Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).

In some dioceses the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today. If this applies to you, please reconfigure Universalis to use the appropriate local calendar.

First reading	Acts 1:12-14

‘All with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer.’

After Jesus was taken up into heaven the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers and sisters.

How to listen

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 27(26):1. 4. 7-8a. ℟13

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or: Alleluia.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

whom should I dread?

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or: Alleluia.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

only this do I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,

to enquire at his temple.

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or: Alleluia.

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;

have mercy and answer me.

Of you my heart has spoken,

‘Seek his face.’

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

or: Alleluia.

Second reading	1 Peter 4:13-16

‘If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.’

Beloved: Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

Gospel Acclamation	Cf. John 14:18

Alleluia, alleluia.

I will not leave you as orphans, says the Lord.

I am going away and I will come to you, and your hearts will rejoice.

Alleluia.

Gospel	John 17:1-11a

‘Father, glorify your Son.’

At that time: Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

‘I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.’

You can also view this page with the New Testament in Greek and English.

Universalis podcast: The week ahead – from 17 to 23 May

The days after Ascension: a lost and gloomy time. The unknown Advocate. Life without life. Days without salt. Getting a handle on the Spirit. Giving life to a creation; images of fire and electricity. Salvation history as re-wiring. Arianism and Pope St John I. Blessed Raphael Louis Rafiringa and Madagascar. St Christopher Magallanes and the politeness of martyrs. Bernardino of Siena. The Liturgy of the Hours continued: Terce, Sext and None. (20 minutes)
Episode notes.

Christian Art

Each day, The Christian Art website gives a picture and reflection on the Gospel of the day.

The readings on this page are from the English Standard Version, which is used at Mass in Great Britain. The Jerusalem Bible (which is used at Mass in much of the English-speaking world) will appear instead if you set this page to use a calendar from outside Great Britain. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads.