"Peace, I leave you, my peace I give you,"

Jesus spoke these words to comfort his disciples who were troubled by his impending death.

This world is passing, but we have a home with God forever.

  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Acts 14:19-28

Then some Jews

Arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the people against them.

They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, leaving him for dead.

But, when his disciples gathered around him, he stood up and returned to the town.

And the next day, he left for Derbe with Barnabas.

 

After proclaiming the gospel in that town and making many disciples,

they returned to Lystra and Iconium, and on to Antioch.

They were strengthening the disciples, and encouraging them to remain firm in the faith;

for they said, "We must go through many trials to enter the kingdom of God."

In each church they appointed elders and, after praying and fasting,

they commended them to the Lord, in whom they had placed their faith.

 

Then they traveled through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia.

They preached the word in Perga and went down to Attalia. From there,

they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to God's grace,

for the task they had now completed. On their arrival, they gathered the Church together,

and told them all that God had done through them,and how he had opened the door of faith

to the non-Jews. They spent a fairly long time there with the disciples.

 

 Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21

 Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

John 14:27-31a

Peace be with you! My peace I give to you; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you.

Do not be troubled! Do not be afraid! You heard me say, 'I am going away,

but I am coming to you. If you loved me, you would be glad that I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

 

I have told you this now before it takes place, so that when it does happen you may believe.

There is very little left for me to tell you,

for the prince of this world is at hand, although there is nothing in me that he can claim.

But see, the world must know that I love the Father,

and that I do what the Father has taught me to do. Come now, let us go.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

Jesus' promise of comfort for those who believe.

In the Eucharistic liturgy, during the Rite of Peace, the presiding priest says,

"Peace, I leave you, my peace I give you,"

echoing the words Jesus spoke to his disciples during His post-resurrection appearances.

 

Today, the Gospel passage reminded us of Jesus' promise of comfort for those who believe.

But what does peace indeed comprise? Is it merely the absence of chaos?

The disciples understood that even after Jesus was resurrected, the Jewish society and religious structure remained unchanged.

It took centuries for the Christian movement to spread beyond Jerusalem.

 

Peace is a gift from God. We are its recipients and also its agents.

As we accept Christ's peace, we are also responsible for promoting it whenever the opportunity arises.

Peace is an ongoing process, and we are called to contribute to it in our own lives.