Mass Readings for : Saturday, 20th April, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 20th April, 2024

Saturday, Third Week of Easter

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book Acts of the Apostles 9:31-42
The churches built themselves up and were filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.

The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace,
building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to the saints living down in Lydda. There he found a man called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.
Peter said to him,
‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you: get up and fold up your sleeping mat.‘
Aeneas got up immediately; everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they were all converted to the Lord.

At Jaffa there was a woman disciple called Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, who never tired of doing good or giving in charity. But the time came when she got ill and died, and they washed her and laid her out in a room upstairs. Lydda is not far from Jaffa, so when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men with an urgent message for him, ‘Come and visit us as soon as possible.’

Peter went back with them straightaway, and on his arrival they took him to the upstairs room, where all the widows stood round him in tears, showing him tunics and other clothes Dorcas had made when she was with them. Peter sent them all out of the room and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the dead woman and said, ‘Tabitha, stand up.‘
She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter helped her to her feet, then he called in the saints and widows and showed them she was alive. The whole of Jaffa heard about it and many believed in the Lord.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm      Ps 115
Response      How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
Or    Alleluia!

1. How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name. Response

2. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Response

3. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make: I will call on the Lord’s name. Response

Gospel Acclamation Lk 24:46.26
Alleluia, alleluia!
We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead; have mercy on us, triumphant King.
Alleluia!

or Jn 6: 63. 68
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life: you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 6:60-69 Glory to you, O Lord
Who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life.

After hearing his doctrine, many of his followers said,
‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’
Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said,
‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?‘
It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.‘
For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe,
and who it was that would betray him. He went on,
‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’
After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.

Then Jesus said to the Twelve,
‘What about you, do you want to go away too?‘
Simon Peter answered,
‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe;
we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

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

________________________
Gospel Reflection, Saturday, Third Week of Easter John 6:60-69

We don’t often think of churches, communities of believers, in the land where Jesus lived and worked, what today’s first reading refers to as ‘Judea, Galilee and Samaria’. Jesus was from Galilee and spent most of his public ministry in Galilee, but he also entered Samaria and his ministry concluded in Judea, although he may also have travelled to Judea from Galilee in the course of his ministry, as the fourth gospel suggests. Luke speaks of the churches in these areas as ‘building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit’. This is the wonderful fruit of Jesus’ ministry.

Today’s gospel reading, from the fourth gospel, is set in Galilee and, in contrast, it highlights a moment of crisis for the original group of disciples that Jesus had gathered about himself. Jesus had been revealing himself to them as the bread of life and declaring that ‘those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life’. Some of the disciples declare, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ The evangelist goes on to state, ‘many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him’. This is a very different picture to the vibrant church in Galilee given to us by Luke in the first reading. There is often an ebb and flow to the life of the church in a region. When the tide seems to be going out, we shouldn’t get discouraged. The risen Lord is with us in the lean times as much as in the times of flourishing. In crisis times, it is important that some believers hold firm. This is what we find happening in the gospel reading. When many of Jesus’ disciples left him (and he may not have had too many), he turns to the twelve and asks them, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ It is one of those questions of Jesus that hangs in the air for us all. Where do we stand when it seems easier to join the stampede heading for the exit? We are all invited to make our own Peter’s response to Jesus’ question, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life’.