A Homily – The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, A Holy Day of Obligation (Year C)

First Reading - Zephaniah 3:14-18

Responsorial Psalm – Isaiah 12

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 1:45

The Gospel According to Luke 1:39-56

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

God is not a warrior and God does not intervene in human affairs, either to pass judgement, pardon or grant reprieve. God has no enemies, because the divine being is love.

There is wisdom in the words of the prophet: be patient; salvation flows from the wellspring of eternal being; enter the living stream, step into the way, let it carry you from this life into the arms of the God the infinitely compassionate.

Consider the Gospel reading for today.

The writers of Mark began their narrative when Jesus of Nazareth, otherwise known as Joshua son of Joseph, was an adult, at the beginning of his public ministry, but the early Christians wanted more, and so the authors of Luke brought their narrative back in time, making a fable of his conception and birth. In their story they attempted to tie-up and cinch-off a variety of loose threads in the stories that were being told about Jesus in their own day, and in so doing they hoped to unite different factions of the Christian movement who had already begun to diverge in their beliefs about Jesus, the meaning of the Gospel and the mission of the Church.

The narrative we are give today was meant to appeal to the followers of John the Baptist by bringing forth the notion that Jesus and John were actually cousins, and that even though John was older, he was a follower of Jesus from the time he was in the womb. It subordinates Johns to Jesus in the same way that John’s mother was subordinate to Mary…the whole thing is a fiction.

That today’s reading made it into the cannon is unfortunate, because a great deal of theology and doctrine has been hung from these exercises in make believe, and are little more than naked political calculations meant to manipulate the burgeoning Church

The succeeding Gospels each in their turn employed the same literary technique, reaching farther back further in time; the writers of Matthew inserted a confusing genealogy; tracing Jesus’ heritage back to Adam, through David on his father’s side. And yet, at the same time we are asked to believe that Joseph was not his biological father…it is nonsense, and has been criticized for being nonsense from the moment it was penned.

Regardless of these failures of the human imagination, rejoice in the divine, rejoice that we who are infinitely less than the infinite being who created us, the universe and everything in it, rejoice in the reality that we have received the blessing of God, that we are children of the divine, animated by the same spirit that animate Jesus and Mary, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Rejoice in God’s mercy and do not fear.

First Reading - Zephaniah 3:14-18

The Lord, the King of Israel, is in Your Midst

Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud!

Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away.

The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear.

When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:

Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.

He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Isaiah 12

The Rejoicing of a Redeemed People

Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Truly, God is my salvation,

  I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song,

  he became my saviour.

With joy you will draw water

  from the wells of salvation.

Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

  Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!

  Declare the greatness of his name.

Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Sing a psalm to the Lord

  for he has done glorious deeds;

  make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,

  for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 1:45

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 1:39-56

The Almighty Has Done Great Things For Me

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

  And Mary said:

‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.

Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.

Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.

He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed the proud of heart.

He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.

He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy – according to the promise he made to our ancestors – of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

 

A Homily – The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, A Holy Day of Obligation (Year C)

A Homily – Feast of the Ascension, A Holy Day of Obligation (Year C)

First Reading – Acts 1:1-11 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9

Second Reading - Ephesians 1:17-23©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 28:19,20

The Gospel According to Luke – 24:46-53 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 Place yourself into the mindset of the disciples, and following them the authors of the Book of Acts, men and women who cling to the notion of Jesus came to establish a messianic kingdom in Israel. Jesus directs their attention away from Jerusalem to the broader world, a world beyond Palestine and the power of empires…then he left. The disciples taught that they and all of his other followers, that everyone who witnessed the event were filled with a pro-found hope in the expectation of his return…they possessed the vanity of a psalmist.

 Know this.

 It is right to praise God, the creator of the Universe, but it is not right to assume that God favors one people over another, and that God makes one nation the subject of another, that God puts any people under God’s feet, or under the feet of another…the disciples were not given the authority to rule the world, and because they never had it they did not pass it on to those who inherited their work….the church today does not possess it either.

 God, the true God, the God of love and mercy, the God of Jesus shuns war and abhors violence. The Christian God is not king; Jesus imagined God as a understanding parent and a caring friend who mourns for Jacob, is saddened by Israel and grieves for the church.

