The Good Shepherd Sunday Mass Readings and Reflection April 26th 2026

 

First Reading: (Acts 8:26–40)

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 66:1–7)

Alleluia: (John 6:51)

Gospel: (John 6:44–51)

Reflection:

The mass readings today draw us into a single, unifying truth: God is already at work among us, continually reaching out, inviting us into deeper relationship with Him. What we see in the First Reading is not just history, it is a pattern that continues in our lives. God initiates. God calls. And together, we are faced with how we will respond.

In the Psalm, we find our shared voice. It teaches us how to stand before God, not as isolated individuals, but as a people. We are reminded that trust is something we live out together, especially when life is uncertain or difficult. The Psalm becomes our prayer, shaping how we see God and how we rely on Him.

Then in the Gospel, Christ speaks in a way that reveals both His identity and our condition. His words are clear, but they also require something from us. Some accept, others struggle, but all are invited. And that includes us, here and now.

We recognize that we are not so different from those in the Gospel. At times, we understand and believe. At other times, we hesitate, question, or hold back. Yet Christ continues to speak, continues to offer Himself, continues to call us forward.

And so the question become s one we all share:
How are we responding to Him today?

We live in a world full of noise and competing voices. It can be easy for us to lose focus, to seek meaning in things that do not truly satisfy. But the Gospel reminds us that what we are searching for is not something, it is Someone. And that Someone is Christ, who gives Himself fully to us.

Together, we are invited:

• To recognize where God is already moving in our lives

• To let go of what holds us back, as in fear, doubt, or the need for control

• To respond with faith, not just in words, but in action

Because faith is not something we hold privately, it is something we live out, together, as the Body of Christ.

Every reading we hear, every Psalm we pray, every Gospel proclaimed leads us to this shared moment of decision:
Will we follow Him more closely, together, or will we remain where we are?

And if we are honest, we know the answer is not something we give once, but something we live, day by day.

God bless you

RWJ Somerset is a Nice Facility. Very Clean and Up to Date

 

Somewhere in South Brunswick, NJ

 

Saturday Mass Readings and Reflection April 25th 2026

First Reading: (1 Peter 5:5–14) 

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 89)

Response: I will sing forever of your mercies, O Lord.

Alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia.
We proclaim Christ crucified; He is the power and wisdom of God.
Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: (Mark 16:15–20) 

Reflection

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, a key figure in the early Church and a close companion of the apostles. His Gospel reflects the preaching of St. Peter and stands as a powerful witness to the life and mission of Christ.

The message of today’s Gospel is clear and direct: “Go and preach.”

Jesus did not send the apostles out to perform miracles as their primary mission. He sent them to proclaim the truth, the truth about God, salvation, and eternal life. The focus was always on preaching. The signs came later, not as the goal, but as confirmation from God.

This is where many go wrong today.

There is a growing tendency to focus on signs, wonders, and spectacle, often without substance. But signs, by themselves, do not save. A person who does not know Christ, who does not understand the truth, cannot truly grasp the meaning of signs.

To emphasize signs without truth is dangerous. It is like giving something powerful to someone unprepared, they may misuse it or misunderstand it entirely.

The apostles understood their mission:

• Preach first

• Teach the truth

• Lead people to faith

Then God, in His own way, confirmed their message.

People need to know:

• Who God is

• What He desires for them

• How to love and forgive

• The path to salvation

Without this foundation, even the greatest signs lose their meaning.

As believers, we are called to return to the essentials:

• Seek truth

• Understand Scripture

• Grow in faith

And as for those who preach, the call is even more urgent:
Focus on the message. Let God handle the signs.

If the message is authentic, God Himself will confirm it. 

Amen 🙏 

Amen 🙏 

Plainview Hospital

 

To Janet Zaagbeb

Janet was a good friend. We laughed, we played, and we ran around together at Tangzu JSS. Then I got sick and missed a year of school. By the time I returned, she and the rest of our class had moved on, graduating from middle school, and she went on to an all-girls high school, St. Francis of Assisi in Jirapa.

