Monday 22 April
2013
Readings at Mass
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First reading
Acts
11:1-18
The apostles and the brothers in Judaea
heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and when Peter came up
to Jerusalem the Jews criticised him and said, ‘So you have been visiting the
uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?’ Peter in reply gave them the
details point by point: ‘One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,’ he began ‘I
fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of something like a big
sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This sheet reached the
ground quite close to me. I watched it intently and saw all sorts of animals
and wild beasts – everything possible that could walk, crawl or fly. Then
I heard a voice that said to me, “Now, Peter; kill and eat!” But I answered:
Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane or unclean has ever crossed my lips. And a
second time the voice spoke from heaven, “What God has made clean, you have no
right to call profane.” This was repeated three times, before the whole of it
was drawn up to heaven again.
Just
at that moment, three men stopped outside the house where we were staying; they
had been sent from Caesarea to fetch me, and the Spirit told me to have no
hesitation about going back with them. The six brothers here came with me as
well, and we entered the man’s house. He told us he had seen an angel standing
in his house who said, “Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon known as Peter; he has a
message for you that will save you and your entire household.”
I
had scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same
way as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said,
“John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” I
realised then that God was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when
we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God’s way?’
This
account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. ‘God’ they said ‘can
evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.’
Like the Jews we too have our
casteism, racism, compartments for people. The apostles suffered from this
also. God however sees every person, including you and me, as precious and
lovable to the point of becoming human and dying for us. We have to learn like
Peter to see everyone in the same way. This is to be a Christian.
Psalm
Psalm
41:2-3,42:3-4
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of
my life.
or
Alleluia!
Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of
my life.
or
Alleluia!
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of
my life.
or
Alleluia!
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of
my life.
or
Alleluia!
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the
harp,
O God, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of
my life.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Jn10:14
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
John
10:1-10
Jesus said: ‘I tell you most solemnly,
anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some
other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the
shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice,
one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out
his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his
voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not
recognise the voice of strangers.’
Jesus
told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling
it to them.
So
Jesus spoke to them again:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All others who have come
are thieves and brigands;
but the sheep took no notice of them.
I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be
safe:
he will go freely in and out
and be sure of finding pasture.
The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have life and have it
to the full.’
That
you may have Abundant Life
Jesus tells us why he came into the world. He came to give us
life in all its abundance. Everything he did in his ministry - preaching,
healing, exorcising, suffering, and dying, is that we may have life in its
abundance. He gave himself completely for us. He poured out everything he had
and was for us so that we may have abundant life. This life is God’s life and
with God. There is no self-seeking in Jesus at all. That is why he is the door
to the sheepfold. All other teachers and religions look for something for
themselves. Jesus only gives of himself: “From his fullness we have all
received grace upon grace” (1:16). Love does not force. Love invites and
appeals and so Jesus calls us. If we are his sheep, we will hear his voice. He
will call us by name. Have you heard his call?
Tuesday
23 April 2013
Readings at Mass
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First reading
Acts
11:19-26
Those who had escaped during the
persecution that happened because of Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and
Cyprus and Antioch, but they usually proclaimed the message only to Jews. Some
of them, however, who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch where they
started preaching to the Greeks, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Jesus to
them as well. The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were
converted to the Lord.
The
church in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There
he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he
urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he
was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number
of people were won over to the Lord.
Barnabas
then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to
Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole
year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the
disciples were first called ‘Christians.’
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Psalm
Psalm
86:1-7
O praise the Lord, all you nations!
or
Alleluia!
On the holy mountain is his city
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!
O praise the Lord, all you nations!
or
Alleluia!
‘Babylon and Egypt I will count
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called “Mother”
for all shall be her children.’
O praise the Lord, all you nations!
or
Alleluia!
It is he, the Lord Most High,
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
‘These are her children,’
and while they dance they will sing:
‘In you all find their home.’
O praise the Lord, all you nations!
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Jn10:27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my
voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
John
10:22-30
It was the time when the feast of
Dedication was being celebrated in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in
the Temple walking up and down in the Portico of Solomon. The Jews gathered
round him and said, ‘How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If
you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus replied:
‘I have told you, but you do not
believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name are
my witness;
but you do not believe,
because you are no sheep of mine.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my
voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is
greater than anyone,
and no one can steal from the Father.
