to guide and protect us. Increase our faith in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
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