Mass Reading: Sunday - 02nd June 2024

First reading
Exodus 24:3-8
This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you

    Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’ Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices. Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

How can I repay the Lord
    for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
    I will call on the Lord’s name.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
    you have loosened my bonds.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
    I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
    before all his people.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

________

Second reading
Hebrews 9:11-15
The blood of Christ can purify our inner self

    Now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.

    He brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant.

The word of the Lord.

________

Sequence
Lauda, Sion

Sing forth, O Zion, sweetly sing
The praises of thy Shepherd-King,
    In hymns and canticles divine;
Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song
Worthy his praises to prolong,
    So far surpassing powers like thine.

Today no theme of common praise
Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –
    The living, life-dispensing food –
That food which at the sacred board
Unto the brethren twelve our Lord
    His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,
Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,
    The very music of the breast:
For now shines forth the day sublime
That brings remembrance of the time
    When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King’s banquet-hall
They meet to keep the festival
    That closed the ancient paschal rite:
The old is by the new replaced;
The substance hath the shadow chased;
    And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done
Should be renewed while time should run,
    In memory of his parting hour:
Thus, tutored in his school divine,
We consecrate the bread and wine;
    And lo – a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given –
Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:
    Into his blood the wine is turned:
What though it baffles nature’s powers
Of sense and sight? This faith of ours
    Proves more than nature e’er discerned.

Concealed beneath the two-fold sign,
Meet symbols of the gifts divine,
    There lie the mysteries adored:
The living body is our food;
Our drink the ever-precious blood;
    In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides
The sacred food, which whole abides
    Unbroken still, nor knows decay;
Be one, or be a thousand fed,
They eat alike that living bread
    Which, still received, ne’er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,
With sure increase of grace or sin,
    The ghostly life, or ghostly death:
Death to the guilty; to the good
Immortal life. See how one food
    Man’s joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament, but bold
And firm thy faith shall keep its hold,
Deem not the whole doth more enfold
    Than in the fractured part resides
Deem not that Christ doth broken lie,
’Tis but the sign that meets the eye,
The hidden deep reality
    In all its fullness still abides.

– – – – – –

*Behold the bread of angels, sent
For pilgrims in their banishment,
The bread for God’s true children meant,
    That may not unto dogs be given:
Oft in the olden types foreshowed;
In Isaac on the altar bowed,
And in the ancient paschal food,
    And in the manna sent from heaven.

*Come then, good shepherd, bread divine,
Still show to us thy mercy sign;
Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;
So may we see thy glories shine
    In fields of immortality;

*O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,
Our present food, our future rest,
Come, make us each thy chosen guest,
Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest
    With saints whose dwelling is with thee.

Amen. Alleluia.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn6:51

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven, 
says the Lord.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Mark 14:12-16,22-26
This is my body; this is my blood

    On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to Jesus, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the owner of the house which he enters, “The Master says: Where is my dining room in which I can eat the passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us there.’ The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.

    And as they were eating he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it,’ he said ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.’

    After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives.

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 02nd June 2024

 

EX 24:3-8; PS 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18; HEB 9:11-15; MK 14:12-16, 22-26

Today we celebrate Corpus Christi — the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus’ Body and Blood was sacrificed for us on Calvary, but before that excruciating event, He humbly bound Himself to human hands in the Eucharist. As St. Thomas Aquinas expresses, “In this sacrament sins are purged away, virtues are increased, the soul satiated with an abundance of every spiritual gift. No other sacrament is so beneficial.”

Jesus gave us the perfect and loving Gift of Himself so that we might be nourished, strengthened and more fully united to Him as we journey to eternal life. This glorious solemnity calls us to reflect on the precious gift of the Eucharist and what it truly means for us as Catholics.

Our Gospel today recounts the Last Supper. As Jesus ate the Passover meal with His apostles, He broke bread, telling them, “This is my Body,” and again, poured wine, saying, “This is my Blood… which will be shed for many.” In this moment, Jesus sacrificially gave us Himself in the Eucharist by foreshadowing His passion, death and resurrection.

The Eucharist, what we celebrate at each Mass, is the real presence of our Savior — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is not a symbol of Jesus or even just a piece of Him. It is all of Him, given to each of us. As St. Catherine of Siena said, “Even if it would be possible to fragment the Holy Eucharist into thousands of tiny Particles, in each one of the tiny Particles there is the presence of Christ, the whole God and the whole Man.”

Out of total love, Jesus holds nothing back from us. He gives us His entire self.

We must ask ourselves, do we understand Who we consume at every Mass?

It is our Precious Redeemer.

As life becomes busy and our minds are filled with the countless things we must get done each day, we often forget to acknowledge our Savior at Mass; or to spend time with Him throughout our week; or to accept all the graces He wishes to bestow on us as we receive Him. So let us stop and recognize the real presence of our Savior.

It begins as we walk into the church each week. Where do our minds and hearts focus? Is it on which pew we might sit in, if our friend is at Mass, or are we wrapped up in a thought of "thank goodness we made it before the Gospel"?

In our humanity, it is so easy to think of these things, but as we enter the church, we should strive to leave the world outside and enter into God’s time. We should draw our eyes, minds and hearts to the One we came to see lain in the Tabernacle. Recall, it is truly Jesus’ presence we have just entered. It is God before us. Let’s greet Him with reverence as we bend one knee or bow before Him. Let us strive to sit in silence and speak to Him from your mind and heart. This can be difficult for us with the distractions of what is going on around us or if we have young kids. All we can do is try out best.

When the high point of our Mass occurs — when the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, recall that we are at Calvary once again. The crucifixion of Christ is made re-present to us. We have the opportunity to consume His precious Body and Blood. It is truly the most intimate moment we have with God on this earth.

Do not let this moment pass us by. It is an opportunity for mercy, offerings and grace. As we approach Jesus’ Body and Blood, ask for mercy for every sin we have ever committed; offer our greatest joy and our deepest sorrow along with all of our intentions; and ask for grace to persevere in this life.

Recall that this is a Eucharistic meal. We should continue these prayers, along with prayers of gratitude and praise, after we receive Him. Just as the apostles spent time with Jesus at the Last Supper by speaking with Him as they shared that meal, so too are we called to fully partake in this meal at Mass. When someone serves us a meal, we do not turn around and leave. Instead we enjoy it and share our gratitude for it. This is how we are to respond to our spiritual food.

It can be difficult to wrap our minds around Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. The appearance of bread and wine are tough to look past. Thankfully, God hears our cry for faith. If we struggle to believe in His real presence, pray frequently, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Our God looks on us with such love and compassion. He will increase our eyes of faith.

Yet another way to deepen our understanding of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist is through Eucharistic Adoration or time before the Tabernacle. Spending time in the presence of Jesus will undoubtedly transform our hearts. Grace is poured out on us just by being with Him. Anyone can pray in His presence. It is as simple as St. John Vianney proclaims, “I look at Him and He looks at me.” We don’t need to overcomplicate our prayer — we just need to be with Jesus.

As we celebrate this glorious solemnity of The Body and Blood of Christ, let us find time today to reflect on the Eucharist. Let us strive to intentionally honor and reverence Him at every Mass; strive to fully partake in each Eucharistic meal; and let us find time to visit our Savior in the Tabernacle. And let us pray frequently, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Mass Reading: Sunday - 26th May 2024

First reading
Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40
The Lord is God indeed: he and no other

    Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

    ‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

The word of the Lord

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

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.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

By his word the heavens were made,
    by the breath of his mouth all the stars.
He spoke; and it came to be.
    He commanded; it sprang into being.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

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.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
    The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
    as we place all our hope in you.

Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

________

Second reading
Romans 8:14-17
The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God

    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 co-heirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

The word of the Lord

________

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Rv1:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
the God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20
Go and make disciples of all nations

    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

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 26th May 2024

 

DT 4:32-34, 39-40; PS 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22; ROM 8:14-17; MT 28:16-20

Today, we celebrate an essential doctrine of our Catholic faith — the Most Holy Trinity. It expresses God as three Divine Persons, unified in One Divine nature. The Trinity is one of the most complex aspects of our faith. It is a topic we could never exhaust nor fully understand until we see God face to face.