The Father and I are one.’
God,
the Humble One
The blindness of human beings is
staggering. God’s Son lives among them and does the works that only God can do.
Yet they do not accept him. As Paul wrote, Jesus was always God but did not
think that he always had to claim the position of God. On the contrary, he
emptied himself and took the nature of a servant. He was born a human being
(Phil 2:6). He looked so ordinary, so human that people could not even imagine
that he was anything else. Some did, however, follow the prompting of the Holy
Spirit and believe in him. Jesus is still among us inviting us to accept him so
that he can give us eternal life. If we truly belong to Jesus, we will not
perish. He will guide us through life until we reach our goal. Do you believe in Jesus? Do you stay close to him?
Wednesday 24
April 2013
Readings at Mass
____________________
First reading
Acts
12:24-13:5
The word of God continued to spread and
to gain followers. Barnabas and Saul completed their task and came back from
Jerusalem, bringing John Mark with them.
In
the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas,
Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the
Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set
apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting
and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So
these two, sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and
from there sailed to Cyprus. They landed at Salamis and proclaimed the word of
God in the synagogues of the Jews; John acted as their assistant.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm
66:2-3,5-6,8
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let
all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon
us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let
all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let
all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let
all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Jn20:29
Alleluia, alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas, because you can
see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and
yet believe.
Alleluia!
Or
Jn8:12
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the
light of life.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
John
12:44-50
Jesus declared publicly:
‘Whoever believes in me
believes not in me
but in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
I, the light, have come into the world,
so that whoever believes in me
need not stay in the dark any more.
If anyone hears my words and does not
keep them faithfully,
it is not I who shall condemn him,
since I have come not to condemn the
world,
but to save the world.
He who rejects me and refuses my words
has his judge already:
the word itself that I have spoken will
be his judge on the last day.
For what I have spoken does not come
from myself;
no, what I was to say,
what I had to speak,
was commanded by the Father who sent me,
and I know that his commands mean
eternal life.
And therefore what the Father has told
me
is what I speak.’
Searching
for the Truth
We cannot simply take Jesus as some great teacher of the past,
whom we can study or not according to our own wishes. Jesus claims to have come
from God, that God is his Father and that the Father and he are one. Anyone
concerned for the truth will study him and his words. His life and his teaching
are transparently true. We will see that he is the Truth. When we believe in
Jesus, we learn how to live. He is our Shepherd, our Healer, our Light, the
Bread of our life, Source of Living Water, the Way and Gate to Salvation and to
know him is to have Eternal Life. To have lacked interest in wanting to know
and live the Truth will be our condemnation on Judgement Day. We have life on
trust. Are you concerned to know the Truth and live in the Truth?
Thursday
25 April 2013
Readings at Mass
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First reading
1
Peter 5:5-14
All wrap yourselves in humility to be
servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour
the humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you
up on the appointed day; unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking
after you. Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round
like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in
faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering
the same things. You will have to suffer only for a little while: the God of
all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well
again: he will confirm, strengthen and support you. His power lasts for ever
and ever. Amen.
I
write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a brother I know I can
trust, to encourage you never to let go this true grace of God to which I bear
witness.
Your
sister in Babylon, who is with you among the chosen, sends you greetings; so
does my son, Mark.
Greet
one another with a kiss of love.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm
88:2-3,6-7,16-17
I will sing for ever of your love, O
Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will sing for ever of your love, O
Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim
your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts
for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as
the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O
Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O
Lord;
the assembly of your holy ones proclaims
your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with
the Lord
or who is like the Lord among the sons
of God?
I will sing for ever of your love, O
Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Happy the people who acclaim such a
king,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your
face,
who find their joy every day in your
name,
who make your justice the source of
their bliss.
I will sing for ever of your love, O
Lord.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
1Co1:23-24
Alleluia, alleluia!
We are preaching a crucified Christ,
who is the power and the wisdom of God.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
16:15-20
Jesus showed himself to the Eleven, and
said to them: ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all
creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not
believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with
believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of
tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink
deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And
so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there
at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs
that accompanied it.
