Mass Readings

Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 14th February, 2025
Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings

14 Feb. – Feast of Ss Cyril, monk and his brother Methodius, bishop Co-Patrons of Europe,
St Cyril, 826—69 ad, and St Methodius, 815—85ad
They were brothers from Thessalonica in Greece. They preached the Gospel in Moravia using their own translation of the Scriptures and the liturgy in the local language. These translations into Slavonic were in an alphabet, now called Cyrillic, which they devised. They are honoured as Apostles of the Slavic peoples

Today we also celebrate St Valentine, a Roman martyr: A man of faith, passion and bravery and loyalty to his word.
c/f  https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-valentine-d-269-bishop-and-martyr/

FIRST READING
A reading from the  Acts of the Apostles        13:46-49
We must turn to the pagans.

cyril and methodious
Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly to the Jews.
We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it,
since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans.
For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’

It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Ss Cyril and Methodious

The Word of the Lord        Thanks be to God.                                                                                                                 

Responsorial Psalm     Ps 116 R/v Mk16:15
Response                           Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good news.
Or                                        Alleluia!

1.  O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!    Response

2. Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever                  Response

Gospel  Acclamation            Lk 4:158
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                  And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
10:1-9        Glory to you, O Lord
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit.
He said to them, The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.

harvest
Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.

Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, Peace to this house!”
And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you.

Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, The kingdom of God is very near to you”.

The Gospel of the Lord           Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection        14th Feb.       Feast of Ss Cyril and Methodius, Co-Patrons of Europe         Luke 10:1–9

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were brothers from Macedonia in Greece who in the ninth century preached the gospel in Moravia, an area that corresponds to the modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia and parts of Hungary. In their efforts to convey the gospel message to this Slavic people, they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slav language. They understood that only if the texts were in the vernacular could they communicate to the local people. In the process they invented a new alphabet, from which the present Slav alphabet is derived; it is still called Cyrillic to his day, after Saint Cyril. For that reason they are regarded as the founders of Slavonic literature. Because of opposition from Christian missionaries from Germany, who disapproved of their methods of evangelization, they had to leave Moravia and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. Pope Adrian, however, gave his seal of approval to their work in Moravia and created the two brothers bishops. Cyril died in Rome in 869.

There is an Irish connection to Cyril; he is buried in the Irish Dominican Church of San Clemente, Via Labicana, Rome where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia where he preached the gospel in spite of great opposition, including opposition from local bishops who continued to object to his use of the vernacular. Worn out by his labourers, he died in 885. Both brothers were wonderful examples of what today’s gospel reading calls labourers in the Lord’s harvest. Their basic message was the message Jesus asked the seventy two to proclaim in whatever town they entered, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’. That remains the gospel message for us today.

The kingdom of God, God’s loving reign, is very near to us, especially in and through the risen Lord and the Holy Spirit. There is an Irish saying, ‘God’s help is nearer than the door’. Cyril and Methodius travelled far from their homes to proclaim to the Slav peoples that God was not far from their home but was nearer to them than the door of their home. The Lord is near and he is always inviting us to draw near to him, so that we can draw life and strength from his loving presence to us and within us, and become his labourers in the harvest.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible,  published 1966by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings  Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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