God's Word for Today (Scripture Reflections)

  Sunday - 2 June 2024 – Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus (Year B) Mass Readings: Ex 24:3-8    Ps 115    Heb 9:11-15    Mk 14:12-16. 22-26 Key Verse to Meditate: While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body" (Mk 14:22). Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus, known as the feast of "Corpus Christi" or the commemoration of the institution of the Holy Eucharist. It is a great feast honouring the most precious Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist. It is normally celebrated on the second Sunday after the feast of Pentecost. The sacrament of the Eucharist is the greatest of the signs, the sign that puts us in communion with Jesus himself. It is truly the sign of God’s unfathomable love and his ever-abiding presence. It is this sacrament that purifies everyon

Sunday 26 May 2024 -The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (Year B) “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” Mass Readings: Dt 4:32-34.39-40    Ps 32    Rom 8:14-17    Mt 28:16-20 Key Verse to Meditate: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, the feast of our One True God in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. This solemnity teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature. The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defined it as a dogma of Christian Faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 234 says that “the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life” (see also CCC #253-256).   The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that there are three distinct Persons but one God,

  Sunday 19 May 2024 –Solemnity of the Pentecost (year B) Mass Readings: Acts 2:1-11    Ps 103    Gal 5:16-25    Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15 Key Verse to Meditate: "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf (Jn 15:26). Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Today, the Church solemnizes the feast of Pentecost, also known as the outpouring of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit represents God’s love, and is the life and love within the Church and humanity.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and the divine Person who spreads the possibility of imitating Christ in the world, giving Christ to the world, and making Him live in us.  This Sunday's feast reminds us of another way in which God is with us and sustains our life and mission: the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, bestowed by the Father and the risen Jesus, guides us to the truth. The Easter season concludes today wi

Sunday 12 May 2024 – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Year B) Mass Readings: Acts 1:1-11    Ps 46    Eph 4:1-13    Mk 16:15-20: Key Verse to Meditate: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). My dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Today, the Church celebrates the great solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord. Forty days after Easter, the Liturgy commemorates the glorious ascension of the risen Lord and His seating at the right hand of God.  Next week, on the fiftieth day after Easter, we shall celebrate with great joy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, thus bringing to conclusion the season of Easter. The first reading from Acts speaks of the Lord's ascension as a reality commemorated among the first Christian community: "until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen" (Acts 1:2). It also reaffirms the fact that for forty days

  Sunday - 5 May 2024 – VI Sunday of Easter (Year B) Mass Readings: Acts 10,25-27.34-35.44-48    Ps 97    1Jn 4,7-10    Jn 15,9-17: Key Verse to Meditate: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (Jn 15:12). Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, The Word of God on this sixth Sunday of Easter brings back to the center of our reflection the theme of love: what God nurtures toward humanity and what should circulate among all human beings, particularly among those who believe in Christ, the Savior of the world. Today’s Gospel reading is a continuation of the previous Sunday's reading, which presented to us the imagery of the vine and its branches in the first part of the fifteenth chapter of John. In this Sunday's Gospel passage, taken from Saint John, Jesus continues to present himself to the apostles as what he truly is: the manifestation of God's immense love for us poor mortals. One Commandment of Love: In today's Gospel