3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR A) – APRIL 30, 2017

Saturday, April 29, 2017

3rd Sunday of EASTER – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Acts 2:14, 22-23

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice: 'Men of Judaea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, make no mistake about this, but listen carefully to what I say.

22 'Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you know.

23 This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified and killed by men outside the Law.

24 But God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since,

25 as David says of him: I kept the Lord before my sight always, for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.

26 So my heart rejoiced my tongue delighted; my body, too, will rest secure,

27 for you will not abandon me to Hades or allow your holy one to see corruption.

28 You have taught me the way of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

1 [In a quiet voice Of David] Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge.

2 To Yahweh I say, 'You are my Lord, my happiness is in none

5 My birthright, my cup is Yahweh; you, you alone, hold my lot secure.

7 I bless Yahweh who is my counsellor, even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I keep Yahweh before me always, for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.

9 So my heart rejoices, my soul delights, my body too will rest secure,

10 for you will not abandon me to Sheol, you cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss.

11 You will teach me the path of life, unbounded joy in your presence, at your right hand delight for ever.

Second Reading

First Peter 1:17-21

17 And if you address as Father him who judges without favouritism according to each individual's deeds, live out the time of your exile here in reverent awe.

18 For you know that the price of your ransom from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors was paid, not in anything perishable like silver or gold,

19 but in precious blood as of a blameless and spotless lamb, Christ.

20 He was marked out before the world was made, and was revealed at the final point of time for your sake.

21 Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for this very purpose -- that your faith and hope should be in God.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

LUKE 24:13-35

13 Now that very same day, two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem,

14 and they were talking together about all that had happened.

15 And it happened that as they were talking together and discussing it, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side;

16 but their eyes were prevented from recognising him.

17 He said to them, 'What are all these things that you are discussing as you walk along?' They stopped, their faces downcast.

18 Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, 'You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.'

19 He asked, 'What things?' They answered, 'All about Jesus of Nazareth, who showed himself a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and the whole people;

20 and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified.

21 Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have now gone by since it all happened;

22 and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning,

23 and when they could not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive.

24 Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.'

25 Then he said to them, 'You foolish men! So slow to believe all that the prophets have said!

26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory?'

27 Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

28 When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on;

29 but they pressed him to stay with them saying, 'It is nearly evening, and the day is almost over.' So he went in to stay with them.

30 Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them.

31 And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight.

32 Then they said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?'

33 They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions,

34 who said to them, 'The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon.'

35 Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (YEAR C) - APRIL 23, 2017

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Divine Mercy Sunday – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Divine Mercy

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2:42-47

42 These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

43 And everyone was filled with awe; the apostles worked many signs and miracles.

44 And all who shared the faith owned everything in common;

45 they sold their goods and possessions and distributed the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.

46 Each day, with one heart, they regularly went to the Temple but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously;

47 they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved.

“The Word of the Lord”

 PSALMS 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

2 Let the House of Israel say, 'His faithful love endures for ever.'

3 Let the House of Aaron say, 'His faithful love endures for ever.'

4 Let those who fear Yahweh say, 'His faithful love endures for ever.'

13 I was pushed hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh came to my help.

14 Yahweh is my strength and my song, he has been my Saviour.

15 Shouts of joy and salvation, in the tents of the upright, 'Yahweh's right hand is triumphant,

22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

23 This is Yahweh's doing, and we marvel at it.

24 This is the day which Yahweh has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad.

Second Reading

First Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

4 and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you

5 who are being kept safe by God's power through faith until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the final point of time.

6 This is a great joy to you, even though for a short time yet you must bear all sorts of trials;

7 so that the worth of your faith, more valuable than gold, which is perishable even if it has been tested by fire, may be proved -- to your praise and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8 You have not seen him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him you believe in him and so are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described;

9 and you are sure of the goal of your faith, that is, the salvation of your souls.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

JOHN 20:19-31

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 and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord,

21 and he said to them again, 'Peace be with you. 'As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.'

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

23 If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained.

24 Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples said to him, 'We have seen the Lord,' but he answered, 'Unless I can see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.'

26 Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. 'Peace be with you,' he said.

27 Then he spoke to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving any more but believe.'

28 Thomas replied, 'My Lord and my God!'

29 Jesus said to him: You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

30 There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of the disciples, but they are not recorded in this book.

31 These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

EASTER SUNDAY (YEAR A) – APRIL 16, 2017

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Easter Sunday – Year A

10:00 am   Multilingual Mass

First Reading

ACTS OF APOSTLES 10:34, 37-43

34 Then Peter addressed them, 'I now really understand', he said, 'that God has no favourites,

37 You know what happened all over Judaea, how Jesus of Nazareth began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism.