 Nevertheless, do as the psalmist asks and sing praises to the divine and give thanks for the grace we receive. Praise God, but do not look for God to be seated on a throne in the palace of a walled city; look for God in the garden, find God’s spirit in the face of your neighbor.

 Be mindful.

 If the armies of the world truly belonged to God, God would disband them in an instant, and send all of the soldiers home to their families.

 Remember the life of Jesus, and God; whom he called abba…meaning papa.

 Is God glorious?

 Indeed, God is the creator of the universe, and yet in God’s view the most exalted place to be is in relationship to us, each one of us as children of the divine.

 Therefore, we pray that each and every one of us comes to the full knowledge of God, to love the wayward among us as a parent loves their child.

 There is hope in the knowledge of God, and the hopes we have for ourselves, the hopes we have for those we love are to be extended to everyone, even those we do not love…this is the way.

 If you think that God has promised riches and glories, as the inheritance of the saints, bear in mind that the first will be last and the last will be first, and that spiritual riches are not counted in gold and silver and precious things.

 Understand this.

 There are good intentions in these words from the apostle, but poor execution; God and Jesus are not merely above all other powers in the world. The divine is beyond all such conventions.

 Know this:

 Matthew says that the “Great Commission” grants authority to the group of disciples that survived Jesus’ arrest and execution…this is a piece of propaganda.

 It is likely that the event itself never happened, but the authors of Matthew’s Gospel, writing over one hundred years after Jesus was killed, thought it necessary to establish their authority to speak and act in Jesus’ name (exclusively) into the sacred text.

 This is a con…predicated on a fabricated narrative, which is a problem

 Besides this little detail of foolishness, the message itself is reasonable; it articulates the basic mission of the church, to turn all-people of all-nations into followers of the way, into seekers of justice and servants of truth, people who care for the stranger, the widow and the orphan.

 Consider the Gospel reading for the day:

 It is mythology and metaphor…the message here is not “see, how it is written,” as if these events had been foretold, but see here what I am writing in his name, that Jesus, the anointed one of God (the Christ), has begun the ministry of repentance, which began with his cousin John and is now to spread from Jerusalem to every nation. It is a command: to preach the good news, the forgiveness of sins, the liberation of the captive and the salvation of all people.

 Jesus then encourages his followers to stay in Jerusalem until the time is right, to increase in number and grow in strength…then he was gone. 

First Reading – Acts 1:1-11 ©

Jesus Was Lifted Up While They Looked On

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’

  Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’

  As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9

The Lord is King

Cry to God with shouts of joy.

All nations, clap your hands;

  cry out to God in exultation,

for the Lord, the Most High, is greatly to be feared,

  and King over all the earth.

He has made whole peoples our subjects,

  put nations beneath our feet.

He has chosen our inheritance for us,

  the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.

God ascends amid rejoicing,

  the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing to God, sing praise.

  Sing to our king, sing praise.

God is king over the whole earth:

  sing to him with all your skill.

God reigns over the nations;

  God sits on his holy throne.

The nobles of the peoples join together

  with the people of the God of Abraham,

for to God belong the armies of the earth;

  he is high above all things.

 

Second Reading - Ephesians 1:17-23 ©

Brothers and sisters:

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might:

which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.

And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia!

Go, make disciples of all the nations.

I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke – 24:46-53

He Withdrew From Them and Was Carried Up Into Heaven

Jesus said to his disciples:

  ‘You see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.

  ‘And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.’

  Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising God.

 

A Homily – Feast of the Ascension, A Holy Day of Obligation (Year C)

A Homily – The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

First Reading - Acts 15:1-2,22-29 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8 ©

Second Reading – Apocalypse 21:10-14,22-23 ©

Alternative Second Reading – Apocalypse 22:12-14,16-17,20 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:23

The Gospel According to John 14:23-29 ©

 

 (NJB)

 

Listen!

Salvation is not earned, it is a gift. It is the fulfillment of God’s intention for you and the whole of creation. Salvation is not linked to our rites and rituals, to the way we mark ourselves as belonging to a group, or not, to whether we are in or outside of the Church. Our ultimate salvation has nothing to do with the things we eat, or with our deeds whether they are good or bad ones.

 Our Salvation comes from God and we are all saved together; until we have arrived at its fullness we are not saved at all.

 Be mindful.

 The psalmist is right to ask God to bless all peoples and all nations; to have pity and to be merciful in the fulfillment of God’s promise.

