Saturday, 5th week of Easter
DAILY MASS, GOSPEL AND VIDEO COMMENTARY:
“NO SLAVE IS GREATER THAN HIS MASTER” (Jn 15:18-21).
READING I
Acts 16:1–10
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him, and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem. Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them, so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, we sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Or: Alleluia.
Iubiláte Dómino, omnis terra.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Or: Alleluia.
Know that the Lord is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Or: Alleluia.
The Lord is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Or: Alleluia.
ALLELUIA
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Gospel of Saturday, 5th week of Easter.
Jn 15:18–21
Jesus said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”
GOSPEL TEXT COMMENTARY
FROM POPE FRANCIS
(April 26, 2018, Homily at Casa Santa Marta)
In his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis said the Last Supper reveals three foundational truths to the Church: love, service and humility.
“We are servants, and we cannot go beyond Jesus. We cannot use Jesus. He is the Lord, not us. This is the Lord’s will. But beware: no servant is greater than the one who sent him, the master.”
“Love is without limits. Without it, the Church cannot move forward; the Church cannot breathe. Without love, she cannot grow, and is transformed into an empty institution, made up of appearances and actions without fecundity. In his bodily actions, Jesus tells us how we should love, that is, until the end.
“The awareness is that He is greater than all of us, and that we are servants who cannot go beyond Jesus. We cannot use Jesus. He is the Lord, not us. This is the Lord’s will. Giving himself to eat and drink, he tells us to love one another in this way. Washing the feet, he tells us to serve each other in like manner. But beware: no servant is greater than the one who sent him, the master. These blunt words and actions are the foundations of the Church. If we proceed in like fashion with these three points, we shall never fail.”
“Let Jesus’ gaze enter into me. We will feel many things: love, maybe nothing… We might feel trapped there or feel shame. But always let Jesus’ gaze in. It is the same gaze with which he looked at his disciples at supper.”
SOURCE: VATICAN MEDIA
EMPHASIS MINE
GOSPEL VIDEO COMMENTARY
Today’s gospel speaks of a very scary message: Whoever follows Jesus Christ will experience suffering. The apostles were persecuted and 11 of them died as martyrs.
When my sister-in-law’s eldest son died a few years ago from a car accident, I overheard somebody say it was God’s will and God’s plan. I struggled with that comment because I know that God would never want pain and suffering for His children. In Wisdom 1:13, it points out that “God did not invent death, and when living creatures die, it gives him no pleasure.”
This begs us to ask questions that have been repeatedly asked for centuries: Why does God allow suffering? Why does God allow evil to happen? Recently, I was asked in an online program this question: With what’s happening, some people would think that God isn’t answering our prayers since the positive COVID cases here in the Philippines are still increasing inspite of the draconian measures the government has undertaken. What can you comment about this?
Just seven points.
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