Tuesday in the second week of Easter

The community of believers
was of one heart and one soul;
and no one claimed any of their possessions;
as their own;
on the contrary, they held all things in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness;
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus;
and great grace was upon them all.
There was not a needy person among them,
for all who owned fields or houses would sell them,
and bring the proceeds of them,
to lay at the apostles’ feet.
And to each was distributed according to his need.
Thus Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus,
who had been given the name Barnabas by the apostles,
– which means ‘Son of Encouragement’ –
owned a field which he sold,
and brought the money from it,
to lay it at the apostles’ feet.

INTERLUDIUM                      Ps. 93 (92), 1ab, 1c-2,5

The Lord is King, clothed in splendour.
Alleluia
The Lord is King, clothed in splendour,
the Lord has girded himself with strength.

As firm as the earth, unshakeable,
so firm is your throne through the ages,
from everlasting, O God, you are!

All that you declare is trustworthy,
may your house be holy for evermore.

ALLELUIA                     Rom. 6, 9

Alleluia.
Christ, having risen once from the dead,
dies no more;
death has no power over Him.
Alleluia

GOSPEL                      John 3, 7-15

No one has ever ascended into heaven, except He who
descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Truly, truly, I say to you:
You must be born again.
“The wind blows where it wills:
You hear its rustling
but do not know where it comes from, nor where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus replied to Him:
“How can this be?”
Then Jesus said again:
“You are a teacher of Israel and do not even know this?
“Truly, truly, I say to you:
We speak of what We know,
and We bear witness to what We have seen,
yet you do not accept Our testimony.
If you do not believe even when I speak to you of things already known on earth,
how will you believe
when I speak to you of things still hidden in heaven?
“No one has ever ascended into heaven,
except He who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man.
“And this Son of Man must be lifted up,
just as Moses once lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so that everyone who believes
in Him may have eternal life.”

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

Pope Francis

On Care for Our Common Home

86. The whole of the universe, with its myriad relationships, best
reveals the inexhaustible  richness of God. Saint Thomas Aquinas
wisely emphasised that multiplicity and diversity arise “from the intention
of the First Cause, who willed that ‘what is lacking in each thing should
be made up by the other things, so as to represent divine goodness’,
because ‘his goodness cannot be fully represented by a single creature’”.
Therefore, we must accept the diversity of things in their many relationships.
One therefore better understands the importance and significance of every
creature when one considers it within the whole of God’s plan.
The Catechism teaches the following: “The interdependence of creatures
is willed by God. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the
eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their infinite diversity and
disparity means that no creature is sufficient unto itself.
They exist only in mutual dependence to complement one another,
in service to one another”.

To be continued
Every day at 1 am

 

The Bible text in this edition is taken fromThe New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical Suggestions for Weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation