Lk 10:112, 1720

Today, the Gospel gives us a peek at the life of the earliest Christian disciples. From the twelve intimate disciples, Jesus expanded by choosing 72 others and sending them in pairs. The large number represents a wide circle of collaboration and scope of operation, eventually throughout the world. The sending in twos is consistent with the Jewish practice that only upon the word of two witnesses is a truth established. Disciples are sent not in their name and about themselves; but God and His Kingdom.

Lk 9:5162

Jesus is a decisive man, His decisions are radical and total, and those who wish to be disciples need to measure up to it. The Gospel presents three characters or vocation cases that bring to light the requirements for discipleship.

Lk 9:11b17
For more than three years, a missionary found himself imprisoned in China. So that, for one thousand and nineteen days, he was unable to receive the Eucharist. But through the blessings of the almighty God, forty one times, he was able to celebrate Mass and receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. How did this happen? One day in his captivity, he received a package from his mother, a bottle marked AlkaSeltzer, and a medicine bottle marked “pabulum vitae” (food of life).

Jn 16:1215

Christians are baptized: In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a threepart question when asked to confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: I do. The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity(CCC. 232).On the Sunday right after Pentecost, we celebrate the most central faith mystery of all; God’s mystery, the Holy Trinity.

Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26

At the beginning of His Farewell Address, right after the last supper: Jesus promised to send theAdvocate, the Holy Spirit,that the Father will send in His name. At this time, the Apostles did not understand everything that Jesus revealed to them. But the events of the last supper, His Resurrection, and the different Easter moments or appearances of Jesus slowly reveal the many facets of His divine nature; as the awaited Messiah. After appearing to them the last time at His Ascension, they now await the Paraklétos, the Holy Spirit.

Lk 24:4653

Jesus’ bodily ascension to heaven; marks the completion of His
earthly mission. Going back to His Father in heaven leaves His
disciples with the eager anticipation for the coming of the
promisedparaklétos,the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost. This solemnity
marks the special (ten or seven days) period called Ascensiontide,
the time between the Lord’s Ascension and the descent of the Holy
Spirit.

Jn 14:23-29

At the second post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, He blesses the Apostles with the blessing of PEACE. The PEACE he gives is vastly different from the peace the world gives. At the Eucharist, we offer each other a sign of peace just before receiving the Holy Communion. Knowing the frightened state of the Apostle, Jesus confers to them the gift of peace: Peace be with you. In giving them the gift of His peace, He assures them that He knows their fears and the troubled condition of their hearts, so He tells them: Do not be distressed or fearful.

Jn 13:3133a, 3435

Paul and Barnabas are back in Antioch after their successful missionary journey and tell everyone the good news of how the presence of the Lord Jesus is so apparent in the many places they visit. The Lord opens the door to the Gentiles, who are more receptive to the faith.

Jn 10:27 30
We often call the fourth Sunday of Easter the Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus says in the Gospel: My sheep hears my voice; I know them, and they follow me. At times, we wish that the Lord would give us a complete printout of how to follow Him. But then, a simple reflection of this scripture verse tells us that we are the sheep of the Lord, the follower of Jesus Christ, and He says His sheep hears His voice. Yet we do not hear His voice of instruction for us.
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Jn 21:119 or 21:114

Jesus shows Himself first to Mary Magdalene, and one of the instructions He gives her is to tell His disciples: “Go tell my disciples to go to Galilee, and there they will see me (Mt. 28:10).” Moving the setting to Galilee, the disciples, Peter, and six others went to the Sea of Tiberias as instructed. Not knowing anything except that they must wait there, Peter said to the group, I am going out to fish.

Rejoice! The Lord is Risen.Today, the whole of Christendom marks its highest feast, EASTER, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behind the great salvation of humanity is the story of the Lord Jesus Christ suffering and dying for us. His death was the Redemptive Death. The whole redemptive act started when He was born: His life, death, and resurrection. But without His resurrection, His life, suffering, and death would be meaningless for our salvation.

Palm Sunday signals the beginning of the Holy Week, the heart of the Church’s liturgical year. All our prayers, fasting, and acts of charity throughout Lent lead to this week. It is a week filled with high emotion and drama, the PASSION of the Son of Man who suffers and dies a cruel death, and three days after rises to give us new life. The Passion narrative tells us how much God loves us and how hopeful our situation is. Now, God invites us to a journey of faith, a way of life, or a new level of existence.