38 God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.

39 Now we are witnesses to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and they killed him by hanging him on a tree,

40 yet on the third day God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen,

41 not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses that God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses -- we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead-

42 and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to bear witness that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.

43 It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.'

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good, for his faithful love endures for ever.

2 Let the House of Israel say, 'His faithful love endures for ever.'

16 Yahweh's right hand is victorious, Yahweh's right hand is triumphant!'

17 I shall not die, I shall live to recount the great deeds of Yahweh.

22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

23 This is Yahweh's doing, and we marvel at it.

Second Reading

COLOSSIANS 3:1-4

1 Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God's right hand.

2 Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth,

3 because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God.

4 But when Christ is revealed -- and he is your life-you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

JOHN 20:1-9

1 It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb

2 and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,' she said, 'and we don't know where they have put him.'

3 So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb.

4 They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first;

5 he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in.

6 Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground

7 and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.

8 Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.

9 Till this moment they had still not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

EASTER VIGIL (YEAR A) – APRIL 15, 2017

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Easter Vigil - Year A

08:30 pm  Mass in Multilingual

First Reading

GENESIS 1:1--2:2

1 In the beginning God created heaven and earth.

2 Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.

3 God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.

4 God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness.

5 God called light 'day', and darkness he called 'night'. Evening came and morning came: the first day.

6 God said, 'Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two.' And so it was.

7 God made the vault, and it divided the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault.

8 God called the vault 'heaven'. Evening came and morning came: the second day.

9 God said, 'Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.' And so it was.

10 God called the dry land 'earth' and the mass of waters 'seas', and God saw that it was good.

11 God said, 'Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, bearing fruit with their seed inside, each corresponding to its own species.' And so it was.

12 The earth produced vegetation: the various kinds of seed-bearing plants and the fruit trees with seed inside, each corresponding to its own species. God saw that it was good.

13 Evening came and morning came: the third day.

14 God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years.

15 Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.' And so it was.

16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars.

17 God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth,

18 to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good.

19 Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.

20 God said, 'Let the waters be alive with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the vault of heaven.' And so it was.

21 God created great sea-monsters and all the creatures that glide and teem in the waters in their own species, and winged birds in their own species. God saw that it was good.

22 God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.'

23 Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.

24 God said, 'Let the earth produce every kind of living creature in its own species: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of all kinds.' And so it was.

25 God made wild animals in their own species, and cattle in theirs, and every creature that crawls along the earth in its own species. God saw that it was good.

26 God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.'

27 God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them, saying to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move on earth.'

29 God also said, 'Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food.

30 And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food.' And so it was.

31 God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.

1 Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array.

2 On the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35

1 Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour,

2 wearing the light as a robe! You stretch out the heavens like a tent,

5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, for ever and ever it shall not be shaken;

6 you covered it with the deep like a garment, the waters overtopping the mountains.

10 In the ravines you opened up springs, running down between the mountains,

12 on their banks the birds of the air make their nests, they sing among the leaves.

13 From your high halls you water the mountains, satisfying the earth with the fruit of your works:

14 for cattle you make the grass grow, and for people the plants they need, to bring forth food from the earth,

12 on their banks the birds of the air make their nests, they sing among the leaves.

13 From your high halls you water the mountains, satisfying the earth with the fruit of your works:

14 for cattle you make the grass grow, and for people the plants they need, to bring forth food from the earth,

24 How countless are your works, Yahweh, all of them made so wisely! The earth is full of your creatures.

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

Second Reading

GENESIS 22:1-18

1 It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he called. 'Here I am,' he replied.

2 God said, 'Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to you.'

3 Early next morning Abraham saddled his donkey and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place which God had indicated to him.

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

5 Then Abraham said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there; we shall worship and then come back to you.'

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded it on Isaac, and carried in his own hands the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together.

7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. 'Father?' he said. 'Yes, my son,' he replied. 'Look,' he said, 'here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'

8 Abraham replied, 'My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.' And the two of them went on together.

9 When they arrived at the place which God had indicated to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son and put him on the altar on top of the wood.

10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

11 But the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied.

12 'Do not raise your hand against the boy,' the angel said. 'Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your own beloved son.'

