{"data":{"date":"040326","lang":"en","readings":[{"citation":"Isaiah 52:13\u201453:12","content":"See, my servant shall prosper,\nhe shall be raised high and greatly exalted.\nEven as many were amazed at him--\nso marred was his look beyond human semblance\nand his appearance beyond that of the sons of man--\nso shall he startle many nations,\nbecause of him kings shall stand speechless;\nfor those who have not been told shall see,\nthose who have not heard shall ponder it.\nWho would believe what we have heard?\nTo whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?\nHe grew up like a sapling before him,\nlike a shoot from the parched earth;\nthere was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,\nnor appearance that would attract us to him.\nHe was spurned and avoided by people,\na man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,\none of those from whom people hide their faces,\nspurned, and we held him in no esteem.\nYet it was our infirmities that he bore,\nour sufferings that he endured,\nwhile we thought of him as stricken,\nas one smitten by God and afflicted.\nBut he was pierced for our offenses,\ncrushed for our sins;\nupon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,\nby his stripes we were healed.\nWe had all gone astray like sheep,\neach following his own way;\nbut the LORD laid upon him\nthe guilt of us all.\nThough he was harshly treated, he submitted\nand opened not his mouth;\nlike a lamb led to the slaughter\nor a sheep before the shearers,\nhe was silent and opened not his mouth.\nOppressed and condemned, he was taken away,\nand who would have thought any more of his destiny?\nWhen he was cut off from the land of the living,\nand smitten for the sin of his people,\na grave was assigned him among the wicked\nand a burial place with evildoers,\nthough he had done no wrong\nnor spoken any falsehood.\nBut the LORD was pleased\nto crush him in infirmity.\nIf he gives his life as an offering for sin,\nhe shall see his descendants in a long life,\nand the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.\nBecause of his affliction\nhe shall see the light in fullness of days;\nthrough his suffering, my servant shall justify many,\nand their guilt he shall bear.\nTherefore I will give him his portion among the great,\nand he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,\nbecause he surrendered himself to death\nand was counted among the wicked;\nand he shall take away the sins of many,\nand win pardon for their offenses.","title":"Reading I"},{"citation":"Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25","content":"R\u00a0\u00a0 (Lk 23:46)\nFather, into your hands I commend my spirit.\nIn you, O LORD, I take refuge;\nlet me never be put to shame.\nIn your justice rescue me.\nInto your hands I commend my spirit;\nyou will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.\nR\nFather, into your hands I commend my spirit.\nFor all my foes I am an object of reproach,\na laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;\nthey who see me abroad flee from me.\nI am forgotten like the unremembered dead;\nI am like a dish that is broken.\nR\nFather, into your hands I commend my spirit.\nBut my trust is in you, O LORD;\nI say, \u201cYou are my God.\nIn your hands is my destiny; rescue me\nfrom the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.\u201d\nR\nFather, into your hands I commend my spirit.\nLet your face shine upon your servant;\nsave me in your kindness.\nTake courage and be stouthearted,\nall you who hope in the LORD.\nR\nFather, into your hands I commend my spirit.","title":"Responsorial Psalm"},{"citation":"Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9","content":"Brothers and sisters:\nSince we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,\nJesus, the Son of God,\nlet us hold fast to our confession.\nFor we do not have a high priest\nwho is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,\nbut one who has similarly been tested in every way,\nyet without sin.\nSo let us confidently approach the throne of grace\nto receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.\nIn the days when Christ was in the flesh,\nhe offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears\nto the one who was able to save him from death,\nand he was heard because of his reverence.\nSon though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;\nand when he was made perfect,\nhe became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.","title":"Reading II"},{"citation":"Philippians 2:8-9","content":"Christ became obedient to the point of death,\neven death on a cross.\nBecause of this, God greatly exalted him\nand bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.","title":"Verse Before the Gospel"},{"citation":"John 18:1\u201419:42","content":"Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley\nto where there was a garden,\ninto which he and his disciples entered.\nJudas his betrayer also knew the place,\nbecause Jesus had often met there with his disciples.\nSo Judas got a band of soldiers and guards\nfrom the chief priests and the Pharisees\nand went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.\nJesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,\nwent out and said to them, \u201cWhom are you looking for?\u201d\nThey answered him, \u201cJesus the Nazorean.\u201d\nHe said to them, \u201cI AM.\u201d\nJudas his betrayer was also with them.