The Christian life is a life of spiritual growth, development, and fruitfulness in small and insignificant things through the action of the Holy Spirit. It is a life of grace, faith, and mercy. Though with our effort and cooperation with God´s grace through sacramental and prayerful life.
According to Pope Puis XII, one of the greatest tragedies of modern man and woman is the loss of the sense of sin. Sin or moral evil is today widely dismissed as merely a religious notion. The notion of sin and its consequences are being watered down in the name that Christianity is not only guilt-lading. The mathematic simply removes sin from Christianity and it becomes a social organization of ethics of relative right and wrong.
The unfathomable mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the celebration of God in a community of love and fellowship. It is also a feast of the individuality of distinct Persons in the community of the Divine Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The implication of this mystery is fundamental for all
The Holy Spirit endows us with many gifts and fruits, among which is the Spirit of love to forgive sins. That is, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love that fosters unity in diversity through reconciliation and forgiveness of sin. Our mission as Christians and as a Church is to be an instrument of love and reconciliation through the action of the Holy Spirit.
The Solemnity of Ascension of the Lord is the feast of the Risen Christ with a glorified body taken up to heaven and now sitting at the right hand of God forever. It is plain from Scripture that Jesus’ ascension was a literal, bodily return to heaven. He rose from the ground gradually and visibly, observed by many intent onlookers.
God is love is the greatest single statement about God in the whole Bible. There is no doubt that love is the essence of the Christian faith and life. For God is love, we are called to live in love as Christians. This life of love is not how we love, but how Jesus loves us. Our love is imperfect and erroneous but God´s love is perfect.
Jesus´ teaching on the vine branches, the vine, and the vinedresser is a fundamental reality of our human and spiritual that without Him we are nothing. The life of vine branches (us), the vine (Christ Jesus) and its dresser (God) is one of total dependence in a healthy manner to bear abundant fruits! If we are nothing and can do nothing with Christ. Then, our lives and existence should be abiding in Christ through whom we live, move, and exist. What does it mean to abide in Christ Jesus?
The Fourth Sunday of Easter usually known as the Good Shepherd Sunday reminds us that, Christ is our gateway to life and salvation. On this day, we are encouraged by the Church to reflect on the meaning of the Resurrection. That is, we celebrate the Risen Christ as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.
Today, the readings are all about repentance and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. Indeed, forgiveness is the gift of the Risen Christ in the early Christian communities. That is the forgiveness of sins that encourages us to seek a new life in Christ and the need not to be afraid.
Christ is the visible face of the Divine Mercy of God. The most evidential proof is that God is not a moralist legalist or sadist bent on eternal punishment for sinners. It is the unfathomable mercy and grace at work in us even in our sinful state. “Where sin abounds, grace (or mercy) abounds much more.” Romans 5:20