This Week’s Gospel Message

Thursday, May 25th, 2023

This week’s Gospel message for Sunday, May 28th is from John 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.’”

Reflection

“According to this passage from John’s Gospel, Jesus gave two gifts to his disciples when he first appeared to them after he was raised from the dead. He gave them the Holy Spirit and he gave them peace. They must have been very unsettled as they locked themselves in the upper room: frightened that they themselves might be persecuted as Jesus was, devastated about his death on the cross, unsure about the testimony they had heard from Mary Magdalene, feeling guilty that they mostly had abandoned Jesus at the end, and anxious about the future. So the first gift Jesus gave them was peace. Peace of mind. Peace in their hearts. Then he gave them one more thing: a mission to bring peace and mercy to the world. And so we, as modern-day disciples of the Lord, are called to bring peace and mercy and the Holy Spirit to the world.” SOURCE: Pastoral Patterns, Summer 2023

DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK

Monday Genesis 3:9-15, 20; John 19:25-24

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Memorial) – “First taught by St. Ambrose in the fourth century, the title of ‘Mother of the Church’ for the Virgin Mary was proclaimed by St. Paul VI in 1964. To better focus the Church’s attention on the maternal care of the Blessed Mother for the disciples of Christ throughout the ages, Pope Francis inscribed this memorial into the General Roman Calendar to be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost.”                                   

Tuesday Sirach 35:1-12; Mark 10:28-31        

Wednesday Zephaniah; Luke 1:39-56

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast) – (Please see page 7.)   

Thursday Sirach 42:15-25; Mark 10:46-52

Friday Sirach 44:1, 9-13; Mark 11:11-26

Saturday Sirach 51:12cd-20; Mark 11:27-33

SOURCE: Living with Christ, May 2023

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