1 May 2026 (Friday) | Friday of the 4th week of Eastertide or Saint Joseph the Worker | Easter Weekday/ Saint Joseph the Worker

1 May 2026 (Friday)

Friday of the 4th week of Eastertide or Saint Joseph the Worker.
Easter Weekday/ Saint Joseph the Worker.

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 13: 26-33
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab ℟. 7bc or: ℟. Alleluia.
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: John 14: 6
Gospel: John 14: 1-6, Proper Gospel for Joseph: Matthew 13: 54-58
Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)
Liturgical color: White

First Reading : Acts 13:26‐33

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

Paul stood up in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
  ‘My brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of salvation is meant for you. What the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did, though they did not realise it, was in fact to fulfil the prophecies read on every sabbath. Though they found nothing to justify his death, they condemned him and asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out everything that scripture foretells about him they took him down from the tree and buried him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem: and it is these same companions of his who are now his witnesses before our people.
  ‘We have come here to tell you the Good News. It was to our ancestors that God made the promise but it is to us, their children, that he has fulfilled it, by raising Jesus from the dead. As scripture says in the second psalm: You are my son: today I have become your father.’

(Reader) The Word of the Lord.
(All) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab ℟. 7bc or: ℟. Alleluia.

You are my Son. It is I who have begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
‘It is I who have set up my king
  on Zion, my holy mountain.’
I will announce the decree of the Lord:
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
  It is I who have begotten you this day.
You are my Son. It is I who have begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
‘Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
  put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
  shatter them like a potter’s jar.’
You are my Son. It is I who have begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
Now, O kings, understand,
  take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe
  and trembling, pay him your homage.
You are my Son. It is I who have begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!

Alleluia: John 14: 6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
6 I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
(1. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God, trust also in me. 2. In my Father's house there are many places to live in; otherwise I would have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for you, 3. and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you to myself, so that you may be with me where I am. 4. You know the way to the place where I am going. 5. Thomas said, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' 6. Jesus said: I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7. If you know me, you will know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.)

Gospel : John 14:1‐6

(Reader) A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
(All) Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s house;
if there were not, I should have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too.
You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’

(Reader) The Gospel of the Lord.
(All) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For our reflection today:

The words of the Popes.

Jesus sees the disciples’ distress, he sees their fear of being abandoned, just as happens to us when we are forced to separate from someone we care for. And so, he says: “I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am you may be also” (vv. 2-3). Jesus uses the familiar image of home, the place of relationships and intimacy. In the Father’s house — he says to his friends, and to each one of us — there is room for you, you will be received forever with the warmth of an embrace, and I am in Heaven to prepare a place for you! He prepares for us that embrace with the Father, the place for all eternity. Brothers and sisters, this Word is a source of consolation, and it is a source of hope for us. Jesus did not separate himself from us, but rather opened the way for us, anticipating our final destination: the encounter with God the Father, in whose heart there is a place for each one of us. So, when we experience fatigue, bewilderment and even failure, let us remember where our life is headed. We must not lose sight of the destination, even if today we run the risk of overlooking it, of forgetting the final questions, the important ones: where are we going? Where are we headed? What is worth living for? Without these questions, we flatten our life only into the present. We think we must enjoy it as much as possible and end up living day by day, without purpose, without a goal. Instead, our homeland is in heaven (cf. Phil 3:20); let us not forget the greatness and the beauty of our destination! (Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 7 May 2023)

Pope Francis - Consolation, Hope, Truth, Closeness, Death 08.05.20

Pope Francis  08.05.20 
Holy Mass Casa Santa Marta (Domus Sanctae Marthae)  
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter      
John 14: 1-6

And in this passage of the Gospel we see that the Lord always consoles in closeness, with truth and hope. These are the three features of the Lord's consolation. In close proximity, never distant. The beautiful words: "I am here." "I am here, with you." And so often in silence. But we know he's there. He's always there. That closeness that is the style of God, even in the Incarnation, to be close to us. The Lord consoles in closeness. And he does not use empty words, indeed: he prefers silence. The power of closeness, of presence. And he speaks little. But he's close.

A second feature of Jesus' closeness, of Jesus' way of consoling, is the truth: Jesus is truthful. He doesn't say formal things that are lies: "No, don't worry, everything will pass, nothing will happen, it will pass, things pass...".No. He says the truth. He doesn't hide the truth. Because he himself in this passage says: "I am the truth" (John 14:6). And the truth is, "I'm going to go," that is, "I'm going to die" (14: 2-3). We are facing death. It's the truth. And he says it simply and he also says it gently, without hurting: we are facing death. He doesn't hide the truth.

And this is the third feature: Jesus consoles through hope. Yes, it's a bad time. But "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith also in me" (14: 1). I going to tell you something Jesus says, "There are many rooms in my Father's house. I'm going to prepare a place for you" (14: 2). He goes first to open the doors, the doors of that place through which we will all pass, so I hope: "I will come back again and take you with me, so that where I am you may be too" (14: 3). The Lord returns whenever any of us are on our way out of this world. "I will come and I will take you": hope. He will come and take us by the hand and take us. He doesn't say: "No, you will not suffer: it is nothing...". No. He tells the truth: "I am close to you, this is the truth: it is a bad moment, of danger, of death. But do not let your heart be troubled, remain in peace, that peace that is the basis of all consolation, because I will come and take you by the hand to where I will be."

It is not easy to be consoled by the Lord. Many times, in bad times, we get angry with the Lord and do not let him come and speak to us like this, with this tenderness, with this closeness, with this gentleness, with this truth and with this hope.

Let us ask for the grace to learn to allow ourselves be consoled by the Lord. The Lord's consolation is truthful, not deceiving. It's not anaesthesia, no. But it is close, it is truthful and he opens the doors of hope for us.

This conversation of Jesus with the disciples takes place at the table, again at the last supper (John 14: 1-6). Jesus is sad and everyone is sad: Jesus said that he would be betrayed by one of them ( John 13:21) and everyone senses that something bad would happen. Jesus begins to console them: because one of the offices, "of the works" of the Lord is consoling. The Lord consoles his disciples and here we see what Jesus' way of consoling is. We have many ways of comforting, from the most authentic, to the those that are more formal, such as those telegrams of condolences: "Deeply saddened for...". It doesn't console anyone, it's a sham, it's the consolation of formality. But how does the Lord console ? This is important to know, because we too, when we have to go through moments of sadness in our lives, learn to perceive what the true consolation of the Lord is.

Today is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. Let us pray for the people who work in these worthy institutions: that the Lord bless their work that does so much good.

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)