Stars
in the Night Sky
It is the inescapable duty of
believers to proclaim their faith in Jesus. They are to do this always and
everywhere. We do it by the quality of our lives. They are to be shining
examples of faith in Jesus. As Jesus lived by the values of God so must we:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, compassion, gentleness, humility, purity,
and self-control. Believers are to live by these values. They are the
fruits of the Holy Spirit within them and set believers apart from others. To
the extent they live by these, they will shine like stars in the night sky.
Then when they have the opportunity to speak, people may listen. With Jesus
within them believers will bring peace and health. They will liberate people
from the evil habits with which Satan binds them. Do you experience Jesus as
working with you in witnessing by your life and word?
Friday 26 April
2013
Readings at Mass
____________________
First reading
Acts
13:26-33
Paul stood up in the synagogue at
Antioch in Pisidia, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
‘My
brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of
salvation is meant for you. What the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did,
though they did not realise it, was in fact to fulfil the prophecies read on
every sabbath. Though they found nothing to justify his death, they condemned
him and asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out everything
that scripture foretells about him they took him down from the tree and buried
him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared
to those who had accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem: and it is these
same companions of his who are now his witnesses before our people.
‘We
have come here to tell you the Good News. It was to our ancestors that God made
the promise but it is to us, their children, that he has fulfilled it, by raising
Jesus from the dead. As scripture says in the second psalm: You are my son:
today I have become your father.’
____________________
Psalm
Psalm
2:6-11
You are my Son. It is I who have
begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
‘It is I who have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.’
I will announce the decree of the Lord:
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
You are my Son. It is I who have
begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
‘Ask and I shall bequeath you the
nations,
put the ends of the earth in your
possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s jar.’
You are my Son. It is I who have
begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
Now, O kings, understand,
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe
and trembling, pay him your homage.
You are my Son. It is I who have
begotten you this day.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Col3:1
Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been brought back to true
life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in
heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand.
Alleluia!
Or
Jn14:6
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,
says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except
through me.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
John
14:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s
house;
if there were not, I should have told
you.
I am going now to prepare a place for
you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a
place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too.
You know the way to the place where I am
going.’
Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where
you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except
through me.’
Life
is Life with Christ
Jesus is speaking intimately to his
disciples who know him and love him. Someone who has a close relationship with
Jesus in faith only can understand these words. Although in the world, Jesus
has already left it in his mind. Here we touch the heart of our religion. It is
our intimate relationship with Jesus. This is real even though in faith. Living
in Jesus gives us peace of mind in all circumstances. We know that he is always
with us. There is no fear of the future because he is always there to protect
us even in the crucial moment of death. The goal of life is not to reach a
place, heaven, but a perfect relationship with God through Jesus. This is the
fulfilment of our relationship with Christ, which we have begun here on earth
in the darkness of faith. Do you strive to know Jesus?
Saturday 27
April 2013
Readings at Mass
____________________
First reading
Acts
13:44-52
The next sabbath almost the whole town
assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted
by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul
and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you
first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy
of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord
commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations,
so that my salvation may reach the ends
of the earth.’
It made the pagans very happy to hear
this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for
eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the
whole countryside.
But
the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the
leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas
and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in
defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and
the Holy Spirit.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm
97:1-4
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Rm6:9
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, having been raised from the
dead, will never die again.
Death has no power over him any more.
Alleluia!
Or
Jn8:31-32
Alleluia, alleluia!
If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
and you will learn the truth, says the
Lord.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
John
14:7-14
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have
seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the
Father and then we shall be satisfied.’
‘Have
I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him, ‘and you still do
not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the
Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the
Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father
is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as
from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is
doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father
is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work,
if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do
myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will
do,
so that the Father may be glorified in
the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
Jesus,
Perfect Image of his Father
The prophets and psalmists longed to
see God’s face. “Your face, O God, do I seek” sums up their pleas. Now we have
seen the face of God: not the face of God in glory but in his human expression.
It is the face of Jesus. Look at Jesus and you see God. He is the God who lives
in “unapproachable light” but now shows himself with a human face. Every word of
Jesus is the Father speaking our language. His every action is that of God the
Father. He reveals God’s mind. How, then, do you understand God? Jesus lives in
us and desires to continue his mission of God’s mercy through us. As he reveals
the Father, we are to reveal him. We reveal Jesus in the way he reveals the
Father: by actions of love and words of truth. Is your life the revelation of
Jesus?
