Accountability and Support
“Iron is sharpened by iron; one person sharpens another.”
– Proverbs 27:17
Monthly Focus on Study
What have I studied during the past 30 days to help me better understand the gifts of God?
M1. Bible Reading
M2. Books of Formation
M3. Periodicals
M4. Other
Discussion Questions for May 18, 2025 (C) 5th Easter Sunday
First Reading
Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
First Reading Discussion Questions
F1. Paul and Barnabas traveled around the country spreading the good news. According to them, who was responsible for accepting the Gentiles? Who is in charge of your ministry? How deep is your belief about that?
F2. Acts refers to its author “undergoing some hardships.” Could these be connected to the “new commandment” about love that Jesus gives in Sunday’s Gospel? And what about you? Have you discovered hardships in your life connected to loving your neighbor?
Second Reading
Revelations 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Second Reading Discussion Questions
S1. What is the connection between the holy city in the reading and God’s dwelling with the human race?
S2. God and human persons dwell together. Where is this visible? Is it in the Lord’s legacy of selfless love? “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Can you think of times God has wiped away your tears? How can God wipe others’ tears away through you?
Gospel
John 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
Gospel Discussion Questions
G1. Did Jesus give us edicts, rubrics and canons? What one rule did he give us over and over? What teaching of the Church do you think will bring all people to Christ? Do you recognize saintly people by how hard they work and the money and time they give––or by how much they love others? Or both? Does God love the world through us if we let it happen?
G2. “As I have loved you, so should you love one another.” According to Pope Francis, do our Christian lives begin with doctrine and good works or with the realization that God loves us? How does this realization help us love each other?
Brothers and sisters, may this message be the core of our own faith and all the ways in which we express it: “… not that we loved God but that he loved us” (1 Jn 4:10). Let us never forget this. Our abilities and our merits are not the central thing, but rather the unconditional, free and unmerited love of God. Our Christian lives begin not with doctrine and good works, but with the amazement born of realizing that we are loved, prior to any response on our part.
While the world frequently tries to convince us that we are valued only for what we can produce, the Gospel reminds us of the real truth of life: we are loved. A contemporary spiritual writer put it this way: “Long before any human being saw us, we were seen by God’s loving eyes. Long before anyone heard us cry or laugh, we were heard by our God, who is all ears for us. Long before any person spoke to us in this world, we were spoken to by the voice of eternal love” (H Nouwen, Life of the Beloved). He loved us first; he waits for us; he keeps loving us. This is our identity: we are God’s loved ones. This is our strength: we are loved by God.
Pope Francis: This is our identity: we are God's loved ones
May 15, 2022
**From Anne Osdieck & USCCB
Suggested Strategies for Managing the Clock
For those with smaller groups or those who have the luxury of enough allotted time, it is suggested that the group cover each question from the monthly focus through the Gospel discussion questions
For those with larger groups or don't have the luxury of operating on God's Time, it is suggested that the group cover the monthly focus question and then feel free to skip around and attempt to answer only a few questions - whether that’s just the gospel, or the second reading and gospel, etc.