Churches of the Day

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Because we are dead or wounded by sin, the first effect of God's love is forgiveness.

Saint of the Day; May 12 - Ss Pancras (d. 304), Nereus & Achilleus, martyrs
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            16:22-34
Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.

The crowd of Philippians joined in and showed their hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged. They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 

Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God's praises, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice,
'Don't do yourself any harm; we are all here.'

The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'
They told him, Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.'

Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his family. Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household. Afterwards he took them home and gave them a meal, and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.

The Word of the Lord.          Thanks be to God


Responsorial Psalm        Ps 137: 1-3. 7-8. R/v7
Response                             You stretch out your hand and save me, 0 Lord.
Or                                         Alleluia!

1. I thank you, Lord, with all my heart, you have heard the words of my mouth.
Before the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple.             Response

2. I thank you for your faithfulness and love which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.        Response

3. You stretch out your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands.                       Response

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

or                                     Jn 16: 5-11
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                         And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John      16:5-11           Glory to you, O Lord
Unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you;  but if I do go, I will send him to you.

Jesus said to his disciples:
'Now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you has asked, "Where are you going?"
Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. Still, I must tell you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send him to you.

And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, about who was in the right,
and about judgement:
about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me;
about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more;
and about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.'

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



Gospel Reflection           Tuesday,              Sixth Week of Easter            John 16:5-11 

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus, on the night before he died, addresses himself to the sadness of the disciples. They are sad because they have heard him talk about going away. On this evening, full of foreboding, they sense that he is referring to his imminent death. We always experience sadness when someone who has been significant for us, someone we have loved and valued, is taken from us in death. We need to grieve the loss of our loved ones. Yet, Jesus wants to bring some light into the sadness, the darkness of spirit, of his disciples. He does so by assuring them that, in going from them, he will be able to do something for them that he would not otherwise be able to do.

In returning to the Father, he will be able to send them the Advocate, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. In and through this Spirit, Jesus will be present to his disciples in a new and very intimate way, and he will be present in this manner not just to his disciples gathered with him that evening but to all future disciples, including ourselves gathered here.

Jesus’ death and his resurrection from the dead leads to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Lord, upon us all, and, in and through the Spirit, Jesus is within us and among us. That same Spirit is with us in all our dark and difficult times, in all our times of painful loss. The Spirit assures us of the Lord’s loving presence at such moments, so that even in our sadness we can experience something of that joy which is the fruit of the Spirit.

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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 12 - Ss Pancras (d. 304), Nereus & Achilleus, martyrs

St Pancras, Martyr; died in Rome, probably in 304, martyred under the emperor Diocletian. He was by tradition a teenager. Buried on this day in the cemetery of Octavilla. Widely venerated in Rome and elsewhere. /also Ss Nereus and Achilleus, both martyrs.

St Pancras was a 14-year old boy martyred in Rome, where there is a church in his honour. But he is probably better known from the church of that name in London and the nearby railway station. Ss Nereus and Achilleus have a 4th century basilica dedicated to them close to the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.

Patrick Duffy looks at what is known about these three saints.

St Pancras
The legend of Saint Pancras claims that he was a fourteen year old boy from Phrygia brought to Rome by his uncle. Both were converted to Christianity and were put to death in Rome for refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. A church was built on the site near  Via Aurelia Antica, where a basilica was built by Pope Symmachus (498-514). With various changes over the centuries there has been a church and catacomb in the same place right up to that of today.

[caption id="attachment_45019" align="alignright" width="180"] Church of San Pancrazio, Taormina. The altar, which contains a statue of Saint Pancras.[/caption]

Relics to England
When Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine to England in 597 he gave him relics of Saint Pancras and today in London his name is attached to a prominent and beautiful classical church there as well as with the surrounding area (and the railway station for the Eurostar!). Pancras features as a literary figure with some changes in Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman's novel 'Fabiola', as the gentle antagonist of the villain Corvinus.

Inscription of Pope St Damasus
A fourth century inscription of Pope St Damasus (366-384) tells that Nereus and Achilleus were 2nd century soldiers used to executing through fear the orders of the emperor - possibly Domitian (81-96 AD), that they were suddenly converted to Christianity and then became pacifists. As a result of this they were martyred.

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.