Monday April 22, 2024
Office: Psalter Week 4
Mass of the day; Preface of Easter
Vestment: White
Today’s Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries
Click HERE for the Previous Catholic Daily Reading
ABUJA: Tomorrow is the 29th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Most Revd I. A Kaigama, 23rd April 1995
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Rom 6:9
Christ, having risen from the dead, dies now no more; death will no longer have dominion over him, alleluia.
COLLECT
O God, perfect light of the blessed, by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth, bring us, we pray, to rejoice in the full measure of your grace for ages unending. Through our Lord…
FIRST READING
“Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life.”
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 11: 1-18)
In those days: The apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” But Peter began and explained to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, something descending, like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came down to me. Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ “But I said, ‘No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth. ’ “But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ “This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. At that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brethren also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household. ’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit. ’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life.”
The word of the Lord.
Also Read: Daily Reading for Sunday, April 21th, 2024
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 42:2-3; 43 :3.4 (R. see 42:3ab)
R/. My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.
or: Alleluia.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the living God;
when can I enter and appear before the face of God? R/.
O send forth your light and your truth;
they will guide me on.
They will bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell. R/.
And I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and gladness.
To you will I give thanks on the harp,
O God, my God. R/.
ALLELUIA John 10: 14
Alleluia. I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own, and my own know me. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“I am the door of the sheep.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (John 10:1-10)
At that time: Jesus said, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figures Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
The Spirit continues to move Jesus’ Jewish disciples to open up and without discrimination embrace Gentiles as substantial members of God’s family. In the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, God officially uses Peter, leader of the Church, to accomplish this. The Jerusalem brethren are annoyed not because Peter baptized the Gentiles, but because He ate with them. Eating with anybody indicated oneness and intimate relationship. While we all claim one Father and partake of the one body and blood of Christ, we need to watch out and not discriminate against people for diverse reasons. Such contradictory actions prevent us from entering by the door, which is Christ.
BLESSING FOR THE NEW WEEK
Thank you Lord for this new day and this new week. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for your mercy and love. Accompany us in all that we shall do and may your grace help us to do the right thing at all times so that we will please you and be blessed by you.
May your truth be on our lips always and may we be willing and ready to accept the truth so that we will be healed.
I pray that God will shower his blessings upon you in a special way so that this new week shall bring joy, progress, increase in faith and prosperity to you and upon your household.
Be truthful in your dealings and you will be blessed
Meditation: Luke 4:16-30
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. – Revelation 3:20
– Father grant me a glimpse of your glory in the name of Jesus.
– Pray for the grace to be attentive to the voice of the spirit.
– Pray for revival of the authentic gifts of vision and revelation among believers
Let Us Pray,
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have you present so that I do not forget you, you know how easily I abandon you.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need you strength, that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for you are my life, and without you, I am without fervor.
Stay with me, Lord, for you are my light, and without you, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me your will.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love you very much, and always be in your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if you wish me to be faithful to you.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for you, a nest of love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need you. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need you, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers. I need you. Let me recognize you as your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to you, if not by communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of your presence, oh yes, I ask this of you! Stay with me, Lord, for it is you alone I look for, your love, your Grace, your Will, your Heart, your Spirit, because I love you and ask no other reward but to lobe you more and more. With a firm love, I will love you with all my heart while on earth and continue to love you perfectly during all eternity. Amen.
