May 1, 2026
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 283
Reading
I
When Paul came to
Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue:
“My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,
and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets
that are read sabbath after sabbath.
For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him put to death,
and when they had accomplished all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you
that what God promised our fathers
he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus,
as it is written in the second psalm,
You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”
Responsorial
Psalm
R.
(7bc) You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my
holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD
said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I
have begotten you.”
R. You are my Son; this day I
have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“Ask of me and I will give you
the nations
for an inheritance
and the ends
of the earth for your possession.
You shall rule them with an iron rod;
you shall
shatter them like an earthen dish.”
R. You are my Son; this day I
have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take
warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with
trembling rejoice.
R. You are my Son; this day I
have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
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.
Gospel
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050126.cfm
Friday,
May 1, 2026
Easter Time
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ is to us the way that leads
to you and to one another, the truth that is good news of love and hope, the
life which he sacrificed to give it. Help us to show the way to him and to go
his way to one another, to speak the truth that is encouraging and credible, to
give life by sharing happiness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 14: 1-6
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do
not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God, trust also in me. 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, 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. 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; I am Truth and Life. No one can
come to the Father except through me.
Reflection
These five chapters (Jn 13-17) are a
beautiful example of how the communities of the Beloved Disciple of the end of
the first century in Asia Minor, which today is Turkey, carried on the
catechesis. For example, in chapter 14, the questions of the three disciples,
Thomas (Jn 14: 5), Philip (Jn 14: 8) and Judas Thaddeus (Jn 14: 22) were also
the questions and problems of the communities. Thus, the answers of Jesus to
the three of them are like a mirror in which the communities found a response
to their doubts and difficulties. To understand better the environment in which
the catechesis was carried out, it is possible to do what follows. During and
after the reading of the text, it is good to close the eyes and pretend that we
are in the room amid the disciples, participating in the encounter with Jesus.
While we listen, it is necessary to pay attention to the way in which Jesus
prepares his friends to separate themselves and reveals to them his friendship,
communicating to them security and support.
•
John 14: 1-2: Do not let your hearts be
troubled. The text begins with an exhortation: “Do not let your hearts be
troubled!” And immediately he adds: “In my Father’s house there are many places
to live in!” The insistence in continuing to use encouraging words which help
to overcome the trouble and the divergence is a sign that there was much
polemic and divergence among the communities. One would say to the other: “Our
way of living the faith is better than yours. We are saved! You live in error:
If you want to go to heaven, you have to convert yourselves and live like we
do!” Jesus says: “In my Father’s house there are many places!” It is not
necessary that everybody thinks in the same way. The important thing is that
all accept Jesus, the revelation of the Father and that out of love for him,
they have attitudes of understanding, of service and of love. Love and service
are the basis which unite the bricks and help the diverse communities to become
a Church of brothers and sisters.
•
John 14: 3-4: The farewell of Jesus. Jesus says
that he is going to prepare a place and that afterwards he will return to take
us with him to the Father’s house. He wants us to be with him forever. The
return which Jesus speaks about is the coming of the Spirit that he sends and
who acts in us, in such a way that we can live as he lived (Jn 14: 16- 17, 26;
16: 13-14). Jesus ends by saying: “You know the way to the place where I am
going!” Anyone who knows Jesus knows the way, because the way is the life that
he lived and which led him through death together to the Father.
•
John 14: 5-6: Thomas asks which is the way.
Thomas says: “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the
way?” Jesus answers: “I am the Way, I am Truth and Life! No one can come to the
Father except through me”. Three important words. Without the way we cannot go.
Without the truth one cannot make a good choice. Without life, there is only
death! Jesus explains the sense. He is the Way, because “No one can come to the
Father except through me”. And he is the gate through which the sheep enter and
go out (Jn 10: 9). Jesus is the truth, because looking at him, we see the image
of the Father. “Anyone who knows me knows the Father!” Jesus is the life,
because walking like Jesus we will be united to the Father and we will have
life in us!
Personal Questions
•
What beautiful encounter of the past do you
remember, encounters which give you the strength to continue ahead?
•
Jesus says: “In my Father’s house there are many
places”. What does this affirmation mean for us today?
Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh, for he has performed
wonders, his saving power is in his right hand and his holy arm. (Ps 98: 1)
May 1
Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker
Lectionary: 559
The Gospel for this memorial is proper.
Reading 1
God said:
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth."
God also said:
"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food."
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
God rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
Or
Brothers and sisters:
Over all these things put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Whatever you do, do from the heart,
as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that you will receive from the Lord
the due payment of the inheritance;
be slaves of the Lord Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
90:2, 3-4, 12-13, 14 and 16
R. (see 17b) Lord, give
success to the work of our hands.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You turn men back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children.
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed be the Lord day by day,
God, our salvation, who bears our burdens.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in
their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?"
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house."
