08/04/2018
365 Catholic Daily Reading for Africa
8,APRIL 2018
Sunday April 8, 2018
Divine Mercy Sunday
Vestment: White
Today’s Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries
The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is said
Theme of the Sunday: How to Testify That Christ Is Risen. The words of Jesus, “Blessed are those who believe and have not seen,” that we read in the gospel are quite appropriate for us. Blessed are those who recognise the voice of the Master every Sunday in community celebrations. But to believe, people do not just need proclamation, they want signs, facts that prove beyond doubt that the Spirit of Christ is at work in the world. The first and second readings tell us that love for our brothers and sisters is the sign that will best show unbelievers that we have real faith in the Risen Christ.
Entrance Ant.
Like newborn infants, you must long for the pure, spiritual milk, that in him you may grow to salvation, alleluia.
The Gloria
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. 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.
Collect
God of everlasting mercy, who, in the recurrence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people you have made your own, increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed, that all may grasp and rightly understand in what font they have been washed, by whose Spirit they have been reborn, by whose Blood they have been redeemed. Through our Lord…
FIRST READING
“One heart and soul.”
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 4:32-35
The company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not any one needy among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM psalm118:2-4.15c-16b and 17-18.22-24 (R.1)
R. Give praise to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures forever.
Or: Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His mercy endures forever.” R.
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty deeds;
his right hand is exalted.
The Lord’s right hand has done mighty deeds.”
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord punished me, punished me severely,
but did not hand me over to death. R.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done,
a marvel in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice in it and be glad. R.
SECOND READING
“Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint John (1 John 5 : 1-7)
Beloved: Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and every one who loves the parent loves the one begotten by him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
The word of the Lord.
ALLELUIA John 20:29
Alleluia. You believed, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“Eight days later Jesus came.”
*A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (John 20: 19—31)
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Creed (I Believe)
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
We do not see, yet we believe.
PRIEST: My brothers and sisters We are a new Christian family who share in the life of the Risen Lord. Let us ask God our Father for all the graces we need to live our Christian lives to the full.
READER:
For the Church, pause may she ever remain faithful, as did the Early Church, to the teaching of the Apostles, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. pause Lord, hear our prayer; and give us your saving grace we pray Oh Lord.
For the world in which we live, pause may our Christian witness to the resurrection be a leaven, through which all may learn to believe that Christ is truly risen. pause Lord, hear our prayer; and give us your saving grace we pray Oh Lord.
For those of wavering faith, pause may they believe, like Thomas, through touching Christ’s body, which is the Church. pause Lord, hear our prayer; and give us your saving grace we pray Oh Lord.
For this community of believers, pause may we, throughout this and every year, be witnesses to the power of the resurrection, by lives full of joy and hope. pause Lord, hear our prayer; and give us your saving grace we pray Oh Lord.
PRIEST: In silence we make our private intentions, in the name of the Risen Lord.
Father, increase our belief in the resurrection of your Son, and help us to be its witnesses to our world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
REFLECTION
Giving them his Spirit, Jesus gives his Apostles the power to remit sins; thus he makes human beings participate in his triumph over evil and sin. The Risen Lord gives Thomas who did not believe the testimony of his fellow Apostles a lesson which is significant also for us: it is necessary to pass from vision to faith. The new mode of life of the Risen Lord means that he cannot be known as an earthly man, but as one who is present to us in the sacraments and in the life of the Church.
Today’s liturgy leads us to meditate on the new life of the primitive Christian community, and proclaims that each one of us is regenerated to a living hope through the Resurrection of Christ. Nearly every day we die to something: our ego, a dream, an ambition, an old idea-in order to rise with a greater ability to love, to welcome the reality around us, to be enthusiastic in continuing the adventure of our lives. The mystery of death and resurrection goes on. The Resurrection, therefore, is not only a fact of past history but also a present reality. In our life, after every crisis we begin again; after every rupture we rebuild. In this pilgrimage to our final death and resurrection the Christian must be characterized by faith in the Resurrection, being conscious that the present moment is a passage from death to life. The expression of this certainty is fraternal love.
