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23/05/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

FEAST OF PENTECOST

ACTS 2:1-11, PSALM 103:1, 24, 29-31, 34, 1 CORINTHIANS 12:3-7, 12-13, JOHN 20:19-23

We celebrate today the Feast of Pentecost. The word Pentecost comes from a Greek word pentecostē…meaning 50th … 50 days after Passover. Christian feast of Pentecost has its origin from the Jewish feast of Weeks (Shavuoth). The Jewish feast of Weeks is the feast of thanksgiving to God for wheat harvest (Exodus 23:19). Later, the feast of Weeks became an annual renewal of the Covenant in memory of God’s Law given on Mount Sinai and the formation of Israel as Gods people. On the same day of the feast of Weeks, early Christian received the Holy Spirit that created into a new people of the New Covenant redeemed by Jesus. To help us understand what happened at Pentecost, the first reading illustrates perfectly the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples gathered in the upper room. We are told the Holy Spirit descended upon each disciple like tongues of fire. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost echoes God’s descent on Mount Sinai of form fire (Exodus 19:18). Just as the Israelites became a people of God at Sinai when they received the Ten Commandments, the disciples too by receiving the Holy Spirit became a new people of the New Covenant with God’s Law imprinted in their hearts and not on stone tablet (Hebrews 10:15-18). In addition, the gifts of tongues given to the disciples which was understood by all who heard them symbolizes restoration and unity of different people into one people of God. As such, God is undoing the curse at the tower of Babel that divided people as a result of the sin of pride (Genesis 11:1-9). In the second reading, Paul talks about the work of the Holy Spirit in a community of believers. For Paul, the Holy Spirit empowers believers with faith that acknowledges Jesus as Lord, gives them variety of gifts for the common good, unites them as one body of Christ and empowers them to proclaim the message of salvation. The gospel passage presents the life-giving and reconciling power of Christ’s Spirit to the disciples. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and gave the gift of peace and breathed on them the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ act of breathing the Holy Spirit on the disciples echoes God’s act of creation (Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9-10). Therefore, Jesus is recreating the disciples into a new people of the New Covenant, entrusting them with the power to reconcile humanity to God and to one another through forgiveness of sins.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s feast of Pentecost brings to conclusion the season of Easter and ushers us into ordinary time of our liturgical calendar. In today’s feast, we celebrates the third person of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus from the Father has descended on the apostles and on us. The Holy Spirit is the breath and life of God in us that reveals God and animates the life of God in us. The readings reveal something about the Holy Spirit. In the gospel, the Holy Spirit is the power of God that gives life and recreate us into new beings…people of God. Not only that, the Holy Spirit empowers us on the mission to proclaim the message of forgiveness...reconciling humanity to God and to one another. In the first reading and the second reading, the Holy Spirit gives us variety of charismatic gifts that help us to grow in grace and to build the body of Christ. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Holy Spirit enlighten us so that we may know the true God, comfort and strengthen us in moments of life challenges, purify us and enable us grow in virtue, heal our wounds, brokenness and spiritual dryness, wash us from all stains of sin and guilt, bend our hearts towards God’s will and give us the sevenfold gifts.

PRAYER: Come Holy Spirit and fill my heart with your divine presence. Enkindle in me the fire of your love and help me to bear fruits and grow in virtue. May my life be a gift to others. Amen

Have a blessed Pentecost Sunday.

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual).

