Monday, April 20, 2026

† "...You Are Looking For Me. .."

†

Today’s Meditation

"I see my Jesus, exhausted and degraded in the dust, prostrate before the face of His heavenly Father. Looking upon His beloved Son, God perceived all the crimes of sacrilege, manslaughter, perjury, etc., and He saw the capital sins, the mortal sins, venial sins, the perfidy, and unfaithfulness of souls favored with the grace of being chosen by God. Consequently, our sweetest Lord endured a double martyrdom; one, of His entire being; the other, a martyrdom of love since He felt rejected by His Father." —Mother Raohael Lubowidzka of the sweetest Heart of Jesus, CSFN, p.
An excerpt from 100 Holy Hours for Women

Daily Verse

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few. -Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

EWTN Daily Saint

St Agnes Of Montepulciano

St. Agnes of Montepulciano (1268–1317) was born into a noble family in Tuscany. Her birth was announced with strange lights surrounding her dwelling, considered a sign that she was a favored child. At nine years of age she requested to enter the local Franciscan monastery in Montepulciano. Although doing so at her young age was against Church law, she obtained special permission from the pope. She became a model nun, reached a high degree of contemplative prayer, and executed her duties so well that she was chosen to help found and lead a new monastery in Proceno when she was just 15 years old, again with special permission at her young age. She lived there for 20 years and became known as a great mystic and visionary while cultivating a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She became locally famous for her miracles as well as for her austerities. She lived on bread and water, slept on the ground, and used a stone for a pillow. Eventually, Agnes returned to Montepulciano. By request she founded and led an even larger monastery, this time receiving a vision that it should be a convent of Dominican nuns dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Through her prayers she cured the sick, multiplied food, and raised to life a child who had drowned. Her feast day is April 20.

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Lectionary: 273

Reading 1

Acts 6:8-15

Stephen, filled with grace and power,

was working great wonders and signs among the people.

Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,

Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,

and people from Cilicia and Asia,

came forward and debated with Stephen,

but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Then they instigated some men to say,

"We have heard him speaking blasphemous words

against Moses and God."

They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,

accosted him, seized him,

and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

They presented false witnesses who testified,

"This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.

For we have heard him claim

that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place

and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him

and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30

R. (1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Though princes meet and talk against me,

your servant meditates on your statutes.

Yes, your decrees are my delight;

they are my counselors.

R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

I declared my ways, and you answered me;

teach me your statutes.

Make me understand the way of your precepts,

and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.

R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Remove from me the way of falsehood,

and favor me with your law.

The way of truth I have chosen;

I have set your ordinances before me.

R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Alleluia

Matthew 4:4b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

One does not live on bread alone

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

John 6:22-29

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]

The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea

saw that there had been only one boat there,

and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,

but only his disciples had left.

Other boats came from Tiberias

near the place where they had eaten the bread

when the Lord gave thanks.

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,

they themselves got into boats

and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

And when they found him across the sea they said to him,

"Rabbi, when did you get here?"

Jesus answered them and said,

"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me

not because you saw signs

but because you ate the loaves and were filled.

Do not work for food that perishes

but for the food that endures for eternal life,

which the Son of Man will give you.

For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."

So they said to him,

"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

Jesus answered and said to them,

"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!

From Word Among Us WAU.org

Daily Meditation: John 6:22-29

This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent. (John 6:29)

The people in the crowd wanted to know what they could do “to accomplish the works of God” (John 6:28). Perhaps they were thinking that Jesus would give them something tangible to do—like certain pious or charitable acts. But Jesus was telling them that the work of God is not some action that we must perform; it is what God does in us. He stirs in us the faith to believe in the One he sent to save us from sin and death.

So how do we respond to this “work” of God? First and foremost, we turn to the Lord in prayer. All relationships require time, effort, and attention, and if that’s the case for our relationships with other people, it’s even more true with God. Our belief in the Lord grows and deepens as we sit at the feet of Jesus each day and listen for his voice speaking to us. At the same time, our hearts become more and more attentive to him and willing to follow his commands.

