Readings: 4th Sunday of Easter

First Reading

 

First Reading Introduction: Saved in the Name of the Risen Jesus
           Peter professes without fear his faith in the risen Christ, in whose name he has saved a crippled man from his disability. It is the name by which we are all saved.

First Reading: Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke up, "Leaders of the people! Elders! It is a fact that we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple. How was he healed? You and all the people of Israel must know that this man stands before you cured through the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean. You had him crucified, but God raised him from the dead. Jesus is the stone rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other Name given to humankind all over the world by which we may be saved."

Responsorial Psalm

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Second Reading

 

Second Reading Introduction: Really Children of God
            
That we are God's children is not just a beautiful thought but the deepest reality, because we are united with Jesus, God's beloved Son. Only when we shall see God will we be capable of understanding this.

Second Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-2

See what singular love the Father has for us: we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him.

Beloved, we are God's children and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet when he appears in his glory, we know that we shall be like him, for then we shall see him as he is.

Holy Gospel

 

Gospel Introduction: Jesus, Our Good Shepherd 
        The image of a Shepherd and his sheep is not familiar to all of us, but we can understand this: Jesus has given his life for us; as our risen Lord he leads and unites us, not by force but by a personal knowledge of and love for each of us.

Gospel Reading: Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Not so the hired hand or any other person who is not the shepherd and to whom the sheep do not belong. They abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf coming; then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. This is because the hired hand works for pay and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father. Because of this I give my life for my sheep.
"I have other sheep that are not of this fold. These I have to lead as well, and they shall listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock since there is one Shepherd.

"The Father loves me because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down freely. It is mine to lay down and to take up again: this mission I received from my Father."