Third Sunday of Easter: C
Greeting (See Second Reading)
To the One who is sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be
all praise, honor, glory and power. May the risen Lord be with you all. R/ And
also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- Encountering
the Risen Lord
Perhaps we envy the apostles for having seen and experienced
Jesus after he had risen from the dead. There is no reason to be envious of
them: If we have faith, we too experience him as risen, alive, present, and
sharing our life. If we have faith we know he is there when we suffer mishaps
and failures or when we rejoice. If we have faith, we know Jesus is there when
we strengthen and encourage one another. If we have faith, we know Jesus is
with us when we share a meal of friendship, and, especially and deeply, when we
eat together from the table of the Eucharist. Lift up your heads and be happy:
the risen Lord is with us in life.
- Do
You Love Me?
If Jesus would ask you today: “How close am I to you? Do you
really love me?” what answer could you give him? There have certainly been
times when we offended and betrayed him by our sins. I hope that you still dare
to answer: “Jesus, notwithstanding my weakness and my occasional cowardice, I
still want to say that I believe in you and that I love you. I know you keep
loving me and I want to keep loving you.”
Penitential Act
- Encountering
the Risen Lord
When we sin, we act as if we want to keep the Lord out of
our life. Let us ask him to forgive us. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you walk by our side when we suffer and
struggle, but often we do not recognize you: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have
mercy.
Jesus Christ, we encounter you when we encourage the sick
and disheartened, but often we are not aware it is you: Christ, have mercy. R/
Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are present when we share our joy and
friendship at meals and when you set before us the food of the Eucharist: Lord,
have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, forgive us our sins and restore our
joy. Walk by our side and lead us to the happiness of everlasting life. R/
Amen.
- Do
You Love Me?
Indeed, the Lord keeps forgiving us and we ask him to
restore us fully in his love. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you bring us the joy of forgiveness. I want to
love you for your mercy. Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you have given us life. I thank you for it and
I love you. Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are our companion in life. Stay with me, for
I love you: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy and forgive us, Lord, and make us grow in love of
you and people. Lead us to the joy of everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
- Encountering
the Risen Lord
Let us pray to the Father to give us enough faith and love to
recognize Jesus present in our life (pause)
God our Father, how different and how much richer our life
would be if we were more aware of the presence of your risen Son Jesus among
us. Give us enough love and faith to see him inspiring and guiding our
community on the road of compassion and justice. Make us feel his presence when
we are toiling and struggling as if in vain. Make us recognize him as a guest in
our homes and at our family meals. Make us fully aware that he is among us when
we meet for prayer and the Eucharist. For then we will be strong and joyful through
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
- Do
You Love Me?
Let us pray that our life may be a response to God’s love (pause) God, source of all love you have made your love visible to us in the life, death and message of your Son and our brother Jesus Christ. May all of our life be a visible statement that we love you in return. Make us echo your love by caring for our brothers and sisters with a love freely given, even when it is not answered. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Acts 5:27b-32,40b-41): We Bear Witness
That Jesus Is Our Guide and Savior
No threats from the powerful can silence a Church that
bears witness to the risen Lord. Like the apostles, we can count on the
strength of the Holy Spirit.
Reading 1: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Second Reading (Rev 5:11-14): All Glory to the Lamb That
Was Sacrificed
The apostle John encourages his persecuted Christians
with a vision from heaven. There he sees Jesus in his glory. Though Jesus was
slain, he is alive and glorious. Those brought to life by him share in his
risen life and victory.
Reading 2: Rev 5:11-14
Gospel (Jn 21:1-19 or 21:1-14): It Is the Lord!
The apostles were toiling, apparently without success.
They did not recognize the Lord’s presence. But he was really with them, as he
is with us, to give us strength and hope.
Gospel: Jn 21:1-19 or Jn 21:1-14
Intercessions
- Encountering
the Risen Lord
Let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ for all those who bear
witness to him in their life and apostolate, and let us say: R/ Risen Lord,
hear our prayer.
–
Lord, your apostles worked all night without result. Sustain the courage of all
your apostles today who toil without apparent success. And so we pray: R/ Risen
Lord, hear our prayer.
–
Lord, the apostles did not recognize you. Often, we too do not see that you are
there. Make us aware that you are with us. And so we pray: R/ Risen Lord, hear
our prayer.
–
Lord, today the net of the Church is filling again with peoples from all over
the world. Let that net not tear but let it accommodate all, we pray to you,
Lord: R/ Risen Lord, hear our prayer.
–
Lord, also today in many places your messengers are warned not to speak in your
name. May your witnesses obey you rather than people and preach your word
without fear, we pray: R/ Lord: Risen Lord, hear our prayer.
–
Lord, your disciples are persecuted also today, they are put into prison and
tortured. Give them the courage to be faithful and to bear their sufferings
with joy, we pray: R/ Risen Lord, hear our prayer.
–
Lord, may our Christian communities together with the whole of creation give
you glory, honor and praise, we pray: R/ Risen Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord, it is good to be here with you. You are our strength
and our joy, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
- Do
You Love Me?
