Entrance Antiphon
Speak out with a voice of joy; let it be heard to the ends of the earth: The
Lord has set his people free, alleluia.
Introduction
We are called to rejoice today at Jesus’ presence through the Holy Spirit in the
Church. His powerful presence becomes visibly real when we love him, believe his
Word and obey his command-ments.
PENITENTIAL RITE
God has loved us in Jesus, and baptised us into a new people of faith and
obedience to His commandments. To live this new life in the Risen Lord we need
the powerful assistance of the Holy Spirit. As we celebrate our new life in the
Spirit, let us ask pardon for our failure to keep alive the action of the Spirit
in us.
I Confess
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God,
heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we
praise you for your glory. Lord, Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God,
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are
seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are
the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray. Ever-living God, help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection
of the Lord and to express in our lives the love we celebrate. Grant this…
FIRST READING
(This reading tells us how the word of God spread from Jerusalem to “the ends of
the earth”. It’s the Holy Spirit who inspires the faith and makes it fruitful.)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (8:5-8,14-17)
Philip went down to a city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. And
the multitudes with one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, when they
heard him and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of many
who were possessed, crying with a loud voice; and many who were paralysed or
lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of
God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that
they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them,
but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid
their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (65)
Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the
earth.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth, O sing to the glory of his name. O
render him glorious praise. Say to God: “How tremendous your deeds!”
“Before you all the earth shall bow; shall sing to you, sing to your name!” Come
and see the works of God, tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the river dry-shod. Let our
joy then be in him; he rules for ever by his might.
Come and hear, all who fear God, I will tell what he did for my soul. Blessed be
God who did not reject my prayer nor withhold his love from me.
SECOND READING
(Peter exhorts the Christians to defend their faith and be ready and willing to
accept sufferings for the sake of Christ.)
A reading from the First Letter of St Peter (3:15-18)
In your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defence to
any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with
gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are
abused, those who revile your good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame. For
it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than for
doing wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but
made alive in the spirit.
This is the Word of the Lord
ACCLAMATION (Jn 14:23)
Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus said, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my
Father will love him, and we will come to him.” Alleluia!
GOSPEL
(The only way to love Jesus is obeying his commandments. The Holy Spirit enables
us to love Jesus and to keep His commandments.)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (14:15-21)
Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And
I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you
for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him; you know him for he dwells with you, and will be
in you.
I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the
world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live
also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in
you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he
who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself
to him.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord
(Homily)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in
Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy
Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he
rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Cel: Dear friends in Christ, Jesus makes us God’s children through the power of
the Holy Spirit. Hence, as children of God let us pray to the Father through
Jesus our Saviour that we may be open to the working of the Holy Spirit in our
personal lives and in the Church.
Response: Come Holy Spirit and dwell in us.
1. That the Pope, the bishops, the priests and the religious may continue to
discern the presence and guidance of the Spirit in the Church in the
proclamation of the Good News.
2. That the good works of the Church may always be a visible expression of her
faithfulness to Christ’s word, of her love for the people.
3. That the Spirit may renew all Christians to bear witness to God’s love and
mercy in the service of the poor and needy.
4. That all of us present here may listen to the promptings of the Spirit and
strive to work for a world of justice, peace and equality.
Cel: God our Father, you sent your Spirit to us your children. Through the same
Spirit we pray that we may come to deepen our faith in Jesus Christ who gave us
a new life. We ask this …
Prayer over the gifts
Lord, accept our prayers and offerings. Make us worthy of your sacraments of
love by granting us your forgiveness. We ask this…
PREFACE (23)
Father, all-powerful and everliving God, we do well always and everywhere to
give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We praise you with greater joy than ever in this Easter season, when Christ
became our paschal sacrifice. He is still our priest, our advocate who always
pleads our cause. Christ is the victim who dies no more, the Lamb, once slain,
who lives for ever.
The joy of the resurrection renews the whole world, while the choirs of heaven
sing for ever to your glory:
All: Holy, hoy, holy…
Communion antiphon
If you love me, keep my command-ments, says the Lord. The Father will send you
the Holy Spirit, to be with you for ever, alleluia.
Prayer after communion
Almighty and ever-living Lord, you restored us to life by raising Christ from
death. Strengthen us by this Easter sacrament. We ask this…
We feel at times let down and disheartened and we say, “My spirit is down” or “I
have no spirit in me to do it”. In those moments we see everything very dark and
bleak, and nothing works well for us. At times we also say, “Now I am in my best
spirits, I have the power to do it now”. Such times are very energetic when we
feel everything is okay and life is worthwhile. The readings of today assure us
that it is possible for a Christian to be always in their best elements and to
be up in their spirit and remain there because we are empowered by an unseen
presence of the Spirit promised us by Christ.
In the second reading today, speaking to the Christians who felt let down
because of the persecutions and sufferings for their faith Peter told them that
in their hearts they should never let Christ down, instead give full honour to
him as Lord. He encouraged them to keep their spiritual powers strong to defend
him alive. It is a great challenge for us Christians to keep ourselves happy and
in the spirit as they face of struggles and trials. And we are strengthened
through our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s power working within us.
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles speaks about Apostle Philip
who journeyed to Samaria and proclaimed there the good news to a troubled and
possessed people, with the result that unclean spirits, shouting with loud cries
came out of many who were possessed. Peter and John came from Jerusalem and laid
their hands on them and they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. With the
acceptance of the good news and belief in Jesus, the debilitating spirits were
thrown out and the strength of the Spirit was given to them. The evil tendencies
and bad habits controlling our lives are made powerless and ineffective when
God’s Holy Spirit is invited and allowed to work in us.
Finally in the Gospel, Jesus encourages his dispirited disciples with his
consoling words: “I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you…. And I will
pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for
ever.” Jesus, ever-abiding with us and knowing our tensions and trials, is
constantly interceding with the Father for new and fresh outpouring of his
Spirit upon us. We can be quite certain that Jesus is constantly giving us his
strengthening Spirit to walk the way he walked, to talk the way he talked, to
love the way he loved and to obey the way he obeyed his Father. With his power
within us we can be brave, do mighty things in his name, face any challenges and
overcomes all obstacles in life.