 Know this:

 God’s work is not confined to a single place and time, neither does God belong to one people.

 God, who created the universe, is the God of everyone; whether they know of God or not. God is still God.

 Ask for God’s blessing, not just four yourself, but ask for the divine spirit to bless everyone, even the exile…even your enemy.

 When we visualize the fulfilment of God’s promise, when we reflect on the heavenly worlds and the paradise to come, let all the talk of heavenly rewards, of precious metals and precious stones, let that fall away; forget the talk of gold and gems.

 Ignore the jingoism, the fetish with Israel and Jerusalem, they are not relevant to these reflections. Every reference we find in scripture to such material things, or the work of human beings, is a distraction from the central message the gospels are meant to convey.

 Know this!

 Where God is there is God who sustains all things within the divine self.

 Within God, who is the parent of all that live, there is no temple, there is no altar, there is no edifice or anything we would recognize as the structure of a Church; there is no cathedral, there is no basilica…where God is there is light, and love and peace.

 The light has no limit, the light shines forever and there is no darkness in it; in God’s embrace all people are welcome, and no one will come to it who has not been prepared for it.

 Remember.

 God prepares us all and makes us ready for the way; where God dwells there are no gates. People will come having passed through every plane of existence, they will come from all directions. 

 Every person will receive what they deserve; as the children of God they will receive God’s love, they will be forgiven just as Jesus prayed when he was dying on the cross. We will all receive mercy through the auspices of the heavenly will we will be cleansed and made well, healed and made happy; we will be whole. The hungry will be fed and the thirsty will drink, the gift is free; it is the promise of God.

 Understand this:

 God is present in all of God’s children and where God is present God is present fully. There is no division in the divine, and with the divine is every is every person who has ever been, who is and who yet shall be; the divine is inclusive of all reality…no-one is excluded. Everyone is present within the divine, as such they are present within each of us, for each of us carries the divine within ourselves.

 Jesus is the son of God, in the same way that each of us is a child of God; a son or daughter, therefore love one another, as God loves you…this is the great commandment, and do not be afraid, for life on Earth is merely a passage to another world; our experience represents the unfolding of a mystery.

 God abandons no-one; God will leave no orphans, no-one will be left stranded in the throws of sin; not one of us shall be lost. Everything, and everyone, returns to the creator, in so doing we come to the understanding that we never apart.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today.

 There are passages, and there are many of them, in which the Gospels provide the reader with only a tangled and confused set of words and concepts that do little to shed light on anything good or meaningful.

 The Gospel for today is one of those passages.

 Of the four Gospel’s, John’s has the least concern for historical accuracy. It was written more than one hundred years after Jesus’ death and it is likely that the event portrayed here never happened, that Jesus never spoke these words in this way.

 What this meandering passage represents is the thoughts and feelings of John’s community at the end of the first century CE. It fully represents the mystical and mysterious way in which Christians had come to see the life of Jesus in relationship to God. It does this in terms that have a connection to some of the prevailing philosophical beliefs regarding the metaphysical structure of reality, but does nothing to explicate the system of beliefs it is specifically engaging…it is poor theology.

 This type of thinking has been a burden on the faith over the centuries and millennia; it should be struck from the cannon because it is impossible for us to know what the Gospel writers meant, what the limits of their thinking was, never mind the fact that the philosophies of the ancient world, their metaphysical systems, were false; because they are errant there is little in those thought systems that can help us understand ourselves, the world we live in, or our relationship to God.

 What truth we can glean from today’s passage is this:

 Jesus prayed to God on behalf of his followers, he prayed that they would understand both his mission and the mission he was passing on to them. He prayed for their unity, heHe prayed that they love one another, and that the message they carried forward in his name was one of love.

 This Gospel passage has the appearance of being directed specifically to Christians, and that is unfortunate because the mission of Jesus crosses all boundaries; sectarian, national, ethnic and gender.

 This Gospel passage is overly concerned with the message regarding the identity of Jesus, as such it is dogmatic, it pushes the message of who John’s community believed Jesus was, over and against the mission to preach the love of God. This is not what Jesus himself taught, and in this way the Gospel deviates from the faith.

 Who Jesus was in the world, and what we believe about that is not germane. Such beliefs have no bearing on the way that is meant to be the core teaching leading into the Christian life.