She later became a nurse and worked at St. Theresa’s in Nandom. When I was home in 2019, we spoke, but unfortunately, we never got the chance to see each other.

I was deeply saddened to hear of her untimely passing. Too soon… far too soon. Way too soon.

Rest in peace, my dear friend.

Saul On His Way to Damascus

Mass Readings: First Reading: (Acts 9:1–20)

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 117)

Response: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him, says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: (John 6:52–59)

Reflection

Today, as we celebrate St. Fidelis, we are given two powerful movements of faith: conversion and communion.

In the first reading, Saul is transformed. A man once driven by zeal against the Church becomes its greatest missionary. But notice-his personality does not disappear. His passion, his strength, his intensity remain. What changes is direction. Christ does not destroy who he is; He redirects it.

God does the same with us. He does not erase our gifts, our personalities, or even our past. He refines them, disciplines them, and aligns them with His purpose.

And yet, Saul’s transformation is not his alone.

There is Ananias, quiet, hesitant, but obedient. He plays what might seem like a small role, yet without him, Saul’s mission does not begin. This reminds us:

In God’s plan, no role is insignificant.

You may not be Paul-but you may be the Ananias in someone else’s life.

Then the Gospel takes us deeper.

Jesus speaks not of symbols, but of reality:

• “My flesh is true food”

• “My blood is true drink”

This is the heart of the Eucharist.

Life in Christ is not sustained by ideas alone, but by communion with Him. To follow Christ is not just to admire Him or even to believe in Him, it is to receive Him, to remain in Him, and to allow Him to remain in us.

• Saul is converted →his life changes direction

• He is filled →and begins to proclaim Christ

• We receive the Eucharist → and are called to live what we receive

Faith is not passive.
It transforms.
It sends.
It sustains.

Like Saul, we are called to conversion.
Like Ananias, we are called to obedience.
And through the Eucharist, we are given the strength to remain in Christ.

May we allow the Lord to shape our lives,
to use even our smallest acts,
and to nourish us with His very presence.

God bless

Mass Readings and Reflection on Thursday April 23rd, 2026

First Reading: (Acts 8:26–40)

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 66)

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia.
Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.
Alleluia.

Gospel: (John 6:44–51)

Reflection:

Yesterday, from the Gospel text, Jesus invited and exhorted us to come to Him in order to be saved, because His Father’s will is for Him to save all those who come to Him so that none will be lost. Today, He deepens that teaching by saying: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

By this, Jesus means that salvation is not something we initiate on our own. It is a process initiated by God Himself, not by human willpower. On our own, we cannot truly know God. Even our desire for God is planted within us by Him. He reveals Himself so that we may know Him. He gives us the grace and the capacity to believe. That is why faith is a gift.

Therefore, our ability to know God, to believe in Jesus, and to be saved begins with God. It is a divine initiative. However, that divine initiative requires human cooperation, supported by grace.

Think of it this way: a gift may be given, but it can be rejected or neglected. God gives the gift of faith, but we must nurture it and allow it to grow. Jesus calls us to be open and docile to the Father so that His Spirit can move us and lead us to Him, the Savior.

Those who have not come to Jesus are not necessarily those whom the Father has refused to draw, but often those who have resisted, ignored, or mishandled the gift of faith. God always initiates, but we must respond.

How does God draw us?

He speaks within our hearts. That quiet voice of conscience that urges us to do good and avoid evil, that is God drawing us. That inner conviction, that sense of remorse when we do wrong, this too is God at work. When we listen to that voice, we are responding to His invitation.

But this divine initiative must be supported by human effort.

For example, God may give a child intelligence, but the child must go to school and apply effort for that gift to bear fruit. Without effort, the gift is wasted. In the same way, faith must be nurtured.

And how do we nurture it?

First, through our environment. The family we grow up in can either nurture faith or weaken it. Some homes are true nurseries of faith, while others suffocate it. The society we live in can also influence us, some environments support faith, others oppose it.

