Is-Sitt Ħadd tal-Għid
Messalin A pp 211
Reading
ACTS 8:5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to the city of Samaria
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb ta' l-Atti
ta' l-Appostli 8, 5-8. 14-17
F'dak iż-żmien, Filippu niżel f'belt tas-Samarija u xandar
lil Krisitu lin-nies tagħha. Il-folol
tan-nies b'fehma waħda kienu joqogħdu attenti għal dak li kien jgħidilhom
Filippu, meta kienu jisimgħuh u jaraw il-mirakli li kien
jagħmel. Kien hemm nies maħkuma
mill-ispirti ħżiena, u dawn b'għajat kbir kienu joħorġu minn
R/ Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!” R/
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!” R/
“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. R/
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. R/
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever. R/
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever. R/
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness! R/
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness! R/
Salm
Responsorjali
Salm 65
(66)
R/ Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Għajtu bil-ferħ lil Alla,
bnedmin tad-dinja kollha;
għannu s-sebħ ta' ismu,
xandru s-sebħ u t-tifħir tiegħu.
Għidu lil Alla:
"Kemm int tal-biża' f'għemilek! R/
L-art kollha tagħtik qima,
tgħannilek u tgħanni lil ismek."
Ejjew, araw l-għemejjel ta' Alla;
tal-biża' f'għemilu fost il-bnedemin. R/
Biddel il-baħar f'art niexfa,
għaddew bil-mixi minn
Għalhekk, nifirħu bih!
Hu jsaltan bil-kobor tiegħu għal dejjem. R/
Ejjew, isimgħu, u ngħidilkom,
intom ilkoll li tibżgħu minn
ngħidilkom x'għamel miegħi.
Imbierek Alla, li ma warrabx it-talba tiegħi;
ma warrabx minn
Reading
1 PeTer 3:15-18
Beloved: Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to
give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do
it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when
you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves
be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will
of God, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once, the
righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put
to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. This is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San
Pietru Appostlu 3, 15-18
Għeżież, lill-Mulej Kristu, qaddsu f'qalbkom. Kunu
dejjem leslti biex tagħtu tweġiba
lil kull min jitlobkom il-għala tat-tama li għandkom. Imma wieġbu bil-ħlewwa u
bir-rispett. Żommu safja l-kuxjeza tagħkom biex, meta jgħidu fuqkom,
dawk stess li jkasbru l-imġiba tajba tagħkom fi Kristu jkollhom għalxiex jistħu.
Jekk din tkun ir-rieda ta' Alla, aħjar tbati għax tkun għamilt it-tajjeb
milli għax tkun għamilt il-ħażin. Għax Kristu wkollmiet darba għal dejjem
minħabba d-dnubiet; hu li kien ġust,
miet għall-inġusti biex iressaqkom lejn Alla; kien mogħti l-mewt fil-ġisem,
imma ħa l-ħajja fl-ispirtu. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Gospel
JohN 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love
me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because
it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and
will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little
while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and
you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are
in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one
who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love
him and reveal myself to him.”
L-Evanġlju
Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San
Ġwann 14, 15-21
F'dak
iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Jekk tħobbuni, ħarsu l-kmandamenti tiegħi. U jien nitlob lill-Missier, u hu jagħtikom
Difensur ieħor biex jibqa' magħkom għal
dejjem, l-Ispirtu tal-verita', li d-dinja ma
tistax tirċevih, għax hija la tarah u lanqas tagħrfu. Iżda intom tagħrfuh, għaliex jgħammar
magħkom, u huwa fikom. Ma nħalikom iltiema.
Nerġa' niġi għandkom. Ftit iehor
u d-dinja ma taranix aktar. Iżda intom għad tarawni, għax jiena ngħix, u intom
ukoll għad tgħixu. F'dak il-jum intom
tagħrfu li jiena f'Missieri, u intom fija u jiena fikom. Min iżomm
il-kmandmanti tiegħu u jħarishom, dak hu li jħobbni u min iħobb lili, iħobbu
wkoll il-Missier, u jiena wkoll inħobbu u nurih lil nnifsi. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
A reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A by Fr Thomas Rosica
The Advocate Gives Us A Reason For Our Hope
The first six Chapters of Acts tell the story of
the foundation and building up of the Church in Jerusalem
What can we learn from this experience? Luke’s
writings in the Acts of the Apostles make clear that the gift of the Spirit is
not a personal privilege. Nor is the proclamation of the Scriptures a mere
cerebral process involving theory and intelligence. Rather, it is a process
that demands an experiential knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified and
Risen One. No apparent obstacle – whether physical defect, race, or
geographical remoteness – can place a person beyond the saving call of the Good
News. God is actively fulfilling his purposes for the scope of the Church’s
mission (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). The Lord Jesus sets his eyes on potential
witnesses and does all he can to form them, empower them, and send them out on
the roads of the Word.
