DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
APRIL 30, 2025
WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT PIUS V, POPE, RELIGIOUS)
FIRST READING
ACTS 5:17-26 OR (1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5)
17 But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is, the party of the Sad'ducees, and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison. 19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, 20 "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and taught. Now the high priest came and those who were with him and called together the council and all the senate of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported, 23 "We found the prison securely locked and the sentries standing at the doors, but when we opened it we found no one inside." 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were much perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And some one came and told them, "The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people." 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 33(34):2-9 OR (PSALMS 110:1-4)
Response: The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the LORD, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the LORD is good!
Happy is the man who takes refuge in him!
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
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GOSPEL
God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son
JOHN 3:16-21 OR (JOHN 21:15-17)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
A DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The Intensity of God's Love and Our Response, by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.
"The text, 'God so loved the world,' shows such an intensity of love. For great indeed and infinite is the distance between the two. The immortal, the infinite majesty without beginning or end loved those who were but dust and ashes, who were loaded with ten thousand sins but remained ungrateful even as they constantly offended him. This is who he 'loved.' For God did not give a servant, or an angel or even an archangel 'but his only begotten Son.' And yet no one would show such anxiety even for his own child as God did for his ungrateful servants..."
"He laid down his life for us and poured forth his precious blood for our sake - even though there is nothing good in us - while we do not even pour out our money for our own sake and neglect him who died for us when he is naked and a stranger... We put gold necklaces on ourselves and even on our pets but neglect our Lord who goes about naked and passes from door to door... He gladly goes hungry so that you may be fed; naked so that he may provide you with the materials for a garment of incorruption, yet we will not even give up any of our own food or clothing for him... These things I say continually, and I will not cease to say them, not so much because I care for the poor but because I care for your souls."
(HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.2-3)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.