FIRST READING   

 A reading from the Acts of the Apostles     14:19-28
They gave an account of all that God had done with them.

Some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and turned the people against the apostles. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples came crowding round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and Barnabas went off to Derbe.

Having preached the Good News in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. 'We all have to experience many hardships' they said, 'before we enter the kingdom of God.' In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans. They stayed there with the disciples for some time.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm        Ps 144
Response                             Your friends, O Lord, shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
Or                                          Alleluia!

1. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.       Response

2. Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.                         Response

3. Let me speak the praise of the Lord,
let all mankind bless his holy name
for ever, for ages unending.                               Response

Gospel Acclamation   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!

GOSPEL               

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John     14:27-31
My own peace I give you.


Jesus said to his disciples:

'Peace I bequeath to you,
my own peace I give you,
a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me say: I am going away, and shall return.
If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now before it happens,
so that when it does happen you may believe.
I shall not talk with you any longer,
because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me,
but the world must be brought to know
that I love the Father
and that I am doing exactly what the Father told me.'

The Gospel of the Lord.



 

 Gospel Reflection          Tuesday,            Fifth Week of Easter       John 14:27-31

The opening words of Jesus in today’s gospel reading may sound familiar to you: ‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you’. A version of those words has made its way into the text of our Mass, just before the sign of peace: ‘Lord Jesus Christ who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you’. Jesus spoke those words to his disciples in the setting of the Last Supper. They had heard Jesus say to them that he was going away and that he would return. They were disturbed by his talk of going away. The full reality of what was about to happen on the following day was beginning to dawn on them. Their hearts were troubled and afraid. In that sombre setting, Jesus gives them the gift of his own peace, which he identifies as a peace the world cannot give. Jesus was at peace in this hour and he wanted his disciples to experience something of his own peace. Jesus was at peace in spite of the fact that, as he says in the gospel reading, ‘the prince of the world is on his way’. This is a likely reference to Satan and to all those who are in Satan’s power. Jesus is at peace in the full knowledge that evil stalks the land. His peace is rooted in his loving relationship with God his Father. This is the peace that Jesus gives to his disciples, to all of us. It is a peace that is rooted in God’s love for us through Jesus. Because it has such deep roots, it can endure even in the face of the world’s hostility.

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The scripture readings are taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/

TThe Gospel reflection comes from: Weekday Reflections for the Liturgical Year 2018/2019; I Want to Know Christ   ' by Martin Hogan, published by The Messenger c/f   www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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FIRST READING      Acts of the Apostles 15:1-2. 22-29
It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials

Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, 'Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved'. This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.

Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:

'The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.'

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm Ps 66
Response                          Let the peoples praise you, 0 God; let all the peoples praise you.
Or                                        Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

1. O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth.
and all nations learn your saving help.    Response

2. Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.                Response

3. Let the peoples praise you, 0 God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.       Response

SECOND READING        Apocalypse 21:10-14. 22-23
He  showed me the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven.

In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw that there was no temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple, and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.

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                            John 14:23-29
The Holy Spirit, will  remind you of all I have said to you.

Jesus said to his disciples:

'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.
Peace I bequeath to you,
my own peace I give you,
a peace the world cannot give,
this is my gift to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me say:
I am going away, and shall return.
If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now before it happens,
so that when it does happen you may believe.

The Gospel of the Lord

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.