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THIRD SUNDAY of EASTER – APRIL 26This guide is offered for your prayer and reflection.
The joy of the Easter season is still with us as we rejoice in the risen Christ. As Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus with the disciples, he walks with us, too, in our daily lives. May we recognize him in the blessing of each day.
SIGN OF THE CROSS
SONG: How Can I Keep From Singing
1. My life flows on in endless song Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the clear though far-off hymn That hails a new creation.
REFRAIN: No storm can shake my inmost calm While to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, How can I keep from singing?
2. Through all the tumult and the strife I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing? (refrain)
3. What though my joys and comfort die? The Lord my savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round? Songs in the night he giveth. (refrain)
4. The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, A fountain ever springing!
All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing? (refrain)
OPENING PRAYER
May your people exult for ever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit,
so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption, we may look
forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection.
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. Amen
SCRIPTURE
FIRST READING: Acts 2: 14,22-33
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
You who are Israelites, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.
“My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father
and poured him forth, as you see and hear.”
PSALM 16: You Will Show Me the Path of Life
REFRAIN: You will show me the path of life, you, my hope and my shelter.
In your presence is endless joy, at your side is my home forever.- Faithful God, I look to you, you alone my life and fortune, never shall I look to other gods, you shall be my one hope. (refrain)
- From of old you are my heritage, you my wisdom and my safety, through the night you speak within my heart, silently you teach me. (refrain)
- So my heart shall sing for you, in your arms I rest securely, you will not abandon me to death, you shall not desert me. (refrain)
SECOND READING: 1 Peter 1: 17-21
Beloved:
If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works,
conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,
realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: Easter Alleluia
GOSPEL READING: Luke 24:13-35
That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
MEDITATION: We Have Been Told
REFRAIN: We have been told, we’ve seen his face
And heard his voice alive in our hearts:
“Live in my love with all your heart;
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.”
1.“I am the vine, you are the branches,
and all who live in me will bear great fruit.” (refrain)
2. “You are my friends, if you keep my commands:
no longer slaves, I call you friends.” (refrain)
3. “No greater love is there than this:
To lay down one’s life for a friend.” (refrain)
UNIVERSAL PRAYER- For the holy church of God: may we be a place of hope and support to all in need. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For politicians, legislators, and government officials: may mutual respect and care for humanity lead to fruitful dialogue in all areas of public life. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For those suffering the financial and physical stress of the effects of COVID-19: may they receive the help they need. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For health and protection for all who care for those who are sick and suffering, and forthose providing for the needs of others. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For those saddened by loss or discouragement: may the promise of the risen Lord lift them from their despair. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For those in hospice care and for all the sick of our families and communities, especially (YOUR INTENTION): may they find strength and hope in the face of those who care for them. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For strength and perseverance for researchers and scientists who work tirelessly for, and a resolution to, the COVID-19 virus. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For all people of faith: may we recognize Jesus in every friend and stranger. Let us pray to the Lord…
- For those who have died, especially [your intention]: may they know the fullness of eternal life. Let us pray to the Lord…
LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER FOR PEACE
Loving God, please grant me peace of mind and calm my troubled heart.
Give me the strength and clarity of mind to find my purpose and walk the path
You have laid out for me. I trust your love God, and know that you will heal this
stress. Just as the sun rises each day against the dark of night, may hope rise
against anxiety and worry. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
BLESSING
May God bless our days and our deeds with peace, in the name of the Father,
+ and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
SONG: Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna! (verses 1 and 3)
Christ is risen! Shout hosanna! Celebrate this day of days!
Christ is risen! Hush in wonder; All creation is amazed.
In the desert all-surrounding, See, a spreading tree has grown.
Healing leaves of grace abounding Bring a taste of love unknown.
Christ is risen! Earth and heaven Nevermore shall be the same.
Break the bread of new creation Where the world is still in pain.
Tell its grim, demonic chorus: “Christ is risen! Get you gone!”
God the First and Last is with us, Sing Hosanna ev’ryone!
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Reprinted with permission under OneLicense.net #A-704119. All rights reserved.
HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING. Text: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899, alt. Tune: HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING, 8 7 8 7 with refrain; Robert Lowry, 1826-1899; harm. by Robert J. Batastini, b. 1942, © 1988, GIA Publications, Inc. PSALM 16: YOU WILL SHOW ME THE PATH OF LIFE. Psalm 16: 1-2,6-8-9-10; Marty Haugen © 1988, GIA Publications, Inc; refrain III trans., © 1969, Music: Marty Haugen; refrain II and III adapt. By Diana Kodner, © 1988, 1994; GIA Publications, Inc. EASTER ALLELLIA. Text: Marty Haugen, b. 1950. Tune: O FIII ET FILIAE, 10 10 10 with alleluia; adapt. By Marty Haugen, b. 1950 © 1986, GIA Publications, Inc. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD. Text: David Haas, b. 1957; Tune: David Haas, b. 1957; vocal arr. By Havid Haas and Marty Haugen, b. 1950, © 1983, GIA Publications, Inc. CHRIST IS RISEN! SHOUT HOSANNA! Text: Brian Wren, b. 1936, © 1986, Hope Publishing Company. Tune: HOSANNA, 8 7 8 7 D; David Haas, b. 1957 © 1991, GIA Publications, Inc.
