Thursday in the 3rd Week of Easter
Mass Readings
First Reading – Acts 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him. This was the Scripture passage he was reading: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will tell of his posterity? For his life is taken from the earth. Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, “I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him. As they traveled along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing. Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 (R. 1)
R.Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound His praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip. R.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what He has done for me.
When I appealed to Him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue. R.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or His kindness! R.
Gospel – Jn 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from Him comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world.”
Featured Saints
St. Peter Armengol, religious (†1304). Leader of a group of bandits, he repented of his immoral life and entered the Mercedarian Order dedicated to ransoming Christian slaves in Africa.
St. Zita, virgin (†1278). Of simple origins, she became a domestic servant at age 12, she was known to distribute her earnings among the poor. For 48 years she practised this occupation with heroic virtue, and was recognized as a saint during her life.
Blessed Nicholas Roland, priest (†1678). Founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Child Jesus in Rheims, France. He was the spiritual director of the future St. John Baptist de la Salle, for several years.
Blessed Catherine of Montenegro, virgin (†1565). While still a young girl she was baptized in the Orthodox Church; she became a Third Order Dominican and lived for 50 years in a small cell near the church of St. Paul in Kotor, Montenegro .
Blessed Maria Antonia Bandrés y Elósegui, virgin (†1919). Spanish nun from the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus. She was a model of faith and serenity during her last illness. She died at the age of 21.
St. Laurence Nguyen Van Huong, priest and martyr (†1856). He was arrested at night while visiting a dying man. He was whipped and then beheaded in Ninh-Binh, Vietnam, for refusing to trample a cross.
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