God also works in us through his presence in the sacraments. Notice that a few verses later in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, Jesus calls himself “the bread of life” (6:35). Jesus gives himself to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist at every Mass. In those moments after we receive him, we believe that he is with us in the most intimate way. We can pour out our love for him as well as the burdens we carry and know that he hears us and wants to help us. In the confessional, the “work” of salvation continues as we hear him absolving us of our sins through the words of the priest.

Another work God does in us is to open our eyes to the needs of our neighbors. When we are able to see Jesus in the faces of those who are poor or suffering, we want to console and care for them or just be available to listen and encourage them.

God is always working in you! Today in prayer, thank him for the gift of your faith. Ask him to help you believe in him ever more deeply each day. Be sure to ask him for the grace to respond to his work in you with all your heart. Then believe that he will do it!

“Jesus, I believe in you! Thank you for the work you are always doing in me to strengthen my faith.”

Acts 6:8-15

Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30

Reflections with Brother Adrian:

Audio of 2 Cents

From today's Holy Gospel:

".. Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

..."

From Bishop Barron:
"When they ask Jesus how he got there ahead of them, the Lord chides them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.”

Ordinary bread satisfies only physical longing, and it does so in a transient way: One eats and one must eat soon again. But the heavenly bread, Jesus implies, satisfies the deepest longing of the heart, and does so by adapting the one who eats it to eternal life. The Church Fathers loved to ruminate on this theme of divinization through the Eucharist, the process by which the consumption of the bread of life readies one for life in the eternal dimension." end quote.

From Roberto Juarez: "Let us ask today that the Lord will purify our motivations, teach us to truly seek Him, and strengthen our faith. So that our life does not remain in the temporary... but that he leans firmly on Jesus of Nazareth, the only one who can give us the food that endures for eternal life." end quote.

Our Lord reminds us that we are not to be working for food that perishes. But we got to eat! Right?

Its like when He says to love Him even more than your family! Amen?
Our Lord's message then is: "Believe in Me".
Believe in the one who sent Him.

Believe the works...of the Father.
Believe in the works of...Our Father, who is in Heaven.
The people were doing something right though...when they were seeking the miracle bread...and found our Lord Jesus in the Temple.

They were doing what is said in the scripture:

▪	Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart" (NIV).

▪	Isaiah 55:6: "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near" (NIV).

▪	1 Chronicles 16:11: "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always" (NIV).

▪	Matthew 6:33: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (ESV).

▪	Psalm 27:8: "My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek" (NIV).

▪	Hebrews 11:6: States that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

How to Seek the Lord (Biblical Perspectives)

▪	With All Your Heart: Seeking with sincerity and integrity, not just emotion (Jeremiah 29:13).

▪	Through Prayer and Worship: Calling upon Him (Psalm 22:22).

▪	Through Obedience: Following His commands and Word (Psalm 119:10-11).

▪	Through Repentance: Turning from wicked ways (Isaiah 55:7).

▪	Through Humility: Acting justly and living humbly (Zephaniah 2:3).

Promises to Those Who Seek

▪	Finding God: God guarantees that He will be found when sought sincerely (Deuteronomy 4:29).

▪	Protection and Help: The Lord does not abandon those who look for Him (Psalm 9:10).

▪	Strength and Life: Seeking God brings spiritual strength and life (Psalm 105:4, Amos 5:4)

Our Lord cannot hide from you.

It is us that try to hide from Him.

Lord, You see all and know all.
How can I hide from Your love? How can I hide my face that You long to see?

How can I not live in the footsteps of Our Father!
Jesus...SHOW US THE WAY!

Click for Audio

Random Bible Verse 1
Philippians 4:12

"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need."

Word of the Lord!

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God Bless You! Peace

Going4th

For questions or comments contact Adrian@going4th.com. For more go to www.Going4th.com

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