Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection April 27, 2026

27th April 2026 (Monday)

Psalter: Week 4

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Acts 11:1-18

In those days: The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3, 4 (R. see 42:3ab)

R/. My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own and my own know me.

R/. Alleluia

Gospel: John 10:11-18

At that time: Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Monday – 4th Week of Easter

Main Point: The virtue of apostolic charity requires us to dismantle our rigid spiritual boundaries, because the Good Shepherd constantly seeks to bring those we deem unworthy into the exact same fold of grace.

1. In the Gospel today, Jesus reveals the profound depths of His sacrificial love as the Good Shepherd. However, He also makes a statement that completely shatters our comfortable exclusivity: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead.”

2. We frequently treat the Church as an exclusive sanctuary reserved solely for those who look, pray, and behave exactly as we do. We draw rigid boundaries around the mercy of God, secretly deciding in our own pride who is truly deserving of sanctifying grace and who should remain outside.

3. The Good Shepherd refuses to operate within our narrow, human parameters. He actively seeks the wandering, the broken, and those completely outside our acceptable social circles, desiring to unite them all into one flock.

4. We see this exact tension manifest in the first reading. St. Peter is harshly criticized by the early Christian community for associating with Gentiles. The believers are deeply scandalized that Peter would share the Gospel with people they considered fundamentally unclean and unworthy.

5. It is incredibly easy for us to harbor this exact same spiritual prejudice. We often observe those entangled in secular culture, those with scandalous pasts, or those who simply do not fit our definition of traditional piety, and we inwardly recoil from them.

6. But Peter recounts how the Holy Spirit dramatically intervened, proving that God grants the grace of repentance to everyone. If the Lord does not withhold His Spirit from those we consider outsiders, we possess absolutely no authority to withhold our Christian charity.

7. We cannot claim to follow the Good Shepherd if we act like the self-preserving hired hand, fleeing from the messy, uncomfortable reality of welcoming sinners. True fidelity to the Gospel demands that we rejoice when the Lord expands His fold, even when it requires us to abandon our deeply held prejudices.

My Practice: Cultivate the virtue of apostolic charity today by examining your own spiritual prejudices. Identify one specific group or individual you subconsciously exclude from the mercy of God, and offer a sincere prayer today specifically for their salvation and the softening of your own heart.