Although it is incomprehensible, it is still deeply personal. Through God’s countless revelations to man, we get a glimpse of our awe-inspiring Creator. It is through His revelations that He has invited us into life with Him.

Today, we are called to pour out our hearts in praise and thanksgiving for our Good and Gracious God and to recognize the ways in which we can encounter Him — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our First Reading references Moses proclaiming the greatness of our God as he recounts what God did for the Israelites. If we recall, the Israelites struggled with the belief in one God. Yet, Moses aids them in their understanding as He expresses all that God has done for them. God spoke to them in fire, took them out of the land of Egypt through testing, signs, wonders and war. Through His mighty works, God was revealing Himself to the Israelites expressing that He is their one God.

When we reflect on our lives, let us ask ourselves, is God competing for our attention in certain areas of our lives? Have we been blind to the ways He has been encountering us?

God is revealing His love and goodness to us each day. Sometimes we notice the moments — like getting a promotion at work when you felt like you were underappreciated, finding out your family is growing after years of praying for a baby, or receiving confirmation on a health problem you have been dealing with for months. Those moments stick out to us because we feel like God has moved a mountain for us. We think, "our God is truly awesome."

But there are also moments that we might not notice — small little occurrences throughout the day like beautiful weather, unexpected words of affirmation or a great night of sleep. These are the little moments that God reveals His love and care, and they deserve recognition, praise and thanksgiving. We just need to look through the lens of gratitude and keep our minds and hearts focused on the One who deserves all our attention so that we might notice God is with us.

Our Second Reading, from St. Paul, expresses the relationship of the three Divine Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. By our Baptism, we received the Holy Spirit becoming adopted children of God. It is by the grace of the Holy Spirit that we call God, “Abba, Father!” And it is with the Holy Spirit that we can unite all of our sufferings to Christ so that we might one day rise with Him.

Our relationship with God is right before us. As we became God’s adopted children, we received His endless grace. We can cry out to our Father in a moment of joy or sorrow, invite the Holy Spirit into all that we do throughout our days, and suffer every hardship with Christ Himself. All we need to do is invoke His name in each moment.

In our Gospel, St. Matthew reminds us just how real our God is — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We often read the Scriptures as if they are unapplicable to us, distant and unrelatable. And although they were written at a different time, they were written about human beings just like us who encountered the living God. They are as applicable today for each one of us as they were when they were first written.

We have a God that literally became flesh and lived among us. He rejoiced, suffered and loved each day. And He asked people to follow Him that were sinners. It says even the eleven apostles, “worshipped, but they doubted.” He encountered people like you and me.

So, let those words and actions in our Scriptures come alive in us here and now. Let us read them, not as distant history, but real encounters with the Most Holy Trinity — living God. Let us strive to not only encounter Christ in our readings, but also by calling out to God the Father in prayer and to the Holy Spirit in our day-to-day living. May our faith and personal relationship with the Trinity be strengthened.

As we celebrate this glorious Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, may we praise God in word and deed, and may we seek moments to encounter the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each day — through Scripture, prayer, sacraments and blessings throughout our day, as Jesus tell us, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Mass Reading: Sunday - 19th May 2024

First reading
Acts 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
Psalm 103(104):1,24,29-31,34

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

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

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

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.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

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.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

________

Second reading
Galatians 5:16-25
If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you

    If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.

    Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.

The word of the Lord.

Sequence
Veni, sancte Spiritus

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
John 15:26-27,16:12-15
The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the outset.

‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 19th May 2024

ACTS 2:1-11; PS 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 COR 12:3b-7, 12-13; JN 20:19-23


Our Easter season culminates with the glorious feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, meaning "fifty," is the day that the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the apostles in the form of tongues of fire fifty days after Easter. We also celebrate this day as the birthday of the Church, for shortly after this event, St. Peter preached his first homily.

We can imagine how incredible that moment was for the apostles and all who witnessed it. The Holy Spirit was alive and working.