\nWhen he said to them, \u201cI AM, \u201c\nthey turned away and fell to the ground.\nSo he again asked them,\n\u201cWhom are you looking for?\u201d\nThey said, \u201cJesus the Nazorean.\u201d\nJesus answered,\n\u201cI told you that I AM.\nSo if you are looking for me, let these men go.\u201d\nThis was to fulfill what he had said,\n\u201cI have not lost any of those you gave me.\u201d\nThen Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,\nstruck the high priest\u2019s slave, and cut off his right ear.\nThe slave\u2019s name was Malchus.\nJesus said to Peter,\n\u201cPut your sword into its scabbard.\nShall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?\u201d\nSo the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,\nbound him, and brought him to Annas first.\nHe was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,\nwho was high priest that year.\nIt was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews\nthat it was better that one man should die rather than the people.\nSimon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.\nNow the other disciple was known to the high priest,\nand he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.\nBut Peter stood at the gate outside.\nSo the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,\nwent out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.\nThen the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,\n\u201cYou are not one of this man\u2019s disciples, are you?\u201d\nHe said, \u201cI am not.\u201d\nNow the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire\nthat they had made, because it was cold,\nand were warming themselves.\nPeter was also standing there keeping warm.\nThe high priest questioned Jesus\nabout his disciples and about his doctrine.\nJesus answered him,\n\u201cI have spoken publicly to the world.\nI have always taught in a synagogue\nor in the temple area where all the Jews gather,\nand in secret I have said nothing.\u00a0 Why ask me?\nAsk those who heard me what I said to them.\nThey know what I said.\u201d\nWhen he had said this,\none of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,\n\u201cIs this the way you answer the high priest?\u201d\nJesus answered him,\n\u201cIf I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;\nbut if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?\u201d\nThen Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.\nNow Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.\nAnd they said to him,\n\u201cYou are not one of his disciples, are you?\u201d\nHe denied it and said,\n\u201cI am not.\u201d\nOne of the slaves of the high priest,\na relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,\n\u201cDidn\u2019t I see you in the garden with him?\u201d\nAgain Peter denied it.\nAnd immediately the cock crowed.\nThen they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.\nIt was morning.\nAnd they themselves did not enter the praetorium,\nin order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.\nSo Pilate came out to them and said,\n\u201cWhat charge do you bring against this man?\u201d\nThey answered and said to him,\n\u201cIf he were not a criminal,\nwe would not have handed him over to you.\u201d\nAt this, Pilate said to them,\n\u201cTake him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.\u201d\nThe Jews answered him,\n\u201cWe do not have the right to execute anyone, \u201c\nin order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled\nthat he said indicating the kind of death he would die.\nSo Pilate went back into the praetorium\nand summoned Jesus and said to him,\n\u201cAre you the King of the Jews?\u201d\nJesus answered,\n\u201cDo you say this on your own\nor have others told you about me?\u201d\nPilate answered,\n\u201cI am not a Jew, am I?\nYour own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.\nWhat have you done?\u201d\nJesus answered,\n\u201cMy kingdom does not belong to this world.\nIf my kingdom did belong to this world,\nmy attendants would be fighting\nto keep me from being handed over to the Jews.\nBut as it is, my kingdom is not here.\u201d\nSo Pilate said to him,\n\u201cThen you are a king?\u201d\nJesus answered,\n\u201cYou say I am a king.\nFor this I was born and for this I came into the world,\nto testify to the truth.\nEveryone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.\u201d\nPilate said to him, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d\nWhen he had said this,\nhe again went out to the Jews and said to them,\n\u201cI find no guilt in him.\nBut you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.\nDo you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?\u201d\nThey cried out again,\n\u201cNot this one but Barabbas!\u201d\nNow Barabbas was a revolutionary.\nThen Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.\nAnd the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,\nand clothed him in a purple cloak,\nand they came to him and said,\n\u201cHail, King of the Jews!\u201d\nAnd they struck him repeatedly.\nOnce more Pilate went out and said to them,\n\u201cLook, I am bringing him out to you,\nso that you may know that I find no guilt in him.\u201d\nSo Jesus came out,\nwearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.\nAnd he said to them, \u201cBehold, the man!\u201d\nWhen the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,\n\u201cCrucify him, crucify him!