The first reading describes the end of St Paul’s first missionary journey. He made three in his lifetime. He and Barnabas arrive back in Antioch from where they had left. St Paul tells the community how not only the Jews, but especially the gentiles had welcomed the Gospel with joy. However, the journey and preaching weren’t without the cross. He had been stoned in one town, mistaken for the god Zeus in another and in a third was dragged outside the city, stoned and left for dead. The path to the Kingdom of God is not easy, but it is worth the hardships.

In the second reading,  St John tries to describe what the Kingdom of God will look like after all the present sufferings are over and Jesus will bring about a new Terrestrial Paradise. This is the Second Coming and the reign of the Divine Will upon the earth. The Church is described as a splendid bride on her wedding day and Christ her Spouse. The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart will take place, and the Our Father prayer will be fulfilled where God’s Will is done upon earth as in Heaven. But Jesus prophesied that before this takes place, there must be the time of confusion. This is what we are living through. It is a time of testing and separation of the wheat from the chaff. It is the final onslaught of evil, where the Church goes through the crucifixion mystically, before the great renewal.  But after this time there will be a period of universal peace, where all on earth will be doing only the Divine Will. No more war or injustice, but peace, as in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. We look forward to and long for that time. Jesus has been preparing the world for this coming of the Divine Will upon the earth, through the writings of Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta called: The Book of Heaven.  

We are blessed now to have Pope Leo XIV, to lead the Church during this difficult period. He chose the name Leo after Pope Leo XIII, who wrote the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which translates into English as: On the New Things. This encyclical provided the social doctrine of the Church in response to the Industrial Revolution of his day. Today there is there another industrial revolution, the growth of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Pope Leo XIV wants the Church to be ready to help guide the world through the coming years. Let’s pray for the Holy Father, that he will have the grace and wisdom necessary to face all the difficulties of our day and Shepherd the Church through this period. When the Church about faith and morals (that is, when the Pope speaks Ex Cathedra as supreme pastor), the Church guarantees his words as true.  We have a treasure chest in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its shorter version the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We should dig into this, study and learn it. Don’t leave it as buried treasure;  but get to know your faith better. Then where a question comes up about the Faith, you will have the answers and won’t be easily lead astray.

Pray constantly, pray the Holy Rosary, this weapon against the devil and his legions, come to Weekday Mass, read the Catechism, participate in Eucharistic Adoration and come to Confession regularly. The late Fr Gabriel Amorth was the chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome. He has written that:

He tells the story of Marcella who came to him for help because she was being molested by evil spirits. Upon his advice she undertook a programme of praying the Holy Rosary every day, weekly Confession, Mass and Adoration. She steadily improved and suffered setbacks only when she decreased the intensity of her prayer. But through persevering, she was completely healed after only two years.  Confession Rosary and Holy Communion are a form of immunization from evil. There is no real room for the devil to work,  if we do this.

In the Gospel Jesus as the Last Supper, gives us a New Commandment:

Jesus loves us with a perfect, unselfish love, this is the way we must love, without anything in it for ourselves. Jesus then says:

If all Christians loved like this, unselfishly, the world would be changed. But to love like this, we need the help of God’s grace, especially in the Sacrament of Love, the Holy Eucharist and in Confession. The Saints, for example, St Paul, St Teresa of Calcutta and the others loved like this, seeing Jesus in one’s neighbour and loving Jesus in them. St Teresa said:

The daughters of Charity would take the love of Jesus from the Eucharist and go out onto the streets, seeing Jesus in the most destitute and serving Jesus in them.

St Paul teaches that before entering Heaven we must endure many trials. It is through these that we are purified of self-love and made fit for Heaven. We can’t all do what St Paul did or St Teresa of Calcutta, but we can serve Jesus in our neighbour here in the Parish. It is as simple of volunteering, for example to go on the Piety Shop Roster or Morning Tea roster or helping with the Annual Olive Pick. If we do this out of love, to lighten the load of others, this is part of our good deeds. St James teaches us:

God sees everything we do, nothing escapes Him and He will reward us. Let’s not look for human recognition, but love and serve selflessly. Be generous and imitate Jesus who came not to be served but to serve. He said:

Praise be Jesus Christ now and forever!