The Word today, Easter5C
- Admin
- May 16
- 3 min read
May 19 - May 24, 2025
Acts 14:5-18 The powerful events which accompanied the preaching could easily be mistaken in their origin. But as St Paul said, For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5)
John 14:20-26 The teaching of the Fourth Gospel on the Spirit is distinctive and relevant: The “advocate” will stand alongside us to reach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus said.
St Bernardine of Siena, priest
Acts 14:19-28 In our attempts at evangelisation today, we can still learn from the example of the first preachers: they took risked, were full of zeal and they knew God was with them all along.
John 14:27-31 Peace—the great gift of the risen Lord —means much more in the Bible than usual and especially here in John. It includes life in abundance, on account of the resurrection and even freedom from death and the fear of death.
St Christopher Magallanes and his Companions, Martyrs
Cristóbal Magallanes was born in 1869 in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara. During this time in Mexico’s history, the government feared the power of the Catholic Church, and it tried to eliminate the practice of the faith and closed the seminaries. In 1915, Fr Magallanes opened his own small seminary in Totatiche and soon had more than a dozen students. He was on his way to celebrate Mass when he was arrested. Without a trial, he was convicted. On May 21, 1927, he and 21 other priests and three lay Catholics were executed.
Acts 15:1-6 Early Christians had to make up their minds whether or not to impose the full Jewish Law on new believers. It was not easy, as we see from today’s reading which features supporters on each side.
John 15:1-8 In the Fourth Gospel, there are seven I AM sentences, all echoing the name of God as I AM WHO I AM. In the same way, the image of the vine for the people of God is rooted in the Old Testament, as well as in the parable of Jesus. We the branches lives because of him.
St Rita of Cascia OSA, religious
Acts 15:7-21 What about the imposition of the Jewish Law? Paul and James are shown, giving different arguments, both supporting a more free attitude. The basic principle is attractive and useful today: lets not make things more difficult for people who want to join us.
John 15:9-11 Today we hear a very short Gospel— short and rich. Who does not need the message of love? Who does not need the message of joy?
Acts 15:22-31 As a result of the various deliberations, a careful letter is written from Jerusalem. As you can hear, only one of the dietary laws as insisted upon—perhaps as a compromise.
John 15:12-17 The metaphor of the vine is dropped. With directness and simplicity, the writer takes us straight to the heart of the matter: love of neighbour — precisely because God is love and God has so loved the world.
Acts 16:1-10 Today’s reading is odd and inspiring. It is odd that Paul had someone circumcised, because he was so against it. It is inspiring that the same Paul dreams about the Macedonian Greeks who want him to preach among them. It would remind us of St Patrick and his dream about the Irish calling him to return.
John 15:18-21 It cannot be that our destiny should be different to that of Jesus. He too did not belong “this world” and he too was hated. It is to be expected that being a believer will incite others against us—a mark that we are on the path of true discipleship.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025ao, May 18). Fifth Sunday of Easter. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051825.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings
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