Churches of the Day

Friday, Sixth Week of Easter

These are the final days of Easter time, a waiting time for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost.

Saint of the day: May 15; St Cartage, bishop, founder of monastery at Rahan, died in AD 638
C/f A short life of this saint can be found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles      18:9-18
I have so many people on my side in this city.

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision,
'Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you.
I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.'
So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. 'We accuse this man' they said 'of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.'
Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews,
'Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves- I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.'
Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

The Word of the Lord.        Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm      Ps 46: 2-7. R/v 8
Response                          God is king of all the earth.
Or                                        Alleluia!

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.            Response

2. He subdues peoples under us and nations under our feet.
Our inheritance, our glory, is from him, given to Jacob out of love.                     Response

3. 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.                  Response

Gospel Acclamation     Jn 14:26
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and
remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!

or                                         Lk 24:46.26
Alleluia, alleluia!
It was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
Alleluia!

or    
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen and shone upon us whom he redeemed with his blood.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL


The Lord be with you.                          And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to  John   16:20-23     Glory to you, O Lord
No one shall take your joy from you.

 Jesus said to his disciples:
'I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a man has been born into the world.

So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you. When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.'

The Gospel of the Lord.          Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.



 Gospel Reflection          Friday,             Sixth Week of Easter           John 16:20-23

In the gospel reading, Jesus reflects upon a woman’s experience of giving birth to a child to cast light for his disciples on his forthcoming passion and death. The pain a woman experiences in giving birth is the necessary prelude to the unique joy of holding for the first time her new born child. In the joy experienced at holding this new life the pain of childbirth is, at least momentarily, forgotten. Jesus is saying that the pain of his coming passion and death for himself and his disciples is the prelude to the new life of Easter in which he and his disciples will rejoice within three days of his death. For the disciples, the sadness of death, of Jesus’ departure, will give way to the joy of his new life, his coming to them again. Whereas the sadness of Calvary will be overcome by the joy of Easter, the joy of Easter will never be overcome, ‘that joy no one shall take from you’.

From the first Easter Sunday onwards, they will continue to live in the light of Easter and there will be a joy in that experience, even in the difficult and troubling moments that lay ahead, of which there will be many. The Lord is reminding us that we always walk in the light of Easter, even when we are experiencing some dark valley or other. We can taste something of the joy of Easter, the Lord’s own joy, even when deep sadness comes over us, because the risen Lord is always with us. This light and joy of Easter which cannot be taken form us is the foretaste of the eternal light and unending joy of the kingdom of heaven. The light and joy of Easter in the here and now can empower us to be channels of the Lord’s light and joy to others, especially to those who struggle to find it.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings:  The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications , c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the day: May 15; St Cartage, bishop,

St Carthage was a Kerry herdsman who became a monk and  set up a monastery, first in Kerry, then at Rahan in Co Offaly, and finally at Lismore in Co Waterford. In later centuries Lismore became the seat of a diocese. In 1363 the diocese was joined with Waterford. Carthage is still its patron saint.

Patrick Duffy tells his story.

Early Life in Kerry
Carthage was born in Kerry. One day as he was herding pigs in the fields, he saw a bishop and his clergy in procession, chanting psalms, and ran to tell his father he had never seen anything so beautiful. His father wanted him to become a warrior, but he eventually agreed to allow him become a monk in a neighbouring monastery under the guidance of St. Carthage the Elder. Carthage the Elder called him 'Mo-chuta' as an affectionate dimunitive and subsequently ordained him a priest.

Pursued by the Young Women
Mochuta founded a small monastery in Kerry. Since he was very handsome, 'maidens to the number of thirty were so enamoured of him that they could not conceal their feelings'. He built cells and a monastery especially for them, and persuaded them to devote themselves to God as virgins.
After some time he visited and stayed with other abbots and monasteries, Comhgall at Bangor and Colman Elo at Lynally in Offaly, on whose recommendation in 590 he founded his monastery at Rahan about two miles away.

Rahan
The monastery at Rahan had many monks and thrived for over 40 years. But the regime was so severe that Carthage would not provide his monks with oxen and a plough, forcing the monks to till the soil manually. There are stories of efforts by his monks to get rid of him, saying they felt unable to be his equal in virtue and austerity. Eventually the whole community was expelled by orders of Blathmac, the High King of Tara. The real reason may have been that the neighbouring communities envied him his success or possibly because he observed the Roman Easter date, whereas local monasteries followed the older Celtic reckoning.

Lismore
At Eastertide of the year 635, the saint and his whole community were forced out by soldiers. Journeying by Saighir, Roscrea, Cashel, and Ardfinnan (the narrative implies the approval of the patrons of these places), St Carthage finally came to the banks of the River Blackwater, where he obtained a place for his foundation from the king of the Déisí at Lismore in Co Waterford. Although he died within a short time on 14 May 637, Lismore became a famous abbey and later a cathedral, giving its name to the diocese that since 1363 has been joined with Waterford.

Influence
Carthage's chief legacy was that of an austere and blameless life. But by the end of the 7th century, Lismore Mochuda, besides having a thriving abbey, also had a scriptorium that produced three

[caption id="attachment_46060" align="alignleft" width="300"]          St Carthage's Church ruins, Killina[/caption]

important manuscripts of works on scripture, asceticism and morals. A Life of St Mochuda survives, as does a considerable fragment of a Rule of St Carthage (more a series of Christian ascetical counsels than regulations for running a monastery).

Besides at Lismore, Carthage is also remembered in the dedication of St Carthage's Church, Killina, Rahan in Co Offaly.

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Memorable Saying for Today

The most beautiful act of faith is one made in darkness, in sacrifice, and with extreme effort

~ St Padre Pio ~

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The Ascension of the Lord-Year A

Where Jesus has gone we re called to follow in hope.

World Communications Day

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 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.      Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm   Ps 46: 2-3, 6-7 -8-9 R/v 2
Response                       God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
or                                      Alleluia!

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.       Response

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.              Response

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.                            Response

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.            Thanks be to God.


Gospel Acclamation          Mt 28: 19
Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations; I am with you always;
yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you                                And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew           28:16-20 .            Glory to you, O Lord
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.         Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.