"Raised to new life by Christ"

through faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection,

believers are spiritually resurrected from a life of sin to a new, transformed life in Him.

"buried with Christ" through baptism and then "raised" to walk in "newness of life".

 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 pm

Remember our labor and toil;

When we preached the gospel, we worked day and night, so as not to be a burden to you.

You are witnesses, with God, that we were holy, just and blameless toward all of you who now believe.

We warned each of you, as a father warns his children; we encouraged you,

and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God, who calls you to share his own glory and kingdom.

This is why we never cease giving thanks to God for, on receiving our message, you accepted it,

not as human teaching, but as the word of God. That is what it really is, and, as such, it is at work in you who believe.

 

Ps 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab

You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊

Matthew 25:27 52

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance;

but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness.

In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.

 

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

You say: Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.

So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. And now, finish off what your ancestors began.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Raised to new life by Christ.

Saint Paul describes his tireless efforts for the church in Thessalonica, like a father concerned for the welfare of his children.

Similarly, Saint Monica worried and fretted over the spiritual wellbeing of her son Augustine,

who struggled to find truth and happiness in philosophy, religion and sexual relationships, before finally coming to Christ.

Saint Monica has become renowned for her tears, a symbol of her constant preoccupation for her son,

that he might become a Catholic Christian. It was the knowledge of this that brought her peace in her dying days,

but during Augustine's wild years she was also comforted by the Lord with a vision that her son would one day stand with her in the faith.

 

Augustine observes that Monica's tears were like the tears of the widow of Nain,

whose weeping moved Christ so much that he raised her son from the dead. Likewise,

Augustine, who had been living an empty existence was raised to new life by Christ. Let's pray for all mothers today,

who worry about their children. May the Lord comfort all anxious mothers and be moved to draw to his heart all who have wandered far from him.