16/05/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

ACTS 1:1-11, PSALM 18:2-7, EPHESIANS 1:17-23, MATTHEW 28:16-20

We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. We usually think of the ascension of the Lord as Jesus going up in the cloud to some place. Pope Benedict XVI said, ‘the ascension of Jesus is not a journey to the stars, but is his entry into the mystery of God which invokes an entirely different order of magnitude, a different dimension of being…Jesus enters into communion of power and life with the living God.’ Ascension means Jesus entering into the dimension of God which transcends time and space (Hebrews 9:24, 10:12, 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 3:21-22). Jesus is not bound by space and time in his existence, he begins to exist and be present everywhere and continues to lead his Church. In the gospel, Jesus meets his disciples in Galilee on the mountain, a place of divine revelation (Exodus 19:10-25). When the disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped him though some doubted. In his last words, Jesus entrusts the mission to his disciples with authority to make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the Triune God (the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit) and teach them to observe his teachings. Through baptism, believers will be incorporated into the family of God. Jesus then assures his disciples of his enduring presence with them. The first reading narrates the event of the Ascension. The text tells us about Jesus’ resurrection and appearances for 40 days (symbolizing preparation) to his disciples. Jesus charged his disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit who will empower them to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. After giving instructions, Jesus was lifted up and taken by the cloud (symbol of divine presence - Exodus 13:21, Matthew 17:5). In the second reading, Paul offers prayer for the Ephesians commending them to God so that they may be filled with wisdom and knowledge of God revealed through Christ paschal mystery. The resurrected, ascended and glorified Lord reigns with authority, power and dominion over all things and continues to guide the Church, his. body.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the feast of the Ascension the marks the end of Jesus physical presence and earthly life and his entrance into God’s dimensions which transcends time and space. Jesus is no longer bound by space and time or confined to one place but rather begins to exist everywhere and always. In his ascension, Jesus enters into God’s presence with his glorified body to continue interceding for us to the Father (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, as members of Christ’s body, we are brought into communion with God and share in his divine life. Jesus’ assurance of his enduring presence is not just mere words of promise but a divine attribute of God’s commitment to be with his people (Leviticus 26:11-12, Joshua 1:9, 41:10, Matthew 1:23). Only God is able to be present to us everywhere and always. As such, we have confidence and hope that he is indeed with us and walk with us all through life and in every situation. In the ascended and glorified Christ, we find strength in moments of weakness, consolation in moments of pain, hope in moments of despair, restoration in moments of illness, brokenness or failure. In addition, Ascension of our Lord helps us to shape and orient our lives toward God where Jesus is. As pilgrims on the earth, we are called focus on heaven by striving to live a holy life as Jesus lived (life of love, mercy, forgiveness, justice, peace, unity) so as to share eternal life with him. This entails putting Christ at the centre of our lives and that all our life activities are influence by his words and teachings. Furthermore, the feast of Ascension marks the end of Jesus’ physical presence and earthly work and the beginning of our work to spread the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth. By inviting us to make disciples of all nations, Jesus invites us to draw others into the life of God and help them live by his Word. May we be the visible presence of Christ to our world today.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

