I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples and I will announce your name to my brothers, hallelujah

 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples and I will announce your name to my brothers, hallelujah (Ps 17,50; 21,23).

Gathered in the name of the Lord, through whom we “live, move and have our being”, let us celebrate the paschal mystery of Christ, eager to understand more and more the message of his resurrection. With this purpose, let us walk towards the “full truth”, to dialogue, like Paul in the areopagus, with all the current cultures and realities of this world.

First Reading: Acts 17,15.22-18,1

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles – In those days, 15those who led Paul took him to Athens. From there, returning, they gave Silas and Timothy the order to come to him as soon as possible. And they left. 22Standing in the middle of the Areopagus, Paul said: “Men of Athens, in everything I see that you are extremely religious. 23In fact, as I passed by and observed your places of worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown God’. Well, this God that you worship without knowing is exactly the one I announce to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it; being Lord of heaven and earth, he does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands. 25Nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything; for it is he who gives everyone life, breath and everything else. 26From one man he made the entire human race to dwell on the entire face of the earth, having fixed the predetermined times and limits of their habitation. 27He did this, so that they would seek God and to see if they would discover Him, even if they groped. He is not far from each one of us, 28for in Him we live, move and have our being, as some of your poets have said: 'We are of the race of God Himself'. 29Therefore, being of the race of God, we should not think that divinity is similar to gold, silver or stone, worked by the art and imagination of man. 30But God, disregarding the times of ignorance, now announces to men that everyone and everywhere should repent, 31for he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice through the man he has appointed before everyone, offering a guarantee, by raising him from the dead.” 32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed and others said, “We will hear you talk about that another time.” 33So Paul went out from among them. 34But some joined him and embraced faith. Among them was also Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. 18.1Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. - Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: 148

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

1. Praise the Lord God in the high heavens, / praise him in the exalted firmament! / Praise him, his angels, all praise him, / praise him, heavenly legions! – R.

2. Kings of the earth, all people, bless him, / and you princes and all judges; / and you, young people, and you, girls and boys, / old men and children, bless him! – R.

3. Praise the name of the Lord, praise him all, / because only his name is exalted! / The majesty and splendor of his glory / surpasses heaven and earth in grandeur. – R.

4. He has exalted his chosen people in power, / he is the cause of praise for his saints. / It is a hymn for the children of Israel, / this people he loves and belongs to him. – R.

Gospel: John 16,12-15

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

I will pray to my Father and he will send you another Paraclete, / who will remain with you forever (John 14:16). – R.

Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John – At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to understand them now. 13But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into the full truth. For he will not speak of himself, but whatever he hears he will say; and even things to come he will declare to you. 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15Everything the Father has is mine. That’s why I said that what he will receive and announce to you is mine.” – Word of salvation.

Reflection:

The disciples are not in a position to understand many things that Jesus would have to communicate to them; nor can they assimilate the profound meaning of his death. They will only understand it after his resurrection (cf. Jn 2:22; 12:16). The one who will help them in this task is the Holy Spirit, who will tell them all the truth he received from Jesus: “He will receive from what is mine and will communicate it to you”. Receiving from Jesus is like receiving from the Father, because “all things that the Father has are mine”, said Jesus. In this way, Jesus' disciples do not remain orphans or helpless, as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit will be present and active in the life and mission of every Christian. It is enough that they are open to the signs of the times and to the Holy Spirit who interprets them.