4 May 2026 (Monday) | Easter Weekday. Monday of the 5th week of Eastertide

4 May 2026 (Monday)

Easter Weekday.

Monday of the 5th week of Eastertide.

First Reading: Acts 14: 5-18

Psalm 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16 ℟. 1ab or: ℟. Alleluia.

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: John 14: 26

Gospel: John 14: 21-26

Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)

Liturgical color: White or Gold.

The Word of the day is a daily podcast featuring the readings in the Vatican liturgical calendar accompanied by a commentary from one of the Popes of recent times.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading : Acts 14:5‐18

(Reader) A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Eventually with the connivance of the authorities a move was made by pagans as well as Jews to make attacks on the apostles and to stone them. When the apostles came to hear of this, they went off for safety to Lycaonia where, in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the surrounding country, they preached the Good News.

  A man sat there who had never walked in his life, because his feet were crippled from birth; and as he listened to Paul preaching, he managed to catch his eye. Seeing that the man had the faith to be cured, Paul said in a loud voice, ‘Get to your feet – stand up’, and the cripple jumped up and began to walk.

  When the crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in the language of Lycaonia, ‘These people are gods who have come down to us disguised as men.’ They addressed Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they called him Hermes. The priests of Zeus‐outside‐the‐Gate, proposing that all the people should offer sacrifice with them, brought garlanded oxen to the gates. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening they tore their clothes, and rushed into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold. In the past he allowed each nation to go its own way; but even then he did not leave you without evidence of himself in the good things he does for you: he sends you rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow when they should, he gives you food and makes you happy.’ Even this speech, however, was scarcely enough to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice.

(Reader) The Word of the Lord.

(All) Thanks be to God.

Psalm 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16 ℟. 1ab or: ℟. Alleluia.

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

Not to us, Lord, not to us,

  but to your name give the glory

for the sake of your love and your truth,

  lest the heathen say: ‘Where is their God?’

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

But our God is in the heavens;

  he does whatever he wills.

Their idols are silver and gold,

  the work of human hands.

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

May you be blessed by the Lord,

  the maker of heaven and earth.

The heavens belong to the Lord

  but the earth he has given to men.

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: John 14: 26

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

26 The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all I told you.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

(25. I have said these things to you while still with you; 26. but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. 27. Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.)

Gospel : John 14:21‐26

(Reader) A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

(All) Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them

will be one who loves me;

and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,

and I shall love him and show myself to him.’

Judas – this was not Judas Iscariot – said to him, ‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus replied:

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him and make our home with him.

Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own:

it is the word of the one who sent me.

I have said these things to you while still with you;

but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.’

(Reader) The Gospel of the Lord.

(All) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For our reflection today:

The words of the Popes.

Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (v. 21). So, love introduces us to the knowledge of Jesus, thanks to the action of this “Advocate” that Jesus sent, that is, the Holy Spirit. Love for God and neighbour is the greatest commandment of the Gospel. The Lord today calls us to respond generously to the Gospel’s call to love, placing God at the centre of our lives and dedicating ourselves to the service of our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need of support and consolation. If ever there is an attitude that is never easy, even for a Christian community, it is precisely how to love oneself, to love after the Lord’s example and with his grace. We have to learn the art of loving every day. Listen to this: every day we must learn the art of loving; every day we must patiently follow the school of Christ. Every day we must forgive and look to Jesus, and do this with the help of this “Advocate”, of this Counsellor whom Jesus has sent to us that is the Holy Spirit. (Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 21 May 2017)

Pope Francis 11.05.20
Holy Mass Casa Santa Marta (Domus Sanctae Marthae)
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter    
John 14: 21-26      

We join the faithful of Termoli on the feast of the discovery of the body of St. Timothy today. In these days many people have lost their jobs; they have not been re-employed, they worked illegally. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours who suffer from this lack of work.

Today's Gospel passage is Jesus' farewell at the Last Supper (John 14: 21-26). The Lord ends with this verse: "I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and remind you of all I told you" (14: 25-26). It is the promise of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit who lives in us and who the Father and the Son send. "The Father will send him in my name," Jesus said, to accompany us in life. And they call him the Paraclete or Advocate. This is the role of the Holy Spirit. In Greek, the Paràclete is the one who supports, who accompanies so that you don't fall, who keeps you firm, who is close to you to support you. And the Lord has promised us this support, who is God like him: he is the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit do in us? The Lord tells us: "He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have told you"( 26). Teaching and remembering. This is the role of the Holy Spirit. He teaches us: he teaches us the mystery of faith, he teaches us to enter into the mystery, to understand the mystery a little more. He teaches us the doctrine of Jesus and teaches us how to develop our faith without making mistakes, because doctrine grows, but always in the same direction: it grows in understanding. And the Holy Spirit helps us grow in understanding faith, understanding it more, understanding what faith says. Faith is not a static thing; doctrine is not a static thing: it grows. It grows as the trees grow, always the same, but larger, with fruit, but always the same, in the same direction. And the Holy Spirit prevents doctrine being wrong, it prevents it from standing still there, without growing in us. He will teach us the things that Jesus has taught us, he will develop in us an understanding of what Jesus has taught us, he will grow the doctrine of the Lord in us, to maturity.

And another thing Jesus says, that the Holy Spirit does, is to remind: "He will remind you of all that I have told you" (26). The Holy Spirit is like memory, he wakes us up: "But remember that, remember the other"; he keeps us awake, always awake in the Lord's things, and also reminds us of our lives: "Think of that moment, think about when you met the Lord, think about when you left the Lord."

I once heard that one person prayed before the Lord like this: "Lord, I am the same one who, as a child, as a boy, had these dreams. Then, I went along the wrong paths. Now you've called me." I am the same: this is the memory of the Holy Spirit in one's life. He brings you to the memory of salvation, to the memory of what Jesus taught, but also to the memory of one's life. And this made me think – this gentleman said – a beautiful way of praying, looking at the Lord: "I am the same. I've walked a lot, I've been wrong, but I'm the same and you love me." The memory of life's journey.

And in this memory, the Holy Spirit guides us; guides us to discern, to discern what I have to do now, what is the right path and what is wrong, even in small decisions. If we ask the Holy Spirit for light, He will help us discern to make the right decisions, the small ones of every day, and the greatest. He is who accompanies us, supports us in discernment. That is the Holy Spirit who teaches, will teach us everything, that is him who makes faith grow, who introduces us into the mystery, it is the Holy Spirit who reminds us. He reminds us of faith, he reminds us of our lives, and it is the Holy Spirit that in this teaching, in this memory, teaches us to discern the decisions we must make. And to the Gospel gives a name to the Holy Spirit: yes, Paràclete, because he supports you, but another more beautiful name: he is the Gift of God. The Holy Spirit is the Gift of God. The Holy Spirit is precisely the Gift. "I will not leave you alone, I will send you a Paràclete who will support you and help you move forward, remember, discern, and grow." The Gift of God is the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord help us to guard this gift that he has given us in Baptism and that we all have within us.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God."

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)