09/05/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

ACTS 8:5-8, 14-17, PSALM 98: 1- 4, 1 PETER 3:15-18, JOHN 14:15-21

We celebrate today the 6th Sunday of Easter year A. Today’s Sunday marks the end of Easter time. Next week we will celebrate the Feast of Ascension. Today’s liturgy assures us of Christ’s abiding presence when we keep his commandments. He promises to give us the Advocate (Holy Spirit) who will walk alongside us, animating the life of faith in us. Our love for Christ thus can be seen in our commitment to keep his word and witness it to the world. Today’s gospel passage continues from last week’s passage of Jesus’ farewell discourse to his disciples at the last supper. Last week, Jesus gave hope to his troubled disciples after hearing of his impending death. Jesus assured them of his abiding presence and his return to take them. In today’s gospel, Jesus invites his disciples to keep his commandments as a sign of their love and loyalty to him. By keeping his commandments, Christ will ask his Father to send them another advocate. The word ‘advocate’ (Holy Spirit) means ‘to walk alongside’ denoting God’s abiding presence among them. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples will be made alive in faith and spirit and live in communion with the Triune God. In the first reading, we see the work of the Holy Spirit among apostles and on those who accepted the gospel message. After Philip proclaimed the gospel to the Samaritans, many were healed and converted to faith. As such, the apostles sent Peter and John to pray for them so that they too may receive the Holy Spirit who will continue to animate the new life of God in them. Our second reading is an encouragement to believers going through persecution to remain steadfast in faith and defend it with gentleness and reverence. For Peter, suffering for doing right if aligned to God’s will is better than doing wrong. In suffering for the cause of right, believers are imitating Christ the Savior who died for sinners so as to bring them to God.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue to celebrate with joy the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. During Easter period, we have been reflecting on the mysteries of God’s love revealed in Christ’s paschal mystery through whom we have been redeemed, saved and given new life. Today’s liturgy prepares us for the ascension of Jesus and descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The reading thus focuses on the promise of the Holy Spirit from God the Father, who walks alongside us, animating the life of God in us. Just as Jesus walked alongside the disciples, revealed God to them and drew them into the life of the Triune God, the promised Holy Spirit continues the work of Christ in us…revealing God, guiding and consoling us. To foster our communion with him, Jesus invites us to keep his commandments as a sign of our love for him. In other words, our love for Christ can be seen in our commitment to live according to His Word. Keeping Christ’s word implies total submission in faith to God’s revealed truth without compromise. It means allowing Christ Word permeating every aspect of our life regardless of the situation; Christ’s word begins to influence our thoughts, our words and our conducts… we begin to forgive even when it hurts, to pray for enemies and our persecutors, to render help without expecting anything in return, to work and persevere without giving up. Real and genuine obedience is motivated by love emanating from a pure conscience or motive. Obedience thus is a test of genuine love. Otherwise, any obedience which is not motivated by love is coercion. However, our world today is characterized by so-called freedom; of expression, of worship, of choice. Many people including believers feel keeping Jesus’ word is burdensome or a form of oppression. Hence, many of us are believers without commitments, believers who fail to witness and defend the faith, believers who fails to hold on to faith in times of life challenges. We pray for God’s grace to love him genuinely by keeping his Word, persevere in faith and be witnesses.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

02/05/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

ACTS 6:1-7, PSALM 33:1-5, 18-19, 1 PETER 2:4-9, JOHN 14:1-12

We celebrate today the 5th Sunday of Easter season year A. Today’s liturgy invites us to deepen our relationship with Christ through whom we come to know God and have communion with him. Our gospel passage comes from Jesus’ last supper discourse. In the passage, Jesus consoles his troubled disciples after hearing of his impending death. Though Jesus’ death seemed to be the end of everything for the disciples, it is the means through which human salvation will be attained and access to God’s kingdom opened. Jesus thus promises them his abiding presence and coming back to take them into the eternal abode with his father. In the “I am” statement, Jesus reveals his divine identity echoing God’s self-manifestation to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). Jesus is the “Way” implies through Him, believers come to God the Father; Jesus is the “Truth” mean he reveals God and makes him known…Jesus is the “Life” implies He is the embodiment of the fullness of life in God; through him believers are drawn into the very life of God – or in communion with the Father). Furthermore, responding to Philip’s request, Jesus reveals a profound union he shares with his Father in which his disciples too are called share through Jesus (I am in the Father and the Father is in me). In other words, Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossian 1:15) and that through him, disciples come to know God the father and shares in his life. Our first reading presents the solution to the division in the early Christian community. Division arose as a result of unfair daily distribution of food by the Hebrews to Hellenists widows. To restore unity in the community and focus on preaching the Word, the apostles requested to choose 7 men among the Hellenists filled with the Holy Spirit to help in the daily distribution of food. In the second reading, Peter continues to affirm the identity and dignity believers have in God. Like the Israelites chosen by God, believers are a new covenant people chosen by God through Christ, the foundation stone. Through Christ, believers have communion with God and thus share in the very life of God: they are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s own people.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue celebrating our new life in God through the resurrection of Christ. Today’s liturgy invites us to deepen our relationship with Christ whose death and resurrection has given us access to God and a share in the life of God. The joy of Easter celebration is an encounter with the risen Lord, the reflection and revelation of God, who saves and gives us eternal life. The risen Christ is ‘The Way’ through whom we can come to know God, He is The Truth through whom God is revealed to us and He is The Life in whom we have eternal life. Further, through Christ’s resurrection, we are drawn into a deeper communion with God in which Christ himself shares with his Father. In Christ, we are a chosen race, a loyal priest and God’s own people. Nevertheless, like the disciples, our hearts are troubled by the challenges of life that instil fear, doubt and despair; death of loved ones, unstable marriage or relationship, unanswered prayers, failing health, lack of peace, uncertain future. In such moments, like Thomas, challenges of life blinds our faith and thus fail to see God’s plan and purposes for our life. Like Philip, we seek absolute answers to all our existential predicaments and thus fail to see the abiding presence of God in our life’s situation. We are therefore, invited today to trust God and trust Jesus in whom we find fulfilment and life. Through Christ’s paschal mystery, we have been redeem, saved, have access God and share the life of God. Our communion with Christ and with God is not broken by life challenges but rather makes us share in the paschal mystery of Christ and the promise of eternal life with him (Romans 8:31-39). May the risen Lord help us to know the True God, walk in his way and share in his divine life.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

