Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter
Mass Readings
First Reading – Acts 18:1-8
Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them and, because he practiced the same trade, stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” So he left there and went to a house belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next to a synagogue. Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized.
Responsorial Psalm – 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4 (R.see 2b)
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. R.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel. R.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise. R.
Gospel – Jn 16:16-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
Featured Saints
Optional Memorial of St. Paul VI, pope.
St. Maximin of Trier, Bishop (†c. 346 France). Fearless defender of the Faith against the Arians, he welcomed St. Athanasius of Alexandria into his diocese, and for this was expelled from it by the emperor.
St. Bona de Pisa, virgin (†1207). She consecrated herself to God from her youth and embraced a life of poverty and austerity. She made frequent pilgrimages to the Holy land, to Rome and to Santiago of Compostela.
St. Ursula Ledochowska, virgin (†1939). Polish noble, foundress of the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, and travelled untiringly on mission to Poland, Russia and Scandinavia.
Blessed Richard Thirkeld, priest and martyr (†1583). Hanged, drawn, and quartered in York, during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, for practicing his priestly ministry and for having reconciled many with the Church.
Blessed Joseph Gerard, priest (†1914). French missionary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he preached the Gospel first in Durban (Indian Ocean) and later in Basutoland, in South Africa.
Blessed William Arnaud and ten companions, martyrs (†1242). Dominican religious put to death by the sword by the Cathars, near Toulouse, France, for having opposed this heresy. They died singing the Te Deum.
Blessed Gherardesca, widow (†1269). Married but childless, she decided to consecrate herself to God, together with her husband. He entered the Camaldolese monastery of Pisa, Italy, and she lived as an oblate in a cell built adjacent to the same monastery.
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