Mass Readings - Sunday, 26th April 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles    2:14, 22-33
It was impossible for him to be held in its power of Hades.

On the day of Pentecost 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. 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 all know. This man, who was put into your power
by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took
and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, 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, as David says of him:
“I saw the Lord before me always, for with him at my right hand nothing
can shake me.  So my heart was glad and my tongue cried out with joy;
my body, too, will rest in the hope that you will not abandon
my soul to Hades nor allow your holy one to experience corruption.
You have made known the way of life to me,
you will fill me with gladness through your presence.”
‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead
and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and
knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his
descendants succeed him on the throne, ‘what he foresaw and
spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who
was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience
corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are
witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he
has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and
what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.’

The Word of the Lord.


Responsorial Psalm    Ps 15

Response:  Show us, Lord, the path of life.

1. Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.’

2. I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

3. And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.

4. You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.


SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Peter    1:17-21

If you are acknowledging as your Father one who has no favourites
and judges everyone according to what he has done, you must be
scrupulously careful as long as you are living away from your home.
Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless
way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything
corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a
lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since
before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the
end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in
God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very
reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.

The Word of the Lord.


Gospel Acclamation     Lk 24:32
Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus, explain the scriptures to us.
Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us
Alleluia!


GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke    24:13-35
They recognised him at the breaking of bread.

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called
Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking
together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over,
Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something
prevented them from recognizing him. He said to them, ‘What
matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short,
their faces downcast.
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’. ‘What things?’ he
asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he
was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of
God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our
leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him
crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set
Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all
happened; and some women from our group have astounded us:
they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not
find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of
angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the
tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but
of him they saw nothing.’
Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full
message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should
suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and
going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages
throughout the scriptures that were about himself.
When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he
made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is
nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in
to stay with them.
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. And their eyes
were opened and they recognized him; but he had vanished from
their sight.
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?’
They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found
the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to
them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’
Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and
how they had recognized him at the breaking of bread.

The Gospel of the Lord.