tuesday 12 May 2020
Sts Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs
Nereus and Achilleus are two soldiers that suffered martyrdom under the persecution of Diocletian. Two basilicas in Rome are dedicated to their memory. They are remembered for their strength in faith even under persection.
White/Red
Entrance Antiphon: Rv 19: 5; 12: 10
Sing praise to our God, all you who fear God, both small and great, for now salvation and strength have come, and the power of his Christ, alleluia.
Collect
O God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, grant your people constancy in faith and hope, that we may never doubt the promises of which we have learned from you. 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 14:19-28
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.
Psalm 144(145):10-13a,21
R/ Your friends, O Lord, shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
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.
2) Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
3) Let me speak the praise of the Lord, let all mankind bless his holy name for ever, for ages unending.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Lk24:46,26
Alleluia, alleluia! It was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory. Alleluia!
Gospel: John 14:27-31
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.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive, O Lord, we pray, these offerings of your exultant Church, and, as you have given her cause for such great gladness, grant also that the gifts we bring may bear fruit in perpetual happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Rm 6: 8
If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with 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
Jesus speaks from the depth of his heart to his dearest friends as he is preparing to face his passion. He wants his friends to know that he is with them, that his Father is with them. Jesus’ farewell gift is ‘peace’. His gift of peace is not a state, but a relationship. It is the fruit of deeply abiding in him. This relationship will never fail. It will enable the disciples to endure suffering and rejection. The peace that Jesus gives is available to me. I have to do nothing to receive it. There’s a certain peace and joy that comes from knowing and loving God directly, that nothing else can give. Once we know God as the source of being, we love all of creation as expressions of this love and goodness. I thank you Lord for your being and the miracle of your presence in my life.