Saturday 30 May 2020

Mass Readings - Sunday, 31st May 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles    2:1-11
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak.

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room,
when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from
heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were
sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues
of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of
them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak
foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.
Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation
under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one
bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They
were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men
speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears
them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites;
people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round
Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome- Jews and proselytes alike-
Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language
about the marvels of God.’

The Word of the Lord.



Responsorial Psalm    Ps 103

Response:  Send forth your Spirit, O Lord,
and renew the face of the earth.

1. Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
How many are your works, 0 Lord!
The earth is full of your riches.

2. You take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.

3. May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I find my joy in the Lord.



SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Romans    8:8-17
Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God .

People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be
pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual,
but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you.
In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong
to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if
Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been
justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to
your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our
unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way,
you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the
misdeeds of the body you will live.
Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received
is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the
spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself
and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if
we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with
Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

The Word of the Lord.



SEQUENCE

Holy Spirit, Lord of light,
From the clear celestial height
Thy pure beaming radiance give.
Come, thou Father of the poor,
Come with treasures which endure;
Come, thou light of all that live!
Thou, of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul’s delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow;
Thou in toil art comfort sweet;
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
Light immortal, light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill:
If thou take thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is turned to ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour thy dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
Thou, on us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend:
Give us comfort when we die;
Give us life with thee on high;
Give us joys that never end.



Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love
Alleluia!



GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John    14:15-16, 23-26
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything.

Jesus said to his disciples
‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him and make our home with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words.
And my word is not my own:
it is the word of the one who sent me.
‘I have said these things to you
while still with you;
but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Saturday 23 May 2020

Mass Readings - Sunday, 24th May 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles    1: 12-14
All joined in continuous prayer

After Jesus was taken up into heaven, the apostles went back from
the Mount of Olives, as it is called, to Jerusalem, a short distance
away, no more than a sabbath walk; and when they reached the
city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there
were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the
Zealot, and Jude son of James. All these joined in continuous prayer,
together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus,
and with his brothers.

The Word of the Lord.



Responsorial Psalm    Ps 26

Response: I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.

1. The Lord is my light and my
help; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.

2. There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.

3. O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
“Seek his face.”

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.



SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Peter    4: 13-16
It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of
Christ

If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad,
because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is
revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the
name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory,
the Spirit of God resting on you.
None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a
thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for
being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it;
he should thank God that he has been called one.

The Word of the Lord



Gospel Acclamation    John 14:18

Alleluia, alleluia!
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I will come back to you, and your hearts will be full of joy.
Alleluia!



GOSPEL    John (17:1-11)
Father glorify your Son.

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has
come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you;
and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him,
let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. And
eternal life is this: to know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth and finished the work that you gave me
to do. Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me with that glory I had
with you before ever the world was.
I have made your name known to the men you took from the world
to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they
have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you given me
comes indeed from you;
for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have
truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it
was you who sent me. I pray for them;
I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me,
because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is
mine, and in them I am glorified. I am not in the world any longer,
but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Thursday 21 May 2020

Mass Readings - Thursday, 21st May 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles    1:1-11
He was lifted up while they looked on.

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done
and I taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions
to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken
up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion
by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear
to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had
been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem,
but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said
‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water
but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy
Spirit.’
Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time
come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied,
‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided
by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in
Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the
ends of the earth’.
As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud
took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when
suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said,
‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?
Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus
will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

The Word of the Lord.



Responsorial Psalm    Ps 46

Response:  God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

1. All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth..

God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

2. God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God, sing praise,
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

3. God is king of all the earth.
Sing praise with all your skill.
God is king over the nations;
God reigns on his holy throne.

God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.



SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians    1:17-23
He made him sit at his right hand in heaven

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a
spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to
full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so
that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories
he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the
power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from
the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise
him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven,
far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any
other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the
age to come.
He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of
everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of
him who fills the whole creation.

The Word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation  Mt 28: 19

Allelluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations;
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!


GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew    28:16-20 .
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus
had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down
before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to
them. He said,
‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go,
therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach
them to observe all the commands I gave you.
‘And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Saturday 16 May 2020

Mass Readings - Sunday, 17th May 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles    8:5-8. 14-17
They laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them.
The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either
because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they
saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits
that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several
paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great
rejoicing in that town.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, and they went
down there, and prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit,
for as yet he had not come down on any of them: they had only
been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands
on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The Word of the Lord.



Responsorial Psalm    Ps 65
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.

1. Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds’
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.

2. ‘Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name!’
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.

3. He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.
Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.

4. Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me.
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.   



SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Peter    3:15-18
In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life.

Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your
answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that
you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear
conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a
good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they
bring.
And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for
doing right than for doing wrong.
Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins,
died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to
death, in the spirit he was raised to life.

The Word of the Lord



Gospel Acclamation   Jn 14: 23

Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.’
Alleluia!



GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to John    14:15-21
I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth
whom the world can never receive
since it neither sees nor knows him;
but you know him,
because he is with you, he is in you.
I will not leave you orphans;
I will come back to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me;
but you will see me,
because I live and you will live.
On that day you will understand
that I am in my Father
and you in me and I in you.
Anybody who receives my commandments
and keeps them will be one who loves me;
and anybody who loves me
will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him and show myself to him.’

The Gospel of the Lord.




Saturday 9 May 2020

Mass Readings - Sunday, 10th May 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Acts of the Apostles    6:1-7
They elected seven men full of the Holy Spirit

About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the
Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily
distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve
called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would
not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food.
You, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of
good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand
over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer
and to the service of the word’. The whole assembly approved of
this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the
Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these
to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in
Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made
their submission to the faith.

The Word of the Lord.


Responsorial Psalm    Ps 32

Response:  May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.

1. Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.

2. For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.

3. The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.


SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Peter 2:4-9
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood

He is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and
precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy
priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has
made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual
house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone
that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be
disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is
precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has
proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring
men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the
word; it was the fate in store for them.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated
nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you
out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The Word of the Lord.


Gospel Acclamation    Jn 14: 10

Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’
Alleluia!


GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to John 14:1-12
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

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.
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.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Saturday 2 May 2020

Mass Readings - Sunday, 03rd May 2020

FIRST  READING 
A reading  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles     2:14.  36-41

God has  made  him  both  Lord  and  Christ.’ 

On the  day  of  Pentecost  Peter  stood  up  with  the  Eleven  and addressed  them  in  a  loud  voice:  ‘The  whole  House  of  Israel  can  be certain  that  God  has  made  this  Jesus  whom  you  crucified  both  Lord and  Christ.‘ Hearing  this,  they  were  cut  to  the  heart  and  said  to  Peter  and  the apostles,  ‘What  must  we  do,  brothers?’  ‘You  must  repent,’  Peter answered  ‘and  every  one  of  you  must  be  baptised  in  the  name  of Jesus  Christ  for  the  forgiveness  of  your  sins,  and  you  will  receive  the gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  promise  that  was  made  is  for  you  and  your children,  and  for  all  those  who  are  far  away,  for  all  those  whom  the Lord  our  God  will  call  to  himself.’  He  spoke  to  them  for  a  long  time using  many  arguments,  and  he  urged  them,  ‘Save  yourselves  from this  perverse  generation’. They  were  convinced  by  his  arguments,  and  they  accepted  what  he said  and  were  baptised.  That  very  day  about  three  thousand  were added  to  their  number.

The  Word  of  the  Lord. 


Responsorial  Psalm    Ps  22 

Response:        The  Lord  is  my  shepherd;  there  is  nothing  I  shall  want. 

1. The  Lord  is  my  shepherd; there  is  nothing  I  shall  want. Fresh  and  green  are  the  pastures where  he  gives  me  repose. Near  restful  waters  he  leads  me, to  revive  my  drooping  spirit.             

2. He  guides  me  along  the  right  path; he  is  true  to  his  name. If  I  should  walk  in  the  valley  of  darkness no  evil  would  I  fear. You  are  there  with  your  crook  and  your  staff; with  these  you  give  me  comfort.       

3. You have  prepared  a  banquet  for  me in  the  sight  of  my  foes. My head  you  have  anointed  with  oil; my cup is  overflowing.   
                     
4. Surely  goodness  and  kindness  shall  follow  me all  the  days  of  my  life. In  the  Lord’s  own  house  shall  I  dwell for  ever  and  ever.     


                         
SECOND  READING     
A  reading  from  the  first  letter  of  St  Peter      2:20-25      

You  have  come back to the  shepherd  of  your  souls.  

The  merit,  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  in  bearing  it  patiently  when  you  are punished  after  doing  your  duty.  This,  in  fact,  is  what  you  were  called to  do,  because  Christ  suffered  for  you  and  left  an  example  for  you  to follow  the  way  he  took.  He  had  not  done  anything  wrong,  and  there had  been  no  perjury  in  his  mouth.  He  was  insulted  and  did  not retaliate  with  insults;  when  he  was  tortured  he  made  no  threats  but he  put  his  trust  in  the  righteous  judge.  He  was  bearing  our  faults  in  his own  body  on  the  cross,  so  that  we  might  die  to  our  faults  and  live  for holiness;  through  his  wounds  you  have  been  healed.  You  had  gone astray  like  sheep  but  now  you  have  come  back  to  the  shepherd  and guardian  of  your  souls.

The Word  of  the  Lord. 



Gospel  Acclamation     Jn  10:  14      
Alleluia,  alleluia! 
I am the good  shepherd;  I  know  my  own and  my own know me.
Alleluia


GOSPEL 

reading  from  the  Gospel  according  to  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.

The Gospel of  the  Lord.