by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | May 26, 2022 | Evangelium

Friday 27th may 2022

St. Augustine of Canterbury

(- 605)

Augustine was consecrated archbishop of the English, and then returned to Canterbury to set up his see. The mission prospered, and he founded two more sees, at London and at Rochester in Kent. Augustine died at Canterbury on 26 May 605.

Entrance Antiphon : Rv 5: 9-10

You have redeemed us, Lord, by your Blood from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us into a kingdom, priests for our God, alleluia.

Collect

O God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, raise us up, we pray, to the author of our salvation, who is seated at your right hand, so that, when our Saviour comes again in majesty, those you have given new birth in Baptism may be clothed with blessed immortality. 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 18:9-18

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months. But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves-I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all. After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

Psalm 46:2-7

R/ God is king of all the earth.

      or Alleluia!

1. All peoples, clap your hands, cry to God with shouts of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear, great king over all the earth.
2. He subdues peoples under us and nations under our feet. Our inheritance, our glory, is from him, given to Jacob out of love.
3. God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Sing praise for God, sing praise, sing praise to our king, sing praise.

Gospel Acclamation : Jn14:26

Alleluia, alleluia! The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. Alleluia!

Gospel : John 16:20-23

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the  world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a man has been born into the world. So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you. When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.’

Prayer over the Offerings

Accept in compassion, Lord, we pray, the offerings of your family, that under your protective care they may never lose what they have received, but attain the gifts that are eternal. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon : Rm 4: 25

Christ our Lord was handed over for our transgressions and was raised again for our justification, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Keep safe, O Lord, we pray, those whom you have saved by your kindness, that, redeemed by the Passion of your Son, they may rejoice in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Meditation

Many voices and people out there are barriers to our growth. The Lord tells Paul not to be afraid or allow himself to be silenced. It is for him to be a true disciple of Christ by overcoming fear and shame. To be a Christian nowadays is also to be bold. Many people have abandoned the way and many others are ashamed or afraid of the faith they profess. Shall we be like them or shall we take the word of the Lord to Paul as directed to us? Let us ask God to grant us the grace to be courage and fortitude as we prepare for Pentecost.

by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | May 25, 2022 | Evangelium

Thursday 26th may 2022

The Ascension of the Lord

St. Philip Neri

(1515 – 1595)

He was born in Florence in 1515. At the age of eighteen he went to Rome, and earned his living as a tutor. He undertook much-needed charitable work among the young men of the city, and started a brotherhood to help the sick poor and pilgrims.

Entrance Antiphon : Acts 1: 11

Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens? This Jesus whom you saw ascending into heaven will return as you saw him go, alleluia.

Collect

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. 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 1:1-11

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. What you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’ As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

Psalm 46:2-3,6-9

R/ God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

      or  Alleluia!

1. All peoples, clap your hands, cry to God with shouts of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear, great king over all the earth.
2. God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Sing praise for God, sing praise, sing praise to our king, sing praise.
3. God is king of all the earth, sing praise with all your skill. God is king over the nations; God reigns on his holy throne.

Second Reading : Ephesians 1:17-23

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.

Gospel Acclamation : Mt 28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia! Go, make disciples of all the nations. I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.  Alleluia!

Gospel : Luke 24:46-53

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this. ‘And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.’ Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising God.

Prayer over the Offerings

We offer sacrifice now in supplication, O Lord, to honour the wondrous Ascension of your Son: grant, we pray, that through this most holy exchange, we too, may rise up to the heavenly realms. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon : Mt 28: 20

Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Almighty ever-living God, who allow those on earth to celebrate divine mysteries, grant, we pray, that Christian hope may draw us onward to where our nature is united with you. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

Ascension comes from the Latin ascendere, which means to ascend. Indeed, to say that Christ ascended to the Father is more theological than geographical. Taken in a literal sense, it could mean that he dwells in the clouds. The Ascension would be better translated as the day of the end of Jesus’ physical manifestation to his apostles. He has been forming them for three years and considers them mature enough to continue on their own the mission of going out to make disciples, teach them and baptise them in the name of the Trinity.  Their testimony will be credible if and only if it remains faithful to the witness of Christ. The Apostles were expected to be witnesses to what they had learnt from Jesus during the time spent together.  This preaching through witnessing was to be “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  Jesus affirms this so powerfully in the Gospel of today: “You are witnesses to this” (Luke 24:48).

