May 8, 2026 Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter Gospel: John 15:9-11
Today is Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter. The passage from the Gospel of Saint John continues to present Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples before His Passion. In this Gospel passage, Jesus continues to expound upon His commandment of love.
What kind of love does Jesus speak of? It is a love that holds nothing back, a love that stops at no cost. As He Himself says: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13) Yet, how many of us would actually lay down our lives for our friends? In our eyes, sacrificing our life for a friend seems like an impulsive and irrational act. However, the love Jesus speaks of is a total, complete love. For the sake of loving His disciples and loving us, He willingly allowed Himself to be nailed to the Cross, enduring its bitter torment, so that the infinitely merciful Heavenly Father, through all that He accomplished, might forgive the sins we have committed and restore us to our identity as sons and daughters of God.
The love Jesus speaks of is an initiative love, not a passive one. As He says: It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last. (cf. John 15:16) Even before we knew Him, He had already chosen us. Jesus is soon to be taken up and seated at the right hand of the Father, yet He remains present in our midst; He is always with us. If we experience love in our lives: such as the nurturing love of our parents, the instructive love of our teachers, the supportive love of our superiors, or the pastoral care of our priests—we can see in these the very love of Jesus for us.
Through the grace of Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are no longer called children of the devil or children of darkness. Our Lord Jesus Christ, rich in mercy, vanquished death for us by the Precious Blood He shed out of love for us, stripping the devil of his dominion over us so that he can no longer master us. Therefore, let us live within the love of Christ, manifesting Jesus’ love for us through the actions of our daily lives. In this way, we become true disciples of Jesus Christ, and the prayers we offer to God will grow ever more sincere. The Holy Spirit dwelling within us will surely, in response to our faith, bestow upon us every grace we need.
Grant us, Lord, we pray, that, being rightly conformed to the paschal mysteries, what we celebrate in joy may protect and save us with perpetual power. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter May 7, 2026 Gospel: John 15:9-11
Today is Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter, the passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John continues to present the Farewell Discourse of Jesus: His words to the disciples before His Passion. In this passage, Jesus mentions love repeatedly.
What is love? Saint Paul the Apostle teaches us: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not inflated with pride. It is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (cf. 1 Cor 13:4-7). Paul offers a profound summary of the love proclaimed by Jesus. Yet, we often feel that this love remains distant, abstract, or even imperceptible to us. The reason we fail to perceive this love is that we do not live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ; instead, we continue to follow the mindset of this world. The wisdom of this age teaches not love, but hatred; it teaches people to seek revenge against one another.
Today, Jesus instructs us: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” (John 15:10). This means only by truly laying down the hatred in our hearts; by entrusting our resentments and every inner affliction to God, can we abide in His love. Although this is an exceedingly painful process, we must still hold fast to God, trusting that He will never forsake us.
O God, restorer and lover of innocence, direct the hearts of your servants towards yourself, that those you have set free from the darkness of unbelief may never stray from the light of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
May 6, 2026 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Gospel: John 15:1-8
Today is Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter. The passage from the Gospel of Saint John continues to present Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples before His Passion. In this passage, we hear the parable of the True Vine.
We often see grapevines growing and bearing abundant fruit in due season. When the vines bear rich clusters, the vinedresser gathers them to make wine and other beverages.
The Lord, rich in mercy, created us in His own image and likeness, and entrusted all of creation to our care. Even after our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed His command and were driven from Paradise, He continued to send prophets, judges, priests, and kings to instruct His beloved Israel. He even sent His only Son to reveal His compassion among us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, does not speak on His own authority, but on the Father’s who sent Him. He does nothing on His own, but the Father, dwelling in Him, continues His work. All that He does is so that we may bear fruit—fruit worthy of the many graces He bestows upon us.
How can we bear such fruit? By remaining always in Christ. To live in Christ means to be buried and die with Him in Baptism, crucifying our sinful old self with Him on the Cross, so that we may begin a new life with the risen Lord Jesus Christ in the world of God.
How do we begin this new life with the risen Lord? By abiding in Him. How do we abide? By frequently receiving the Eucharist. When we come regularly to church for Mass, the Holy Word of God fills us—not only our senses and faculties, but also our very being. By receiving His Holy Body and Blood, He makes His dwelling within us. Once He dwells within us, He fills us with His divine life and grace. If we do His will and follow His teachings, then we truly live with Him in the new life of God’s kingdom.
O God, restorer and lover of innocence, direct the hearts of your servants towards yourself, that those you have set free from the darkness of unbelief may never stray from the light of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
全属于祢 
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