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.”