DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
MAY 1, 2025
THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER)
FIRST READING
ACTS 5:27-33 OR (GENESIS 1:26--2:3 / COLOSSIANS 3:14-15, 17, 23-24)
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." 33 When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 33(34):2, 9, 17-20 OR (PSALMS 90:2-4, 12-14, 16)
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.
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.
The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous;
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Or
R. Alleluia.
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GOSPEL
He who believes in the Son has eternal life
JOHN 3:31-36 OR (MATTHEW 13:54-58)
31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; 33 he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; 35 the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Always bless the Lord! by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"When are you to 'bless the Lord?' When he showers blessings on you? When earthly goods are plentiful? When you have a plethora of grain, oil, wine, gold, silver... while your mortal body remains healthy, uninjured and free from disease; while everything that is born on your estate is growing well, and nothing is snatched away by untimely death; while every kind of happiness floods your home and you have all you want in profusion? Is it only then that you are to bless the Lord? No, but 'at all times.' So you are to bless him equally when from time to time, or because the Lord God wishes to discipline you, these good things let you down or are taken from you, when there are fewer births or the already-born slip away. These things happen, and their consequence is poverty, need, hardship, disappointment and temptation. But you sang, 'I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be in my mouth always,' so when the Lord gives you these good things, bless him, and when he takes them away, bless him. He it is who gives, and he it is who takes away, but he does not take himself away from anyone who blesses him.
(excerpt from EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 34.3)
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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.