25/04/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTIONS

4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY)

ACTS 2:14, 36-41, PSALM 23, 1 PETER 2:20-25, JOHN 10:1-10

We celebrate today the 4th Sunday of Easter also called Good Shepherd Sunday. On this day, the church invites us to pray for vocation to priesthood and religious life. Today’s liturgy invites us to deepen our relationship with Christ, the Good Shepherd who gives us life in abundance. Today’s gospel passage comes immediately after Jesus’ healing of the man born blind. In the passage, the Pharisees refused Jesus’ miracle and expelled the healed man from the synagogue. By refusing to accept the miracle, the Pharisees rejected Jesus, the light of the world and thus blind by their sins. Today’s gospel passage is a continuation of the above miracle. In our passage today, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are bad shepherds who only came to steal. Unlike them, Jesus is the true Shepherd of Israel who came to give life in abundance – eternal life. In his assertion, Jesus uses similes of the door to the sheepfold and shepherd familiar to Jewish daily life and faith. At night, shepherds used to sleep at the door of the sheepfold to protect sheep from thieves and dangerous animals. During the day, shepherds used to take the sheep for pasture and water and bring them back. The shepherd and the sheep share mutual relationship; he knows his sheep and the sheep know his voice and follow him. By referring himself as a shepherd, Jesus uses the divine attributes of God as Israel’s true shepherd (Ezekiel 34) who loves and cares for his people. Unlike bad shepherds, Jesus the embodiment of God’s presence is the good shepherd and gate of the sheepfold through whom people have abundant life and access to God’s eternal life. Our responsorial psalm illustrates complete trust in God as Shepherd who loves and care for his sheep: he leads to water and green pastures, guides, protects and provides food. In the first reading, after giving a speech on Pentecost, Peter invites his listeners to respond through baptism of repentance in order to be part of God’s flock redeemed by Christ’s paschal mystery. In the second readings, St. Peter encourages believers working as slaves to persevere in faith and imitate Christ, the innocent lamb, the Shepherd and guardian of their souls.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue to celebrate with joy the resurrection of Christ. During Easter time, the church invites us to reflect deeply on God’s saving love revealed and fulfilled in Christ’s paschal mystery. In Christ Jesus, God demonstrated the depth of his love that embraces us all, blesses us abundantly and gives us eternal life: in Christ, sinners are forgiven, the hungry are satisfied, those in despair find hope, the sick and suffering are healed and find peace, the blind see again, the weak are strengthened and given protection, the poor and needy are satisfied, the weary find rest, the blind receive their sight, the righteous are assured of eternal life with God. Furthermore, through Christ, the gates of heaven are open and enable us to experience God’s superabundance love that lead to eternal life. We are therefore invited to deepen our relationship with Christ through whom we have been redeemed and saved, have access to God’s grace and blessings and experience life in abundance. As sheep, we belong to the sheepfold of Jesus the good shepherd. Belonging to the sheepfold of Christ entails entrusting our whole being under the stewardship of Christ. As sheep of Christ; to truly know Christ entails to be a reflection of his being in words and deeds, and to model our life after his teachings. To hear his voice and follow him entails being his disciples, nourished by his word and following him even when we do not know they way or understand the process. Furthermore, today’s liturgy invites shepherds of various kinds, religious leaders, civic leaders, parents or guardians, and managers or directors to imitate Jesus the Good Shepherd in executing their responsibilities: to love and care, to serve, to protect and to guide those entrusted to them.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

