SATURDAY - April 23, 2022
"Now let the heavens be joyful,
Let earth her song begin:
Let the round world keep triumph,
And all that is therein;
Invisible and visible,
Their notes let all things blend,
For Christ the Lord is risen
Our joy that hath no end."
- Saint John of Damascus
TODAY'S READINGS
April 23 2022
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 266
Reading 1ACTS 4:13-21
Observing the boldness of Peter and John
and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,
the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,
and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them,
they could say nothing in reply.
So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin,
and conferred with one another, saying,
“What are we to do with these men?
Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign
was done through them, and we cannot deny it.
But so that it may not be spread any further among the people,
let us give them a stern warning
never again to speak to anyone in this name.”
So they called them back
and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Peter and John, however, said to them in reply,
“Whether it is right in the sight of God
for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.
It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”
After threatening them further,
they released them,
finding no way to punish them,
on account of the people who were all praising God
for what had happened.
Responsorial Psalm118:1 AND 14-15AB, 16-18, 19-21
R. (21a) I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just.
R. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
Though the LORD has indeed chastised me,
yet he has not delivered me to death.
R. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Open to me the gates of justice;
I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
the just shall enter it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
R. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaPS 118:24
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 16:9-15
When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form
to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others;
but they did not believe them either.
But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
This Sunday's Gospel reading sets the stage for Pentecost. Prior to giving us the full gift of his Spirit, Jesus provides the gift of peace, the gift of his heart. A supernatural gift, it penetrates deep into our own hearts. It is the calming presence of Christ when we face challenges and difficulties.
Jesus bestowed it upon his first apostles twice in the same meeting shortly after his resurrection. Then he gave them the life-breath of God, the Holy Spirit, and commissioned them with the priesthood of forgiving the sins of others -- another gift that brings peace.
This gift of peace has been distributed by Jesus ever since, through the ordained priesthood in what we now call the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And to hold us steady in our efforts to remain holy, Jesus still gives us the breath of God. This breath, this life-sustaining presence of God's Spirit, which created the world and which keeps us spiritually alive, is the Holy Spirit -- God's holiness activating us and dwelling within us.
Whatever is not holy -- not of the Spirit -- is sinful and destructive. Jesus, who is the embodiment of Divine Mercy, died on the cross and gave us his Spirit so that we could live in the forgiveness of God.
Whenever you pray the "Our Father", do it slowly and intentionally, and pay attention to these words: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Think of the people who have irritated you the most or who have continued to behave hurtfully without remorse. Consciously forgive them during this prayer.
Otherwise, your unforgiveness could affect their eternal souls as well as your own, because you're denying them an opportunity to understand God's forgiveness through your example, and you're denying God the opportunity to forgive you for your sin of unforgiveness.
Forgiveness doesn't mean approving of the sin nor forgetting what was done. It means letting go of the desire to retaliate. It means choosing to love whether it's deserved or not. It means entering anew into Christ's gift of peace.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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