2ND WEEK OF EASTER
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)
Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
1st Reading: Acts 5:17-26
The High Priest and all his supporters, that is, the party of the Sadducees, became very jealous of the apostles; so they arrested them and had them thrown into the public jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the door of the prison during the night, brought them out, and said to them, “Go and stand in the temple court and tell the people the whole of this living message.” Accordingly, they entered the temple at dawn and resumed their teaching.
When the High Priest and his supporters arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, that is the full Council of the elders of Israel. They sent word to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. But when the temple guards arrived at the jail, they did not find them inside; so they returned with the news, “We found the prison securely locked, and the prison guards at their post outside the gate; but when we opened the gate, we found no one inside.”
Upon hearing these words, the captain of the temple guard and the high priests were baffled, wondering where all of this would end. Just then, someone arrived with the report, “Look, those men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple, teaching the people.” Then the captain went off with the guards and brought them back, but without any show of force, for fear of being stoned by the people.
Gospel: Jn 3:16-21
Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
"This is how Judgment is made: Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For whoever does wrong hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God.
REFLECTION:
Genuine love is so powerful that it can move us to acts of selflessness and great sacrifice. And our God is not immune to this power of love. He so loved the world that He gave up what is most precious to Him, His only begotten Son so that the world will be saved. Through this divine sacrifice, the world was redeemed and transformed. This tells us that love is not just a feeling. It is followed up by actions that are by nature sacrificial. Because to love is to forget oneself and put the good of the beloved as your own good.
And so this sacrificial and salvific love of God demands a response. The gospel says that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. It is because Jesus is the incarnated love of the Father in our midst. And if we believe in Him, we believe in the sacrificing and salvific love of the Father. We become caught up in that love. We can go back to being “in the image and likeness of God” as before.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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