Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18
The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.”
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’
But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man’s house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.’
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
‘John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?”
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
“God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3, 4
R. (see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia John 10:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel John 10:11-18
Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why 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 on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
April 27, 2026 // Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Psalm: Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3, 4
Reflect on the Word //
“You should drink eight cups of water a day,” goes the well-known adage you hear often in our culture, especially if you spend time with mothers, athletes, or anyone working in healthcare.
Consistent water intake is important for our physical health, and as a marathon runner trying to take good care of my body, I find myself making checklists, buying new water bottles often, and using a water counter phone app. I’ve found every trick in the book to get those sixty-four ounces of water in a day; yet at the same time, I know my living water count is not being taken as seriously.
In today’s Psalm, the author reminds us that we all thirst for the Lord. He shares, “As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you. Athirst is my soul for the living God” (Psalm 42:2-3). Just as Jesus refers to the living water He offers the Samaritan woman in John 4, the Psalmist here depicts how vital the Lord’s living water is for the soul—in the same way all living creatures need regular water.
The Psalm continues, “Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on” (Psalm 42:3). In faithfulness and the light of Christ, we should pursue the Lord and His living waters. As our souls thirst for and need Him to survive, we in turn must quench this need as thoroughly and persistently as I do with my two daily liters of water. For Jesus will truly satisfy our hearts in “gladness and joy” in more ways that our bodies will ever know in this life (Psalm 42:4).
Where do you see yourself dehydrated and in need of His goodness and life? In what ways are you able to remind yourself of this thirst and lead yourself back to Him? The Lord wants to fill us every day with living water—through prayer, through Scripture, through His Real Presence in the Eucharist, through inviting the Holy Spirit into each moment of our lives, through loving Him daily in all we do.
Relate to the Lord // Take care of your body today by drinking more water.
