MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER - Gospel (John 10:1-10) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.” (Jn 10:7-8)

FIRST READING - Acts 11:1-18

A reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles

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.”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - John 10:1-10

From the Gospel according to John

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 the shepherd 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,

the Pharisees 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.”

MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER - Gospel (John 10:1-10)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God for today is God the Father's invitation to all humanity to run to Jesus Christ because He is the Good Shepherd. Whoever comes to Him will receive His mercy, be saved, cared for, and protected by Him. Only He can bring eternal life to people. Therefore, whoever does not practice the teachings of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible and the Word of God, will not have eternal life.

Today’s Word of God presents Jesus Christ as the image of the Good Shepherd. He said that whoever does not come through Him will not have eternal life. As the Word foretold, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, salvation is brought to humanity. Apart from Him, no one can offer a perfect life. God the Father calls everyone to be awake and alert. Run to Jesus Christ, for He is the Good Shepherd who sacrificed His life to redeem humanity.

Today, God the Father also calls people to run to Jesus Christ so that He may bring them eternal happiness. It is the power and love of God the Father—and the power and love of Jesus Christ—that will flow into the body and soul of each person, especially when His life, death, and resurrection are revealed through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He sacrificed His life to bring eternal life to humanity; He is the Bread of Life and the food to nourish the soul and body of humanity. His words will bring life to the souls who know how to do the will of God the Father.

His words bring life to souls who live according to God the Father's will. His Body and Blood nourish those who wholeheartedly trust in Jesus Christ's call and believe in His death and resurrection.

Thanks be to God. Amen