The Holy Spirit is just as alive and willing to work here and now in our day-to-day moments as back at our first Pentecost. It is our call as Christian disciples to be attentive and open to these workings. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God is in us and always around us — yet, we must call upon His name, seek His guidance and become aware of His presence in our lives.

Our First Reading bears witness to the first Pentecost. During this encounter with the Holy Spirit, the apostles and Mary felt a driving wind, there were tongues of fire on the heads of each of them and the Spirit allowed them to speak in different tongues proclaiming acts of God.

We might hear this reading and wish the Holy Spirit worked that obviously in our lives each day. The truth is, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is obvious, we just might be blind to it, or it might be that we have closed ourselves off to the Holy Spirit’s wonderous works.

Our tongues of fire might be a profound conversation with a friend, something that you needed to hear in that exact moment; or a pushed-back deadline at work when you were swamped; or a moment of strength to speak the truth when you typically shy away; or even a closed door to an opportunity for something much, much greater. These are movements of the Holy Spirit in our everyday moments.

The more we take time to recognize them, the more we become aware of them. So, at the close of each day, try examining how the day went. Search for the moments where you witnessed the Holy Spirit working in your daily life and the life of your family and friends.

In our Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us of our unique role as Christian stewards as he says, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord… To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”

Each one of us has been given unique gifts from the Holy Spirit. No two stewards are the same. Some of us might be confident in those gifts and some of us might not know what they are just yet. When we discover them and use them for God’s work, they are multiplied beyond what we could have imagined. It is our job to look inward and pray, "Come Holy Spirit, reveal my gifts to me so that I may use them for Your glory."

And when we live a life attentive to the Spirit’s workings and gifts, we can better live out Jesus’ call in our Gospel today, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” As disciples of Christ, we are sent out to gather more disciples. If we are constantly striving to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, God will do the rest by showing us the way.

On this Pentecost Sunday, let us give thanks to God for sending us His Holy Spirit. Let us strive to be in tune with the Holy Spirit by looking for the ways God has been working in our lives and let us ask for the grace to know our gifts and talents so that we can put them to good use.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 12th May 2024

 

ACTS 1: 1-11; PS 47: 2-3, 6-9; EPH 1: 17-23; MK 16: 15-20

During this Easter season many of our First Readings have come from the Acts of the Apostles. Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday which culminates the Easter season for the Church. Scholars generally agree that the Acts of the Apostles was also written by St. Luke. Today’s reading from Acts certainly gives an indication of that. It is clear that Acts is written to someone named Theophilus as it opens with “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up.”

The Book of Luke opens by also stating that it is being written to Theophilus: “I, too, have decided…to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus.” Those who study sacred scripture love to debate who Theophilus was, but that is not important. For our purposes we are Theophilus. The name Theophilus means “friend of God,” or “God lover” which includes all of us.

Perhaps the greatest message of the First Reading, the opening verses of Acts, is the basis of the Book itself. The Gospel of Luke records all that Jesus began to do and to teach. It is the beginning of Jesus’ work. However, Acts describes how Jesus’ work continued with His disciples and followers. In a sense the Book of Acts is still not complete because the work of Jesus continues today. Today’s “Acts” may not be scriptural, but through us as disciples the Lord’s presence and works continues in the world and in His Church.

We are part of this great legacy, and that is the real message for us here: we are called, and we are expected to be the disciples who share the Good News with others.

St. Paul never states the specific reason for his letter to the Ephesians, our Second Reading. But it is certainly possible to ascertain his motivation from what he includes in the letter. In today’s reading he speaks of our approach to understanding and faith when he says, “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened.” In scripture the word “heart” tends to indicate the very core and center of life. It is much more than a realization or a comprehension. It means something we embrace and appreciate to the very foundations of our lives and the way we live them.

Paul wants the Ephesians (and us) to know that few things give us more secure and enduring hope in life than knowing that God has called us and has a specific calling for each of us to fulfill. This is complementary to what we hear in the First Reading. The hope of God’s calling has its perspective in the future. If we believe in resurrection and eternal life, we can grasp the hope which comes with salvation.

