Easter is the most important Christian holiday. Christians celebrate
their faith that Jesus rose from the dead.
Invitation
May I ask for your attention for
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is to share the joy
of the gospel with you. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Consideration
Isn’t it strange that Peter and John – the founders of the young Christian Church – would return to the temple as usual after Jesus‘ death and resurrection? It is clear that the apostles did not immediately understand the sacrificial nature of Jesus’ death, nor did they realise the significance of breaking bread and sharing wine. They did come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in memory of Jesus, as He had asked them to do. But it was still too early to realise that this ritual would one day replace the liturgy of the Temple. Acts is the story of that evolution, of a growing belief in the resurrection. The disciples hesitate, but the Lord knows their trials and tribulations; time and again He appears to them to make it clear that He is alive. In the story of Emmaus, the emphasis is on the journey one must take to experience the closeness, the presence of the Lord. The disciples on their way to Emmaus seem to be filled with nothing but sorrow, confusion, disappointment and homesickness. These are the situations in which the Lord Jesus makes his presence felt – in the most meagre of ways – and walks the difficult road with us.
FIRST READING Acts 3:1-10
What I have, I give you: ‘In the name of Jesus: Use your feet!’
From the Acts of the Apostles
In those days, Peter and John went up to the temple
at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
There was a man there who had been lame from birth
and was being carried every day to the temple gate
who was called Beautiful,
to sit there and ask for alms
from the people entering the temple.
When he saw Peter and John
who wanted to enter the temple
he asked for alms.
Peter, like John, looked at him intently and said:
“Look at us.’
He fixed his gaze on them
in the expectation of receiving something from them.
However, Peter spoke:
‘I have no silver or gold
but what I have I give you.
’In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth:
use your feet!”
He took him by his right hand
and helped him to his feet.
At that very moment, strength came into his feet and ankles,
and with a leap he stood on his feet,
began to walk
and, walking and leaping, he went with them into the temple
as he glorified God.
The whole people saw him walking and glorifying God.
They recognised him as the man
who always sat begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple
and they were beside themselves with amazement
at what had happened to him.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 105(104), 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
Never forget the wonders the Lord has done.
or: Alleluia. (Ps. 32:5b) Glorify the Lord and worship his Name,
proclaim his deeds among the nations.
Sing to him and play music for him,
tell of all his wondrous works. Let the holy Name of the Lord be great,
rejoice, you who follow him.
Trust in him, in his mighty arm,
and seek his face constantly. You are the offspring of Abraham’s servant,
you are the sons of Jacob, his beloved.
The Lord is our God,
he alone, whose judgments are in force for all the earth. His covenant will stand forever,
the promises he made to thousands of generations.
The bond He once made with Abraham,
the oath He once swore to Isaac.
ALLELUIA Ps. 118(117), 24
Alleluia.
This is the day the Lord has made,
we will celebrate it in gladness.
Alleluia.
SEQUENCE
Let us praise the Easter Lamb,
honour the Lamb of God with sacrifices.
Yes, the Lamb saves the sheep,
Christ through his innocence
brings us poor sinners to the Father.
Death and life, oh miracle,
must fight together.
He who died, He lives, He is our King.
Tell us, Mary,
what is it that you have seen?
Christ’s tomb was empty,
the glory of Him who is risen,
angels as witnesses,
the napkin and the shroud.
My hope, my living Christ!
Behold, He goes before you to Galilee.
Truly Christ is risen: He has risen from the dead.
O King, our Hero, grant us peace.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 24:13-35
From the holy gospel according to our Lord Jesus Christ
Luke
On the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were on their way to a village
called Emmaus,
about two miles from Jerusalem.
They were discussing everything that had happened. While they were talking
and discussing these things,
Jesus himself came near
and walked with them.
But their eyes were prevented from recognising him.
He asked them,
‘What is this conversation
that you are holding with each other as you walk?’
With faces downcast they stood still.
One of them, whose name was Cleopas, spoke up and said to him:
‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem
who does not know the things that have been happening there in these days?’
He asked them:
‘What things?’
They replied:
“The things about Jesus of Nazareth,
a man who was a prophet,
powerful in action and word,
in the eyes of God and all the people;
how our high priests and government officials
have handed Him over
to be sentenced to death
and how they have crucified Him.
And we lived in the hope
that He would be the one to redeem Israel!
“But even so, it is now the third day
since these things happened.
‘Well, a few women from our midst
have confused us;
they had gone to the tomb in the early morning
but had not found his body
and they came to say
that they too had had an apparition of angels,
who declared that He was alive again.
“Thereupon, some of our number went to the tomb
and they found it as the women had said,
but they did not see Him.‘
Then He spoke to them :
’Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things
and then enter his glory?”
Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. So they came to the village where they were going,
but He acted as if He had to go further.
They urged Him,
‘Stay with us, for it is almost evening and the day is almost over.’
Then He went in to stay with them.
While He was with them, He took bread,
said the blessing,
broke it and handed it to them.
Now their eyes were opened and they recognised him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
‘Were not our hearts burning
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’
They got up at once and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven gathered together with the others
They declared:
‘The Lord has truly been raised.
He has appeared to Simon.’
And they, in turn, told what had happened on the way
and how he had been recognised by them
in the breaking of the bread.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On fraternity and social friendship
The injustice of war
256. ‘Deceit is in the mind of those who plan evil, but
gladness for those who promote peace’ (Prov. 12:20). Yet people
seek solutions in war, which often ‘feeds on the deterioration of relationships,
despotic tendencies, abuse of power, fear of others and of diversity seen as
an obstacle’. War is not a spectre from the past,
but has become a constant threat. The world is experiencing
more and more difficulties on the slow road to peace that it had
embarked upon and which was beginning to bear fruit.
To be continued
Every day at 7 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation _________________________________________________________________