Daily Readings - 24/05/2026

^2:1 When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room,

^2:2 when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting;

^2:3 and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.

^2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

^2:5 Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven,

^2:6 and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language.

^2:7 They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans?

^2:8 How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language?

^2:9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

^2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome-

^2:11 Jews and proselytes[*a] alike-Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

^104:1 Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and glory,

^104:2 wrapped in a robe of light! You stretch the heavens out like a tent,

^104:3 you build your palace on the waters above; using the clouds as your chariot, you advance on the wings of the wind;

^104:4 you use the winds as messengers and fiery flames as servants.

^104:5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, unshakeable for ever and ever;

^104:6 you wrapped it with the deep as with a robe, the waters overtopping the mountains.

^104:7 At your reproof the waters took to flight, they fled at the sound of your thunder,

^104:8 cascading over the mountains, into the valleys, down to the reservoir you made for them;

^104:9 you imposed the limits they must never cross again, or they would once more flood the land.

^104:10 You set springs gushing in ravines, running down between the mountains,

^104:11 supplying water for wild animals, attracting the thirsty wild donkeys;

^104:12 near there the birds of the air make their nests and sing among the branches.

^104:13 From your palace you water the uplands until the ground has had all that your heavens have to offer;

^104:14 you make fresh grass grow for cattle and those plants made use of by man, for them to get food from the soil:

^104:15 wine to make them cheerful, oil to make them happy and bread to make them strong.

^104:16 The trees of Yahweh get rain enough, those cedars of Lebanon he planted;

^104:17 here the little birds build their nest and, on the highest branches, the stork has its home.

^104:18 For the wild goats there are the mountains, in the crags rock-badgers hide.

^104:19 You made the moon to tell the seasons, the sun knows when to set:

^104:20 you bring darkness on, night falls, all the forest animals come out:

^104:21 savage lions roaring for their prey, claiming their food from God.

^104:22 The sun rises, they retire, going back to lie down in their lairs,

^104:23 and man goes out to work, and to labour until dusk.

^104:24 Yahweh, what variety you have created, arranging everything so wisely! Earth is completely full of things you have made:

^104:25 among them vast expanse of ocean, teeming with countless creatures, creatures large and small,

^104:26 with the ships going to and fro and Leviathan whom you made to amuse you.

^104:27 All creatures depend on you to feed them throughout the year;

^104:28 you provide the food they eat, with generous hand you satisfy their hunger.

^104:29 You turn your face away, they suffer, you stop their breath, they die and revert to dust.

^104:30 You give breath, fresh life begins, you keep renewing the world.

^104:31 Glory for ever to Yahweh! May Yahweh find joy in what he creates,

^104:32 at whose glance the earth trembles, at whose touch the mountains smoke!

^104:33 I mean to sing to Yahweh all my life, I mean to play for my God as long as I live.

^104:34 May these reflections of mine give him pleasure, as much as Yahweh gives me!

^104:35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked exist no more! Bless Yahweh, my soul.

^12:3 It is for that reason that I want you to understand that on the one hand no one can be speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit and say, ‘Curse Jesus’, and on the other hand, no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

^12:4 There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit;

^12:5 there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord;

^12:6 working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them.

^12:7 The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.

^12:12 Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ.

^12:13 In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

^20:19 In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’,

^20:20 and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord,

^20:21 and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. ‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’

^20:22 After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.

^20:23 For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’