13 Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

14 Abraham called this place 'Yahweh provides', and hence the saying today: 'On the mountain Yahweh provides.'

15 The angel of Yahweh called Abraham a second time from heaven.

16 'I swear by my own self, Yahweh declares, that because you have done this, because you have not refused me your own beloved son,

17 I will shower blessings on you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will gain possession of the gates of their enemies.

18 All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.'

“The Word of the Lord”

Third Reading

EXODUS 14:15, 15:1

15 Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Why cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to march on.

1 It was then that Moses and the Israelites sang this song in Yahweh's honour: I shall sing to Yahweh, for he has covered himself in glory, horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

“The Word of the Lord”

Fourth Reading

ISAIAH 54:5-14

5 For your Creator is your husband, Yahweh Sabaoth is his name, the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer, he is called God of the whole world.

6 Yes, Yahweh has called you back like a forsaken, grief-stricken wife, like the repudiated wife of his youth, says your God.

7 I did forsake you for a brief moment, but in great compassion I shall take you back.

8 In a flood of anger, for a moment I hid my face from you. But in everlasting love I have taken pity on you, says Yahweh, your redeemer.

9 For me it will be as in the days of Noah when I swore that Noah's waters should never flood the world again. So now I swear never to be angry with you and never to rebuke you again.

10 For the mountains may go away and the hills may totter, but my faithful love will never leave you, my covenant of peace will never totter, says Yahweh who takes pity on you.

11 Unhappy creature, storm-tossed, unpitied, look, I shall lay your stones on agates and your foundations on sapphires.

12 I shall make your battlements rubies, your gateways firestone and your entire wall precious stones.

13 All your children will be taught by Yahweh and great will be your children's prosperity.

14 In saving justice you will be made firm, free from oppression: you will have nothing to fear; free from terror: it will not approach you.

“The Word of the Lord”

Fifth Reading

ISAIAH 55:1-11

1 Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money, free!

2 Why spend money on what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy.

3 Pay attention, come to me; listen, and you will live. I shall make an everlasting covenant with you in fulfilment of the favours promised to David.

4 Look, I have made him a witness to peoples, a leader and lawgiver to peoples.

5 Look, you will summon a nation unknown to you, a nation unknown to you will hurry to you for the sake of Yahweh your God, because the Holy One of Israel has glorified you.

6 Seek out Yahweh while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near.

7 Let the wicked abandon his way and the evil one his thoughts. Let him turn back to Yahweh who will take pity on him, to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness;

8 for my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares Yahweh.

9 For the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts.

10 For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat,

11 so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do.

“The Word of the Lord”

Sixth Reading

BARUCH 3:9-15, 32, 4:4

9 Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life; hear, and learn what knowledge means.

10 Why, Israel, why are you in the country of your enemies, growing older and older in an alien land,

11 defiling yourselves with the dead, reckoned with those who go to Sheol?

12 It is because you have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!

13 Had you walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace for ever.

14 Learn where knowledge is, where strength, where understanding, and so learn where length of days is, where life, where the light of the eyes and where peace.

15 But who has found out where she lives, who has entered her treasure house?

32 But the One who knows all discovers her, he has grasped her with his own intellect, he has set the earth firm for evermore and filled it with four-footed beasts,

4 Israel, blessed are we: what pleases God has been revealed to us!

“The Word of the Lord”

Seventh Reading

EZEKIEL 36:16-28

16 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,

17 'Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own territory, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions; to me their conduct was as unclean as a woman's menstruation.

18 I then vented my fury on them because of the blood they shed in the country and the foul idols with which they defiled it.

19 I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved.

20 They have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, "These are the people of Yahweh; they have been exiled from his land."

21 But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.

22 And so, say to the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am acting not for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.

23 I am going to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am Yahweh -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- when in you I display my holiness before their eyes.

24 For I shall take you from among the nations and gather you back from all the countries, and bring you home to your own country.

25 I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your filth and of all your foul idols.

26 I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead.

27 I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws, and respect and practice my judgments.

28 You will live in the country which I gave your ancestors. You will be my people and I shall be your God.

“The Word of the Lord”

Eight Reading

ROMANS 6:3-11

3 You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death.

4 So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's glorious power, we too should begin living a new life.

5 If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by a resurrection like his;

6 realising that our former self was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin.

7 Someone who has died, of course, no longer has to answer for sin.

8 But we believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too.

9 We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more.

10 For by dying, he is dead to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with God.

11 In the same way, you must see yourselves as being dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

MATTHEW 28:1-10

1 After the Sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre.

2 And suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.

3 His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow.

4 The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they were like dead men.

5 But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, 'There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay,

7 then go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has risen from the dead and now he is going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you will see him." Look! I have told you.'

