4th Sunday of Easter

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Today is called Good Shepherd Sunday, and, appropriately, this day is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Today, the Church calls us to reflect on the meaning of God’s call for each of us and to pray for generous respondents God’s personal call (vocation), to the priesthood, the diaconate, and the consecrated life, because the entire Christian community shares the responsibility for fostering vocations. Both the Old and New Testaments use the image of a Shepherd and His flock to describe the unique relationship of God with Israel and Christ with Christians.

In the tradition of Israel, the kings were considered to be the shepherds. They had the obligation to lead the Israel safe and secure. Unfortunately, the kings became selfish to serve themselves and their families at the cost of the people. God promised the people of Israel that he will not submit his sheep in the hands of the earthly shepherds. He said that he will be their shepherd. In this way, Jesus said ‘I am the good shepherd’. Jesus invites all to be with Him placing the trust and confidence in Him.

Liturgical materials for the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FWwRLA3RYCD6MzhfMcejzez96wPbkQV0?usp=share_link

3rd Sunday of Easter

STAY WITH US

We are all on a journey. Some journeys become memorable because of the encounter we have had with the co-travellers. Such journeys will have a lasting effect. Every journey becomes an encounter when you have a person to lead the conversation, when the conversation is productive, when the hearers have the heart for listening to what is being said and an openness to accept and change. The Readings of today concentrate on the positivity of an encounter. The Emmaus story in the Gospel highlights this aspect of journey becoming an encounter and thereby transformation of the hearts. Similarly, in the Acts of the apostles, we see Peter encountering the crowd in Jerusalem at Pentecost event, and becoming instrumental in paving the way for people to repent of their sinful actions.

Happy to share with you the Liturgical materials for the Third Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FY2bYTixQhPXpiBr7s0EfIk_Yhelvkl_?usp=share_link

2nd Sunday of Easter

MY LORD! MY GOD

Today we conclude the Octave of Easter which is also celebrated as the Feast of Divine Mercy, as decreed by Pope Saint John Paul II. We experience the abundant mercies of the Lord especially through the events of the Holy Week and the Easter Season. The sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ have caused an abundant flow of mercy upon the whole world. In the gospel of today, Jesus appears to the Apostles, greets them with the gift of peace, empowers them with the Holy Spirit and gives them the power to forgive sins as a sign of God’s mercy. Thomas the Apostle is the recipient of the great mercy of God as Jesus appears again after eight days. The emphasis of the liturgy today, therefore, is on the great mercy of God which is the gift of Easter. Let us celebrate this Octave of Easter, the Divine Mercy Sunday, by resolving to seek the Lord’s mercy for ourselves and be instruments of that mercy for others.

Liturgical materials for the Second Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MVBV3P_heCMRgPZJYB0padvl7rU9u9ec?usp=share_link

Easter Sunday

HAPPINESS IN HOPE

Today the Church celebrates Easter. With this celebration we conclude a six-week long retreat. We have reflected upon our own shortcomings in the light of the passion and death of our Lord. During the season of Lent we did not recite the Gloria and the Alleluia, because Christ her bridegroom was going through his passion and death. But today they are re-instated solemnly. Means of fasting, prayer and almsgiving were practised in order to restore our relationships with ourselves, with God and with others. Now begins a seven-week long celebration which will culminate in another important solemnity, namely, the Pentecost. If Lent represented our life in this world, Eastertide will represent our life after death where we shall rejoice in the presence of God forever. Let us ask ourselves whether we have grasped this mystery of Jesus’ resurrection in its fullness.

Liturgy for Easter Sunday.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dmQWAkxPjNJAG2l6oP4f99N9FRcNAAEP?usp=share_link

Holy Week

ENTERING THE PASCHAL MYSTERY

The heart of the Christian faith is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We see in Jesus the full glory of God and the essence of human nature in its perfected state. The events we commemorate during Holy Week are the central pieces of our faith. To fully participate in this life, we must immerse ourselves in the Christian story that is told in the week that precedes Easter. As a community of faith we walk with Christ and one another through bitter agony to triumphant joy. We walk not in great strides but in small steps, passing through each moment with conviction that we will reach the resurrection and that we will be forever transformed by the journey.

We all have busy lives. But if there was ever a moment in the year to reflect upon the priorities of life, Holy Week provides this context. Walk with Christ and one another as fully as possible this week; come to the liturgies; be intentional about your devotions; and open yourselves to the potential power unleashed through your full participation in Christ’s death and resurrection. The marvelous mystery of God in Christ awaits.

Liturgical Materials for the Holy Week. The link has Liturgy for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Eucharistic Adoration Materials, Solemn Way of the Cross, Designs and Songs for the Holy Week.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1n9lSB-fIqhP2ffxqvy7cGw1qypK6gnSD?usp=share_link