SATURDAY 18 APRIL 2020

by | Apr 17, 2020 | Evangelium

saturday 18 April 2020

 

 

St Laserian or Molaise (- 639)

He was born in Ireland, became a monk on Iona, and was ordained priest in Rome by St Gregory the Great. He was active in promoting harmony between the Celtic and Roman churches on the date on which Easter should be celebrated.

White

 

Entrance Antiphon Ps 104: 43

The Lord brought out his people with joy, his chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing, alleluia.

 

Collect

O God, who by the abundance of your grace give increase to the peoples who believe in you, look with favour on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

 

First reading: Acts 4:13-21

The rulers, elders and scribes were astonished at the assurance shown by Peter and John, considering they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus; but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer. So they ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin had a private discussion. ‘What are we going to do with these men?’ they asked. ‘It is obvious to everybody in Jerusalem that a miracle has been worked through them in public, and we cannot deny it. But to stop the whole thing spreading any further among the people, let us caution them never to speak to anyone in this name again.’ So they called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John retorted, ‘You must judge whether in God’s eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God. We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.’ The court repeated the warnings and then released them; they could not think of any way to punish them, since all the people were giving glory to God for what had happened.

 

Psalm 117(118):1,14-21

R/  I will thank you, Lord, for you have given answer.

 

1)    Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end. The Lord is my strength and my song; he was my saviour. There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the just.

2)   The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; his right hand raised me up. I shall not die, I shall live and recount his deeds. I was punished, I was punished by the Lord, but not doomed to die.

3)   Open to me the gates of holiness: I will enter and give thanks. This is the Lord’s own gate where the just may enter. I will thank you for you have answered and you are my saviour.

 

Gospel Acclamation: Ps 117:24

Alleluia, alleluia! This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad. Alleluia!

 

Gospel: Mark 16:9-15

Having risen in the morning on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom he had cast out seven devils. She then went to those who had been his companions, and who were mourning and in tears, and told them. But they did not believe her when they heard her say that he was alive and that she had seen him. After this, he showed himself under another form to two of them as they were on their way into the country. These went back and told the others, who did not believe them either. Lastly, he showed himself to the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.’

 

Prayer over the Offerings

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that we may always find delight in these paschal mysteries, so that the renewal constantly at work within us may be the cause of our unending joy. Through Christ our Lord.

 

Communion Antiphon: Gal 3: 27

All of you who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ, alleluia.

 

Prayer after Communion

Look with kindness upon your people, O Lord, and grant, we pray, that those you were pleased to renew by eternal mysteries may attain in their flesh the incorruptible glory of the resurrection. Through Christ our Lord.

 

 

Meditation

Dear brothers and sisters, today is the last day of our Easter Octave. The joy of the Risen Lord seemed to have swamped the whole of Jerusalem, much to the annoyance of the Jewish leaders. They were angry at all the excitement and they summoned Peter and John ordering them to stop preaching about Jesus. The apostles were clear and forthright with their reply: You must judge for yourself whether it is better to obey God than to obey man. In other words, the two were not ready to stop proclaiming what they knew was true. They were witnesses. Many of us know what the truth is but we are easily cowed into submission by other powers. Our Christian faith must continue to sustain us so that we stand firm for the truth and for what is right. The Gospel text today explains how Jesus appeared to some of the apostles. It ends with a command for all to go out to the whole world and bring the Good News to everyone. And that is the spirit with which we end the Easter Octave- a determination to make sure that everyone hears the Good News of the Risen Saviour. We have no option as Christians other than to proclaim the Risen Lord to all and sundry.