8 Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples.

9 And suddenly, coming to meet them, was Jesus. 'Greetings,' he said. And the women came up to him and, clasping his feet, they did him homage.

10 Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me.'

“The Gospel of the Lord”

GOOD FRIDAY (YEAR A) – APRIL 14, 2017

Friday, April 14, 2017

GOOD FRIDAY – YEAR A

02:30 PM  Stations of the Cross and Service

                  Multilingual

07:30 PM   Stations of the Cross and Service

                   Multilingual

First Reading

ISAIAH 52:13, 53:12

13 Look, my servant will prosper, will grow great, will rise to great heights.

14 As many people were aghast at him -- he was so inhumanly disfigured that he no longer looked like a man-

15 so many nations will be astonished and kings will stay tight-lipped before him, seeing what had never been told them, learning what they had not heard before.

1 Who has given credence to what we have heard? And who has seen in it a revelation of Yahweh's arm?

2 Like a sapling he grew up before him, like a root in arid ground. He had no form or charm to attract us, no beauty to win our hearts;

3 he was despised, the lowest of men, a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering, one from whom, as it were, we averted our gaze, despised, for whom we had no regard.

4 Yet ours were the sufferings he was bearing, ours the sorrows he was carrying, while we thought of him as someone being punished and struck with affliction by God;

5 whereas he was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt; the punishment reconciling us fell on him, and we have been healed by his bruises.

6 We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and Yahweh brought the acts of rebellion of all of us to bear on him.

7 Ill-treated and afflicted, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb before its shearers he never opened his mouth.

8 Forcibly, after sentence, he was taken. Which of his contemporaries was concerned at his having been cut off from the land of the living, at his having been struck dead for his people's rebellion?

9 He was given a grave with the wicked, and his tomb is with the rich, although he had done no violence, had spoken no deceit.

10 It was Yahweh's good pleasure to crush him with pain; if he gives his life as a sin offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his life, and through him Yahweh's good pleasure will be done.

11 After the ordeal he has endured, he will see the light and be content. By his knowledge, the upright one, my servant will justify many by taking their guilt on himself.

12 Hence I shall give him a portion with the many, and he will share the booty with the mighty, for having exposed himself to death and for being counted as one of the rebellious, whereas he was bearing the sin of many and interceding for the rebellious.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 31: 2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 24

2 turn your ear to me, make haste. Be for me a rock-fastness, a fortified citadel to save me.

6 you hate those who serve useless idols; but my trust is in Yahweh:

12 I have no more place in their hearts than a corpse, or something lost.

13 All I hear is slander -- terror wherever I turn -- as they plot together against me, scheming to take my life.

15 every moment of my life is in your hands, rescue me from the clutches of my foes who pursue me;

16 let your face shine on your servant, save me in your faithful love.

17 I call on you, Yahweh, so let disgrace fall not on me, but on the wicked. Let them go down to Sheol in silence,

18 muzzles on their lying mouths, which speak arrogantly against the upright in pride and contempt.

19 Yahweh, what quantities of good things you have in store for those who fear you, and bestow on those who make you their refuge, for all humanity to see.

20 Safe in your presence you hide them, far from human plotting, shielding them in your tent, far from contentious tongues.

21 Blessed be Yahweh who works for me miracles of his faithful love (in a fortified city)!

22 In a state of terror I cried, 'I have been cut off from your sight!' Yet you heard my plea for help when I cried out to you.

23 Love Yahweh, all his faithful: Yahweh protects his loyal servants, but he repays the arrogant with interest.

24 Be brave, take heart, all who put your hope in Yahweh.

Second Reading

HEBREWS 4:14-16; 5:7-9

14 Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith.

15 For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but has been put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin.

16 Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace when we are in need of help.

7 During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, with loud cries and with tears, to the one who had the power to save him from death, and, winning a hearing by his reverence,

8 he learnt obedience, Son though he was, through his sufferings;

9 when he had been perfected, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

JOHN 18:1-19, 42

1 After he had said all this, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron valley where there was a garden into which he went with his disciples.

2 Judas the traitor knew the place also, since Jesus had often met his disciples there,

3 so Judas brought the cohort to this place together with guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with lanterns and torches and weapons.

4 Knowing everything that was to happen to him, Jesus came forward and said, 'Who are you looking for?'

5 They answered, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said, 'I am he.' Now Judas the traitor was standing among them.

