Gospel: April 11, 2024
(Thursday)
2nd Week of Easter
Psalter: Week 2 / (Red)
St. Stanislaus, bishop & martyr
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34: 2, 9, 17-18, 19-20
The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
1st Reading: Acts 5: 27-33
So they brought them in and made them stand before the Council; and the High Priest questioned them, “We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Savior; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching; and you intend charging us with the killing of this man.” To this, Peter and the apostles replied, “Better for us to obey God, rather than any human authority!
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a wooden post. God set him at his right hand, as Leader and Savior, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses to all these things, as well as the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When the Council heard this, they became very angry and wanted to kill them.
Gospel: John 3: 31-36
He who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and his words belong to the earth. He who comes from heaven speaks of the things he has seen and heard; he bears witness to these things, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does receive his testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of God.
The one sent by God speaks God’s words, and gives the Spirit unstintingly. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything into his hands. Whoever believes in the Son lives with eternal life; but he who will not believe in the Son will never know life, and always faces the justice of God.”
Reflection:“God as the Loving Father.”
To believe or not to believe—that is the question. John’s Gospel always highlights the challenge to believe in Jesus as the one sent by God. Moreover, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the Revealer. He reveals who the Father is. He speaks only of what he heard from the Father. Furthermore, believing in Jesus is tantamount to having eternal life. We may ask: Is there really life amidst the many problems we are now facing? Yes, there is. There is life for those who believe in Jesus. Thus, the grace of Easter enables us to focus our attention on Jesus. It is through Jesus that we can grow in our knowledge of God. Jesus revealed God as a loving Father. We often ignore this basic truth revealed by Jesus. If we would only focus our attention on Jesus who keeps on telling us that God is our loving Father, our lives will definitely be never the same again. Believing in Jesus, we would begin seeing each other as brothers and sisters under the one Fatherhood of an all-loving God. Pope Francis, in his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti challenges us to participate in the promotion of social love in our world today.
