JUNIOR HIGHSCHOOL DEPARTMENT

APRIL 04, 2022

 Opening Prayer:
Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
 
Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
 
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
 
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
 
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
 
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
A reading from the gospel
according to John 8:12-20
 12 When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: I am
the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be
walking in the dark, but will have the light of life.
13 At this the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on
your own behalf; your testimony is not true.’ 14 Jesus
replied: Even though I am testifying on my own behalf, my
testimony is still true, because I know where I have come
from and where I am going; but you do not know where I
come from or where I am going.
 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one,
16 but if I judge, my judgment will be true, because I am not
alone: the one who sent me is with me;
17 and in your Law it is written that the testimony of two
witnesses is true. 18 I testify on my own behalf, but the Father
who sent me testifies on my behalf, too. 19 They asked him,
‘Where is your Father then?’ Jesus answered: You do not know me,
nor do you know my Father; if you did know me, you would know
my Father as well.
20 He spoke these words in the Treasury, while teaching in the
Temple. No one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Reflection:
Light and Darkness
 Reflection:
Jesus can testify on His own because He is the light. He is
the truth and definitely He does not need the testimony of
human beings. Moreover, it is God the Father Himself who
sent Him. Yet today, it is the mission of His followers to
testify that indeed He is the light. May our words and actions
be a living testimony to others and by doing so, we become
the light of the world. This can only happen when we abide
in Jesus, the one and only source of light.
 Reflection:
Without Jesus, we live in darkness which is characterized by
ignorance and sin. By rejecting Jesus, many people choose to live in
darkness. They reject the light because it will reveal their ignorance
and shame. On the other hand, accepting Jesus means choosing to be
enlightened and deciding to turn away from our sins in order to live a
new life. This is the offer of salvation. When we become a disciple of
Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we become heir of His Kingdom
where we shall live forever in peace and joy.
Reflection:
How can you be a light to others?
With all our heart and mind let us pray to the Lord. Let us lay
our requests before Him, saying “Lord, hear our prayer".
For the Church, that we may be attentive to God’s invitations
and allow Jesus to draw our attention away from our fear and
limits so that we can respond to all that God asks, we pray:

For the people of Ukraine who are suffering, and those in Russia
who feel disempowered and let down by the actions of their own
government. We pray with confidence, asking that you bring
about peace, a laying down of weapons and an end to all
violence and suffering, we pray:
For those who are alone and those who may be
surrounded by people, yet still feel lonely. We ask for
your loving presence to surround them, help them to
feel held, loved, seen, and valued, we pray:
 The Prayer of St. Gertrude
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most precious Blood of
Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said
throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in
purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the
universal church, those in my own home and within my
family. Amen