6 When Jesus said to them, 'I am he,' they moved back and fell on the ground.

7 He asked them a second time, 'Who are you looking for?' They said, 'Jesus the Nazarene.'

8 Jesus replied, 'I have told you that I am he. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go.'

9 This was to fulfil the words he had spoken, 'Not one of those you gave me have I lost.'

10 Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

11 Jesus said to Peter, 'Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?'

12 The cohort and its tribune and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him.

13 They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

14 It was Caiaphas who had counselled the Jews, 'It is better for one man to die for the people.'

15 Simon Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest's palace,

16 but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the door-keeper and brought Peter in.

17 The girl on duty at the door said to Peter, 'Aren't you another of that man's disciples?' He answered, 'I am not.'

18 Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood there too, warming himself with the others.

19 The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20 Jesus answered, 'I have spoken openly for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together; I have said nothing in secret.

21 Why ask me? Ask my hearers what I taught; they know what I said.'

22 At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, 'Is that the way you answer the high priest?'

23 Jesus replied, 'If there is some offence in what I said, point it out; but if not, why do you strike me?'

24 Then Annas sent him, bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

25 As Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him, 'Aren't you another of his disciples?' He denied it saying, 'I am not.'

26 One of the high priest's servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, 'Didn't I see you in the garden with him?'

27 Again Peter denied it; and at once a cock crowed.

28 They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves to avoid becoming defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

29 So Pilate came outside to them and said, 'What charge do you bring against this man?' They replied,

30 'If he were not a criminal, we should not have handed him over to you.'

31 Pilate said, 'Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law.' The Jews answered, 'We are not allowed to put anyone to death.'

32 This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die.

33 So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'

34 Jesus replied, 'Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others said it to you about me?'

35 Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?'

36 Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.'

37 Pilate said, 'So, then you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'It is you who say that I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.'

38 'Truth?' said Pilate. 'What is that?' And so saying he went out again to the Jews and said, 'I find no case against him.

39 But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release for you the king of the Jews?'

40 At this they shouted, 'Not this man,' they said, 'but Barabbas.' Barabbas was a bandit.

1 Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged;

2 and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and dressed him in a purple robe.

3 They kept coming up to him and saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' and slapping him in the face.

4 Pilate came outside again and said to them, 'Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case against him.'

5 Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, 'Here is the man.'

6 When they saw him, the chief priests and the guards shouted, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' Pilate said, 'Take him yourselves and crucify him: I find no case against him.'

7 The Jews replied, 'We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to be put to death, because he has claimed to be Son of God.'

8 When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased.

9 Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, 'Where do you come from?' But Jesus made no answer.

10 Pilate then said to him, 'Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?'

11 Jesus replied, 'You would have no power over me at all if it had not been given you from above; that is why the man who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.'

12 From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, 'If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar's; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.'

13 Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated him on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha.

14 It was the Day of Preparation, about the sixth hour. 'Here is your king,' said Pilate to the Jews.

15 But they shouted, 'Away with him, away with him, crucify him.' Pilate said, 'Shall I crucify your king?' The chief priests answered, 'We have no king except Caesar.'

16 So at that Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. They then took charge of Jesus,

17 and carrying his own cross he went out to the Place of the Skull or, as it is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,

18 where they crucified him with two others, one on either side, Jesus being in the middle.

19 Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews'.

20 This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek.

21 So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, 'You should not write "King of the Jews", but that the man said, "I am King of the Jews". '

22 Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.'

23 When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem;

24 so they said to one another, 'Instead of tearing it, let's throw dice to decide who is to have it.' In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothes. That is what the soldiers did.

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

26 Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son.'

27 Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

28 After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed and, so that the scripture should be completely fulfilled, he said: I am thirsty.

29 A jar full of sour wine stood there; so, putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a hyssop stick, they held it up to his mouth.

30 After Jesus had taken the wine he said, 'It is fulfilled'; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

31 It was the Day of Preparation, and to avoid the bodies' remaining on the cross during the Sabbath -- since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity -- the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away.

32 Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other.

33 When they came to Jesus, they saw he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs

34 one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.

35 This is the evidence of one who saw it -- true evidence, and he knows that what he says is true -- and he gives it so that you may believe as well.

36 Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture: Not one bone of his will be broken;

37 and again, in another place scripture says: They will look to the one whom they have pierced.

38 After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus -- though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews -- asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away.

39 Nicodemus came as well -- the same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time -- and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.

40 They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, following the Jewish burial custom.

41 At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried.

42 Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

“The Gospel of the Lord”