April 22, 2004, Monday of the fourth week of Easter.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the Word of God.

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers confronted him saying,

You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.

Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,

I was at prayer in the city of Joppa, when in a trance I had a vision.

Something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four

corners, and it came to me. Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals

of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. I also heard a voice

say to me, get up, Peter,, slaughter and eat. But I said, certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or

unclean has ever entered my mouth. But a second time a voice from heaven answered,

what God has made clean you are not to call profane.

This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.

Just then, three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from

Cessaria. The spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.

These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house.

He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,

Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, who will speak words to you, by which you and all your household

will be saved. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as it had upon us at the beginning.

And I remembered the word of the Lord how he had said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us,

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