LAITY REFLECTIONS FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
1st Reading: Acts 9:26-31
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 22:26b-27.28 and 30.31-32 (R. 26a)
2nd Reading: 1 John 3: 18-24
Gospel Reading: John 15: 1-8
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| Fabians Dania |
REFLECTION
It is the Father's will that we bear much fruit. Firstly, the fruit of love.
Love, when it is fully grown, makes us like unto God himself and at this point, we seek nothing more than the glory of God. We achieve this by being firmly rooted in the Trinity, consequently, he says that we abide in him.
May God, through His abiding love always lead us in the line if perfection. Amen!
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| Innocent Benedict Ifeanyichukwu |
REFLECTION
The readings reminded us of how important it is to love God and not the world because we are of God though we are in the world, and by so doing (Loving God wholeheartedly), anything we ask of or from Him will be granted to us and He will surely be with us no matter the situation we finds ourselves in.
And how can loving God wholeheartedly be accomplished? By abiding in His Commandments, loving your neighbor as yourself, making peace with one another, Sacrament of reconciliation and doing your works of mercy .
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| Ijeoma Madu |
REFLECTION
The three readings of today centers on love. They encourage us to show love to:
1. Ourselves even when our hearts condemn us for doing evil because God’s love for us surpasses our weaknesses. (2nd reading)
2. all brethren irrespective of their past lives as Barnabas showed love to St. Paul by accepting him and presenting him to the apostles; and the brethren showed love to Paul by saving him when the Hellenists planned killing him.
3. To bear fruit of love in all that we do because God is love. We can only abide with God in love. Love is the greatest fruit we can bear as children of God. It is the foundation of all virtues; love conquers all; as charity covers multitude of sins.
4. We should learn from the readings that when we remain in God in love, we can achieve a lot in life. We will have the courage to present our petitions to God and believe that He will answer us.
May God bless his words in our hearts through Christ our Lord. Amen 🙏🏿
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| Okoha F.E Nworie |
REFLECTION
The heart most often is associated and refers to emotions and desires, while the "mind" typically represents intellect and reasoning. The "conscience," however, is more about moral awareness, guiding one's sense of right and wrong. They intersect but emphasize different aspects of human experience.
When we want to express ourselves, when guilty or after being vindicated, especially using our mother tongue, we see how difficult it is to differentiate between heart and conscience. Simply put, the heart is a visible internal organ of the body, while conscience is the invisible heart of our mind.
Everything about right and wrong pertains to the conscience, but the unity between the heart and conscience makes it possible for one to experience a rapid increase in heartbeat when his/her conscience condemns him/her.
So, in this case, following the above, when our heart does not condemn us, it means our conscience does not condemn us.
Secondly, Henry Newman says that our conscience is the vicar of Christ in us. It is the still small voice of God in us.
Some of the ways we know when our conscience condemns us are:
1. When we are being judged by our minds over an action that has been done or that we are about to do.
2. When our hearts are filled with the emotions of guilt and regret or when our heartbeats increase so rapidly that it brings about fear over an action that has been done or is about to be carried out.
Thirdly, what we can do to avoid being condemned by our conscience (heart) is to live a righteous life. For a righteous person (even if not 100%) is holy, just, and morally upright. For what the voice of God in us wants is to be a living tabernacle of Christ, that is, to be righteous.