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/0501-memorial-joseph-worker.cfm
Commentary on
Genesis 1:26—2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15,17,23-24; Matthew 13:54-58
The Gospel reading from Matthew describes a scene where
Jesus, now engaged in his public ministry, returned to visit Nazareth, the
place where he grew up. When he speaks, the people of the town are
amazed:
Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of
power?
They could not understand because, to them, he was the son
of Joseph the carpenter and of Mary, and did they not know all his relatives?
And, because they thought they knew him, they rejected him.
In response Jesus told them that a prophet will find honour
everywhere except in his own place. And as a result, Jesus “did not do many
deeds of power there” because of their lack of faith and trust in
him.
It is an example of the saying ‘familiarity breeds
contempt’. The townspeople thought they knew Jesus, but of course, they
did not. But many others had no problem in seeing the presence of God in
the words and actions of Jesus.
It is a problem we ourselves can easily have when we fail to
recognise the voice of God in the words and actions of people with whom we are
very familiar. Yet that is the way in which God most often communicates
with us.
The passage has been chosen, of course, because of its
mention of Joseph as the local carpenter, a man who worked with his hands, and
so today we remember especially all those in our society who also work with
their hands, people who in the past and sometimes in the present, too, have been
abused and exploited. It is Joseph who gives dignity to what they do.
There is a choice of two First Readings. The first is
from the beginning of the Book of Genesis, in the first account of the
Creation. On the sixth and last day of the creation, God created all the
animals which inhabit the earth. He then created Man “in our image,
according to our likeness” and gave Man dominion over all living things—on the
earth, in the sky and in the sea. All plants and animals of all kinds
were also given to Man for his food. God the saw everything that he had
made and it was very good.
With the completion of the work of Creation, God then rested
on the seventh day (as the Jews also refrained from doing any manual work on
the Sabbath):
So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because
on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
For countless generations humanity lived in harmony with the
Creation entrusted to it—as do the rest of living things. But in modern
times, we have exploited our environment in ways that could bring about the
destruction not only of ourselves, but of all life on our planet. And, we
have come to be more and more aware that ‘dominion’ does not mean exploitation
and abuse, but ‘stewardship’ where, with our special abilities, we can not only
preserve but enhance our environment.
The Alternate First Reading from Paul’s Letter to the
Colossians is a lovely description of the spirit in which we should live our
lives and interact with other people, in other words, the spirit in which we
should do our daily work.
Paul says:
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds
everything together in perfect harmony.
Whatever is done in agape-love is good; in fact,
wherever there is such love, God is there. Secondly, we should:
…let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which
indeed you were called in one body [the body of Christ himself].
And whatever we do—in word or action—should be done in the
name of the Lord Jesus while at the same time giving thanks to God for his
countless blessings.
And whatever is done should be done with the utmost
sincerity and integrity and with the aim of giving glory to God and not simply
to please the demands of other people. Paul says that, just as Jesus himself
came to be our slave-servant, where service is love in action, we should be:
…slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul.
(Eph 6:6)
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All we know definitely about Joseph can be found in the
Infancy Narratives of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. In Matthew’s
account of the birth of Jesus, Joseph is called a ‘just’ man, someone who
always did what was right.
According to the Gospel, Joseph was descended from the house
of King David, which is why he and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, David’s city,
to register for the imperial census. The Gospel also tells us that
he was a carpenter from the village of Nazareth in the northern province of Galilee.
He became the husband of Mary and the guardian of her Son, Jesus.
After Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, the family returned to live
in Nazareth. Only two other incidents are mentioned where Joseph was
present. One was at the circumcision of Jesus eight days after his
birth. This was when they met Simeon who made prophecies about Jesus’
future and spoke of a ‘sword of sorrow’ which would pierce Mary’s heart.
The other was when Jesus, now 12 years old, went with Mary and Joseph to celebrate
the Pasch in Jerusalem. After the celebration, Jesus, unknown to his
parents, stayed on in the city and he was only found by them three days later
discussing with the teachers of the Law in the Temple.
That is the last reference to Joseph in the Scriptures and it
is not known when he may have died. During the public life of Jesus, only
his Mother is mentioned as being with him up to his death and resurrection.
Devotion to Joseph began very early in the Eastern Church,
but spread to the whole Church. From the 9th and 10th centuries he is
called foster-father of the Lord. The first church dedicated to his name
was in 1129 in Bologna, Italy.
It was Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84) who first added the name of
St Joseph to the liturgical calendar and Pope Pius IX placed the whole Church
under his patronage in 1870.
In 1989, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter on Joseph
entitled Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer)
describing “the person and mission of Saint Joseph in the life of Christ and of
the Church.”
Joseph’s patronage covers the Mystical Body of Christ, the
Christian family and schools, carpenters, fathers, labourers, and all
individuals who appeal to his intercession, especially in the hour of death.
His major feast is celebrated on March 19, but today, May 1,
there is a special memorial to Saint Joseph the Worker, to coincide with Labour
Day (International Workers’ Day).
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