Nevertheless, Paul wants us to know that we are worthy of the calling, the command if you will, given us by Jesus. If we wish to be saved, we need to live distinctive lives here on earth. The letter to the Ephesians, and today’s passage, gives us very specific teaching on how we are to live our lives in our parishes, in our world, and in our homes.

Jesus makes it clearer in the Gospel Reading from Mark, as He addresses His followers prior to His Ascension into heaven, that they have a responsibility, and it was one they could not escape. We share that responsibility. It is part of our calling and part of what our lives as Catholics and Christians should and must be.

When we go out to do the work of God, Jesus is always with us and He works with us and through us. This is the pattern for all we do, our sense of ministry and mission. A wise philosopher once stated that signs are meant to follow believers, not believers following signs. The final verse of the Gospel — “But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” – continues to this very day. That is the message of everything we have heard in Holy Scripture today, and it is the message we should hear every time we are exposed to Holy Scripture.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 12th May 2024

 

First reading
Acts 1:1-11
Jesus was lifted up while they looked on

    In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and 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
Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9

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

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.

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.

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
Ephesians 4:1-13
We are all to come to unity, fully mature in the knowledge of the Son of God

    I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

    Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would:

When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners,
he gave gifts to men.

    When it says, ‘he ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.

The word of the Lord

________

Gospel Acclamation
Mt28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia!

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

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Mark 16:15-20
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News

    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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 05th May 2024

First reading
Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48
The pagans have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have

    As Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, knelt at his feet and prostrated himself. But Peter helped him up. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘I am only a man after all!’ 

    Then Peter addressed them: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.’

    While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too, since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, ‘Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have?’ He then gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 97(98):1-4

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Sing a new song to the Lord
    for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
    have brought salvation.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

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.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
    ring out your joy.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

________

Second reading
1 John 4:7-10

Let us love one another, since love comes from God

My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God’s love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn14:23

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
John 15:9-17
You are my friends if you do what I command you

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another, as I have loved you.
A man can have no greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants any more,
because a servant does not know
his master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me:
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
and then the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
What I command you
is to love one another.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 05th May 2024

ACTS 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; PS 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 1 JN 4:7-10; JN 15:9-17


Our readings today call us to love as Christ loves. This request from our Lord is no small endeavor. It is something we must work at every day in every moment. When we put it at the forefront of our minds and hearts, and strive to live it out each day, it will transform our lives and impact others, too.

As St. John tells us in our Second Reading, it is “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” Recall that God loved us first, not because of what we do for Him, but because He created us out of love. His love for us is pure and radical.

In our Gospel, Jesus says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The ways Jesus has loved us and continues to love us are endless.

Jesus has loved us by dying for our salvation; by giving His entire Self to us in the Eucharist; by sending forth His Spirit to be with us always; He loves us through the sacraments, pouring out His never-ending grace and mercy; He loves us as we are, despite any faults and shortcomings; He loves us through the many blessings He bestows on us and even the trials we endure. His love for us is deeply personal, boundless, and always selfless and sacrificial.

We are called to imitate this love. And He tells us the greatest way to do this when He said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

It is difficult to live that out in our humanity. Yet, it is made much easier when we faithfully love Christ. The fact of the matter is, as our love for Christ increases, so too does our capacity to love others.

There are countless times throughout each day when we can do just that — giving up time each morning that we spend listening to the news and instead spending it in prayer; waking up Saturday morning to attend daily Mass instead of sleeping in; talking to God in the car on the way to work; regularly going to confession. These are simple ways to express our love for the Lord by laying down our lives for Him.

The more we find ways to love the Lord, the more we will find it easier to lay down our lives for others — for instance, by responding to your spouse with kind words in their moment of weakness, anger or frustration; driving your kids to another event or activity after you have been in the car all day; saying prayers for the slow person on the road instead of mentally attacking them.

These are the small ways that we can emulate Christ, put aside our selfishness and serve others.

Christ’s command to “love one another as I have loved you” may seem daunting. Yet, Christ would never ask something of us that we cannot live out. All we need to do is take baby steps.

Look at each moment and think, "How can I better love Jesus right now?" or "How can I lay down my life in this moment?" for it is in loving Christ that we will better love others, and it is in loving others that we love Christ Himself.