This Sunday’s Gospel Reading is set at the Last Supper. Yet Jesus speaks in veiled terms about His Ascension to the Father, which of course took place less than seven weeks after the Last Supper. In Sunday’s Gospel Reading, we hear Jesus proclaim: “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father”. But how could we expect the apostles to rejoice over Jesus leaving them?
In statements to a journalist from the Fides news agency, Father Stephen Alathara, Deputy Secretary General of the Latin Rite Bishops’ Conference of India and Founding Director of “Communio” – an initiative of the Latin Episcopate of India (CCBI) to support dioceses and religious congregations in rural areas – recalls the pastoral activity of Father Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, in India. As Superior General of the Augustinian Fathers, that North American cleric visited the gigantic Asian nation on two occasions, where he is still remembered today as “a simple man” who knew how to adapt to the local context “with an attitude of listening and dialogue”, without ever neglecting “his spirituality rooted in an intense life of prayer”.
Today, as we reflect on John 13:31-35, we are invited into the mystery of Jesus’ glorification—not through power, wealth, or worldly success, but through humility, sacrifice, and love. In a world where many leaders choose destruction and war, Jesus offers a radically different path. He does not seek to annihilate his enemies. Instead, he builds bridges. As Pope Leo XIV reminded us in his first speech, we must pursue a peace that is both disarmed and disarming—a peace that does not merely silence conflicts for a time but heals wounds, reconciles divisions, and prevents future hatred.
Brought to the Vatican in 2023 by Pope Francis as head of the office that vets bishop nominations, Robert Prevost was entrusted with the chair of Saint Peter. The first American pope succeeds Francis, preaching peace while confronting political and social divides and urgent global crises. Seen as a firm supporter of his predecessor’s papacy – especially of the late pontiff’s commitment to social justice issues – Pope Leo XIV is likely to carry forward the legacy of Pope Francis, while forging his own path. The Argentinian pontiff, Peter C. Phan claims, leaves behind a transformative inheritance of compassion, reform and inclusivity. Born in Vietnam, Phan has lived in the United States since 1975, when his family arrived in Texas as refugees from the Vietnam War. A professor at Georgetown University and former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the theologian recalls, in an exclusive interview with “O Clarim”, some of the most defining aspects of Pope Francis’s papacy and how they can shape Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.
Local Catholics gathered at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady on Tuesday evening for a Mass with the special intention to pray for the conclave. Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang emphasized the importance of asking God to enlighten the minds of the Cardinal electors and help them agree on a Pope that may answer the needs of our time. In His Divine Providence, God has bestowed on us Pope Leo XIV as the new shepherd of His Church.
On the fourth Sunday of Easter, this year falling on May 11, the Church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In many dioceses, Good Shepherd Sunday is an opportunity to pray for vocations, to encourage those who might be considering ordained or religious life, for each of us to ask ourselves whether the Lord might be calling us to do some definite service for him, but above all to thank those who have been faithful shepherds of the church. Thus, the Catholic Diocese of Macau celebrated this meaningful day with heartfelt day of gratitude for priests and religious who have reached milestones of their life of service and ministry in the church.
The final journey of Rev. Fr. Jose Fu Chun , whose death, left the Catholic Diocese of Macau in deep sorrow, was a moment of prayer and gratitude for a life dedicated to faith and service. He is remembered as one with many gifts for ministry, and a beloved priest known for his deep faith and intense desire to bring people to Christ. The beloved priest was to rest on Saturday, at St. Michael’s Cemetery, following a funeral Mass at the St. Church of São Lazaro , presided by Bishop Stephen Lee.
The Gospel of this 4th Sunday of Easter presents to us the Good Shepherd. Some people might think that this Gospel message is addressed only to priests. It would be like saying that they are shepherds and the people are their sheep. While this is true, we are all called to become pastors and shepherds. The ideal of life is not to remain like “sheep”, but to become good shepherds, according to the Heart of Jesus. Regardless of our vocation, God gives us responsibilities, and we will all have our own flock to take care of, whether in the family, at work or in society. If we reflect on chapter 10 of the Gospel of St. John, we can see that for someone to be a good shepherd, or true leader according to the evangelical model, five conditions are evident in the example of Jesus:
Habemus Papam! We have a new Pope! What great news! This past week, we mourned as God called Pope Francis back to heaven, but now God has sent us another new Pope! He is the first Pope from the United States and the first Augustinian Pope. This joy is not merely of the heart or of having a new Pope within the structure of the Church; rather, it is a spiritual, even theological, joy. Every Pope is Christ’s vicar on earth—the Father of the Catholic Church, the Father of fathers, and the Servant of all servants.
One year after the installation of the Presidential Transitional Council (CTP), Father Marc-Henry Siméon, spokesperson for the Haitian Episcopal Conference, makes a rather somber assessment of the ‘achievements’ of this body, which was supposed to free the country from the insecurity caused by the criminal gangs that have plagued the country for decades. “The state is progressively collapsing, leaving the door open to armed gangs that are expanding their area of control, especially in the capital,” he says.