Mass Readings
Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 25th April, 2024Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday's Readings
St Mark, Evangelist
FIRST READING
A reading from the first letter of St Peter 5:5-14
Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day
To the rest of you I say: do what the elders tell you, and all wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day; unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking after you
Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering the same things. You will have to suffer only for a little while: the God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well again: he will confirm, strengthen and support you. His power lasts for ever and ever. Amen.
I write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a brother I know I can trust, to encourage you never to let go this true grace of God to which I bear witness. Your sister in Babylon, who is with you among the chosen, sends you greetings; so does my son, Mark.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 88
Response I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
Or Alleluia!
1. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens. Response
2. The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord; the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with the Lord or who is like the Lord
among the sons of God? Response
3. Happy the people who acclaim such a king, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 118: 29
Alleluia, Alleluia!
We are preaching a crucified Christ, who is the power and the wisdom of God.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 16:15-20
Jesus final words: Go out to the whole World and proclaim the Good News to all creation.
Jesus said to the Eleven,
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.
He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned.
These are the signs that will be associated with believers:
in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues;
they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison;
they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection 25 April Feast of Saint Mark Mark 16:15-20
Mark was the first to write a gospel. It always strikes me as strange that the gospel reading for his feast is taken from the longer ending of Mark which was probably a later addition to the gospel! According to early tradition, Mark was a disciple of Peter, which accounts for the first reading being from the first letter of Peter.
Mark’s gospel was the primary written source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In the early centuries the church seems to have found Matthew’s gospel in particular more helpful for the life of faith because of the large amount of the teaching of Jesus it contains, relative to Mark. As a result, Mark’s gospel was overshadowed somewhat in the early centuries by its larger relations, especially Matthew, and also John. Yet, without Mark’s gospel the church would not have had the gospels of Matthew or Luke in the form that they have come down to us.
In time, Mark came to be appreciated on its own terms, and not just as a poorer version of Matthew. It is now recognized for the wonderful literary and theological masterpiece it is. Mark portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve, and who was ready to lay down his life in the service of all. Mark’s portrait of the disciple mirrors that of Jesus. As disciples we are called to walk in the way of Jesus’ self-emptying service of God and God’s people, even when that means travelling the way of the cross. Mark is often unsparing in his portrayal of the failure of the disciples to imbibe this vision of Jesus and to live by it. Jesus struggles to open their eyes. As the gospel progresses, their failure become more pronounced, until, at the end, ‘they all deserted him and fled’.
Yet the gospel ends (the shorter ending) with the young man calling on the faithful women to tell the other disciples that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee where they will see him. The risen Lord remains faithful to his failed disciples and his faithfulness finally allows them to see clearly and to go out afresh to preach the gospel. This faithfulness of the Lord is well expressed in today’s gospel reading, ‘the Lord working with them confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it’. This message of Mark’s gospel that the Lord continues to work with his disciples, in spite of past serious failings, is a message the church needs to hear today
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2024: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications 2022/23, c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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