† Quote of the Day "Know that the greatest service that man can offer to God is to help convert souls." — St. Rose of Lima Today's Meditation "There is another reason also why the soul has traveled safely in this obscurity; it has suffered: for the way of suffering is safer, and also more profitable, than that of rejoicing and of action. In suffering God gives strength, but in action and in joy the soul does but show its own weakness and imperfections. And in suffering, the soul practices and acquires virtue, and becomes pure, wiser, and more cautious." —St. John of the Cross, p. 149 An excerpt from Dark Night of the Soul Daily Verse "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." — Matthew 10:32-33 | Pope St. Soter Pope St. Soter (c. 174-175 A.D.) was born in Fondi, Italy. Nothing is known of his early life. He served as the 12th bishop of Rome from c.167 to 175 A.D. He was praised for his fatherly tenderness in comforting, both with words and generous alms, those who suffered for their Catholic faith, especially remote Christian churches living in poverty. He is said to have written an encyclical against Montanism – a heresy which maintained that a Christian who sinned gravely could never be redeemed. Pope St. Soter also declared that marriage was only a valid sacrament when blessed by a priest. The manner of Pope St. Soter's death is uncertain; one tradition holds that he was martyred on April 22, 175 A.D., under the Christian persecution of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was buried in Rome on the Appian Way in the catacombs of St. Callixtus. His feast day is April 22nd. | Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18 The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
'You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them."
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
"I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.'
But I said, 'Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.'
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man's house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.'
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
'John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?"
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
"God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too." Responsorial Psalm Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4 R. (see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 10:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 10:1-10 Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
| Daily Meditation: Acts 11:1-18 What God has made clean, you are not to call profane. (Acts 11:9) In today's first reading, Peter explains a vision that at first confused him—God seemed to be telling him to eat unclean foods. But Peter tells James and the other leaders of the Church that he now understands that his vision was about much more than food. God knew the challenges that lay ahead as Gentiles became believers. So he gave Peter a vision that was meant to soften his heart toward the Roman soldier Cornelius and open his eyes to the work of the Spirit among the Gentiles. It was Cornelius and his family that God wanted Peter to see as no longer "profane." He wanted him to call them brothers and sisters who also had a place in the kingdom (Acts 10:15, 22-49). And because Peter obeyed, the whole Church was transformed: Jews and Gentiles came together to live as the redeemed family of God. God used Peter's vision to help believers recognize their imperfect mindsets and bring them into alignment with his way of thinking. This vision also gave them a new way of relating to the world and a new way to speak about each other. Just as he did with Peter, God wants to help us recognize where our mindsets and our words are inconsistent with his intentions. He has "made clean" everyone who belongs to Jesus. Even if we don't get along well with some believers, we should remember that they, like us, have been made new. They, too, are heirs of salvation and our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord longs to see our thoughts and our speech reflect the expansive love in his heart. Our words have power! "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). We have a tremendous responsibility: with our words we can either build up or tear down. Every day offers us opportunities to respond to this choice. How will you think and speak about God's children today? Can you use your words to encourage, to build up, to declare what God thinks about them? Ask the Spirit to help you think as he does about your fellow believers. As your mind is renewed, you will find it easier to speak words of love, speech that creates spaces of love, unity, and healing. "Lord, purify my heart and help my words to build up your people!" Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
John 10:1-10 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel again presents the image of Jesus as the shepherd who guides his sheep.
How wonderful and strange that Christianity is not a set of ideas. It's not a philosophy or an ideology. It's a relationship with someone who has a voice. The first disciples were privileged to hear the voice of the historical Jesus. They heard its very particular tone and texture.
But we hear his voice, too, in our own way, especially when we hear the Scriptures proclaimed at Mass. Mind you, we don't just read the Bible; we hear the Bible. We can also hear the voice of Jesus through the teachings of the bishops and the popes. We can also hear the voice of Jesus in our conscience, which John Henry Newman called "the aboriginal Vicar of Christ in the soul." We can hear the voice of Jesus in good spiritual friends as well, in those people who comfort us and challenge us and keep calling us to higher ideals and encourage us when we fall.
We listen to the voice of Jesus because he is leading us to a renewed and transformed life with God.
..." end quote.
From A Spanish reflection ending today with the following short prayer:
"Come, Lord, open our sealed doors,
make our certainties explode into the air
and denounce our habits.
Penetrate us with the breath of your Spirit:
I know the gap that allows us
get out of our quagmires,
the door that opens on freedom and life."
Our Lord said: "I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture." It is through our Lord Jesus that we will find everything that we've ever wanted.
It is through Him that we are saved, from eternal death. From the wrath of the world, and from our very selves that allows most of this to transpire! In other words, we need Him more than anything! Amen?
Anything and everything that has come before Him or that we allow to come before Him today is an attempt to steal, to snatch you away, so that you and everyone can be destroyed.
But we heard our Lord say "I AM the good shepherd" and today we heard Him say "I AM the gate!" Therefore, He is everything! Amen?
But wait a minute.
Is He really everything to you?
Because in our world, I sense that we make Him out to be something, like a teacher, or the go to person when we need something. HE is all of that, but that is not everything!
What about making Him the center and foremost love of your life by which your world revolves around? Does your day revolve around Him or something else that snatches away your time, talents, and treasures?
What does your world revolve around?
Work? Family? Yourself?
Yesterday I saw someone wearing a shirt that proclaims "self love". But our Lord comes to proclaim selfless love.
He wants to be the selfless love for the world, less of self and more of Him. Not a world focused on oneself, but in Him! Of course you got to care for yourself but that's not all! People say everything starts within oneself, but this is not all the truth. I have people around me that are addicted and just cannot get out of it. And this is a great comparison to sin. We just can't get out of it alone, can we? No we cannot. We were designed to need. And so, we need everything.... we need God. We need to depend on Him even on the next breath we are to take, the next step, the next decision, the next encounter we have...it should all revolve around Him. And this multiplied to the millions to the billions of instances becomes tremendous in the world, where our God wants to be, in all of our souls, for the good of the world. Lord, let Your love and Your light shine in me and through me, that we might illuminate the world and bring about Your holy will. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Corinthians 4:16 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self1 is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
