Sunday, May 27, 2018

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Entrance Antiphon

Blest be God the Father, and the Only Begotten Son of God, and also the Holy Spirit: for he has shown us his merciful love.

The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is said.

Collect

God our Father, who by sending into the world the word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery; grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory, and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty.

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       Deuteronomy    4:32-34.39-40

“The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. ”

Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has God ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

“Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may g_o well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God gives you for ever.”

The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM            Psalm 33:4-5.6and    9.18-19.20 and22 (R. cf. 12b)

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as his heritage.

The word of the Lord is faithful,

and all his works to be trusted.

The Lord loves justice and right,

and his merciful love fills the earth. R.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He spoke, and it came to be.

He commanded; it stood in place. R.

Yes, the Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him,

who hope in his merciful love,

to rescue their souls from death,

to keep them alive in famine. R.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.

He is our help and our shield.

May your merciful love be upon us,

as we hope in you, O Lord. R.

SECOND READING Romans     8:14-17

You have received the Spirit of sonship, in which we cry, "Abba! Father! ”

Brethren: All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The word of the Lord.

ALLELUIA         Cf.    Revelation 1:8

V. Alleluia. R. Alleluia. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: to God who is, who was, and who is to come. R. Alleluia.

GOSPEL   Matthew   28:16-20

“Baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

At that time: The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” The Gospel of the Lord.

TODAY'S LITURGICAL READINGS: Wednesday, May 23, 2018

FIRST READING                   James         4:13-17

“What is your life? You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills”’

Beloved: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain”; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM    Psalm 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11 (R. Matthew 5:3)

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Hear this, all you peoples,

give ear, all who dwell in the world,

people both high and low,

rich and poor alike! R

Why should I fear in evil days

the malice of the foes who surround me,

those who trust in their wealth,

and boast of the vastness of their riches. R

No man can ransom a brother,

nor pay a price to God for his life.

How high is the price of his soul!

The ransom can never be enough!

No one can buy life unending,

nor avoid coming to the grave. R

Anyone sees that the wise will die;

the foolish will perish with the senseless,

and leave their wealth to others

ALLELUIA         :  John 14:6

V. Alleluia. R. Alleluia.

y. I am the way, and the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, but by me. R. Alleluia.

GOSPEL    Mark          9:38-40

“He that is not against us is for us.”

At that time:

John said to Jesus,

“Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us.” The Gospel of the Lord

Christology: Jesus, the Suffering Son of Man

Suffering is a perennial problem. People have tried in vain to eliminate suffering but the more they try to fight suffering the more suffering is raising its ugly head. Our Lord Jesus Christ came with a different approach. Instead of fighting against suffering he embraced suffering and through suffering he was able to conquered suffering. In the gospel of Mark 9:30-37 Jesus declares, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." The suffering our Lord Jesus Christ has to do with his rejection, betrayal and crucifixion. Three days after his death, our Lord Jesus Christ actually rose from death. Through his resurrection He has conquered suffering, death and Satan. To him be glory and praise both now and forevermore - Amen!

Inspirational Message: By dying on the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ has destroyed our death and our suffering. By rising from death He has restored our life.

Prayer against Suffering: Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought death and suffering to an end. As long as you are concerned, suffering has no more power over us. Even in our little sufferings, we are rest assured that one day we shall conquer and we shall smile again, through Christ our Lord - Amen!

TODAY'S READINGS: Monday, May 21, 2018

Monday, May 21, 2018

FIRST READING                 James 3:13-18

“If you have bitter jealousy in your hearts, do not boast.”

Beloved:

Who is wise and understanding among you?

By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practise.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity.

And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM    Psalm 19:8,         9, 10, 15      (R.     9ab)

R. The precepts of the Lord are right; they gladden the heart.

The law of the Lord is perfect;

it revives the soul.

The decrees of the Lord are steadfast;

they give wisdom to the simple. R

The precepts of the Lord are right;

they gladden the heart.

The command of the Lord is clear;

it gives light to the eyes. R

The fear of the Lord is pure,

abiding for ever.

The judgements of the Lord are true;

they are, all of them, just. R

May the spoken words of my mouth,

the thoughts of my heart,

win favour in your sight, O Lord,

my rock and my redeemer! R

ALLELUIA         2 Timothy 1:10

V. Alleluia. R. Alleluia. V. Our Saviour Christ Jesus abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. R. Alleluia.

GOSPEL    Mark          9:14-29

“I believe; help my unbelief.”

At that time:

[When Jesus came down the mountain with Peter and James and John] and they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them.

And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him.

And he asked them, “What are you discussing with them?”

And one of the crowd answered him,

“Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a mute spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?

How long am I to bear with you?

Bring him to me.”

And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

And Jesus asked his father,

“How long has he had this?”

And he said, “From childhood.

And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.”

And Jesus said to him, “If you can!

All things are possible to him who believes.”

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said,

“I believe; help my unbelief!”

And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it,

“You mute and deaf spirit,

I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.”

And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, “He is dead.”

But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately,

“Why could we not cast it out?”

And he said to them,

“This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.”

The Gospel of the Lord

PENTECOST SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2018

Entrance Antiphon            Wis.  1:7

The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world and that which contains all things understands what is said, alleluia.

             

Collect

O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers.

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 2:1-11

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues.”

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 104:lab and 24ac.29bc-30.31 and 34 (R. cf. 30)

R. Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Lord my God, how great you are.

How many are your works, O Lord!

The earth is full of your creatures. R.

You take away their breath, they die,

returning to the dust from which they came.

You send forth your spirit, and they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth. R.

May the glory of the Lord last forever!

May the Lord rejoice in his works!

May my thoughts be pleasing to him.

I will rejoice in the Lord. R.

SECOND READING Galatians  5:16-25

“The fruit of the Spirit.”

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians

Brethren: Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires    of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other,    to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the        law.  Now the works   of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy; peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful­ness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.

alleluia

V. Alleluia. R. Alleluia.

V. Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful; and kindle in them the fire of your love.

GOSPEL   John 15:26-27;    16:12-15

“The Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples,

“When the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.