Daily Gospel

Friday, April 7, 2023 | John 18:1-19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”He said to them, “I AM.”Judas his betrayer was also with them.When he said to them, “I AM, “ they turned away and fell to the ground.So he again asked them,“Whom are you looking for?”They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”Jesus answered,“I told you that I AM.So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.The slave’s name was Malchus.Jesus said to Peter,“Put your sword into its scabbard.Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”
So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,bound him, and brought him to Annas first.He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.But Peter stood at the gate outside.So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”He said, “I am not.”Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal firethat they had made, because it was cold,and were warming themselves.Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine.Jesus answered him,“I have spoken publicly to the world.I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing.  Why ask me?Ask those who heard me what I said to them.They know what I said.”When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”Jesus answered him,“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.And they said to him,“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”He denied it and said,“I am not.”One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”Again Peter denied it.And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.It was morning.And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”They answered and said to him,“If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone,“ in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilledthat he said indicating the kind of death he would die.So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”Jesus answered,“Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”Pilate answered,“I am not a Jew, am I?Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.What have you done?”Jesus answered,“My kingdom does not belong to this world.If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”So Pilate said to him,“Then you are a king?”Jesus answered,“You say I am a king.For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this,he again went out to the Jews and said to them,“I find no guilt in him.But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”They cried out again,“Not this one but Barabbas!”Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said,“Hail, King of the Jews!”And they struck him repeatedly.Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,“Take him yourselves and crucify him.I find no guilt in him.”The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”Now when Pilate heard this statement,he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?”Jesus did not answer him.So Pilate said to him,“Do you not speak to me?Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?”Jesus answered him,“You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.For this reason the one who handed me over to youhas the greater sin.”Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.And he said to the Jews,“Behold, your king!”They cried out,“Take him away, take him away!  Crucify him!”Pilate said to them,“Shall I crucify your king?”The chief priests answered,“We have no king but Caesar.”Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.It read,“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”Pilate answered,“What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier.They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “ in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:    They divided my garments among them,        and for my vesture they cast lots.This is what the soldiers did.Standing by the cross of Jesus were his motherand his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,and Mary of Magdala.When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he lovedhe said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”Then he said to the disciple,“Behold, your mother.”And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”There was a vessel filled with common wine.So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,“It is finished.”And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day,in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down.So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe.For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:    Not a bone of it will be broken.And again another passage says:    They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.And Pilate permitted it.So he came and took his body.Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

Thursday, April 6, 2023 | John 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had cometo pass from this world to the Father.He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.So, during supper,fully aware that the Father had put everything into his powerand that he had come from God and was returning to God,he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.He took a towel and tied it around his waist.Then he poured water into a basinand began to wash the disciples’ feetand dry them with the towel around his waist.He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”Jesus answered and said to him,“What I am doing, you do not understand now,but you will understand later.”Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”Jesus answered him,“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”Simon Peter said to him,“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”Jesus said to him,“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,            for he is clean all over;so you are clean, but not all.”For he knew who would betray him;for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”So when he had washed their feetand put his garments back on and reclined at table again,he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’  and rightly so, for indeed I am.If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,you ought to wash one another’s feet.I have given you a model to follow,so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 | Matthew 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,went to the chief priests and said,"What are you willing to give meif I hand him over to you?"They paid him thirty pieces of silver,and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,the disciples approached Jesus and said,"Where do you want us to preparefor you to eat the Passover?"He said,"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.""'The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,and prepared the Passover.When it was evening,he reclined at table with the Twelve.And while they were eating, he said,"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."Deeply distressed at this,they began to say to him one after another,"Surely it is not I, Lord?"He said in reply,"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with meis the one who will betray me.The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.It would be better for that man if he had never been born."Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"He answered, "You have said so."

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | John 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,was reclining at Jesus' side.So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him,"Master, who is it?"Jesus answered,"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,son of Simon the Iscariot.After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,"Buy what we need for the feast,"or to give something to the poor.So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.When he had left, Jesus said,"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,and he will glorify him at once.My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you."Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?"Jesus answered him,"Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,though you will follow later."Peter said to him,"Master, why can I not follow you now?I will lay down my life for you."Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crowbefore you deny me three times."

Monday, April 3, 2023 | John 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oilmade from genuine aromatic nardand anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,and the one who would betray him, said,"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wagesand given to the poor?"He said this not because he cared about the poorbut because he was a thief and held the money bagand used to steal the contributions.So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.Let her keep this for the day of my burial.You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,whom he had raised from the dead.And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,because many of the Jews were turning awayand believing in Jesus because of him.

