MONDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me. JN 10:14

ACTS 11:1-18

My Soul's Beloved,

Peter exclaimed, 'Who am I to stand in God's way?' Yet we have no compunction in doing so. We criticize everyone freely, whether or not we know what we are talking about. We are narrow-minded, we demand exclusivity, we build walls instead of bridges, we are suspicious of those who speak differently, look different, have a different culture, or eat foods we would not touch. We desire to limit Your power and Your goodness and generosity. We are in a hurry to pass judgment and create barriers instead of seeing everyone as our brothers and sisters and sharing with them the gift of the Gospel, of faith, and salvation.

Peter saw the same vision three times and was commanded not to declare unclean and unacceptable what God Himself had declared clean. In the Kingdom of God, all are welcome regardless of their past, present, or where they come from. The message of the Gospel must be preached to all peoples to the ends of the earth.

Some nations have laws that forbid evangelizing. They reject the Good News that saves. They do so because they are ignorant. In places like these, Lord, we are to be a living Gospel and by our lives they must come to know You, love You, believe in You, embrace You, and be saved.

The apostles and the brothers in Judaea heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and when Peter came up to Jerusalem the Jews criticised him and said, ‘So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?’ Peter in reply gave them the details point by point: ‘One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,’ he began, ‘I fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of something like a big sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This sheet reached the ground quite close to me. I watched it intently and saw all sorts of animals and wild beasts – everything possible that could walk, crawl or fly. Then I heard a voice that said to me, “Now, Peter; kill and eat!” But I answered: Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane or unclean has ever crossed my lips. And a second time the voice spoke from heaven, “What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane.” This was repeated three times, before the whole of it was drawn up to heaven again.

‘I had scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same way as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said, “John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” I realised then that God was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God’s way?’
This account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. ‘God,’ they said, ‘can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.’

PSALM 41(42):2-3,42:3-4

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?

O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

JOHN 10:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

There is only one Way to enter the Kingdom of God, and that is through You and through the Church You established. Many do not understand or find it difficult to comprehend Your Word spoken most clearly, ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’

The Devil a liar and a deceiver from the beginning, has thrown a veil of dust over the eyes of so many well-intentioned Christians who genuinely believe they are in good standing with God even when they pick, choose, and interpret Sacred Scripture according to their human thinking. You established one Church. You gave to Peter the key to this Church. He is the rock on which the Church is established, and he and the apostles were entrusted with preaching, teaching, and handing down all that You said and did. As St. John the Apostle testifies, not everything You said and did is recorded, but much of it is handed down, and the Church keeps faithfully in her treasury of faith all that You said and did. This is the Sacred Deposit of our faith, both Oral Apostolic Tradition as received from You, as well as the Gospels.

Some day, Lord, there will be only one flock. You prayed for unity, and the Father has heard and answered Your prayer. We pray with You, Lord, for unity, and we wait with expectation for the day to arrive when we will all be one as You and Your Father are one.

Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.
So Jesus spoke to them again:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All others who have come
are thieves and brigands;
but the sheep took no notice of them.
I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be safe:
he will go freely in and out
and be sure of finding pasture.
The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have life and have it to the full.’