Solemnity of the Pentecost

Date: May 31, 2009

First Reading (Acts 2: 1–11)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they 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 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 travellers 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."

Second Reading (Galatians 5: 16–25)
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians.
Brothers and sisters: I say to you: walk according to the Spirit and do not give way to the desires of the flesh war against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are opposed to flesh. Both are in conflict with each other, so that you cannot do everything you would like. But let the Spirit lead you: this has nothing to do with submitting to the Law. You know what comes from the flesh: immorality, impurity and shamelessness, idol worship and magic, hatred, jealousy and violence, anger, ambition, division, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I again say to you what I have already stated: those who do these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy and peace, patience, understanding of others, kindness and fidelity, gentleness and self-control. For such things there is no Law or punishment. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its vices and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us live in a spiritual way.

Gospel (John 15: 26–27; 16: 12–15)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

7th Sunday of Easter

Date: May 24, 2009

First Reading (Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers. There was a group of about ten dozens of people in the one place. He stated, "My brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry. For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'May another take his office.' Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place." Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

Second Reading (1 John 4: 11-16)
A reading from the first letter of Saint John.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love, remains in God, and God in him.

Gospel (John 17: 11b-19)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed with these words: "Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction. in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now, I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth."

The Ascension of the Lord

Date: May 21, 2009

First Reading (Acts 1: 1-11)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
In the first part of my work, Theophilus, I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he ascended to heaven. But first he had instructed through the Holy Spirit the apostles he had chosen. After his passion, he presented himself to them, giving many signs that he was alive; over a period of forty days he appeared to them and taught them concerning the kingdom of God. Once when he had been eating with them, he told them, "Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the fulfillment of the Father's promise about which I have spoken to you: John baptized with water, but will be baptized with the Holy Spirit within a few days." When they had come together, they asked him, "Is it now that you will restore the Kingdom of Israel?" And he answered, "It is not for you to know the time and the steps which the Father has fixed 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, even to the ends of the earth." After Jesus stated this, he was taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight. While they were still looking up to heaven where he went, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them and stated, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen him go there."

Second Reading (Ephesians 1: 17-23)
A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians.
May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of Glory, reveal himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom, that you may know him. May he enlighten your inner vision, that you may appreciate the things we hope for, since we were called by God. May you know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart for his saints; my you understand with what extraordinary power he acts in favor of us who believe. He revealed his almighty power in Christ when he raised him from the dead and had him sit at his right hand in heaven, far above all rule, power, authority, dominion, or any other supernatural force that could be named, not only in this world but in the world to come as well. Thus has God put all things under the feet of Christ and set him above all things, as head of the Church which is his body. He who fills all in all unfolds his fullness in the Church.

Gospel (Mark 16: 15-20)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark.
Jesus stated this to the Eleven, "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed: in my Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes and, if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed. They will lay their hands on the sick and they will be healed." So then, after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his place at the right hand of God. The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs which accompanied them.

6th Sunday of Easter

Date: May 17, 2009


First Reading (Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
As Peter was about to enter the house, Cornelius went to him, fell on his knees and bowed low. But Peter lifted him up saying, "Stand up, for I too am a human being." Peter began to spoke to Cornelius and the group, "Truly, I realize that God does not show partiality, but in all nations he listens to everyone who fears God and does good." Peter was still speaking when the Holy Spirit came upon all who listened to the Word. And the believers of the Jewish origin who had come with Peter were amazed, "Why! God gives and pours the Holy Spirit on foreigners also!" For indeed this occurred: they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter declared, "Can we refuse to baptize with water these people who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have?" So he had them baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. After that they asked him to remain with them for some days.


Second Reading (1 John 4: 7-10)
A reading from the first letter of Saint John.
My dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love. How did the love of God appear among us? God sent his only Son into this world that we might have life through him. This is love: not that we loved God but that first loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Gospel (John 15: 9-17)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Jesus states, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love. You will remain in my love if you keep my commandments, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you all this, that my own joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this, to gives one's life for one's friends; and you are my friends if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father. You did choose me; it was I who chose you and sent to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. This is my command, that you love one another."

5th Sunday of Easter

Date: May 10, 2009

First Reading (Acts 9: 26-31)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
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. He 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.

Second Reading (1 John 3: 18-24)
A reading from the first letter of Saint John.
Children, let us love not 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 confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandments 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 remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us, is from the Spirit he gave us.

Gospel (John 15: 1-8)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Jesus stated 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 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."

4th Sunday of Easter

Date: May 3, 2009

First Reading (Acts 4: 8-12)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: "Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done 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, whom God raised from the dead; in his name 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."

Second Reading (1 John 3: 1-2)
A reading from the first letter of Saint John.
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the 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 (John 10: 11-18)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
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 so he leaves the sheep and runs away, while the wolf captures and scatters them. This is because he works for money 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 Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this flock. Those 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. This commandment, I have received, was from my Father."