Archive for May, 2026

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: May 6, 2026 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Circumcision was a means for the Jewish sons to enter into the covenant with God, It started by Abraham’s disobedience, or rather faithlessness, when he took Hagar to bed to bear him a son, even though God had already promised him a son. It was due to his impatience and faithlessness that led to this rite of passage.

But now, as our Lord and Savior Jesus, who sacrificed Himself for us so that we may be free from all sin and to give new life to all who believe. That practice should not be a hindrance to people coming to the Lord. And that is why there was this predicament, which the first council of Jerusalem had to discern, and in the end, come to the decision to take away the requirement for circumcision.

Today we turn towards our baptism for sonship and daughterhood, into the eternal relationship with God our Heavenly Father, through our vine, our Lord Jesus Christ, we are all connected. For through His body, blood soul and divinity in Holy communion, we are given life to be fruitful for Him for His eternal glory. Amen.

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First reading
Acts 15:1-6
They were to go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders

Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.
    All the members of the church saw them off, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they told how the pagans had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done with them.
    But certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers objected, insisting that the pagans should be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses. The apostles and elders met to look into the matter.



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Gospel
John 15:1-8
I am the vine, you are the branches

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.
You are pruned already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it.
It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: May 5, 2026 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The disciples in today’s first reading shared how God had opened the doors of faith for the pagans. It is through them and His grace that they were so successful. We hear how St. Paul and some of them suffered at the hands of those who rejected the gospel message.

How about us? What have we been doing? How do we account for the fact that there are still so many unbelievers? How have we opened the door of faith for them? We have not even suffered a little for the cause, but fear much from the humiliation of being rejected. Is it because we believe that we do not have the peace of Christ within us?

For He has promised us His peace will be with us. He has bequeathed it unto us, and we should claim His peace as we go about ministering to the world, so that the prince of peace shall reign in the hearts of all men and women, as we cast out the prince of darkness from the world. Amen.


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First reading
Acts 14:19-28
They gave an account of how God had opened the door of faith to the pagans

Some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and turned the people against the apostles. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples came crowding round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and Barnabas went off to Derbe.
    Having preached the Good News in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.
    They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
    On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans. They stayed there with the disciples for some time.




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Gospel
John 14:27-31
A peace the world cannot give is my gift to you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you,
a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me say: I am going away, and shall return.
If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.
I shall not talk with you any longer, because the prince of this world is on his way.
He has no power over me,
but the world must be brought to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father told me.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: May 4, 2026 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Soon, the day of Pentecost will come upon us and Easter will be over. But today, are we living with Easter joy in our hearts? And are we living a life in the Spirit? For truly, Christ has risen, and He has already given us the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, to be by our side.

And so we should already be living a life in the Spirit, bold and powerful. Demonstrating the joy of the gospel. Showing everyone how Jesus is alive in our hearts and in our minds and in all that we  say and do. Are we not already out in the world, ministering to all who are still in darkness, delivering them from all evil, bringing healing, peace, love, and joy? And to set ablaze those who have little faith so as to draw them deeper into the fire of His love.

So let us give glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as we bring His Easter joy to the world. Amen. alleluia


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First reading
Acts 14:5-18
We have come with good news to turn you to the living God

Eventually with the connivance of the authorities a move was made by pagans as well as Jews to make attacks on the apostles and to stone them. When the apostles came to hear of this, they went off for safety to Lycaonia where, in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the surrounding country, they preached the Good News.
    A man sat there who had never walked in his life, because his feet were crippled from birth; and as he listened to Paul preaching, he managed to catch his eye. Seeing that the man had the faith to be cured, Paul said in a loud voice, ‘Get to your feet – stand up’, and the cripple jumped up and began to walk.
    When the crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in the language of Lycaonia, ‘These people are gods who have come down to us disguised as men.’ They addressed Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they called him Hermes. The priests of Zeus-outside-the-Gate, proposing that all the people should offer sacrifice with them, brought garlanded oxen to the gates. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening they tore their clothes, and rushed into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold. In the past he allowed each nation to go its own way; but even then he did not leave you without evidence of himself in the good things he does for you: he sends you rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow when they should, he gives you food and makes you happy.’ Even this speech, however, was scarcely enough to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice.



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Gospel
John 14:21-26
The Advocate, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him.’

Judas – this was not Judas Iscariot – said to him, ‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus replied:

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him and make our home with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words.
And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me.
I have said these things to you while still with you;
but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.’

Building His House: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Posted: May 2, 2026 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Readings:
Acts 6:1–7
Psalm 33:1–2, 4–5, 18–19
1 Peter 2:4–9
John 14:1–12

By His death, Resurrection, and Ascension, Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house.

His Father’s house is no longer a temple made by human hands. It is the spiritual house of the Church, built on the living stone of Christ’s body.

As Peter interprets the Scriptures in today’s Epistle, Jesus is the “stone” destined to be rejected by men but made the precious cornerstone of God’s dwelling on earth (see Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14; 28:16).

Each of us is called to be a living stone in God’s building (see 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16). In this edifice of the Spirit, we are to be “holy priests” offering up “spiritual sacrifices”—all our prayer, work and intentions—to God.

This is our lofty calling as Christians. This is why Christ led us out of the darkness of sin and death as Moses led the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

God’s covenant with Israel made them a royal and priestly people who were to announce His praises (see Exodus 19:6). By our faith in Christ’s new covenant, we have been made heirs of this chosen race, called to glorify the Father in the temple of our bodies (see 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Romans 12:1).

In today’s First Reading, we see the spiritual house of the Church being built up as the Apostles consecrate seven deacons so they can devote themselves more fully to the “ministry of the Word.”

The Lord’s Word is upright and all His works trustworthy, we sing in today’s Psalm. So we can trust Jesus when He tells us never to be troubled but to believe that His Word and works come from the Father.

His Word continues its work in the world through the Church. We see its beginnings today in Jerusalem. It is destined to spread with influence and power (see Acts 19:20)and to become the imperishable seed by which every heart is born anew (see 1 Peter 1:23).

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: May 1, 2026 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Today we rejoice. For by our baptism, we have been begotten as children of God, our Heavenly Father. And through the power of his resurrection, Jesus has opened the doors of heaven for us, so that we have hope of eternal life with him.

For he truly is the way, the truth, and the life. And by following after him, we shall lead others into the same joyful path to our heavenly inheritance.

And so, my beloved sisters and brothers, in thanksgiving and giving glory and praise to the Lord our God, let us go forth sharing the joy of the Gospel as we lead others into sonship and daughterhood of our loving Father. Amen. Hallelujah.

St Joseph the Worker pray for us…

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First reading
Acts 13:26-33
God has fulfilled his promise by raising Jesus from the dead

Paul stood up in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
    ‘My brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of salvation is meant for you. What the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did, though they did not realise it, was in fact to fulfil the prophecies read on every sabbath. Though they found nothing to justify his death, they condemned him and asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out everything that scripture foretells about him they took him down from the tree and buried him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem: and it is these same companions of his who are now his witnesses before our people.
    ‘We have come here to tell you the Good News. It was to our ancestors that God made the promise but it is to us, their children, that he has fulfilled it, by raising Jesus from the dead. As scripture says in the second psalm: You are my son: today I have become your father.’



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Gospel
John 14:1-6
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

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.’