by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | May 24, 2022 | Evangelium

Wednesday 25th may 2022

Pope St. Gregory VII

(1020 – 1085)

He was born in Tuscany. He became a monk, and assisted several Popes in reforming and purifying the Church. He was elected pope in 1073 and took the name of Gregory VII. He fought single-mindedly to free the Church from harmful influences and dependence on the state.

Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 17: 50; 21: 23

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will tell of your name to my kin, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, as we celebrate in mystery the solemnities of your Son’s Resurrection, so, too, we may be worthy to rejoice at his coming with all the Saints. 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 17:15,22-18:1

Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could. So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech: ‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it. ‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: “We are all his children.” ‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man. ‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’ At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Psalm 148:1-2,11-14

R/ Your glory fills all heaven and earth.

1. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host.
2. All earth’s kings and peoples, earth’s princes and rulers, young men and maidens, old men together with children.
3. Let them praise the name of the Lord for he alone is exalted. The splendour of his name reaches beyond heaven and earth.
4. He exalts the strength of his people. He is the praise of all his saints, of the sons of Israel, of the people to whom he comes close.

Gospel Acclamation : Col3:1

Alleluia, alleluia! Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.  Alleluia!

Gospel : John 16:12-15

Jesus said: ‘I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.’

Prayer over the Offerings

O God, who by the wonderful exchange effected in this sacrifice have made us partakers of the one supreme Godhead, grant, we pray, that, as we have come to know your truth, we may make it ours by a worthy way of life. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon : Cf. Jn 15: 16, 19

I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, and have appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Graciously be present to your people, we pray, O Lord, and lead those you have imbued with heavenly mysteries to pass from former ways to newness of life. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

Paul was an intelligent person and a good orator. Yet in his evangelical endeavours, he employed many methods of preaching the Gospel. In Athens he attempts being Philosophical. He is ridiculed by Athenians. The gospel values we preach or live will not always be accepted by everyone. We cannot convert some people no matter what we do. Our focus, therefore, should be more on praying for the person’s conversion. Such people will know the complete truth when the Holy Spirit comes to them as Jesus tells us in the Gospel.

by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | May 23, 2022 | Evangelium

Tuesday 24th may 2022

Blessed Louis-Zépherin Moreau (1824 – 1901)

He was bishop of the St Hyacinthe diocese in Quebec for 25 years, from 1876 until his death.

Entrance Antiphon : Rv 19:7,6

Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to God, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, almighty and merciful God, that we may in truth receive a share in the Resurrection of 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 16:22-34

The crowd joined in and showed their hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged. They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners. When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t do yourself any harm; we are all here.’ The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They told him, ‘Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.’ Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his family. Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household. Afterwards he took them home and gave them a meal, and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.

Psalm 137:1-3,7-8

R/ You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.

1. I thank you, Lord, with all my heart: you have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple.
2. I thank you for your faithfulness and love, which excel all we ever knew of you. On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.
3. You stretch out your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me. Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands.

Gospel Acclamation : Jn14:6,9

Alleluia, alleluia! Christ has risen and shone upon us whom he redeemed with his blood. Alleluia!

Gospel : John 16:5-11

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you has asked, “Where are you going?” Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. Still, I must tell you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement: about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me; about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more; about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.’

