Daily Readings for April 29, 2018

Fifth Sunday of Easter

1st READING

What would the ministry in the Early Church have been like? Paul seems to have been impetuous and the other disciples had to tell him to be a little more circumspect about the way he preached the Gospel. Let us be mindful about how we share the Good News. May we be effective in sharing this with others.

Acts 9:26-31

26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus. 31 The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

P S A L M 

Psalm 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32

R: I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

25 [26] I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the Lord. 26 [27] The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the Lord shall praise him: “May your hearts live forever!” (R) 27 [28] All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of the nations shall bow down before him. (R) 29 [30] To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth; before him shall bend all who go down into the dust. (R) 30 [31] And to him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve him. Let the coming generation be told of the Lord 31 [32] that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has shown. (R)

2ND READING  

One of the primary dynamics of discipleship is the movement from word and thought to deed and action. Simply put, a disciple goes out there and does what needs to be done. The Gospel has to be shared. We are the means by which the Good News will be shared — through the witness of our lives and the words we proclaim.

1 John 3:18-24

18 Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.19 Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him 20 in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God 22 and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And his commandment is this: We should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. 24 Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.

GOSPEL

Jesus uses the image of a gardener to explain the way that God the Father cares for us. He prunes away the sins — the dead wood in our lives — as He shapes and forms us in His image and likeness. God wants us to bear fruit for His Kingdom. It can be difficult to accept our need for formation. Let us pray for the humility to welcome God’s pruning and His loving care.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Remain in me as I remain in you, says the Lord. Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.

John 15:1-8

1 Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. 2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. 3 You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. 4 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”