The wind blows where it wills - 13-04-2026

Published on April 12, 2026

Monday of the Second week of Easter

First Reading

Acts 4,23-31.

After their release Peter and John went back to their own people
and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them.
And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God
with one accord and said, "Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven
and earth and the sea and all that is in them,
you said by the holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David,
your servant: 'Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples entertain folly?
The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes
gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.'
Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus
whom you anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together
with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do what your hand and (your) will had long ago planned to take place.
And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable
your servants to speak your word with all boldness,
as you stretch forth (your) hand to heal, and signs
and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook,
and they were all filled with the holy Spirit
and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 2,1-3.4-6.7-9.

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples utter folly?
The kings of the earth rise up,
and the princes conspire together
against the LORD and against his anointed:
"Let us break their fetters and cast their bonds from us!"

He who is throned in heaven laughs;
the LORD derides them.
Then in anger he speaks to them;
he terrifies them in his wrath:
"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."
"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."

 

Gospel

John 3,1-8.

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
He came to Jesus at night and said to him,
"Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
Nicodemus said to him, "How can a person once grown old be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?"
Jesus answered, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one
can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.
Do not be amazed that I told you, 'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
 so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

 

YOUCAT Reflection

 120 What does the Holy Spirit do in my life?

The Holy Spirit makes me receptive to God; he teaches me to pray and helps me to be there for others.

Augustine calls the Holy Spirit "The quiet guest of
our soul". Anyone who wants to sense his presence must be quiet. Often this Guest speaks very softly within us and with us, for instance, in the voice of our conscience or through other interior and exterior promptings. Being a "temple of the Holy Spirit" means being there, body and soul, for this Guest, for God in us. Our body is therefore God's living room, so to speak. The more receptive we are to the Holy Spirit in us, the more he becomes the master of our life, the sooner he will bestow on us even today his charisms for the upbuilding of the Church. And so, instead of the works of the flesh, the fruits of the Spirit grow in us.

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