Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 30th April, 2024
Tuesday, Fifth Week of Easter
Optional memorial of St Pius V, pope
FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 14:19-28
They gave an account of all that God had done with them.
Some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and turned the people against the apostles. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples came crowding round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and Barnabas went off to Derbe.
Having preached the Good News in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith.
‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said,
‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’
In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.
They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans. They stayed there with the disciples for some time.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 144
Response Your friends, O Lord, shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
Or Alleluia!
1. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign. Response
2. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age. Response
3. Let me speak the praise of the Lord, let all mankind bless his holy name
for ever, for ages unending. Response
Gospel Acclamation Lk 24:46. 26
Alleluia, Alleluia!
It was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John 14:27-31 Glory to you, O Lord
My own peace I give you.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me say: I am going away, and shall return.
If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.
I shall not talk with you any longer, because the prince of this world is on his way.
He has no power over me, but the world must be brought to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father told me.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Fifth Week of Easter John 14:27-31
In the first reading we find Paul and Barnabas putting fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. One of the ways they put fresh heart into the disciples was by calling forth pastoral leaders from among them, ‘elders’, whom they commended to the Lord with prayer and fasting. The ministry of encouragement, of putting fresh heart into one another as people of faith, remains a vital ministry today. The temptation to discouragement can be quite strong in these times, so this ministry of encouragement is all the more vital.
In the gospel reading we find Jesus exercising this ministry of encouragement. It is the setting of the last supper. Jesus’ disciple are troubled and afraid, aware as they are that Jesus is about to be taken from them. Jesus reassures them that he is going to the Father, the one who sent him into the world. This journey to the Father is an expression of his love for the Father. His journey there will enable him to serve his disciples in a new and more powerful way. As a result of his return to the Father, he will be able to share his own peace with his disciples, the peace of Easter, a peace the world cannot give. Jesus is showing them that his leaving them is to their advantage, a reason for encouragement. It will result in his putting fresh heart into them. Today’s readings invite us to share in this ministry of encouragement that Jesus, as well as Paul and Barnabas, so powerfully exercise. The gospel reading also shows us that leave taking can be sources of new life for all. In the midst of loss, signs of the Lord’s encouraging presence are always to be found.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