Sunday, April 2, 2023 | Matthew: 27:11-54

Jesus stood before the governor, Pontius Pilate, who questioned him,"Are you the king of the Jews?"Jesus said, "You say so."And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders,he made no answer.Then Pilate said to him,"Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?"But he did not answer him one word,so that the governor was greatly amazed.Now on the occasion of the feastthe governor was accustomed to release to the crowdone prisoner whom they wished.And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,"Which one do you want me to release to you,Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?"For he knew that it was out of envythat they had handed him over.While he was still seated on the bench,his wife sent him a message,"Have nothing to do with that righteous man.I suffered much in a dream today because of him."The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowdsto ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.The governor said to them in reply,"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"They answered, "Barabbas!"Pilate said to them,"Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?"They all said,"Let him be crucified!"But he said,"Why? What evil has he done?"They only shouted the louder,"Let him be crucified!"When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,but that a riot was breaking out instead,he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood.Look to it yourselves."And the whole people said in reply,"His blood be upon us and upon our children."Then he released Barabbas to them,but after he had Jesus scourged,he handed him over to be crucified.Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetoriumand gathered the whole cohort around him.They stripped off his clothesand threw a scarlet military cloak about him.Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head,and a reed in his right hand.And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,"Hail, King of the Jews!"They spat upon him and took the reedand kept striking him on the head.And when they had mocked him,they stripped him of the cloak,dressed him in his own clothes,and led him off to crucify him.As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;this man they pressed into serviceto carry his cross.And when they came to a place called Golgotha— which means Place of the Skull —,they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.After they had crucified him,they divided his garments by casting lots;then they sat down and kept watch over him there.And they placed over his head the written charge against him:This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,one on his right and the other on his left.Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,"You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,save yourself, if you are the Son of God,and come down from the cross!"Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,"He saved others; he cannot save himself.So he is the king of Israel!Let him come down from the cross now,and we will believe in him.He trusted in God;let him deliver him now if he wants him.For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"The revolutionaries who were crucified with himalso kept abusing him in the same way.From noon onward, darkness came over the whole landuntil three in the afternoon.And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"Some of the bystanders who heard it said,"This one is calling for Elijah."Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed,gave it to him to drink.But the rest said,'Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him."But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,and gave up his spirit.And behold, the veil of the sanctuarywas torn in two from top to bottom.The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,they entered the holy city and appeared to many.The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesusfeared greatly when they saw the earthquakeand all that was happening, and they said,"Truly, this was the Son of God!"

Saturday, April 1, 2023 | John 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Maryand seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.But some of them went to the Phariseesand told them what Jesus had done.So the chief priests and the Phariseesconvened the Sanhedrin and said,"What are we going to do?This man is performing many signs.If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,and the Romans will comeand take away both our land and our nation."But one of them, Caiaphas,who was high priest that year, said to them,"You know nothing,nor do you consider that it is better for youthat one man should die instead of the people,so that the whole nation may not perish."He did not say this on his own,but since he was high priest for that year,he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,and not only for the nation,but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.So from that day on they planned to kill him.So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,but he left for the region near the desert,to a town called Ephraim,and there he remained with his disciples.Now the Passover of the Jews was near,and many went up from the country to Jerusalembefore Passover to purify themselves.They looked for Jesus and said to one anotheras they were in the temple area, "What do you think?That he will not come to the feast?"

Friday, March 31, 2023 | John 10:31-42

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father.For which of these are you trying to stone me?"The Jews answered him,"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.You, a man, are making yourself God."Jesus answered them,"Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'?If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,and Scripture cannot be set aside,can you say that the onewhom the Father has consecrated and sent into the worldblasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me;but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,believe the works, so that you may realize and understandthat the Father is in me and I am in the Father."Then they tried again to arrest him;but he escaped from their power.He went back across the Jordanto the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.Many came to him and said,"John performed no sign,but everything John said about this man was true."And many there began to believe in him.

Thursday, March 30, 2023 | John 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:"Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever keeps my word will never see death."So the Jews said to him,"Now we are sure that you are possessed.Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?Or the prophets, who died?Who do you make yourself out to be?"Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;but it is my Father who glorifies me,of whom you say, 'He is our God.'You do not know him, but I know him.And if I should say that I do not know him,I would be like you a liar.But I do know him and I keep his word.Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;he saw it and was glad."So the Jews said to him,"You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?"Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,before Abraham came to be, I AM."So they picked up stones to throw at him;but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 | John 8:31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."They answered him, "We are descendants of Abrahamand have never been enslaved to anyone.How can you say, 'You will become free'?"Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.A slave does not remain in a household forever,but a son always remains.So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.I know that you are descendants of Abraham.But you are trying to kill me,because my word has no room among you.I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence;then do what you have heard from the Father."They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham."Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children,you would be doing the works of Abraham.But now you are trying to kill me,a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;Abraham did not do this.You are doing the works of your father!"So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication.We have one Father, God."Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me,for I came from God and am here;I did not come on my own, but he sent me."