May 1, Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker
Daily Readings: 1st Reading – Acts 11:1-18; Gospel – John 10:11-18
We are in the fourth week of Easter and the reading shows that the Apostles of Jesus continue His work. They spread the good news and encouraged people to accept the word of God and the call to conversion. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they were guided in their mission. The first reading speaks of the conversion of Gentiles, whereas they listen to the word of God given by the apostles. They stop objecting and glorifying God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles.”
The conversion of the Gentiles is very much motivated because they believe that Jesus died on the cross for the salvation of human beings.
In the gospel for today, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” A good shepherd takes care of his flock, leads them to good pastures, protects them from harm, and looks for the lost sheep if they go astray but most of all willing to lay down his life for his sheep. These characteristics show an infinite love. A love that causes life, just like what happened to Jesus. As a good shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep.
We recall his passion and suffering on the cross; though, as the Son of God, he has the power to be free from these sufferings, because of his love for his people, he died on the cross for the world's salvation.
Today we also celebrate the feast of St.Joseph, the worker. St. Joseph the Worker, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron of Workers. In addition to being the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the foster father of Jesus, St Joseph was a carpenter. Through his work of manual labor, Joseph provided for the Holy Family and shared in the divine plan of salvation. St. Joseph is also an example of a good shepherd, as he took care of Mary and Jesus, his poster child after God the Father entrusted them to him.
Lord, we pray that we will also develop and manifest the characteristics of a good shepherd, just like Jesus. Amen.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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