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  Monday, May 1, 2023 ST JOSEPH THE WORKER  SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR ALL WORKERS In the name of the + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit + As we celebrate St. Joseph the worker today, may you also be celebrated with the work of your hand. May your places of work and businesses become channels of blessings to you and your family.  Therefore... May the good Lord bless and keep you May He bless you and your family May He bless the work of your hand May your business become a blessing May your work make you wealthy Whatever work or business you lay your hand upon shall prosper As St. Joseph use to proceed from his carpentry work to cater for his family, so shall the good Lord make your little earning to be sufficient to cater for you and your family in Jesus' name. As a worker..... You will not go into bankruptcy You will not go begging You will never be put to shame You will continue to be the head and not the tail of your family No evil shall wreck your work or bu...

 Sunday, April 30, 2023 4th Sunday of Easter GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY  First Reading.  Acts 2: 14, 36-41 Psalm. 23: 1-6 (R. 1) Second Reading. 1 Peter 2: 20-25 Gospel. John 10: 1-10 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  ARE YOU A SHEPHERD LIKE JESUS?  A shepherd is a leader,  Jesus is a shepherd  Therefore, He is a leader.  Jesus is a shepherd who leads His sheep.  Therefore, Christ is the great leader, and we are less leaders; invariably, He is a great shepherd, and we are less shepherd.  We all are shepherds in one form or another. Once there are people under us who takes instructions, whom we lead, then we are shepherds.  Below are the natural categories of shepherds in life...  1. A parent is a shepherd to the children 2. A firstborn is a Shepherd to the siblings, just as the lastborn has a Shepherdic responsibility of obedience to the house 3. A Director, teacher, boss, manager, etc, are all shepherds in all their areas of responsibilities....

 Friday, April 28, 2023 PETER CHANEL, P. M., (Opt. Mem) LOUIS MARY DE MONTFORT, P. (Opt Mem.) First Reading. Acts 9: 1-20 Psalm. 117: 1-2 (R. Mark 16:15) Gospel. John 6: 52-59 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION HOLY EUCHARIST AND MANNA: ANY DIFFERENCE?  Jesus re-emphasized that it is only those who eat His flesh and drink His blood that will live forever.  The Jewish people were only used to the old story of how their forefathers were fed with manna from Heaven, and Jesus now telling them that the manna which their forefathers ate can not give life and that is more reason they all died. However, whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood will live forever. My dear, just imagine you were alive when Jesus was telling them this, what will be your mixed feelings too? Now two things came up from what Jesus said. a. They ate manna, and they die. b. Whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood, will not die, but lives forever. Hmmm..... Can we now imagine some of their main confusion that eve...

 Thursday, April 27, 2023 3rd Week of Easter First Reading. Acts 8: 26 - 40 Psalm. 66: 8-9,16-17, 20 (R. 1) Gospel. John 6: 44-51 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION THE SPIRITUALITY OF BREAD  My dear, wait a minute, have you ever asked yourself why Jesus makes use of bread as a symbol to reveal His real presence and not any other food items like rice, beans, indomie, spaghetti, yam, etc? Why did he use bread? Well, in my reflection, coupled with lots of research, I discovered that the only universal food which can always be found in every nook and cranny of the world is BREAD. Bread is a universal common meal, hence Jesus use it as a symbol to reveal Himself to signify that He is universal. Similarly, the symbolic shape of the host which the Catholic Church uses for consecration as the body of Christ is round, which also signifies that Christ who is the bread of life has no beginning or end and that He is universal. Now, we may ask again, what is the generic importance of bread i...

 Wednesday, April 26, 2023 3rd Week of Easter  First Reading.  Acts 8: 1-8 Psalm.  66: 1-7 (R. 1) Gospel. John 6: 35-40 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  JESUS WANTS ALL OF US TO BE WITH HIM IN HEAVEN.  It's only good parents that will want good for their children.  The joy of every parent is to have their children safe.  Therefore, if our earthly parents who are mortal and imperfect would always want good for their children, how much more of God who owns both our parents and their children; His care is endless.  Many passages in the Bible made clear the unending compassionate merciful love of God.  God never and will never forget anyone of us.  He intends to be saved, more reason He sent Jesus Christ His Son to redeem us.  Some are highlighted below👇 1. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.                                   ...

 Sunday, April 23, 2023 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER  First Reading. Acts 2: 14, 22-33 Psalm. 16: 1-2, 5, 7-11 (R. 11a) Second Reading. 1 Peter 1: 17-21 Gospel. Luke 24: 13-35 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  DO YOU RECOGNIZE JESUS IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST?  Jesus, before He suffered and was put to death, had the last supper with His disciples where He broke the bread as His body, and gave the wine as His blood; hence, it thus marks the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood. Invariably, no Priesthood, no Eucharist, and vice versa.  So, this theological ritual was never done in the history of humanity, Christ was the only person who had broken the bread as His flesh and given wine as His blood. , Jesus commanded that it should be done in memory of Him till eternity. Hence, the disciples who saw all that happened stored it in their memory, and they kept the commandments in remembrance of Him.  This was the scenario of the two disciples who recognized Jesus at the br...