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 : Cf. Lk 24: 46, 26

The Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Hear, O Lord, our prayers, that this most holy exchange, by which you have redeemed us, may bring your help in this present life and ensure for us eternal gladness. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

The power of praise provokes divine intervention and makes us resemble angels. In the heart of their misery and pain, the Apostles praised God. We are called to do same. When we are confronted by limitations and worries, let us “praise God.” We may be tempted to become more complacent and stifled in our Christian journey and daily lives. Let us learn from Paul and Silas to praise God in all situations. Praises do not act as an opium to our troubles, rather it fortifies us to face our troubles with God and in God’s name.

by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | May 21, 2022 | Evangelium

Sunday 22nd may 2022

6^th Sunday of Easter,

Psalter II

Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Is 48: 20

Proclaim a joyful sound and let it be heard; proclaim to the ends of the earth: The Lord has freed his people, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, almighty God, that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion, these days of joy which we keep in honour of the risen Lord, and that what we relive in remembrance, we may always hold to in what we do. 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 15:1-2,22-29

Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders. Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:  ‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’

Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8

R/  Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

1. O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help.
2. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth.
3. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. May God still give us his blessing till the ends of the earth revere him.

Second reading : Apocalypse 21:10-14, 22-23

In the spirit, the angel took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. I saw that there was no temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple, and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.

Gospel Acclamation : Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,  and we shall come to him.’ Alleluia!

Gospel : John 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words. And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me. I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. 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.’

Prayer over the Offerings

May our prayers rise up to you, O Lord, together with the sacrificial offerings, so that, purified by your graciousness, we may be conformed to the mysteries of your mighty love. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon : Jn 14: 15-16

If you love me, keep my commandments, says the Lord, and I will ask the Father and he will send you another Paraclete, to abide with you for ever, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Almighty ever-living God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, increase in us, we pray, the fruits of this paschal Sacrament and pour into our hearts the strength of this saving food. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

As Pentecost approaches, the coming of the Holy Spirit is prefigured.  He is announced as the good teacher. A good teacher has essentially two things to do: to teach and this means to explain something to students until they  understand. His second task is to remind and this means to help the students remember what they have been taught, repeating over and over and asking questions. The Holy Spirit is our greatest and best teacher. His work is to teach and remind us of the Truth and lead us to the complete Truth in Jesus Christ. Can we just turn and count on this most perfect Teacher? We need the Holy Spirit to teach and remind us so that we can also teach and remind others. Two weeks to Pentecost, how prepared are we or how are we preparing to welcome the Spirit of God in our lives? Invite Him and He will not fail to come in.

by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | May 20, 2022 | Evangelium

Saturday 21 st may 2022

St. Christopher Magallanes

and his Companions

He was born in Mexico in 1869. He took a special interest in the evangelization of the local indigenous Huichol. Falsely accused, he was arrested and executed without a trial in 1927.

Entrance Antiphon : Col 2: 12

You have been buried with Christ in Baptism, through which you also rose again by faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead, alleluia.

Collect

Almighty and eternal God, who, through the regenerating power of Baptism, have been pleased to confer on us heavenly life, grant, we pray, that those you render capable of immortality by justifying them may by your guidance attain the fullness of glory. 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 16:1-10

From Cilicia Paul went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek. As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them. So the Churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers. They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas. One night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and appealed to him in these words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News.

Psalm 99:1-3,5

R/   Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.

1. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.
2. Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
3. Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.

Gospel Acclamation : Jn10:14

Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree, has risen from the tomb. Alleluia!

Gospel : John 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well. But it will be on my account that they will do all this, because they do not know the one who sent me.’

Prayer over the Offerings

Accept in compassion, Lord, we pray, the offerings of your family, that under your protective care, they may never lose what they have received, but attain the gifts that are eternal. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon : Jn 17: 20-21

Father, I pray for them, that they may be one in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me, says the Lord, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Keep safe, O Lord, we pray, those whom you have saved by your kindness, that, redeemed by the Passion of your Son, they may rejoice in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Meditation

It is beautiful to notice that the people spoke well of Timothy in the first reading. And the idea they had of Timothy made Paul eager to see and be with him. And we know the two later became friends and Paul will write two inspiring letters to Timothy who shall later be Bishop. The point is that holiness attracts. It is in its nature to attract. Jeremiah calls it seduction, saying the Lord has seduced him and he has allowed himself to be seduced. We are overwhelmed when we come in contact with holiness. Can people around me speak so well of me, too? Do I speak well of others? It is important to have a good reputation and a good idea of others. No matter how bad a person is, he has at least one good quality.