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 open wide the gates of the heavenly Kingdom to those reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, pour out on your servants an increase of the grace you have bestowed, that, having been purged of all sins, they may lack nothing that in your kindness you have promised. 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 7:51-8:1

Stephen said to the people, the elders and the Scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers. You who had the Law brought to you by angels are the very ones who have not kept it.’ They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him. But 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. Saul entirely approved of the killing.

Psalm 30(31):3-4,6,8,17,21

R/     Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

1. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mighty stronghold to save me, for you are my rock, my stronghold. For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.

2. Into your hands I commend my spirit. It is you who will redeem me, Lord. As for me, I trust in the Lord: let me be glad and rejoice in your love.

3. Let your face shine on your servant. Save me in your love. You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the plotting of men.

Gospel Acclamation: Jn10:14

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own sheep and my own know me. Alleluia!

Gospel: John 6:30-35

The people said to Jesus, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as Scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered: ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.’

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

Despite the multiplication of the loaves, the people are asking for another sign which will make them believe. Responding to their arguments, Jesus says that the bread given by Moses was not the true bread from heaven. It came from on high, but it was not the true bread of God because it did not guarantee life for the Israelites. All of them died in the desert. The true bread of heaven, the bread of God, is the one which conquers death and gives life! Let us ask Jesus to give us this bread always.

Entrance Antiphon

The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep  and willingly died for his flock, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, putting off our old self with all its ways, we may live as Christ did, for through the healing paschal remedies, you have conformed us to his nature. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading: Acts 6:8-15

Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God.’ Having in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and Scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin. There they put up false witnesses to say, ‘This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.

Psalm 118(119):23-24,26-27,29-30

R/     They are happy whose life is blameless.

1.      I ponder on your statutes. Your will is my delight; your statutes are my counsellors.

2.      I declared my ways and you answered; teach me your statutes. Make me grasp the way of your precepts and I will muse on your wonders.

3.      Keep me from the way of error and teach me your law. I have chosen the way of truth with your decrees before me.

Gospel Acclamation:Jn20:29

Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus said: ‘You believe Thomas because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ Alleluia!

Gospel: John 6:22-29

After Jesus had fed the five thousand, his disciples saw him walking on the water. Next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side saw that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had set off by themselves. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place where the bread had been eaten. When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’

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: 27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you, says the Lord, 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

In today’s gospel, we begin the discourse on the bread of life which is extended for the next six days until the end of the week. After the multiplication of the loaves, the people follow Jesus. They had seen the miracle: they had eaten and were satiated but still wanted more! They were not concerned with looking for the sign of God that was in all this. Jesus tries to open their eyes in such a way that they will read the events and discover in them the revolution that should occur in their lives.

Entrance Antiphon Cf. 1 Pt 2: 9

O chosen people, proclaim the mighty works of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, alleluia.

Collect

Set aside, O Lord, the bond of sentence written for us by the law of sin, which in the Paschal Mystery you cancelled through 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 6:1-7

About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.’ The whole assembly approved of this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.

Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19

R/     May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

1. Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts. Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp, with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.

2. For the word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love.

3. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.

Gospel Acclamation: Rm6:9

Alleluia, alleluia! Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. Alleluia!

Gospel: John 6:16-21

In the evening the disciples went down to the shore of the lake and got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the lake. It was getting dark by now and Jesus had still not rejoined them. The wind was strong, and the sea was getting rough. They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming towards the boat. This frightened them, but he said, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’ They were for taking him into the boat, but in no time it reached the shore at the place they were making for.

Prayer over the Offerings

Sanctify graciously these gifts, O Lord, we pray, and, accepting the oblation of this spiritual sacrifice, make of us an eternal offering to you. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Jn 17: 24

Father, I wish that, where I am, those you gave me may also be with me, that they may see the glory that you gave me, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

We have partaken of the gifts of this sacred mystery, humbly imploring, O Lord, that what your Son commanded us to do in memory of him may bring us growth in charity. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

The concern in the first reading today is the administration of financial support to widows as well as other needy people. This is clearly a side-issue subordinate to the preaching/proclamation of the Gospel. It is, nevertheless, an important issue because the Church has an obligation to follow Christ’s lead in caring for vulnerable people. We have many vulnerable people around us but at times we underlook them. We are invited to become more attentive to the cry of the needy and come to their assistance.

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, hope and light of the sincere, we humbly entreat you to dispose our hearts to offer you worthy prayer and ever to extol you by dutiful proclamation of your praise. 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 5:34-42

One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them. And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’ His advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name. They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.

Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14

R/     There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

1. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?

2. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.

3. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia! We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead: have mercy on us, triumphant King. Alleluia!

Gospel: John 6:1-15

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover. Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

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

In the gospel we read how Jesus meets the needs of others, he feeds the five thousand. Like Moses, Jesus fed the multitude in the wilderness, with one important difference. Moses asked God where he was to get meat to give to all the people (Numbers 11:13). By contrast, when Jesus asked Philip where they were to buy bread for the people to eat. He already knew the answer. Moses needed God to provide the people with food: Jesus knew he would provide it. Our needs are met only in deep faith.