Mass Readings for : Thursday, 11th April, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 11th April, 2024

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Memorial of St Stanislaus, bishop and martyr may be made.

St Peter tells all who need to hear that the apostles are the authentic witnesses to God’s Spirit at work
in the Jesus events they have experienced .

FIRST READING

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 5:27-33
We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit.

When the officials had brought them in to face the Sanhedrin, the high priest demanded an explanation.
‘We gave you a formal warning’ he said ‘not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt of this man’s death on us.’

In reply Peter and the apostles said,
‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree. By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel. We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

This so infuriated them that they wanted to put them to death.

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 33
Response   This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
Or                                         Alleluia!

1. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him. Response

2. The Lord turns his eyes to the just and his ears to their appeal.
They call and the Lord hears and rescues them in all their distress. Response

3. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man but from them all the Lord will rescue him. Response

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Christ has risen: he who created all things, and has granted his mercy to men.
Alleluia!

Or Jn 20:29
Alleluia, Alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 3:31-36 Glory to you, O Lord
The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him.

John the Baptist said to his disciples:
‘He who comes from above is above all others;
he who is born of the earth is earthly himself and speaks in an earthly way.
He who comes from heaven bears witness to the things he has seen and heard,
even if his testimony is not accepted;
though all who do accept his testimony are attesting the truthfulness of God,
since he whom God has sent speaks God’s own words:
God gives him the Spirit without reserve.

The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him.
Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him.’

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

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Gospel Reflection Thursday, Second Week of Easter John 3:31-36

The words of Peter and the apostles to the high priest, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men’, was a conviction which shaped the life of the first believers. It often brought them into conflict with the religious leaders who thought of themselves as the mediators of God’s word. For us as Christians, obedience to God is obedience to his Son, Jesus, our risen Lord, because as today’s gospel declares, ‘he whom God has sent speaks God’s own words’. The Greek word translated ‘obedience’ suggests attentive listening. We are called to listen attentively to the word of God, especially as proclaimed and lived by Jesus who is God’s Word in human form. As the Word of God, Jesus is the Bread of Life because his words can satisfy the deepest hunger in our hearts, our hunger for truth and for an assurance of God’s love. In the words of today’s responsorial psalm, we are invited to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’.

The gospel reading declares that ‘God gives him (Jesus) the Spirit without reserve’, and in this fourth gospel Jesus declares that his words are ‘spirit and life’. When we listen attentively to the Lord’s word, we are opening ourselves to Holy Spirit, and in the power of that Spirit we will be able to witness to our faith in the Lord with something of the courage shown by Peter and the apostles in today’s first reading.