https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/12/01/251201a.html

Saint Charbel Makhlouf - OHF Philippines, 2 V Luzon, GSIS Village, Quezon City (2026)

24/05/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡
𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
Jn 19:25-34

Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.

✠ 𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her,
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately Blood and water flowed out.

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 Fr. Alexis MANIRAGABA
(Ruhengeri, Rwanda)

Today we remember Mary, Mother of the Church. In this sense, we contemplate the spiritual motherhood of Mary in connection with the Church, which is —in itself— Mother of the People of God, since "no one can have God for Father, who has not the Church for his Mother" (Saint Cyprian). Mary is the Mother of the Son of God and at the same time Mother of those who love her Son and those “well-loved” by her Son, in accordance with that “Woman, behold your son; disciple: Behold your mother” (Jn 19:26-27), just as Jesus said. Giving his body to men and returning his spirit to his Father, Jesus Christ even gave his Mother to his friends.

And the greatest love is the one with which Jesus loves the Church (Eph 5:25), to which his friends belong. Therefore, children adopted by God cannot have Jesus as brother if they do not have Mary as Mother because, while Mary loves her Son, she loves the Church of which she is an eminent member. Which does not mean that Mary is superior to the Church, but that She is "mother of the members of Christ" (St. Augustine).

The Second Vatican Council adds that Mary is "truly the mother of the members of Christ for having cooperated with her love for the faithful, who are members of that Head (Jesus), to be born into the Church." Furthermore, while remaining in the midst of the Apostles in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14), Mary —Mother of the Church— recalls the presence, gift and action of the Holy Spirit in the missionary Church. By imploring the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Church, Mary prays with the Church and prays for the Church, because "already assumed in the glory of heaven, she accompanies and protects the Church with her maternal love" (Preface to the Mass “Mary, Mother of the Church”).

Mary takes care of her children. We can, therefore, entrust to her the whole life of the Church, as did Pope Saint Paul VI: "O, Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you we recommend the entire Church and our ecumenical council!”

23/05/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
Jn 20:19-23

As the Father sent me, so I send you: Receive the Holy Spirit.

✠ 𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 | 𝟐𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

Today the word of God shows us the Holy Spirit in action. We see him acting in three ways: in the world he created, in the Church, and in our hearts.

At the beginning and at all times, he makes created realities pass from disorder to order, from dispersion to cohesion, from confusion to harmony.

He does not eliminate differences or cultures, but harmonizes everything without reducing them to bland uniformity.

The harmony of the Spirit is not a mandatory, uniform order; in the Church, there is indeed an order, but it is ‘structured in accordance with the diversity of the Spirit’s gifts’. The Spirit does not inaugurate the Church by providing the community with rules and regulations, but by descending upon each of the apostles… every one of them receives particular graces and different charisms.

Finally, the Holy Spirit creates harmony in our hearts… He bestows the Spirit for a precise purpose: to forgive sins, to reconcile minds and to harmonize hearts wounded by evil.

If we want harmony let us seek him, not worldly substitutes… Let us become docile to him! Am I docile to the harmony of the Spirit? Or do I pursue my projects, my own ideas, without letting myself be shaped and changed by him?

23/05/2026

CATHOLICS, TAKE NOTE: THE PASCHAL CANDLE SHALL BE REMOVED AFTER THE FINAL MASS ON PENTECOST SUNDAY

One of the most visible signs of the Easter season is the presence of the Easter, or Paschal, Candle in the sanctuary. Placed near the ambo or pulpit, it is solemnly lit during every public Mass throughout the season as a symbol of the Risen Christ.

According to the Roman Missal, the Paschal Candle remains in the sanctuary until the conclusion of the final Mass of Pentecost Sunday. After the Easter season ends, the candle is extinguished and transferred to the baptistery, where it is kept in a place of honor. From there, it is used during baptisms and funerals — reminding the faithful of Christ’s victory over sin and death.

In earlier centuries, however, the Paschal Candle was extinguished on the Feast of the Ascension. Dom Prosper Guéranger explains that after the Gospel, an acolyte would climb the ambo and extinguish the candle, symbolizing Christ’s Ascension into Heaven forty days after His Resurrection. This beautiful custom invited the faithful to lift their hearts toward Heaven where Christ reigns.

