First Reading Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14 After Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the apostles return to Jerusalem and gather in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 27:1,4,7-8 The Lord is our salvation. Second Reading 1 Peter 4:13-16 If you suffer for Christ, you will be blessed. Gospel Reading John 17:1-11a Jesus prays for his disciples. Background on the Gospel Reading Today’s reading is a prayer, which appears at the conclusion of Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. At the end of the prayer, Jesus is arrested in the garden. The prayer might be read as Jesus’ final commendation of himself to the Father. In the prayer, Jesus also expresses care and concern for his disciples. Jesus’ prayer reaffirms the complete union between Jesus and the Father. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus has been presented as the Word, who pre-existed with the Father and was sent to do the Father’s work on earth. In this prayer we learn that Jesus’ life and ministry have been directed toward one purpose, revealing the Father. When this work is accomplished, Jesus is to return to the Father to be glorified. Regardless of what happens to Jesus, in John’s Gospel, Jesus and the Father are in charge. Even in the description of Jesus’ death, Jesus does not simply die but instead hands over his spirit.  In today’s Gospel we also note the distinction found in John’s Gospel between the world and the disciples. The disciples are in the world, but they are separate from it because they have been given to Jesus. They are chosen from the world to be in service to the world for its salvation. This salvation has been accomplished in Jesus because Jesus has revealed the Father to the world, but the disciples will be sent by Jesus to make both the Father and Jesus known to the world. Jesus’ prayer is for the disciples’ work in the world.

Thursday 14th May Times of Masses Wednesday 13th Vigil 6pm  Thursday 14th May 7am & 10am

First Reading Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47 The first community of Christians grows as its members meet to pray and break bread. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 118:2-4,13-15,22-24 God’s love is everlasting. Second Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9 We have new hope because of Jesus’ Resurrection. Gospel Reading John 20:19-31 Thomas believes because he sees Jesus. Background on the Gospel Reading The Gospels tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after they discovered that his tomb was empty. Part of the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form. The bodily form was not one that the disciples recognized though. In John’s Gospel, Mary of Magdala does not recognize that the figure standing before her is Jesus until he speaks to her. In Luke’s Gospel the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him until he breaks bread with them. The resurrected Jesus had a physical presence, but the disciples couldn’t recognize Jesus unless he allowed them to. His resurrected body, nonetheless, showed the marks of his crucifixion. From readings such as today’s Gospel, we also see that in his resurrected body, Jesus seems to be free of physical constraints. He appears to the disciples despite the fact that the doors were locked. Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” During the meeting, Jesus also shows the integral connection between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The story of Thomas illustrates our Christian experience today: We are called to believe without seeing. In fact, all Christians after the first witnesses have been called to believe without seeing. Thomas’s doubt is hardly surprising; the news of Jesus’ appearance was incredible to the disciples who had seen him crucified and buried. Thomas’s human nature compelled him to want hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death was indeed the same Jesus who had been crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to act on that desire. He is our witness that Jesus is really risen.  Our faith is based on the witness of the Church that has preceded us, beginning with Thomas and the first disciples. Through Baptism we receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus brought to the first disciples. We are among those who are “blessed” because we believe without having seen.