Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 6th May, 2024
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 16:11-15
The Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying.
Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation:
‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us‘;
and she would take no refusal.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 149
Response The Lord takes delight in his people.
Or Alleluia!
1. Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let Zion’s sons exult in their king. Response
2. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people. He crowns the poor with salvation. Response
3. Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips: this honour is for all his faithful. 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!
or Jn 15: 26 – 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Spirit of truth will be my witness, and you too will be witnesses, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 15:26-16:4 Glory to you, O Lord
The Spirit of truth will be my witness.
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 have told you all this that your faith may not be shaken. They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy duty for God.
They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or myself. But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Monday, Sixth Week of Easter John 15:26-16:4
Today’s first reading describes a significant moment in the spread of the gospel in the early church. For the first time, Paul preaches the gospel in the equivalent of modern day Greece, which is the continent of Europe. The first people to hear the gospel on European soil from Paul, according to our first reading, were a group of devout women who gathered for prayer on the Sabbath outside the gates of the city of Philippi. One member of that group, a woman named Lydia, responded wholeheartedly to Paul’s preaching of the gospel. She was clearly a woman of some means. She was involved in the purple dye trade. Purple cloth was the most expensive cloth at the time. She had the financial means to offer Paul hospitality and she insisted that Paul accept her offer; it was her way of giving thanks to God for what she had received through Paul. People who get involved in parish ministry often say that they want to give something back. They are conscious that they have received a great deal in life and they want to give from what they have received. Lydia had no sooner received the gospel than she engaged in the ministry of hospitality. This was her way of bearing witness to her faith, of giving back.
In the gospel reading, Jesus calls on his disciples to become his witnesses and he promises to send them the Holy Spirit who is Jesus’ primary witness. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to witness to our faith. It was the Holy Spirit who moved Lydia to witness to her new found faith by offering hospitality to Paul and his companions. The Holy Spirit will always be inspiring us to witness to our faith in various ways. We need to be attentive to the ways the Holy Spirit may be inspiring us to be the Lord’s witnesses in the world.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