18/04/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A

ACTS 2:14.22-33, PSALM 15:1-2, 5-11, 1 PETER 1:17-21, LUKE 24:13-35
We celebrate today the 3rd Sunday of Easter year A. Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on the presence of the Risen Lord in our life. The risen Lord is always present in his Word and in the Eucharist. In the gospel passage, Jesus reveals himself to two disciples going to Emmaus from Jerusalem. Jesus conversed with them though their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Jesus upbraids them for failing to believe the scripture from whom his paschal mystery finds fulfilment. Despite the failure to recognise Christ as he was talking with them on the way, the two disciples were charitable enough to invite Jesus to spend a night and share a meal with them. When they were at table, Jesus took bread and blessed it, broke it and gave it to them (the same words and actions Jesus used at the miracle of the multiplication of bread and at last supper). It was at that moments that their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and Jesus vanished from their sight. No sooner had they recognised Jesus than they returned to Jerusalem to testify to other disciples that Jesus is risen and that he appeared to them. The story of the risen Christ appearing to the two disciples on the ways to Emmaus seeks to reveal that Christ’s paschal mystery is the fulfillment of God’s saving plans as foretold in the sacred scripture. In addition, the story points to the Eucharist as Christ’s abiding presence among disciples and that by partaking the Eucharist, they are in communion with Christ, their savior. The first reading is an extract from Peter’s sermon on Pentecost day. In the passage, Peter explains the phenomenon of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as fulfillment of God’s plan as testified by scripture (Ezekiel 36:27, Joel 2:28). For Peter, Jesus’ mighty works, death and resurrection points to God’s revealed plan in the scriptures of old (Psalm 16:8-11) to which they are recipient and witnesses. In the second reading, Peter exalts believers suffering to persevere in faith. For Peter, believers have received new life in God through Christ’s precious and unblemished blood. As such, believers ought to live a holy life of faith and hope in God.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue celebrating with joy Christ’s resurrection. During Eastertide, we are invited to reflect on the mystery of God’s saving love revealed and fulfilled in Christ Jesus. That God loves us and abides with us even in difficult situations of life. The story of Jesus walking with the two despondent disciples on the way to Emmaus reflects our own faith story. The two disciples were disheartened and lost hope in that Christ whom they hoped to redeem Israel was crucified and died in Jerusalem. Therefore, they were unable to recognize him when he appeared to them. Like the two disciples, during Lent, many of us committed ourselves seriously to prayer, fasting and almsgiving with hope that our prayer intentions will be answered by God at Easter: we offered various prayer intentions for our life, our marriages and families, about our health and wellbeing, on finances and success among many others. Three weeks ago we celebrated Easter and many of us still feel as if Christ is not risen in that our prayers were not answered. We are still struggling with the same sins and weaknesses, our sickness and pain seem worsening, our marriage and families are still disintegrated, our finances and businesses retrogressing. As such, we feel frustrated and hopeless. It has become difficult to recognise the presence of risen Lord even when Easter songs are sung and the Word of God proclaimed in church. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the good news is that Christ is truly risen and walks with us in all situations of life. Just like death was not the end of Jesus’ life but the means through which salvation was attained, our life challenges too are short-lived and that our victory will surely come one day. Suffering or challenges of life are not the end but means through which at times we are drawn into the mystery of God’s love, abide in his presence and that our faith and love for God is perfected. We are therefore invited to open our hearts and minds in recognizing the presence of the risen Lord even in despondent situations of our life. May the risen Christ reveal himself to us and give us the grace to overcome sin and evil, and persevere in life challenges.

Have a blessed Sunday (Friar

Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) YEAR AACTS 2:42-47, PSALM 118:2-4. 13-15. 22-24, 1 ...
11/04/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) YEAR A

ACTS 2:42-47, PSALM 118:2-4. 13-15. 22-24, 1 PETER 1:3-9, JOHN 20:19-31

We celebrate today the 2nd Sunday of Easter also called ‘Divine Mercy’ Sunday. Today’s feast was instituted by St. Pope John Paul II in 2000. The feast was inspired by Jesus’ revelation and instruction to St. Faustina that the second Sunday of Easter be dedicated to Divine Mercy…a reminder that God’s infinite and unfathomable mercy is the only hope for humanity…mercy that forgives sins, heals wounds and brokenness and restores to complete wholeness. We are therefore invited to trust God and immense ourselves in the ocean of His infinite mercy. In the gospel, the risen Christ appeared to his disciples enclosed in a room for fear of the Jews. He gave them his peace and showed them the marks of his wounds as proof of His resurrection. Jesus then breathed on them the Holy Spirit and gave them authority to dispense God’s mercy to the world. By breathing on them the Holy Spirit as at creation (Genesis 2:7), Jesus makes them into a new creation … a new people of the New Covenant. In addition, Thomas who refused to believe the testimony of others regarding Christ’s resurrection, was restored to faith by Jesus and made to utter the most profound act of faith “My Lord and my God (John 20:28, 1:1). In connection to Thomas’ faith, Jesus asserts that true blessedness lies in believing without seen. The first reading presents the life of early Christian community animated by the Spirit of the risen Christ. The first Christian community is said to have been steadfast to the apostles teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread (Eucharist) and devotion to common prayers. As a result of their fraternal love and unity, many wonders and signs were done through them and that many people believed in Christ. In the second reading, Peter encourages believers to persevere in faith amidst the persecutions. He reminds them that by God’s mercy revealed in Christ paschal mystery, they have been reborn into a living hope and made shearers of God’s imperishable, undefiled and unfading kingdom. Peter therefore exhorts them to persevere in faith and rejoice in persecution for the reason that through them, their souls are purified for eternal salvation with God.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we continue with joy to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Today, we are reminded of God’s infinity mercy revealed through Christ’s paschal mystery. That his mercy is boundless and incomprehensible - there is no sin or situation greater than God’s mercy. All we need is to allow the Risen Christ break through the walls of our fears, uncertainties, insecurities, weakness and sin so as to experience true joy, peace and freedom. Like Thomas, we live in a world that seeks for proof or empirical evidence … anything that cannot be proved does not exist or is not real. Our faith too is subjected to scientific proof. As believers, in moments of crisis or life challenges, we seek miracles and not God the author of miracles… our faith is based on having quick results devoid of commitment and perseverance. Christ’s revelation and showing of his wounds to the disciples reminds us not only of our sins that wounded him but also his infinite mercy that embraces us, heals us and renews us. We are reminded that true blessedness lies in believing Jesus even when we do not see him or see results. We are thus called to have faith that transcends empirical evidence, temporal satisfaction and gives us false hope and security. May the Risen Christ pe*****te through our weakness, our brokenness, our addiction, our pain, our doubts, our disappointments, our failures, our sickness, our desperation and give us the grace to experience his divine mercy and peace. In addition, we are called to be dispensers of God’s mercy and peace to our world characterized by Sin and Evil; greed, injustice, violence, betrayal, division, pain, suffering and conflict.