 As followers of the way, rather than concerning ourselves with who we believe Jesus was, we need to concern ourselves with how Jesus was in the world, and with how we may be able to live a loving life according to the standard Jesus set.

First Reading - Acts 15:1-2,22-29 ©

It Has Been Decided by the Spirit and by Ourselves Not to Burden You with Any Burden Beyond these Essentials

Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.

Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:

‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8 ©

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Alleluia!

O God, be gracious and bless us

  and let your face shed its light upon us.

So will your ways be known upon earth

  and all nations learn your saving help.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and exult

  for you rule the world with justice.

With fairness you rule the peoples,

  you guide the nations on earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

  let all the peoples praise you.

May God still give us his blessing

  till the ends of the earth revere him.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading – Apocalypse 21:10-14,22-23 ©

He Showed Me the Holy City Coming Down Out of Heaven

In the spirit, the angel took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw that there was no temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple, and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.’

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John 14:23-29 ©

A Peace the World Cannot Give is My Gift to You

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.

Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me.

I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.

Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

You heard me say: I am going away, and shall return.

If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.’

 

A Homily – The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

A Homily – The Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

First Reading - Acts 14:21-27 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 144(145):8-13a ©

Second Reading - Apocalypse 21:1-5 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 13:34

The Gospel According to John 13:31-35 ©

 

(NJB)

Listen!

Everything the apostles accomplished after the death of Jesus, they did by their own design. We know that this is true because God does not intervene in our lives, our social institutions or in any other way; God has made each of us and the entire creation free.

Praise God for creating the universe in freedom, for filling it with innumerable possibilities, and its countless which ultimately included the reality of our own existence.

Now be mindful of this:

We all experience hardship in life, such is the nature of being and being human is no exception to this rule; with that being said it should also be understood that hardship is not a requirement for living in the way. We are not required to endure hardship before we see the face of God, even though it is virtually certain that we will.

Know this.

God is the creator of the universe, present in all times and places; including the deepest places of the human heart.

God only issues an indirect influence over the created order.

Contemplate the vast power of the divine and its humble manifestation in the person of Jesus as the archetype of love and mercy, and know that the psalmist is mistaken when he calls God a king.

Consider the Gospel reading for today, which tells us that as the end of all things there is God, the creator of the universe. God’s temple is in the heart of every person…enter into the another’s heart and allow them to enter yours; there you will worship God, together as one.

 Remember.

 Everyone of God’s children has their name written in the book of life. God promises to make the whole of creation new; the past will be reconciled to the divine plan. There will be no mourning and no sadness, God’s own hand shall bring relief to everyone.

 Forget the apocryphal imagery and mythological symbolism of the “Son of Man,” forget the cryptic words about the glory of God; in whom and how it appears; forget those things because they are irrelevant. Do as Jesus commanded…love one another; this is the purpose for which we were made.

 To follow Jesus is to lead with love, to love as Jesus loved, to be caring, compassionate and considerate, to be merciful and just.

 Be prepared to risk everything for the sake of love, even your life; in this way you will be true to Jesus, and everyone will see the truth of that.

 This is the way, there is no other.

 Faith (which is the trust we place in God), faith is not about the words read and preach, it is about the things we do, faith is love in action. It is not ideological, it is not partisan, it is not dogmatic, it is not doctrinaire. Faith is not concerned with creeds or secrets, or magic words. The expression of faith is not a legally binding agreement.

 Faith is trust in a loving Gode, which we express most clearly through loving service to one another.

 

First Reading - Acts 14:21-27 ©

They Gave an Account to the Church of all that God Had Done with Them

Paul and Barnabas went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 144(145):8-13a ©

Alleluia!

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

  slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

  compassionate to all his creatures.

Alleluia!

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

  and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

  and declare your might, O God,

to make known to men your mighty deeds

  and the glorious splendour of your reign.

Alleluia!

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;

  your rule lasts from age to age.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading - Apocalypse 21:1-5 ©

A Vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new.’

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 13:34

Alleluia, alleluia!

I give you a new commandment:

Love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John 13:31-35 ©

In the Son of Man, God Has Been Glorified

When Judas had gone Jesus said:

‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified.

If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.

‘My little children, I shall not be with you much longer.

I give you a new commandment:

Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.

By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.’

 

A Homily – The Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C)