Jesus asks us, God’s people today: “Do you love me?” What
shall we answer him? We say: R/ Lord, let your love grow in us.
–
Lord, you ask your Church today: Do you love me? Let all God’s people answer
you: Yes, Lord, we love you, for we nourish you in the hungry and the thirsty;
we visit you in the sick and in prisoners. We say: R/ Lord, let your love grow
in us.
–
Lord, you ask all Christians today: Do you love me? Let them answer you: Yes,
Lord, we love you, for we try to seek unity in you to become your one flock
with you as our one shepherd. And so we pray: R/ Lord, let your love grow in
us.
–
Lord, you ask parents today: Do you love me. Let them answer, Yes, Lord, we
love you, for we let our children recognize you in our care and loving concern.
And so we say: R/ Lord, let your love grow in us.
–
Lord, you ask those who suffer: Do you love me? Let them answer: Yes, Lord, we
love you, for we recognize you in good people who help us in your name. And so
we say: R/ Lord, let your love grow in us.
–
Lord, you ask our communities today: Do you love me? Make us answer
wholeheartedly: Yes, Lord, we love you, for we are open and welcoming you in
the least among us, we try our best to become one heart and soul. And so we
pray: R/ Lord, let your love grow in us.
Lord Jesus, how happy we would be if we could do all we have
just prayed for! Give us the power and the courage to love you very deeply, in
yourself and in one another, now and for ever. R. Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God, loving Father, you put good words on our tongue and you
fill our hands with good gifts; you entrust even your Son to us and you place
him into our hands. Through him, then, and together with him, let us become to
the world your word and your gift, your sign of hope, and make us capable of
bearing witness to your love for people, today and tomorrow and for ever. R/
Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With joyful hearts we praise the Father for Jesus’
continuous presence in his Church as a whole, in its leaders and in all of us.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
With the fullest trust we pray to our Father in heaven that
he will always be with us through his risen Son Jesus Christ, and we say: R/
Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our
day. Strengthen us with the power of your Son, the Lamb that was slain for us, that
our faith may remain firm in persecution, contradiction and trials, as we look
forward with joyful hope for the coming in glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord, who says to us, his disciples today:
Come and eat. He takes bread and gives it to us. Happy are we that the Lord is
here. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Loving Father, we are very happy to thank you for letting us
encounter your Son Jesus here in this Eucharist. Let the words in which we
recognize his voice keep resounding in our heart and life. Now that we have
shared his table together, may his bread of life give us the strength to bear
witness to his name and to encourage our brothers and sisters. We ask this in
the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
It is good that we have become more aware how the risen Lord
is with us not only in this Eucharist but also in the life of every day. Let us
learn to see the signs of his presence in the people we meet, in the good they
do to us and all we do for one another. May this bring you great joy and may
almighty God bless you all: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/
Amen.
Go in the joy of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
Zero Tolerance
Read:
The apostles gladly suffer for obeying God above any other
human authority. John receives a vision of the triumphant Church in their
heavenly glory and adoration of the Lamb of God. At the Lake of Tiberias, the
Risen Christ reconfirms Peter in his Mission.
Reflect:
In the present times of “zero tolerance” in the Church, the
act of Jesus must give us pause. There is no denying that as a Church we must
flee sin like a plague. But we must also be on our guard against the temptation
to ostracize our brothers and sisters for good. Zero tolerance to sin, always;
zero tolerance to the sinner, never. Honestly, if we were to cast off everyone
who sins, who would remain? We can only confess like the Psalmist: “If you,
O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?” (Ps. 130:3). If
Jesus reconfirmed a broken, sinful soul like Peter to head the Church, it is an
invitation for us to recognize that we are all sinners one way or other, and we
must help one another to find that love for God hidden in our hearts, which
will lead us to conversion.
Pray:
For the leaders of the Church.
Act:
Ask and answer yourself: “Do I love Jesus more than
everything and everyone else?”
===============
4 May 2025; John 21: 1-19
Fishers of Hope
As we journey through this Jubilee Year of Pilgrims of Hope,
today's Gospel speaks to our spiritual pilgrimage. The scene unfolds at the
Lake of Galilee, where the disciples find themselves with empty nets after a
night of fishing. How often do we, too, return to old habits when we feel
disheartened or uncertain about our path?
Peter's experience mirrors our own spiritual journeys.
Despite having followed Jesus, he reverts to his former life: "I am going
fishing." This retreat to familiarity in times of confusion is deeply
human. Like Peter, we sometimes neglect prayer, substitute meaningful family
conversations with distractions, or abandon charity when life becomes
demanding. These backward steps leave us with empty nets and unfulfilled
hearts.
The beauty of this Gospel lies in Jesus' response. He
doesn't reproach the disciples but tenderly calls them "children" and
invites them to cast their nets again. In this Jubilee Year, Christ offers us
the same invitation – to begin anew with Him, to push into deeper waters
despite our disappointments.
When Peter hears, "It is the Lord," he dives impulsively toward Jesus. What beautiful imagery for our pilgrimage of hope! The Jubilee calls us to this same spontaneous love – to move beyond calculation and convenience toward Christ with renewed enthusiasm.
