1st Reading: Proverbs 8:22–31
Thus says the wisdom of God: “The Lord possessed me, the beginning of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; from of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water; before the mountains were settled into place, before the hills, I was brought forth; while as yet the earth and fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world. “When the Lord established the heavens, I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; when he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth; when he set for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command; then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race.”
2nd Reading: Romans 5:1–5
Brothers and sisters: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Gospel: John 16:12–15
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
NOT THREE BUT ONE: We worship one God who has revealed himself as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In our ordinary way of thinking we are tempted to say that God is three in one. But it is more that. There is such a unity in the Godhead that when we encounter one of the three persons of the Trinity, we automatically encounter the other persons of the Trinity. To see one is to see the others because each one of them is in the other. It is a perfect unity. Those who believe in the Trinitarian God are challenged by the unity in the Godhead. It is a unity which truly accepts the other from the heart, a unity in which there is no envy, no discrimination on the basis of color or race. It is a unity in which the disadvantaged are not looked down upon. This means that, the worshipper of the Trinitarian God should always be striving towards perfect unity modeled in the example of the one whom they worship. Claiming to worship a Trinitarian God and at the same time seeing the other person as an eyesore is not worshipping a true God.
Prayer: God the creator of all things; Help all Christians to see the value of unity so that they may reveal your presence to other people.
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LIVING FRATERNITY: Jesus says, “Holy Spirit will take from what is mine, everything that the Father has is mine”. The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are present here. We see that Holy Spirit takes from the Son the same way he could take from the Father; and the Son takes from the Father the same way he could take from the Holy Spirit. There is a belonging to one another expressed here. There mutual confidence and respect among the three. It is a model for our own communities and families. Are we proud of belonging to our community? Do we feel part of it? Are we able to respect and take pride in one another? Division and dissension among us are counter witness. In the Holy Trinity, we should find the strength to overcome conflicts and challenges in our living together
DAILY GOSPEL 