Martin Jumbam

Catholic Meditation - Fifth Sunday of Easter – Year C

 By Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, April 28, 2013 as the fifth Sunday of Easter – Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: ‘O sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders; in the sight of the nations he has shown his deliverance. Amen. Alleluia.’  

We find strength and encouragement in the beautiful readings of the Eastertide. The first reading reminds us that the Church’s progress was not without hardship. Paul and Barnabas, whom the Holy Spirit had put apart for a special mission, now return to Antioch to report back on the mission God has achieved through them. Despite the opposition and even outright persecution of the disciples, the word of God still finds new access and wins new converts to the faith.  In the second reading, from the book of Revelation, John sees in a vision the new Jerusalem, where the community of those saved are enjoying peace and happiness in the company of the glorious Lord. In the Gospel, Saint John begins the discourse of the Last Supper, the most sublime of all the discourses in his Gospel. Jesus is now telling his Apostles what Calvary means and how the Father is to glorify him who is obedient even unto death. Then he gives them his great commandment of love: ‘Love one another as I have loved you,’ a commandment we should all make ours today.  

Catholic Meditation - Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year C

 

Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates April 21, 2013 as the fourth Sunday of Easter – Year C. It is usually referred to as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’. For the past fifty years, it has also been celebrated as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations or Vocations Sunday. Vocations Sunday was instituted by Pope Paul VI when the Vatican II Council was sitting. With this worldwide day of prayer to God, the Holy Father asked God to continue to send workers for his Church (cf. Mt 9:38). The theme chosen for this year is: “Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith.”

In the entrance antiphon of this day’s Holy Mass we pray: “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord; by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia.”

Catholic Meditation - Third Sunday of Easter – Year C

By Martin Jumbam

Today, the Universal Church celebrates Sunday, April 14, 2013, as the third Sunday of Easter – Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “Cry out with joy to God, all the earth; O sing to the glory of his name. O render him glorious praise, alleluia.”

In the first reading, we see how the early exciting years of the Church’s expansion started meeting setbacks. Like Jesus, the apostles are attacked by the leaders of the Jews and threatened with death. The Sanhedrin warn them not to preach in the name of Jesus but Peter, as leader of the apostles, replies that obedience to God comes before obedience to man. In the Second Reading from the Apocalypse, Saint John highly praises the risen Lord who, as the Lamb slain in sacrifice, is the sole mediator between God’s throne and all angels and the whole people of God, who pay him unending honour. In the Gospel of John, Christ continues to appear to his disciples after his resurrection to strengthen their faith and prepare them for his mission to the four corners of the earth. By the Sea of Tiberias, he guides them to bring in the catch of fish – symbolizing the Church gathering into her unity men and women of all ages and races – and then confirms Peter’s position as the head of the apostles. Peter, who denied his Master three times during his passion, is given the opportunity to reaffirm his love for his Master three times before being given the commission to guard the whole flock in Christ’s name.

Catholic Meditation - Second Sunday of Easter – Year C

By Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, April 7, 2013, as the Second Sunday of Easter – Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “Rejoice to the full in the glory that is yours, and give thanks to God who called you into his heavenly kingdom, alleluia.”

In the first reading, Saint Luke shows how the risen Christ has given life to the young community of Jerusalem. The Apostles perform many miracles among the people because the power of the Lord is with them. As the community begins to grow, it also has to fight against evil and heal a wounded world. In the second reading, from the Apocalypse, Saint John tells us that the risen and living Christ is the conqueror of death. In a vision, Christ commands him to write down the Revelation on behalf of the persecuted Church. In Saint John’s Gospel, we see Jesus breathing the Spirit onto his disciples and giving them strength and courage for their new divine mission, that of taking his word to the ends of the earth. The doubting Thomas brings the Gospel to its most explicit profession of faith in the Risen Lord when he says: “My Lord and my God.” That is what Jesus is for successive generations of Christians to our own day.