\u201d\nPilate said to them,\n\u201cTake him yourselves and crucify him.\nI find no guilt in him.\u201d\nThe Jews answered,\n\u201cWe have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,\nbecause he made himself the Son of God.\u201d\nNow when Pilate heard this statement,\nhe became even more afraid,\nand went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,\n\u201cWhere are you from?\u201d\nJesus did not answer him.\nSo Pilate said to him,\n\u201cDo you not speak to me?\nDo you not know that I have power to release you\nand I have power to crucify you?\u201d\nJesus answered him,\n\u201cYou would have no power over me\nif it had not been given to you from above.\nFor this reason the one who handed me over to you\nhas the greater sin.\u201d\nConsequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,\n\u201cIf you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.\nEveryone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.\u201d\nWhen Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out\nand seated him on the judge\u2019s bench\nin the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.\nIt was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.\nAnd he said to the Jews,\n\u201cBehold, your king!\u201d\nThey cried out,\n\u201cTake him away, take him away!\u00a0 Crucify him!\u201d\nPilate said to them,\n\u201cShall I crucify your king?\u201d\nThe chief priests answered,\n\u201cWe have no king but Caesar.\u201d\nThen he handed him over to them to be crucified.\nSo they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,\nhe went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,\nin Hebrew, Golgotha.\nThere they crucified him, and with him two others,\none on either side, with Jesus in the middle.\nPilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.\nIt read,\n\u201cJesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.\u201d\nNow many of the Jews read this inscription,\nbecause the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;\nand it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.\nSo the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,\n\u201cDo not write \u2018The King of the Jews,\u2019\nbut that he said, \u2018I am the King of the Jews\u2019.\u201d\nPilate answered,\n\u201cWhat I have written, I have written.\u201d\nWhen the soldiers had crucified Jesus,\nthey took his clothes and divided them into four shares,\na share for each soldier.\nThey also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,\nwoven in one piece from the top down.\nSo they said to one another,\n\u201cLet\u2019s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, \u201c\nin order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:\nThey divided my garments among them,\nand for my vesture they cast lots.\nThis is what the soldiers did.\nStanding by the cross of Jesus were his mother\nand his mother\u2019s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,\nand Mary of Magdala.\nWhen Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved\nhe said to his mother, \u201cWoman, behold, your son.\u201d\nThen he said to the disciple,\n\u201cBehold, your mother.\u201d\nAnd from that hour the disciple took her into his home.\nAfter this, aware that everything was now finished,\nin order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,\nJesus said, \u201cI thirst.\u201d\nThere was a vessel filled with common wine.\nSo they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop\nand put it up to his mouth.\nWhen Jesus had taken the wine, he said,\n\u201cIt is finished.\u201d\nAnd bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.\nHere all kneel and pause for a short time.\nNow since it was preparation day,\nin order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,\nfor the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,\nthe Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken\nand that they be taken down.\nSo the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first\nand then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.\nBut when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,\nthey did not break his legs,\nbut one soldier thrust his lance into his side,\nand immediately blood and water flowed out.\nAn eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;\nhe knows that he is speaking the truth,\nso that you also may come to believe.\nFor this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:\nNot a bone of it will be broken.\nAnd again another passage says:\nThey will look upon him whom they have pierced.\nAfter this, Joseph of Arimathea,\nsecretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,\nasked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.\nAnd Pilate permitted it.\nSo he came and took his body.\nNicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,\nalso came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes\nweighing about one hundred pounds.\nThey took the body of Jesus\nand bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,\naccording to the Jewish burial custom.\nNow in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,\nand in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.\nSo they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;\nfor the tomb was close by.","title":"Gospel"}],"title":"Friday, April 03, 2026","url":"https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040326.cfm"},"success":true}