After the joys and exuberance of Easter Sunday and Easter Week, we settle down into the longest Season in the Church’s Year – Eastertide. This period of fifty days is a time of sustained gladness, which comes through reading and reflecting on the Scriptures which describe the risen life of Jesus – not just his appearances to the disciples after the Resurrection, but the teachings from his ministry which reveal the risen life he now possesses. We also spend time hearing about how the Resurrection made a difference: how the timid and frightened disciples were able to leave Jerusalem and proclaim a message of life over death to the whole world, as we read through the book of the Acts of the Apostles. We also linger over the first letter of Saint John, which ties together so many of the themes of Easter: life, faith, baptism, the Spirit – all brought together in the person of the Lord Jesus, risen from the dead. On this second Sunday, we continue to track through real time, by hearing what happened in Jerusalem on the Sunday after the Resurrection, with the Lord appearing to Thomas – strengthening his faith and strengthening ours as we listen to the account.
(Psalter: Week 2)
Acts 4: 32 – 35
Response: Psalm 117
Give thanks to the Lord, he is good,
the love of the Lord knows no ending.
Sons of Israel say,
“His love has no end”.
The right hand of God raised me up,
the hand of the Lord has triumphed.
I shall not die, I shall live
telling his deeds.
The stone which the builders rejected
becomes the corner stone chosen.
Praise the work of God for this
marvel in our eyes.
1 John 5: 1 – 6
Acclamation for the Gospel:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me;
happy are those who have not seen me, but still believe!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
John 20: 19 – 31
Prayer of the Faithful: R/. Risen Lord, raise us also.
