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A Jenga Tower of Living Stones

30/4/2026

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

1 Peter
2.4-9

Beloved: Come to the Lord, a living stone, though rejected by human beings yet chosen and precious in God’s sight. Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it stands in Scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

The First Letter of Peter was written to encourage new followers of Jesus in what is now modern-day Turkey as they faced persecution and misunderstanding. In describing Jesus, Peter uses the phrase “living stone,” which I have glossed over in the past but which is now jumping off the page at me. Scientifically speaking, a stone is not alive; it is an inanimate object. And yet, through the power of the Holy Spirit, even dead things can be brought to life. I can attest to this personally. Before I met Jesus, I had so many walls built up around my heart for protection that I don’t know if I was truly alive.

Like the living stone, Jesus embodies many beautiful paradoxes. He is fully God and yet fully human. He is both the Good Shepherd and the Sacrificial Lamb. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the King who came to serve, not to be served. Peter describes Jesus as rejected by mortals and yet chosen by God. These mysteries of the Holy Trinity, three in one, stir in me excitement and a hunger to learn more about my place in this upside-down Kingdom.

Peter also describes us – fellow believers – as living stones. He encourages us to let ourselves be built into a “spiritual house” – a phrase that makes me think of a Jenga tower, with each block representing a different person within the body of Christ. When we work together, encouraging one another to use the unique gifts that God has bestowed on each of us, the tower can continue to grow higher. On the other hand, as people fall away from the Church, and blocks are removed, the entire tower is affected, becoming shaky and unstable. The blocks are not random. We are each chosen and precious, placed within the tower for a specific purpose. Each of us are called into a royal family, to be the new temple of God. You see, God dwells within us, unveiling another profound paradox – that even as sinners, we are declared holy through Jesus Christ. He makes the impossible, possible. My friends, this is such encouraging news! Like Peter, let us continue to inspire and motivate each other to persevere in our faith, to step out of the darkness and into His marvellous Light!

Lisa Matheson

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Love and Do What You Want

29/4/2026

3 Comments

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 33

R. Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.

R. Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

R. Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.

Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

R. Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

The title of this reflection is part of a quote from Saint Augustine: “Love and do what you want. If you stop talking, you will stop talking with love; if you shout, you will shout with love; if you correct, you will correct with love.” It was the first thing that came to my mind when I prayed with the Psalm for this Sunday.

As I write this reflection, I am staying with family and trying to help with the care of my dad who is 90 years old and only now beginning to struggle with health issues. I’m telling you this because we are wandering through challenging territory, and the only thing I know for certain is that God’s love is with me and it is sustaining me and guiding me.

If you are new here (welcome) you may not be aware that as Christians we see love in a different light than the world sees it. The world very often uses love to express what is actually lust, or else it implies that love is centred in me and around me, my preferences and my wants. The truth is that love is something sacrificial, and it is centred first in Christ and then on the person in front of me – no matter who that person is! Remember “love your enemy”? Well, that is loving the person in front of you. If I am struggling to understand this love or to see what it looks like, I look no further than the cross of Christ. His love for me (and for you) put him on that cross, and it changed everything. We recently celebrated this very fact when we prayed on Good Friday, and it didn’t end there because we gathered for the Easter Vigil and rejoiced in the fact that Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead. He did this for each one of us. This is the hope we speak of in our Psalm.

It does not matter what we face in life when we face it in the love of God and in the hope that love brings. And although that doesn’t mean it will be easy, that is okay.

Sr. Teresa MacDonald

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Doing My Part

28/4/2026

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A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts
6.1-7

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, brothers, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.”

What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert of Antioch. They had these men stand before the Apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

“Twenty-five years ago I became an Apostle of Christ.”

