Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 9th May, 2024
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Faith comes through hearing. Paul is the great preacher
FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 18:1-8
Paul lodged with them and worked and he used to hold debates in the synagogues.
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew called Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them, and when he found they were tentmakers, of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together. Every sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks.
After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying,
‘Your blood be on your own heads;
rom now on I can go to the pagans with a clear conscience‘.
Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus. Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. A great many Corinthians who had heard him became believers and were baptised.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 97
Response The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Or Alleluia!
1. Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. Response
2. 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. Response
3. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy. Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14:18
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again.
Death has no power over him anymore.
Alleluia!
or Jn 14:18
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I go but I will come back to you, and your hearts will be full of joy.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 16:16-20 Glory to you, O Lord
You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again.’
Then some of his disciples said to one another,
‘What does he mean, “In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again”
and, “I am going to the Father”? What is this “short time”?
We don’t know what he means.’
Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said,
‘You are asking one another what I meant by saying: ‘In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again.’
‘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.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Thursday, Sixth Week of Easter John 16:16-20
When sadness overcomes us for whatever reason, it can be difficult to believe that we will ever be joyful again. Our sadness can drain us of the hope that better times will come. Speaking in the setting of the last supper, Jesus says to his disciples in today’s gospel reading, ‘you will be weeping and wailing’. He acknowledges the sadness and sense of loss that will engulf his disciples when he is put to death on a Roman cross. The onset of such overwhelming sadness will drain them of hope. Yet, Jesus immediately announces to them that their sadness will not last forever, ‘Your sorrow will turn to joy’. The killing of Jesus will not be the final act in the drama of Jesus’ life. Rather, God’s raising Jesus to new life will be the final act of that drama.
As Jesus’ death gives way to his new risen life, so the sorrow of his disciples will give way to Easter joy, a sharing in the Lord’s own joy. The risen Lord continues to say to us that death, our own death and the death of our loved ones, will not be the final act in the drama of our lives. Rather, as God brought Jesus through death to new life, so God will bring us through death to a sharing in the Lord’s own risen life. The sorrow associated with death will not be the final emotion. Sorrow will give way to joy, for our loved ones who have died and, in time, for all of us who mourn the death of our loved ones. As followers of a risen Lord, we can sing the words of today’s responsorial psalm with an awareness that those who composed it could not possibly have possessed, ‘Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders’.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
