Entrance Antiphon ct. Ps 27:7-9
O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you; of you my heart has spoken: Seek his face; hide not your face from me, alleluia.
Collect
Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord, so that we, who believe that the Saviour of the human race is with you in your glory, may experience, as he promised, until the end of the world, his abiding presence among us. Who lives and reigns with you. .
FIRST READING
“All with one accord devoted themselves to prayer.”
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1: 12-14)
[After Jesus was taken up into heaven,] the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 27:1.4.7-8a (R. 13)
R/. I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
whom should I dread? R.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
only this do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
to inquire at his temple. R.
O LORD, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer me.
Of you my heart has spoken,
“Seek his face.” R
SECOND READING
“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed.”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Peter (1 Peter 4:13- 16)
Beloved: Rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrong-doer, or a mischief- maker; yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.
The word of the Lord.
ALLELUIA Cf. John 14: 15
Alleluia. I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord; I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“Father, glorify your Son.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (John 17: 1-11a)
At that time: Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do; and now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made. I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you did send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
The first reading describes how the apostles, together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus and other women are in the upper room, devoting themselves to prayer. They find their hope and consolation in being together and praying in the absence of their Master and Lord. Jesus passionately prays to his Father before his passion and death. His prayer is not so much for himself but for the disciples the Father has given him. He entrusts his disciples to the father saying, “For they are yours; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.” St Peter in the second reading tells us that sharing in the sufferings of Christ is cause for rejoicing as it will lead to sharing in the glory of Christ. If we are subjected to reproaches for the sake of the name of Christ, it means that the spirit of glory and of God rests upon us. Being followers of Christ is not our choice, but it is God’s providential grace. We are God’s adopted children through the sufferings and death of Christ. We share in the sufferings of Christ, but destined to rejoice also in his glory. Lord, grant that we may find our hope and joy in living as a true community of faith and prayer.