Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection June 05, 2025
Thursday – 7th Week of Easter
05th June 2025 (Thursday)
Psalter: Week 3
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11
In those days: Desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 R.(1)
R/. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Or: Alleluia.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. May they all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so that the world may believe that you have sent me, says the Lord.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: John 17:20-26
At that time, [Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed, saying,] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Thursday – 7th Week of Easter
Main Point: Effectivity decreases when credibility declines; credibility declines when authenticity and integrity diminishes
1. The focal point of Jesus’ farewell prayer is unity. He desires that his disciples must be one just as the Father and he are one. This oneness is not just for a peaceful coexistence or for a smooth mission running.
2. The purpose is much more fundamental. Unity is witness. Unity is not just for doing something. Rather, it is a matter of our very vocation and identity. In other words, only by our unity and oneness, we shall identify ourselves as God’s children and Christ’s disciples.
3. Jesus makes it very clear how this unity must be. It is not just remaining and working together for convenience or gain or by force or obligation. Often, the unity that many disciples exercise and demonstrate is a “make-shift”, a “working” unity.
4. It is not deep-rooted. It is not based on genuine respect, appreciation, concern and benevolence. They may be working together but with a lot of negativity and prejudice and harming inclination.
5. That is why Jesus proposes his own union with the Father as the model of all unity. He says, “that all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I, in you, that they also may be in us”. Thus there is no real unity without a deep union. True unity is possible only when there is intimate communion of hearts and spirits.
6. This unity is threefold: unity in faith, unity in love and unity in glory. The disciples can be united only when they are united with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They can be united only when they love God and others. They can be united only when they seek God’s glory.
7. That is why Jesus says, “so that the world may believe that you have sent me”; “the glory you have given me, I have given to them”; “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them”.
My Practice: If we are truly close to God and are loyal to Him, we cannot be hateful and indifferent towards others. Spiritual union is the foundation for fraternal union. And fraternal union is the testimony for spiritual union
