May 26, 2024 - Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity (Year B)

 

First Reading - Dt 4:32-34.39-40

    Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth. Ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

    This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.” 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 33

R –-Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own!

* Upright is the word of the Lord, and all His works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. R.

* By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; by the breath of His mouth all their host. For He spoke, and it was made; He commanded, and it stood forth. R.

* See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in times of famine. R.

* Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. May Your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in You. R.

Second Reading - Rom 8:14-17 

     Brothers and sisters:

    Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 

    For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears wit- ness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 

Gospel Acclamation - Rv 1:8

Alleluia! Alleluia!
Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Mt 28:16-20 

    The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

    Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

    Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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, until the end of time.” 

May 19, 2024 - Solemnity of Pentecost (Year B)

 

First Reading - Acts 2:1-11

    When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, the disciples were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

    Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.

    At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 104 

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

* Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed! How manifold are your works, O Lord! The earth is full of your creatures. R.

* May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord be glad in his works! Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the Lord. R.

* If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. R.

Second Reading - 1 Cor 12:3-7.12-13

    Brothers and sisters:

    No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

    As a body is one, though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. 

Sequence

Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store!

Come, within our bosoms shine!

You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome

guest;

Sweet refreshment here below;
And our inmost being fill!

In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts

of yours,

Where you are not, we have naught,

Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness, pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away.

Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore And confess you, evermore

In your sevenfold gift descend.

Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord; 

Give them joys that never end. Amen! Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 20:19-23 

    On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

    Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” 

May 12, 2024 - Solemnity of the Ascension (Year B)

 

First Reading - Acts 1:1-11

    In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

    He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

    When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

    He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

    While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 47 

R – God mounts his throne to shouts of joy; a blare of trumpets for the Lord! 

* All you peoples , clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness. For the Lord, the Most High, the Awesome, is the great king over all the earth. R.

* God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts. Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. R.

* For king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise. God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne. R.

Second Reading - Eph 4:1-13 

    Brothers and sisters:

    I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

    But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it says: He ascended on high and took prisoners captive; he gave gifts to men. What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

    And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ. 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
Go and teach all nations, says the Lord. I am with you always, until the end of the world.
Alleluia! Alleluia! 

Gospel - Mk 16:15-20 

    Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned.

    These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

    So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.

    But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. 

May 5, 2024 - Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

 

First Reading - Acts 10:25-26. 34-35.44-48

    When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a human being.”

    Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every
nation, whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”

    While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The 
circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.

    Then Peter responded, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?” He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 98 

R –The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power! 

* Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds. 
His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. R.

* The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. R.

* All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song, sing praise. R.

Second Reading - 1 Jn 4:7-10 

    Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God. Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

    In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

    In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. 

Gospel Acclamation Jn 14:23

Alleluia! Alleluia! 
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,” says the Lord, “and my Father will love him and we will come to him.”
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel Jn 15:9-17 

    Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.

    If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

    I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.

    This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

    I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

    It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you.

    This I command you: love one another.” 

April 28, 2024 - Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

First Reading - Acts 9:26-31

    When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

    Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.

    Saul moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.

    The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 22

R –I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people! 

* I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the Lord. The lowly shall eat their fill. They who seek the Lord shall praise him: “May your hearts live forever!” R.

* All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations shall bow down before him. R.

* To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth. Before him shall bend all who go down into the dust. R.

* And to him my soul shall live. My descendants shall serve him. Let the coming generation be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has shown. R. 

Second Reading - 1 Jn 3:18-24

    Children, let us love not just in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.

    Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confi- dence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

    And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments re- main in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.

Gospel Acclamation - Jn 15:4.5

Alleluia! Alleluia! 
“Remain in me as I remain in you,” says the Lord. “Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.” 

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 15:1-8 

    Jesus said to his disciples:

    “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does, he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

    You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

    I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither. People will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

    If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” 

April 21, 2024 4th Sunday of Easter (Year B)

 

First Reading - Acts 4:8-12

    Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “Leaders of the people and Elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified, and whom God raised from the dead. It is in his name that this man stands before you healed.

    He is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 118

R –The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone! 

* Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. R 

* I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me and have been my savior. The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. R.

* Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me and have been my savior. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his kindness endures forever. R. 

Second Reading - 1 Jn 3:1-2 

    Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

    Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 

Gospel Acclamation Jn 10:14

Alleluia! Alleluia!
“I am the good shepherd,” says the Lord;
“I know my sheep, and mine know me.”
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 10:11-18 

    Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.

    I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Fa- ther; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

    I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

    This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” 

1April 14, 2024 - Third Sunday of Easter (Year B)

 

First Reading - Acts 3:13-15.17-19

    Peter said to the people: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence when he had decided to release him.

    You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The Author of Life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead. Of this we are witnesses.

    Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced before- hand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer.

    Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 4

R - Lord, let your face shine on us!

* When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer! R.

* Know that the Lord does wonders for his faithful one; the Lord will hear me when I call upon him. R.

* O Lord, let the light of your countenance shine upon us! You put gladness into my heart. R.

* As soon as I lied own, I fall peacefully asleep, for you alone, O Lord, bring security to my dwelling.

Second Reading - 1 Jn 2:1-5

    My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

    The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Those who say, “I know him,” but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them.

    But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.

Gospel Acclamation - Lk 24:32

Alleluia! Alleluia!
Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Lk 24:35-48 

    The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

    While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish. He took it and ate it in front of them.

    He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”