Following the liturgical reforms of the 20th century, the Church retained the Paschal Candle in the sanctuary until Pentecost. This emphasizes that Pentecost is the completion of the Easter season and highlights the profound connection between Christ’s Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Though the Paschal Candle primarily symbolizes Christ Himself, it also serves as a powerful reminder that the joy of Easter does not end at Ascension, but reaches its fulfillment at Pentecost.

23/05/2026

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐯. 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥,𝐎𝐇𝐅,𝐌𝐀 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓐𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓡𝓮𝓿. 𝓚𝓲𝓶! 🎉☺🙏

23/05/2026

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲! 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 🙏☺

#𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐟𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐔𝐬

21/05/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐚

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
Jn 21:15-19

Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.

✠ 𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲

Today, on the Feast of Saint Rita of Cascia, the Gospel of John becomes especially moving. After Peter’s denial, the risen Jesus does not humiliate him. Instead, beside the charcoal fire, Jesus asks three times: “Do you love me?” Each question heals one denial. Each answer becomes a mission: “Feed my lambs… Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep.”

This Gospel reveals that love is the true qualification for discipleship. Jesus does not ask Peter, “Are you strong enough?” or “Are you perfect now?” He asks only, “Do you love me?” Peter, wounded by his own weakness, can only answer humbly: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” From that fragile but sincere love, Jesus rebuilds Peter and entrusts him with the care of the Church.

The life of Saint Rita of Cascia reflects this same Gospel. She carried many crosses: an unhappy marriage, the violent death of her husband, the loss of her children, and years of hidden suffering in religious life. Yet she never allowed pain to harden her heart. Like Peter, she learned that holiness is not the absence of wounds but the transformation of wounds through love. Her fidelity in suffering became a way of “feeding the sheep” entrusted to her through prayer, forgiveness, and charity.

Jesus also tells Peter, “When you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old… another will lead you where you do not want to go.” Love for Christ eventually leads to surrender. Saint Rita lived this surrender daily. She accepted God’s will even when it led through sorrow and sacrifice. Because of this, she became known as the saint of impossible causes — not because she escaped suffering, but because she trusted that God can bring grace even from what seems hopeless.

This feast invites us to hear Jesus personally asking: “Do you love me?” The answer is not proven merely by words, but by how we care for others, forgive injuries, remain faithful in trials, and continue loving when life becomes difficult. Like Peter and Saint Rita, we may carry regrets, losses, or unanswered prayers. Yet the risen Christ still calls us, heals us, and entrusts us with a mission.

May Saint Rita of Cascia teach us to love Christ faithfully in both joy and suffering, and may we, like Peter, follow the Lord wherever He leads.

21/05/2026

Celebrating my 4th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

#𝐓𝐨𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐁𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲
#𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐟𝐏𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐔𝐬

21/05/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
Jn 17:20-26

May they all be one.

✠ 𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 Fr. Joaquim PETIT Llimona, L.C. (Barcelona, Spain)

Today, we find a solid basis for trust in the Gospel: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word...” (Jn 17:20). It is Jesus' heart, which, in the intimacy of Jesus with his disciples, opens up the inexhaustible treasures of His Love. He wants to strengthen their hearts overwhelmed by the sense of farewell that, during the Last Supper, the Master's words and gestures have left them with. It is Jesus' unfailing prayer that goes up to the Father, pleading for them. What a confidence and strength will they find in this prayer throughout their apostolic mission! Amidst all the difficulties and dangers they have to face, this prayer will go all the way with them to become the source where they will find the strength and courage to give the final testimony of their faith with the offering of their own life.

We should let the reality of Jesus' prayer for his disciples to reach our lives, too: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me...” These words travel through time and centuries to attain, with the same intensity they were once said, the hearts of every true believer.

In the living memory of St. John Paul II's visit to Spain back in 2003, we find in his words the echo of Jesus' prayer for his disciples: “With open arms I will hold you all in my heart —said the Pontiff before more than a million people—. The memory of these days will become my prayer as I ask for peace in fraternal coexistence for you all, encouraged by Christian hope that never disappoints.” St. Leo the Great, another Pope far in the past, also made an exhortation that, after many centuries have reached our heart too: “No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance”.

18/05/2026

𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹
Jn 17:1-11a

Father, glorify your Son.

✠ 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 Fr. Pere OLIVA i March (Sant Feliu de Torelló, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, the Gospel of Saint John—which we have been reading for days—begins by speaking to us of the “hour”: “Father, the hour has come” (Jn 17:1). The culminating moment, the glorification of all things, the ultimate gift of Christ who gives himself for all… “The hour” is still a reality hidden from mankind; it will be revealed as the plot of Jesus' life opens the perspective of the cross to us.

