The Word today, Easter5B
- Admin
- Apr 27, 2024
- 2 min read
April 29 - May 04, 2024
St Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor
1 John 1:5-2:2 The first letter of John manages to be both inspirational and realistic. We need to keep an eye on both, stay on the path of conversion of heart.
Matthew 11:25-30 This passage contains a great truth: the Gospel is for all and not for some élite group. We can all come to Jesus when we are burdened.
St Pius V, bishop of Rome
Acts 14:19-28 In our attempts at evangelisation today, we can still learn from the example of the first preachers: they took risked, were full of zeal and they knew God was with them all along.
John 14:27-31 Peace—the great gift of the risen Lord —means much more in the Bible than usual and especially here in John. It includes life in abundance, on account of the resurrection and even freedom from death and the fear of death.
St Joseph the Worker
Acts 15:1-6 Early Christians had to make up their minds whether or not to impose the full Jewish Law on new believers. It was not easy, as we see from today’s reading which features supporters on each side.
John 15:1-8 In the Fourth Gospel, there are seven I Am sentences, all echoing the name of God as I am who I am. In the same way, the image of the vine for the people of God is rooted in the Old Testament, as well as in the parable of Jesus. We the branches lives because of him.
St Athanasius, bishop
Act 15:7-21 Our reading takes us to a very important moment in the early church. The issue was how much of the divinely ordained ritual practices of Judaism should be retained. None, really, but a compromise was reached about the consumption of blood, for the sake of communion between Jews and Gentiles.
John 15:9-11 The simply word “remain” is important in the Fourth Gospel: it means to live in, to be part of of, to draw life from. It is not only love but joy which will be completed in us.
St Philip and James, apostles
1 Cor 15:1-8 The apostolic proclamation takes us back to the original experiences of those who encountered the risen Lord. It is not enough, of course, to depend on the past: we have to recognise our own moments of encounter.
John 14:6-14 In our Gospel today, Philips seems to blurt out something inappropriate. However, it leads to deep teaching.
St Conleth, bishop
Acts 16:1-10 Today’s reading is odd and inspiring. It is odd that Paul had someone circumcised, because he was so against it. It is inspiring that the same Paul dreams about the Macedonian Greeks who want him to preach among them. It would remind us of St Patrick and his dream about the Irish calling him.
John 15:18-21 It cannot be that our destiny should be different to that of Jesus. He too did not belong “this world” and he too was hated. It is to be expected that being a believer will incite others against us—a mark that we are on the path of true discipleship.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024al, April 28). Fifth Sunday of Easter. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042824.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/
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