Sixth Sunday of Easter
1 MAY 2016 A.D.
Lectionary: 57

First Reading ACTS 15:1-2, 22-29

Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders
about this question.

The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:

“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”

Responsorial Psalm PS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!




Second Reading REV 21:10-14, 22-23

The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.

Alleluia JN 14:23

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



Gospel JN 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”

Bible Study--6th Sunday of Easter--Cycle C

"Let us live as temples of God, so that it may be evident to all that God dwells in us." –St. Cyprian

(Paraclete, St. Anthony Parish, Atlanta, GA)

Thank you my friend. It will help me prepare for Mass tomorrow. Have a Blessed Sunday.

Very welcome, Brother, artman54!

I always try to get the posts "up-and-running" each Saturday morning, as some us us () will attend the Vigil Mass on Saturday afternoon.

P.S.
Speaking of Mass, we've been attending our local parish, St. Mary's, here in Hudson, OH, for over 40 years. We're blessed with having such a vibrant Parish, which consistently produces many, many priest, deacons, and religious. Well, next week, May 8th, is what I cheerfully refer to as the "Trifecta" for us: yet another newly-minted Priest will celebrate his first Mass here, plus a new Deacon will be installed, AND our usual annual "crop" of a hundred or so first Communicants--all on one Sunday.

Add to that, there will be numerous festivities at the local college right across the street from us, (Western Reserve Academy), and parking will be at a premium. The adjoining streets are usually double-parked to boot, since our church is situated in our village's downtown area, so many shoppers and other non-parishioners usually "sneak" into our parking lot just to walk-and-shop our main street stores a block away from us.

Fr. McCann at yesterday's Vigil Mass added in his closing comments in the Concluding Rites that for the first time EVER there will be security folks handling all the traffic in and out of our puny parking lot and your vehicle won't be admitted unless it has a white sheet of paper with the word: "MASS" on the dashboard! Wow! Yes--it will be that crowded. Standing room only Masses are common--next week it will be the rule.

Ain't no "shortage of Priests" in our neck of the woods, nooo...Praise God! We are so blessed here!

Fr. Paul Scalia on today's Gospel:

Remembrance and Peace

Excellent post.

Have a blessed week all.



 

That's incredible BNA. I'm happy for your Parish. We have standing room only also on probable 3 out of 4 Sunday's but today was the monsoon season so the church was only 4/5ths full. I am always thankful for the post that you, Angelfire, TWIRE and others post. The enlightenment about the Word of God and His Son Jesus Christ is always refreshing. I look forward to your next post.

Oh my goodness I miss those massive churches with thousands of Catholic families. It seems it's been forever.

I have to drive a couple of hours to find anything remotely close to that here.

There is something to be said about being the ONLY Catholic church in an entire county and having a smaller congregation. We know everyone. Which is good and bad.





Some people have to drive that far here in a regular basis just to attend mass.  

I believe my favorite church is St. Marys in the Vanderpool - Utopia area of Texas. They have a circuit priest that does 3 Masses a day at different churches. It might hold 100 people and is in the beautiful Texas Hill Country almost in the middle of nowhere. I haven't been in years since I quit ranching but it's one of a kind. I miss it.

I hear you, Brother! We drove by there when we were in Bandera!

I know of what you speak, angelfire. It's the good as well as the bad.

When we had our farm in central Ohio, there was a tiny Catholic church there, and we never felt welcomed. If your family hadn't been there from "day one," we were always outsiders.

...just remember--it's THEIR LOSSES--NOT YOURS!

Peace and blessings, Sister!

Thanks BNA. That's it, but for some reason it looks "newer" then when I went. They were raising money to build a larger one but maybe they just redid the facade because I don't remember the limestone. I could be wrong though. Did you do the 3 Sisters run between Bandera, Leakey, Hunt, & Kerrville, it's a beautiful drive.

Not trying to hijack this or anything but this happened at mass this Sunday. My daughter turned 21 and some friends from UAB came to visit.

They went to mass and out for lunch afterwards. One is a part time Catholic Comedian/full time student.

He's been hanging around the daughter off and on for awhile...

So this weekend he used the following pickup line:

"That was quite a mass! How about that 3rd Eucharistic prayer and communion? Speaking of bread and wine... would you like to go to dinner with me?"



Me:    I made it to the car and was but in the interest of maintaining a parental presence, when they walked up I went back to

Ha ! That's great Angelfire. At least the kids got a sense of humor. He's also going to a good school and maybe earning a worthwhile degree. Only the Good Lord knows the future, so best of luck. I wish my son would find someone. He hunts, fishes, goes to church, and  seems to be entrenched in the bachelor lifestyle. So it goes !