The new advocate among us
In John’s Gospel, the sense of loss among the apostles is
palpable as Jesus prepares to take leave of them. Peter asks: “Lord, where are
you going?” (John 13:36) and "Lord, why can I not follow you now?"
(John 13:37). To this poignant longing Jesus responds: “If you love me you will
keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another
Advocate to be with you forever” (John 14:15). Then Jesus identifies the new
Advocate (“paraclete”) as the Spirit of truth, unknown to the world but an
abiding presence within the disciples (John 14:17). This then is the foundation
of our trust in the guidance of the Spirit.
The Greek term paraclete has its roots in legal terminology,
meaning “advocate” or “defence attorney.” It can also mean a spokesman,
mediator, intercessor, comforter, or consoler, although no one of these terms
encompasses the meaning expressed in John. The Paraclete in John is a teacher,
a witness to Jesus, and a prosecutor of the world, who represents the continued
presence on earth of the Jesus who has returned to the Father.
Jesus is the first Advocate (“paraclete”), as in 1
John 2:1, where Jesus is an advocate in the sense of an intercessor in heaven.
The coming of the Paraclete in the Christian community signals the start of a
worldwide mission impelling the early Christians beyond their geographic
boundaries. If Jesus was the Advocate during his earthly presence, the Spirit now
is a new Advocate, the presence of Jesus until his return. This Advocate is not
a stranger, but is the guarantee of fidelity to Jesus: “The Advocate, the Holy
Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and
remind you of all that I have sent to you” (John 14:26). Again he adds that the
Advocate will testify on his behalf and enable the disciples also to testify.
As background to these passages we recall the uncertainty and fear of the
disciples at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. With the coming of the
Spirit they are enlightened and emboldened and become witnesses with clarity
and courage.
Not trapped in the past
The Advocate will not only be the assurance of
faithfulness and the source of bold proclamation but also the guide into a
veiled future: “I have still many things to say to you, but you cannot bear
them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth;
for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will
declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:12-13). This assurance of
the presence and guidance of the Spirit empowers the disciples to move into the
future, to meet new challenges in creative ways. Authentic disciples are
faithful to the person and message of Jesus yet they are not trapped in the
past. It is the Spirit that enables flexibility, adjustment, adaptation, and
newness to occur, always within the context of fidelity.
The Church’s living memory
The new Advocate is not a kind of a proxy sent to
replace the absent Lord: on the contrary, it assures his presence as well as
the Father’s. They will “come to” the one who remains faithful to Jesus’ word,
and they will dwell “with” him (John 14:23). Not with the others –those who do
not love the Lord and do not keep his word. The Paraclete dwells in everyone
who loves Jesus and keeps the commandments, and so his presence is not limited
by time (14:15-17). The Paraclete is just as present in modern disciples of
Jesus as he was in the very first generation. No one should think that Jesus
has abandoned his Church in our times. Jesus continues to send us God’s Spirit
of Truth. We are told in the Gospel that the Holy Spirit will teach us
everything and remind us of all that Jesus said (14:26). This “reminding” or
“calling to memory” is beautifully expressed in a new term used in theCatechism of the Catholic Church to describe the work of the
Paraclete: “The Holy Spirit is the Church’s living memory” (#1099).
As Christians, the person of Jesus
Christ is our “starting-point,” our hope and our goal. Christ asks the Church
to “make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19). To guide the work of the
Church in its mission, Christ sends the Holy Spirit into our midst. Jesus
identifies the new Advocate as the “Spirit of truth,” unknown to the world but
an abiding presence within the disciples (John 14:17). This then is the
foundation of our trust in the guidance of the Spirit. Jesus was Advocate
during his earthly presence with the disciples. The Holy Spirit is a new
Advocate, the presence of Jesus guiding the Church until his return.
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