Second, through what we consume, what we read, watch, and listen to. Do we read Scripture? Do we engage with good Christian literature? Or do we spend most of our time on content that weakens our spiritual life? What we feed our minds shapes our faith.

Third, through the company we keep. Good friends can strengthen your faith; bad company can destroy it. The people around you influence your direction, either toward God or away from Him.

Many people lose their faith not because God stopped calling them, but because they stopped responding. They neglect prayer, avoid church, listen to false teachings, and disconnect from the source of life. Over time, spiritual dryness sets in.

A branch cut off from the tree withers. A human being cut off from God becomes spiritually lifeless, a moving corpse.

So, friends, Jesus reminds us today: salvation begins with God. Faith is His gift. But that gift must be received, protected, and nurtured.

We must examine our lives:

• What environment are we living in?

• What influences are shaping us?

• Are we cooperating with God’s grace, or resisting it?

Let us pray for the grace to allow ourselves to be drawn by the Father to Jesus Christ. Let us nurture the seed of faith through prayer, Scripture, good company, and active participation in the life of the Church.

God is always ready to plant that seed in our hearts. The question is: will we nurture it, or allow it to wither?

God bless you 🙏 

Mass Readings and Reflection for Wednesday April 22, 2026

First Reading: (Acts 8:1–8)

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 66)

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Gospel: (John 6:35–40)

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel gives us one of the most powerful assurances from Jesus: “I am the Bread of Life… whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” This is not just a comforting statement, it is a divine promise. Jesus reveals both the heart of God and the path to salvation. At the center of this message is the truth that God desires all to be saved. He does not will that anyone be lost. He created us for life, for eternal communion with Him, not for destruction. And so Jesus says clearly, “This is the will of my Father, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

But even though God desires everyone to be saved, salvation is not automatic. It requires a response. Jesus makes it clear: we must come to Him. He invites, He calls, He opens the door, but He does not force us. To be saved, we must make a movement toward Christ.

First, we come to Jesus through faith. To believe in Him is the foundation of everything. We must believe that He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the one who gives eternal life. This belief is not just intellectual; it is personal. It means entrusting our lives to Him. Without faith, there is no real coming to Jesus.

Second, we come to Him through the Eucharist. Jesus is not only to be believed; He is to be received. He tells us that unless we eat His body and drink His blood, we have no life in us. The Eucharist is not optional, it is essential. When we receive Him in the Eucharist, we are united with Him, nourished by Him, and strengthened for eternal life.

Third, we come to Jesus through His Word. He speaks to us, and we must listen. When we read and meditate on Scripture, we come to know His will. His Word guides us, corrects us, and protects us from error. Without the Word of God, we become spiritually weak and easily misled. But with it, we walk in truth.

Fourth, we come to Jesus through repentance. We cannot cling to sin and at the same time walk toward Christ. Repentance is necessary. It is not a punishment but a turning back, a realignment of our lives with God. Jesus says He will never reject anyone who comes to Him. The tragedy is not that Jesus rejects people, but that people refuse to come. No one in hell will be able to say that they went to Jesus and were turned away. Rather, it will be that they chose not to go. Through the sacrament of confession, we return to Him, and every time we do, He receives us with mercy.

Finally, we come to Jesus through prayer. Prayer is how we build a relationship with Him. It is how we speak to Him, listen to Him, and walk with Him daily. Through prayer, He gives us the grace to overcome temptation and to remain faithful.

My friends, Jesus assures us today: “I will not cast out anyone who comes to me.” That means no matter your past, no matter your sins, no matter how far you may have gone, you are not beyond His mercy. His arms are open. The only question is whether you will come.

So the message today is simple and urgent: let's go to Jesus, go to Him with faith. Receive Him in the Eucharist. Go to through His Word. To Him in repentance, in prayer. And if we truly come to Him, He gives us a promise that no one else can give, eternal life. And on the last day, He Himself will raise us up.

Amen.

TACO Monday 🌮