Our Lady, Mother of Africa
Pope St Pius V
(1504 – 1572)
White
A Domincan, he was elected Pope in 1566. He strenuously promoted the Catholic Reformation that was started by the Council of Trent. He encouraged missionary work and reformed the liturgy.
Entrance Antiphon : Rv 19: 5; 12: 10
Sing praise to our God, all you who fear God, both small and great, for now salvation and strength have come, and the power of his Christ, alleluia.
Collect
O God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, grant your people constancy in faith and hope, that we may never doubt the promises of which we have learned from you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 14:19-28
Some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and turned the people against the apostles. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples came crowding round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and Barnabas went off to Derbe. Having preached the Good News in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe. They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans. They stayed there with the disciples for some time.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 144:10-13,21
R/ Your friends, O Lord, shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
Let me speak the praise of the Lord, let all mankind bless his holy name for ever, for ages unending.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Lk24:46,26
Alleluia, alleluia! It was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 14:27-31
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me say: I am going away, and shall return. If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe. I shall not talk with you any longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me, but the world must be brought to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father told me.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive, O Lord, we pray, these offerings of your exultant Church, and, as you have given her cause for such great gladness, grant also that the gifts we bring may bear fruit in perpetual happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon Rm 6: 8
If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Christ, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Look with kindness upon your people, O Lord, and grant, we pray, that those you were pleased to renew by eternal mysteries may attain in their flesh the incorruptible glory of the resurrection. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
In his book, Peace of Soul, Fulton J. Sheen, says that the wars we see in the world are just external manifestations of the war in human hearts. This statement contains a massive dose of truth because many people have no peace. They either fear one thing or another, are angry with one person or another or are fighting one person or another. This is why after the resurrection, Jesus knew that peace was our greatest need, and each time he appeared to people, as in the Gospel text of today, his greetings were: Peace be with you. We must refuse to fight, we must refuse to hate, we must refuse to kill, we must refuse division, we must choose the way of love, we must actively choose reconciliation, and we must live by a principle of non-violence like Mahatma Gandhi. We must march behind Chiara Lubich with love, our only weapon. The Peace Jesus talks about is not merely the absence of war but an inner tranquillity that flows from our hearts to unite the world in one peaceful family. Today, Jesus repeats the words to us more forcefully, PEACE BE WITH YOU. Let us pray that peace may indeed reign, especially in our hearts.