Have a blessed Sunday

(Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual)

04/04/2026

SUNDAY READINGS REFLECTION

SOLEMNITY OF THE LORD’S RESURRECTION (EASTER) YEAR C

ACTS 10:34, 37-43, PSALM 118:1-2. 15-17. 22-23, COLOSSIANS 3:1-4, JOHN 20:1-9

We celebrate today the Solemnity of Christ’s resurrection (Easter). Easter is the mother of all feasts in that it is the foundation of our Christian faith and salvation (1 Corinthian 15:12-21). At Easter, Christ triumphed over sin, evil and death. Christ’s resurrection gives us joy and hope in that we have been redeem from all that alienate us from God, from ourselves and from others. In other words, at Easter we have been freed from sin, evil and death and made partakers of God’s life. Even though all the four gospels have variations in explaining the resurrection of Christ, all testify to the reality of the empty tomb (Matthew 28:6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:5-12, John 20:1-15). In addition, Mary Magdalene is explicitly mentioned in all the four gospels as one of the first witness to Christ’s resurrection. In ancient time, a testimony of a woman was not accepted. As such, presenting Magdalene as a credible witnesses to Christ’s resurrection reflects the truth that cannot be hidden, denied nor be ashamed of. Christ’s resurrection is also explicitly shown through his appearances to the disciples (Mark 16:14, Luke 24:34, John 21:14). In our gospel passage, Mary Magdalene, Peter and the beloved disciple struggle to believe the resurrection of Christ after seen the empty tomb. When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while still dark (absence of light or Christ) and found the stone removed, she went back to inform Peter and the beloved disciple thinking that some people have taken the body of Jesus away. Peter and the beloved disciple went and witnessed the empty tomb as reported by Magdalene. When they saw the linens and napkin lying alone without Jesus, the beloved disciple believed. In the first reading, Peter gives a speech in the house of Cornelius testifying about God’s impartial love revealed through Christ Jesus. In his speech, Peter gives a brief synopsis of Jesus’ public life affirming the divine origin of his ministry, his good works, his crucifixion, death and resurrection. Christ’s resurrection was witnessed by Peter and others who were with him and that they were instructed to testify about Christ as the Messiah and judge. For Peter, Jesus is the fulfilment of old prophecies and that forgiveness of sin is given to all who believe in Him. In the second reading, the author invites believers at Colossae, who have been raised with Christ to look up to heaven where Christ and not on earthly things. In baptism, they have died and their life hidden in Christ. As such, they have a new life in Christ which will be fully revealed at Christ second coming in glory.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we celebrate today the solemnity of our Lord’s resurrection. Christ resurrection is the foundation of our Christian faith and salvation; it reflects who we are, what we believe in…“If Christ has not been raised, the gospel message and our faith are in vain (1 Corinthian 15:12-21). At Easter, Christ overcame sin, evil and death: Easter is the ultimate victory of life over death, good over evil and light over darkness. Easter therefore brings us joy and hope in that through Christ, we too are victorious and share the life of God. The disciple’s struggles to believer that Christ is risen when they experience the empty tomb reflects our own struggles to believe in God when life challenges overwhelm us. In moments of weakness, pain and life’s struggles, we feel empty, lost, despair and that God seems distant. Easter thus invites us to step out of our tombs of sins, doubts, fears and despair and walk in the new life of the risen Lord. As disciple’s experienced the risen Lord, we too today can experience him. The resurrection of Christ is God’s power that can transforms us and enable us live in the newness of life; a life of light and not darkness, of virtue and not sin, of faith and not doubt, of hope and not despair, and of joy and serene even in the midst of life challenges. Furthermore, our encounter with the risen Lord makes us credible witnesses of God’s saving love that forgives and heals our human brokenness.

Happy Easter…Have a blessed Sunday

Friar Vincent Sichande, Ofm. Conventual

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