Sunday 29th may 2022
7th Sunday of Easter,
Psalter III
Entrance Antiphon : Ps 26: 7 – 9
O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you; of you my heart has spoken: Seek his face; hide not your face from me, alleluia.
Collect
Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord, so that we, who believe that the Saviour of the human race is with you in your glory, may experience, as he promised, until the end of the world, his abiding presence among us. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 7:55-60
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep.
Psalm 96(97):1-2,6-7,9
R/ The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.
- The Lord is king, let earth rejoice, the many coastlands be glad. His throne is justice and right.
- The skies proclaim his justice; all peoples see his glory. All you spirits, worship him.
- For you indeed are the Lord most high above all the earth, exalted far above all spirits.
Second reading : Apocalypse 22:12-14,16-17,20
I, John, heard a voice speaking to me: ‘Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man according to what he deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Happy are those who will have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates into the city.’ I, Jesus, have sent my angel to make these revelations to you for the sake of the churches. I am of David’s line, the root of David and the bright star of the morning. The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come.’ Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free. The one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Jn14:18
Alleluia, alleluia! I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord; I will come back to you, and your hearts will be full of joy. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 17:20-26
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the prayers of your faithful with the sacrificial offerings, that through these acts of devotedness we may pass over to the glory of heaven. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Jn 17: 22
Father, I pray that they may be one as we also are one, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Hear us, O God our Saviour, and grant us confidence, that through these sacred mysteries, there will be accomplished in the body of the whole Church what has already come to pass in Christ her Head. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
What do I live for? What am I ready to die for? God expects your answer. To find the correct answer to these questions we need to ask the following questions. What is the most important thing for me? Does Jesus come first in my life? Does my being a follower of Christ envelope all I do? This week and beyond can I just try to make sure that Jesus is at the beginning and end of all that I think, do and say. This does not mean that we exclude or become passive towards other people and their need for love, but that Christ and anything Christ-like takes the first place in our Christian scale of preference. If something does not glorify Christ, I should not get into it. So God first, others second and self last. This means God becomes the mentor, guide and inspiration for all duties and responsibilities. When I put God first in everything, I also find him at the end of it all.