Daily Catholic Lectio
Wed, 29 April 2026
Fourth Week of Easter
Ac 12:24–13:5. Jn 12:44–50
Set Apart for Me
There is a quiet but powerful moment in today’s first reading. While the community is praying and fasting, the Holy Spirit speaks: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” It is a simple sentence. Yet it carries within it a whole vision of Christian life—call, identity, mission.
To be “set apart” can sound uncomfortable. At times, we ask within ourselves: Why can I not be like everyone else? Why must my life take a different path? But the Word of God gently reverses the question: You are not meant to be like everyone else. This is not a limitation imposed on us. It is a liberation given to us. God does not reduce our life by calling us; He reveals its depth.
The expression “set apart” can be understood in two ways. One is negative: to put aside, to reject, to exclude. Like when something is removed because it is not wanted. We know this experience too—people excluded, relationships pushed away, moments when we ourselves feel set aside. This kind of separation wounds.
But there is another meaning—positive, beautiful, life-giving. We set apart something precious for a special moment: a garment kept for a feast, a vessel reserved for honoured guests, a gift preserved with care. Here, “setting apart” is not rejection; it is recognition of value. It is love that chooses, that entrusts, that prepares.
This is what happens to Barnabas and Saul. They are not separated from the community because they are unwanted. They are set apart because they are needed—for a mission.
Notice also how this call comes. The community is praying and fasting. They are attentive. They are inwardly free. And in that space, they recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. This raises an important question for us: How did they know it was the Holy Spirit who spoke? It was because they lived in communion with God. Discernment had become their way of life. They could distinguish: this is from God, this is not.
In our time, we often struggle here. Many voices surround us—opinions, fears, desires. But the early Church teaches us a quiet wisdom: when we remain rooted in prayer, when we live in communion, clarity grows. The voice of the Spirit becomes recognizable.
There is another striking element. After hearing the call, the community lays hands on Barnabas and Saul and sends them. This gesture is simple, yet profound. It tells us that mission is never individualistic. The Spirit calls, but the Church confirms. The community prays, blesses, and participates.
In the early Church, there was a certain freedom of the Spirit. The gifts of God were recognized, shared, and affirmed within the community. Everyone had a role. Everyone participated. Today, we often organize, structure, and regulate—and there is value in this. Yet, we must not lose the deeper truth: the Spirit is not confined. God can act through all. The Church is not only centred on ministers; it is a living body where each one is called, gifted, and sent.
Finally, look at the response of Barnabas and Saul. They do not remain in the comfort of being “chosen.” They do not hold on to the honour of being set apart. They move. Immediately. For them, being set apart is not a privilege to enjoy, but a responsibility to embrace.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks with the same clarity: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the one who sent me… I have come as light into the world.” To be set apart, then, is to belong to this light. It is to live in such a way that our life becomes a passage through which God’s light reaches others.
Today the Word invites us to three simple movements.
First, to listen. If we cultivate silence, prayer, and interior freedom, we too will begin to recognize the voice of the Spirit.
Second, to accept. To be set apart is not to be isolated; it is to be entrusted. It is to know that our life has a purpose given by God.
Third, to go. The call of God always leads outward—towards mission, towards others, towards life.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A ‘Yesni Prays’ Initiative
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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