  Tuesday, April 18, 2023 2nd Week of Easter First Reading. Acts 4: 32-37 Psalm. 93: 1-2, 5 (R. 1a) Gospel. John 3: 7-15 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION LOVE IS SPIRITUAL  Jesus said unless one is born of water and spirit, there will be no entrance into the kingdom of God. This means, only born-again Christians will go to heaven. Therefore, to be born again is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and act according to the Spirit which one receives. Jesus told Nicodemus, "One can only bear witness to what he knows, and not what he does not know, so if I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" The above-quoted words of Jesus signify that whoever lives in the flesh can never be spiritual and would not be able to interpret things of the spirit. Meanwhile, those who are in the Spirit can live, bear witness, and interprets things of the Spirit. The question may be, how can one live in the spirit? The answer to the above-...

 Sunday 16th April 2023 Divine Mercy Sunday (2nd Sunday of Easter) St. Pope John Paul II canonized Sr Faustina Kowalska known as a saint of mercy on the first Sunday after Easter on April 30, 2000. A brief extract from the Pope's homily on her canonization day, "Jesus told Sr Faustina: Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to Divine Mercy." First reading. Acts 2: 42-47 Psalm 118 : 2-4, 13-15, (1 Peter 1:3-922-24 (R. 1) Second reading. 1 Peter 1: 3-9 Gospel. John 20:19-31 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION THE MERCY OF GOD IS ENDLESS  As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this He breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’ The above words of Jesus to His Apostles are the power and authority He gave to the Church. The power and authority came through the Apostles to forgive sin. As you can see that the Authority was given i...

Friday, April 14, 2023. Octave of Easter First reading. Acts 4:1-12 Psalm 118:1-2,4,22-27 Gospel. John 21:1-14 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION JESUS BEFORE AND AFTER THE RESURRECTION: ANY DIFFERENCE? The questions are, is there any difference between Jesus before the resurrection and Jesus after the resurrection? Why is it that Jesus whom the Apostles spent many years with before his death and resurrection could not recognize Him after His resurrection? Actually, it is the same Jesus who lives before and after the resurrection. What we should not forget is that Jesus is God, and God cannot die. He lives forever and ever. Meanwhile, as we are aware that Jesus is the second person of the blessed Trinity, He took the human flesh and He died in the human form. That is, He died as a human being, and not as God. Therefore, as God He rose from the grave and his body becomes glorified. If He had not risen from the dead, our faith in Him would have been useless. Invariably, Jesus as God has power...

 Wednesday, April 12, 2023 Octave of Easter  First Reading. Acts 3: 1-10 Psalm. 105: 1-4, 6-9 (R. 3b) Gospel. Luke 24: 13-35 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION   DO YOU ENCOUNTER JESUS AT THE BREAKING OF BREAD?  Every Christian, and especially Catholic, should recognize Jesus each time the bread is broken at every mass.  Whoever does not recognize Jesus, cannot encounter Him.  We need to recognize first before we can encounter Him. Do you know that Jesus is always with us, but we fail to encounter Him because we could not recognize His presence with us?  He died for our sins and rose to die no more. So our hope is not in vain.  I once listened to a video clip recently from a professor who said he was a lecturer in Australia, though he did not mention his name, and among his numerous speech, he said this and I quote:  It is only Jesus that is being referred to   "He was dead, and now He is alive",  To every other humanity "He was alive, ...

 Tuesday, April 11, 2023 Octave of Easter  First Reading. Acts 2: 36-41 Psalm. 33: 4-5, 18-20 and 22 (R. 5b) Gospel. John 20: 11 -18 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  THE THEOLOGY OF THE EMPTY TOMB   Jesus conquered death.  The tomb where He laid was empty when Mary Magdalene got to the tomb.  Death could not hold Him down This symbolizes that Jesus has power over life and death.  If you wish to understand fully the meaning of the empty tomb, read this bible passage. 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul wrote extensively about the resurrection...  *** 1 Cor. 15: 1-14 is about the resurrection of Christ.  *** 1 Cor. 15: 12-58 is about the resurrection of the body  Please, I beg you to find time to read it.  It will clear your doubt about the Resurrection.  Quoting verse 54 alone, it says...  "When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up...

 Monday, April 10, 2023 Octave of Easter  First Reading. Acts 2: 14, 22-33 Psalm. 16: 1-2, 5, 7-11 (R. 1) Gospel. Matthew 28: 8-15 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION.  RESURRECT WITH JESUS: RISE FROM YOUR SLUMBER  In life, if you dwell much on your past, you will remain stagnant, and you will not move on to accomplish your dream in life. If you want to accomplish in life, wake up from your negative past slumber, move and accomplish your dream, and resurrect with Christ.  Remember, in all that Jesus went through, He never gave up, He did not hold on to the past maltreatment and rejection, and He did not remain stagnant, rather He went on to accomplish His mission, died, and resurrected.  So, here is some lessons we can learn from Him...  Jesus was insulted, castigated, lied against, and condemned, yet he never held on to how He was maltreated, rather He remained focused on His mission.  Similarly, do not allow people's hatred for you make you to lose focus on ac...

 HOLY SATURDAY REFLECTION.  THE CHURCH IN THE GRAVE  Who is Jesus?  He is the Son of God, the 2nd person of the Blessed Trinity, He is God-made-man.  He is the beginning, one in substance with the Father (God), the creator turned creature, though begotten not made, He condescended to become equal with the humanity He created.  He dwelt among us as a human beings, without losing His divinity; He died as human and rose as God.  Hmmm, when will humanity act like God and not as Satan? The hatred shown to Jesus led to His condemnation.  Jesus' hatred began with the prophecy of  His coming into the world.  Therefore, His announced coming became a threat  His conception, a threat  His birth was a threat.  His growth as a toddler, a threat.  His adolescent/youthful stage was a threat.  His adulthood, a threat.  His relating with people, a threat.  He performs miracles to save humanity, a threat.  His teach...

 Friday, April 7, 2023 GOOD FRIDAY (Fasting and Abstinence) THE CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S PASSION  THERE WILL BE NO MASS TODAY IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH ALL OVER THE WORLD 🌎 WHY? First reading. Isaiah 52: 13-53: 12 Psalm 31: 2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25 Second reading. Hebrews 4: 14-16, 5:7-9 Gospel. John 18:1-19:42 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BLOOD AND WATER SHED BY CHRIST ON THE CROSS OF CALVARY TODAY. THE WATER: A SYMBOL OF BAPTISM THE BLOOD: A SYMBOL OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST Today, the Holy Mother Church commemorates the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, He willingly offered himself as a victim to be sacrificed for the remission of our sins. Today, the creator of the Universe is hanging on the Cross like a criminal; an innocent lamb to be slain. Today, Jesus the Son of God is put to death. Today, BLOOD AND WATER gushed forth from the side of Jesus, and St John Chrysostom, bishop rightly puts it in today's office of reading that the water...

CHRISM  MASS AND MAUNDY THURSDAY THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023. CHRISM MASS IS MASS WITH THE BISHOP AND ALL PRIESTS WORKING WITH HIM IN THE DIOCESE WHICH COULD EITHER TAKE PLACE IN THE MORNING OF HOLY THURSDAY AT THE CATHEDRAL OR ANY OTHER SUITABLE DAYS BEFORE HOLY THURSDAY. @ THIS MASS, THE FOLLOWING OILS ARE BLESSED... * CHRISM OIL * OIL OF CATECHUMEN * OIL OF THE SICK MASS OF THE LORD'S LAST SUPPER  TAKES PLACE IN THE EVENING. First reading. Exodus 12:1-8,11-14 Psalm 115:12-13,15-18 Second reading.  1st Corinthians 11: 23-26 Gospel. John 13: 1-15 TOPIC FOR REFLECTIONS JESUS IS THE PRIEST AND THE EUCHARIST: NO PRIEST, NO EUCHARIST.                                            AND THE INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST AND THE MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD In the Roman Catholic Church, both the Holy Eucharist and ministerial Priesthood are mutually related. Where you have the mi...

 Wednesday, April 5, 2023 WEEKDAY OF HOLY WEEK  First Reading. Isaiah 50: 4-9 Psalm. 69: 8-10, 21-22, 31, 33-34 (R. 14) Gospel. Matthew 26: 14-25 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  BETRAYER: WHO ARE THOSE THAT BETRAY?  It is only your family and friends whom you trusted that can betray you. Your enemy can not betray you.  Those who know you will betray you. Judas betrayed Jesus, likewise, those whom you eat and dine with you may betray you.  Whoever does not know your secret can not betray you, in fact, such has no information about you to feast on as a means of a betrayer. This means no outsider who does not know you can betray you, but your closest friend.  The word betrayer has destroyed humanity. The word betray is an act of inhumanity to humanity.  Experience has taught me lots of wisdom in life. I have lived, wined, and dine with betrayers of many different categories, though unknown to me, but my survival was anchored on the words of 1 John 4: 4 because...

 Sunday, April 2, 2023 PASSION SUNDAY (PALM SUNDAY) Gospel outside the church.  Matthew 21: 1-11 First Reading.  Isaiah 50: 4-7 Psalm. 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24 (R. 2a) Second Reading. Philippians 2: 6-11 Passion Reading. Matthew 26: 14-27: 66 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  MY GOD! MY GOD!! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?  The passion of Christ brought significant meaning to suffering.  His Passion has put a meaningful definition to suffering.  He brought hope to the suffering and made it sanctified.  In sanctifying suffering, He showed us an example of how we are to see suffering and the joyful hope it offers at the end.  The road to Calvary was with pains and tribulation, just as the road to heaven is with pain, sacrifice, and tribulations,  which are all embedded in suffering.  This has automatically made suffering which has been part of life to become meaningful.  No human being can avoid suffering in life, except no human beings are existing...