Behold, the men whom you have imprisoned are in the temple teaching the people.
From the Acts of the Apostles Acts 5:17-26
In those days, the high priest rose up with all those of his party, that is the sect of the Sadducees, full of jealousy, and, taking the apostles, they threw them into the public prison.
But, during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, led them out and said: «Go and proclaim to the people, in the temple, all these words of life». Hearing this, they entered the temple early in the day and began to teach.
When the high priest arrived with those of his party, they summoned the Sanhedrin, that is, the whole senate of the gods sons of Israel; so they sent to fetch the apostles from the prison. But the orderlies, who arrived on the spot, did not find them in the prison and returned to report: "We found the prison scrupulously barred and the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened it, we found no one there".
Hearing these words, the commander of the temple guards and the chief priests wondered perplexed about them what had happened. At that moment a man came and told them, "Behold, the men you have put in prison are in the temple teaching the people."
Then the commander went out with the attendants and led them away, but without violence, for fear of being stoned by the people.
R. The poor man cries out and the Lord hears him. Or: R. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.
I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise is always on my lips. I glory in the Lord: the poor listen and rejoice. R.
magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord: he answered me and from all my fears he freed me. R.
Look at him and you will be radiant, your faces shall not blush. This poor man cries out and the Lord hears him, saves him from all his anguish. R.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. R.
Gospel acclamation
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
God he loved the world so much to give the Son only begotten, so that whoever believes in him will not be lost, but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)
Alleluia.
Gospel
God sent the Son in the world, that the world may be saved through him.
The Word of April 19, 2023 4
From the Gospel according to John Jn 3:16-21
During that time, Jesus he said to Nicodèmo: «God he loved the world so much that he gave the Son only begotten, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God, in fact, did not send the Son in the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the judgment: the light came into the world, but men loved the darkness more than the light, because their works were evil.
In fact, anyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light so that his works are not reproved. Instead whoever does the truth comes towards the light, for it to appear clearly that his works were done in God".
Word of the Lord.
Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Dominican tertiary, doctor of Churchco-patroness of Europe
Moved therefore by the fire of his divine charity, for thelove which he had to his creature, drawing her within himself, God si innamorò della bellezza sua e della fattura delle mani sue.
TO hand to hand that the soul looks into itself, it happens that it finds the goodness of God: the soul grows in so much firelove what else can he neither love nor desire but alone God, in which he found so much boundless goodness. It is this bond which, when man lost grace through sin, united and bound him God alla natura umana. Poiché la vita è stata innestata sulla morte; eravamo morti, e l’unione con lui ci ha dato la vita.
From which God was thus united with the man, the Man-God ran to the ignominious death of the Cross, for neither stone would have held him, nor nail driven in, if it were not the strength of thelove that God ebbe all’uomo. Il dolce Maestro è salito su quel trono per insegnarci la dottrina della verità; e l’anima che lo segue non può cadere nelle tenebre. (…)
You don't sleep anymore, Father mine, that you are a weak pillar to yourself; but join the tree of the Cross; bond with love, con carità ineffabile e senza limiti con l’Agnello immolato che versa il suo sangue da ogni parte.
Let our hearts break; enough hardness, enough negligence, that time no longer sleeps, but continues its course. Let's stay in God With the'love and holy desire and we will no longer have anything to fear.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Anche noi, quando siamo nel peccato, siamo in questo stato: non tolleriamo la luce.
It is more comfortable for us to live in darkness; the light slaps us, it makes us see what we don't want to see. But the worst is that the eyes, the eyes of the soul from so much living in darkness get so used to it that they end up ignoring what light is.
Losing the sense of light, because I get used to the darkness more. […]
we let thelove of God, which he sent Jesus to save us, you enter us and “the light it brings Jesus” (cf. v. 19), let the light of the Spirit enter us and help us to see things with the light of God, with true light and not with the darkness that the lord of darkness gives us. (Homily from Santa Martha, April 22, 2020)