I heard these words spoken by a retired bishop a couple months ago at the celebration of his 25th anniversary of becoming a bishop. I was struck by the truth of his words and the fact that I had never truly considered the elevation from priest to bishop to be such a transformation. But indeed it was, and is – from disciple to apostle, from being a follower of Christ to one who has a very particular and specific role in building up the Church Christ founded. After all as Catholics we believe bishops to be linked to the first apostles through apostolic succession. It is how the tradition and teaching of our faith is passed on from generation to generation. The bishops of today are successors of the first bishop, Peter, upon whom Jesus built the Church. To be a bishop is an important and daunting task with the immense responsibility to teach, sanctify, and govern the people of God. Bishops are chosen and called by the Holy Spirit to continue the mission entrusted to Christ by the Father, that is to spread the gospel and make disciples.

But they are not to do that alone! As a disciple of Christ, I am a follower and, although I may not become an apostle like a bishop, the mission is also entrusted to me. There is a role and a place for me in this Church. In fact, there are many roles needed to help our Church become all it is meant to be. This passage from the Acts of the Apostles gives a glimpse of the evolving early Church; as the community grows, more needs to be done to support the community and ultimately help it continue to grow. Two key actions have to happen: 1) recognize the need for help; and 2) ask for that help from within the community.

The Church is not solely the bishops, which includes the Pope, as the bishop of Rome. Nor is the Church simply the people who attend worship in the millions of church buildings around the world. The Church is both bishops and people – and even more than those. It has existed for over 2000 years because each generation has in their time and place acknowledged that they need to help one another, encourage one another, and do their part to live out the mission Christ entrusted to them. The very same mission is entrusted to us today. If our Church is to grow it is incumbent on me to discern what my part is, to recognize my God-given gifts, and to hone and use those gifts to grow our Church. My role may not be as daunting as that of a bishop, but it is just as important. The Church needs me as much as I need the Church.

Aurea Sadi

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Awake at the Gate

24/4/2026

1 Comment

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 26th, 2026:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

John
10.1-10

Jesus said: “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

We are hearing this Gospel on the fourth Sunday of Easter, but as I write, we have just completed Lent and experienced the journey of the Triduum. Being given the chance to reflect on this Gospel reading is yet another solid example of how well He knows just what I need and when I need it. The last reflection that I shared was on Psalm 23, which we also hear again this week, and it reminded me that the Lord is my Shepherd. And today, He reminds me that not only is He my Shepherd, but it is also only through Him that I am saved.

I love the Triduum, once I get there. In the hours leading up to each part of the three-day Mass, I find myself debating about whether I will attend. After all, each part is long and I’m busy. I have dinners to make, egg hunts to organize for grandchildren, and, really, who would miss me if I’m not there? And let’s talk about the vigil on Saturday night – three or four hours followed by an early rising for 8:30 a.m. Mass the next morning.

It would be so easy to give in to those distractions and just stay home. I am so grateful that despite the temptation, I find myself in the pew every Triduum, once again being reminded of the total sacrifice that the one true Shepherd made for me.

We are surrounded by chaos in the world right now. So many competing voices; nations and people fighting; economic woes; turbulence… it is almost impossible to escape it. And yet, thousands are returning to the Catholic faith through the gate this Gospel describes. They recognize His voice and, rising above the confusion, are finding their way back to Him. Our eldest son is one of those who is returning. As I sat beside him and his young family Easter Sunday morning, I watched in gratitude as he celebrated the Mass – eyes closed at times and mouthing silent prayer. Something is stirring deeply in him, and I know the Lord is leading him. He is turning away from those thieves that come in the night and embracing abundant life.

In the midst of the chaos, we have been shown the holder of the key to the gate that leads to lush pastures, peace, and true love. So I will continue to stay awake, grateful to be part of an ever-growing flock that knows and follows His voice.

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A Jenga Tower of Living Stones

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:Fifth Sunday of Easter

Love and Do What You Want

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:Fifth Sunday of Easter

Doing My Part

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:Fifth Sunday of Easter

Awake at the Gate

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 26th, 2026:Fourth Sunday of Easter

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Archives

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 26th, 2026:
Fourth Sunday of Easter