Has the hour come? The hour for what? For the hour has come for mankind to know the name of God, that is, his action, his way of addressing humanity, his way of speaking to us in the Son, in Christ whom the Father loves.

The men and women of today, knowing God through Jesus (“the words you gave to me I have given to them”: Jn 17:8), become witnesses of life, of the divine life that unfolds within us through the sacrament of baptism. In Him we live, move, and have our being; In Him we find words that nourish and make us grow; in Him we discover what God wants from us: fullness, human fulfillment, an existence that does not live by personal vainglory but by an existential attitude that rests on God himself and his glory. As Saint Irenaeus reminds us, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Let us praise God and His glory so that the human person may reach his fullness!

We are marked by the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we work for the glory of God, a task that translates into greater service to the lives of men and women today. This means working for true human communication, true human happiness, fostering joy in the sad, showing compassion for the weak... In short: open to Life (with a capital L).

Through the Spirit, God works within every human being and dwells in the depths of each person, constantly encouraging everyone to live by the values of the Gospel. The Good News is an expression of the liberating happiness He wants to give us.

16/05/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
Mt 28:16-20

All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

✠ 𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 Dr. Josef ARQUER
(Berlin, Germany)

Today we contemplate hands that bless - the Lord's final earthly gesture (cf. Luke 24:51). Or footprints marked on a mount - the last visible sign of God's passage through our land. At times, that mount is depicted as a rock, and the imprint of His steps is not engraved on the earth but on the rock. It's as if alluding to that stone which He foretold and which will soon be sealed by the wind and fire of Pentecost. Iconography has been using these suggestive symbols since ancient times. And also the mysterious cloud - shadow and light at the same time - that accompanies so many theophanies already in the Old Testament. The face of the Lord would dazzle us.

Saint Leo the Great helps us to delve deeper into the event: "What was visible in our Savior has now passed on to his mysteries." What mysteries? Those which He entrusted to His Church. The gesture of blessing unfolds in the liturgy, and the footprints on the earth mark the path of the sacraments —a path that leads to the fullness of the definitive encounter with God.

During those forty days in which the Lord does not “appear”, but rather, as the exegetes tell us, “let’s Himself be seen”, the Apostles will have had time to get used to their Master's other way of being. Now, in this last encounter, amazement is renewed. The Apostles discover that, from this moment on, they will not only proclaim the Word, but will also inspire life and health, with the visible gesture and the audible word: in baptism and in the other sacraments.

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18). All authority... Go to all nations... And teach them to obey everything... And He will be with them - with His Church, with us - always (cf. Mt 28:19-20). That "everything" resounds through space and time, affirming us in hope.

15/05/2026

𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹
Jn 16:23b-28

My Father loves you because you have loved me and believed in me.

✠ 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

“I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 Fr. Xavier ROMERO i Galdeano (Cervera, Lleida, Spain)

Today, vigil of our Lord's Ascension into Heaven, the Gospel leaves us with some very fond farewell words. Jesus let us share his most precious mystery; God Father is his origin and, at the same time, his destination: “I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (Jn 16:28).

This great Truth of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity should be constantly resounding into our heads: Jesus is really the Son of God: God Father is his origin and God Father is his destination.

For those who claim to know everything about God, but question Jesus' Divine filiations, today's Gospel has an important thing they should remember: “He, who” the Jews name God is who sent Jesus to us; He is, therefore, the Father to those who believe. With this we are clearly told that God can only and truly be known by those who accept Jesus' Father is God.

But Jesus' Divine filiations, also reminds us of another important thing for our lives: those baptized into Christ are sons of God through the Holy Spirit. And this hides a most beautiful mystery for us: this adoptive fatherhood by God towards us is different of human adoption insofar it has a true foundation in each one of us, as it implies a new birth. Consequently, he who has been accepted in the great Divine Family is no longer a stranger to it.

This is why in the Mass Collects of the Ascension Day we shall all be reminded that all children must follow the steps of the Son: “Grant us, we pray, almighty God, the gift of a blessed joy and the rejoicing of a burning thanksgiving, for the Ascension into the heavens of Christ, your Son, also is our submission and glory, for where the Head ascended the body hopes to ascend, too.” So no Christian should therefore be left behind, for this is far more important than participating in any marathon race, the finishing line being in Heaven, with the very God!

Saint Charbel Makhlouf - OHF Philippines

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