Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 15th May, 2024
Wednesday, 7th Week of Easter
Optional Memorial of St Carthage, bishop
FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 20:28-38
I commend you to God, who has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance.
Paul addressed these words to the elders of the church of Ephesus
‘Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood.
I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never failed to keep you right, shedding tears over each one of you.
And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.
‘I have never asked anyone for money or clothes; you know for yourselves that the work I did earned enough to meet my needs and those of my companions. I did this to show you that this is how we must exert ourselves to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said,
There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.“
When he had finished speaking he knelt down with them all and prayed. By now they were all in tears; they put their arms round Paul’s neck and kissed him; what saddened them most was his saying they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 67
Response Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Or Alleluia!
1. Show forth, O God, show forth your might, your might, O God, which you have shown for us.
For the sake of your temple high in Jerusalem may kings come to you bringing their tribute. Response
2. Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
He thunders his voice, his mighty voice. Come, acknowledge the power of God. Response
3. His glory is over Israel; his might is in the skies. God is to be feared in his holy place.
He is the Lord, Israel’s God. He gives strength and power to his people. Blessed be God! Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 28: 10. 20
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations: I am with you always: yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!
or Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Your word is truth, 0 Lord, consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 17:11-19 Glory to you, O Lord
Holy Father, that they may be one like us.
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one who chose to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you and while still in the world I say these things to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Seventh Week of Easter John 17:11-19
The theme of ‘truth’ links both readings today. Paul, addressing the elders of the church of Ephesus, declares to them, ‘Even from your own ranks, there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them’. There is an acknowledgment there that not every interpretation of the gospel by the Lord’s followers is faithful to the gospel received from the Lord.
In the gospel reading Jesus prays that God would protect his disciples from the evil one. More positively he prays that God would consecrate them in the truth, in other words, set them apart for the mission of bearing witness to the truth. Earlier in this gospel Jesus had said of himself, ‘I am the truth’ because he is the full revelation of God’s truth in human form.
The calling of the disciples, of all of us, is to bear witness to the truth Jesus proclaimed, lived and embodied. Both readings suggest that there will be pressure put upon us to deviate from this truth in some way. Elsewhere in the gospel Jesus promises to send us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to lead us to the complete truth. What Jesus refers to in the gospel reading as ‘the evil one’ leads us away from the truth of Jesus, whereas the Holy Spirit leads us towards the truth Jesus revealed. We spend our lives trying to open ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that, in the words of Jesus in this gospel of John, ‘you will know the truth and the truth will make you free’.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
