Mass Readings for : Friday, 12th April, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 12th April, 2024

Friday in the Second Week of Easter

Jesus communicated his life giving power through his words and personal sacrificial actions.

FIRST READING

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 5:34-42
They left, glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name of Jesus.

One member of the Sanhedrin, however, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time.
Then he addressed the Sanhedrin,
‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them.
And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed.
What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’

His advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name. They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 26
Response        There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
to live in the house of the Lord.
Or                                             Alleluia!

1. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink? Response

2. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple. Response

3. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord! Response

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, Alleluia!
We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead; have mercy on us, triumphant King.
Alleluia

Or Mt 4:4
Alleluia,Alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 6:1-15 Glory to you, O Lord.
To all who were sitting ready Jesus gave out as much as was wanted.

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples.
It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip,
‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?‘
He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do.
Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.‘
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’

Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted. ‘
So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.

The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’
Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

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

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Gospel Reflection Friday Second Week of Easter John 6:1-15

The speech of Gamaliel in today’s first reading is thought-provoking. The Jewish Sanhedrin were worried about the growing popularity of the disciples of Jesus. Gamaliel said, in effect, that if this new movement is not from God, it will disappear, like so many other movements. If it is from God, the Sanhedrin are powerless to destroy it. God alone endures; he is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. What is of God will also endure. The church has endured for over 2,000 years because it is from God. However, many aspects of church life have not endured because they were not of God. In these changing times for the church, we have to trust that what is of God will endure and what isn’t will pass away. In the gospel reading, after Jesus fed the multitude in the wilderness, the people wanted to take him by force and make his king. However, Jesus knew that this impulse was not from God and he fled from it, and the impulse passed away for the moment, even though the impulse to make the church an earthly kingdom would rear its head more than once in the following centuries. What doesn’t pass away, because it is of God, is Jesus’ capacity to work powerfully through humble human resources in the service of God’s people, such as feeding a large crowd with five barley loaves and two fish. The risen Lord continues to work among us in this way today, as power in weakness. We can be tempted to ask the somewhat despairing question of Andrew in today’s gospel reading, ‘What is that between so many?’ We sense that there is much for us to do as the Lord’s disciples and our resources seem so small at times. Today’s gospel reading encourages us to trust that if we are generous with the resources we have, small as they may seem to us, the Lord will work powerfully through them in ways that will surprise us.