Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Dedicated To The Gospel
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
The books that have been our main companions throughout the Easter Season end with the committed, enthusiastic witness to the good news of Jesus: Paul in his captivity, and Peter, whose martyrdom is predicted, and John, the beloved apostle, who has given a true testimony of Jesus in his gospel.
What is the witness we give to Jesus? Does our way of life show that we believe in him and love him?
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
like Mary, the women and the apostles
on the day before the first Pentecost
We are gathered in prayer.
Let the Holy Spirit come down also on us,
that we may become enthusiastic believers
and faithful witnesses to the person
and the good news of Jesus.
May our way of living bear witness
that Jesus is our light and life,
now and forever.
First Reading
Upon arriving in Rome, the captain turned the prisoners over to the military governor but allowed Paul to stay in a private house with the soldier guarding him.
After three days, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered, he said to them:
“Brothers, although I have not done anything against our people or the traditions of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.
They examined me and wanted to set me free, because they saw nothing in my case that deserved death.
But the Jews objected, so I was forced to appeal to Caesar without any intention of bringing any charge against my own people.
Therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, because it is for the hope of Israel that I am wearing these chains.”
Paul stayed for two full years in a house he personally rented, where he received everyone who came to visit him freely.
He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught the truth about Jesus Christ, the Lord, quite openly and without any hindrance.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 7b) The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD's throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold,
his searching glance is on mankind.
R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD searches the just and the wicked;
the lover of violence he hates.
For the LORD is just, he loves just deeds;
the upright shall see his face.
R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will guide you to all truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Peter turned around and saw that the disciple Jesus loved was also following, the one who had leaned close to Jesus at the supper and asked him, ‘Lord, who is to betray you?’
Seeing him, Peter asked Jesus:
“Lord, what about him?”
Jesus replied:
“If I want him to remain until I come, is that any concern of yours? You follow me!”
Because of this, the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to Peter, ‘He will not die,’ but, ‘Suppose I want him to remain until I come back, what concern is that of yours?’
It is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.
Jesus did many other things; if all were written down, I don’t think the world itself could contain the books that would be written.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That Pentecost may be for the Church, not something that happened in the past but a repeated renewal in the forgiveness and the life of Christ, we pray:
– That by the power of the Holy Spirit we may be faithful to our faith and commitment to all that Jesus taught us, we pray:
– That the Holy Spirit may keep recreating us anew in the love of God and the love of people, we insistently pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our loving, faithful God,
in these signs of bread and wine
We want to celebrate the memory
of Jesus, our Lord and our Saviour.
By the power of the Holy Spirit
make us one heart and soul in him.
May our love and concern for one another
express a strong faith in Jesus’ person and message,
and bear witness that he is alive among us
and that we are united in Jesus our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
In this eucharist
Jesus has nourished us
with his word and his body
Allow us to go with him
our journey through life,
strong and confident through the Holy Spirit
that we will build up your kingdom
of love and justice,
and that we will reach our destiny
of happiness without end.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
May the Church be an open book in which people can read the word of God. The Lord be in your hearts and on your lips, that you may worthily proclaim his gospel, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
John 21:20-25
“Follow me!”
Today’s passage is the closing scene of John’s Gospel. Jesus once again invites Peter to “Follow him!” At an earlier time, Peter sounded very courageous and even heroic. “I will lay down my life for you” (Jn 13:37), he said. As the events unfolded, he failed to live up to his brave talk, preferring instead to save his skin. That was a profound lesson in humility, and the experience, along with later dramatic shifts in the Community's life, have made Peter a transformed man. Now, Peter better understands what it means to follow Jesus. The demand of Jesus is nothing but “love Jesus – love God”; loving Jesus means caring for others. And Peter has just professed his love for Jesus three times.
Jesus’ final words recorded in the Gospel are his invitation to Peter: Follow me. If Peter had asked, “Where, Lord?” Jesus’ response may well have been: Come and see. The Gospel ended as it had begun - “Jesus said to them: Come, and you will see” [1:39]. From the evangelist’s point of view, the Christian life is always the disciple’s response to Jesus’ invitation: Come and see!
Jesus’s invitation to every disciple calls for a deliberate and determined response. The disciple’s task is to be alert, not distracted, but remain ever faithful to Jesus’ personal call. Following Jesus is the decisive step, according to the Gospel. Tomorrow, we celebrate Pentecost. Let us renew our yes to the Lord to follow him. In prayer with Mary, our Mother, we ask the Holy Spirit to fill our lives: Following is a prayer composed by the late Bishop Pedro Casaldaliga, a Spanish Claretian missionary, known as the bishop of the poor and the forgotten in Brazil. Let us join him in prayer.
Come Holy Spirit, the Creator. Stay with us today, give us your intelligence and fill our hearts with goodness. Your name is comfort, inspiration, life, and grace. You are novelty: creative force. Come, Holy Spirit, so that your Light illuminates our course and strengthens our decisions. You have done all the good things –the one who presides over our discernment and points the way of our options – Your name is unity, hope and love. Keep us from evil, selfishness, injustice, intolerance, and divisions. Give us your peace, blessing, comfort, serenity and wisdom; so that we transform our present into the will of the Father in heaven.