Frist Reading

Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8: 1b-8)

They went about preaching the word.

There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.

Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 66: 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”

“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.

He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day, says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 6: 35-40)

This is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son should have eternal life.

Jesus said to the crowds,

“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7: 51 — 8: 1a)

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it.”

When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said,

“Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”;

and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
My trust is in the LORD;
I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.

Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the bread of life, says the Lord; whoever comes to me will never hunger.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 6: 30-35)

It was not Moses, it is my Father who gives you the true bread.

The crowd said to Jesus:

“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,

“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”

So they said to Jesus,

“Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them,

“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6: 8-15)

They could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,

“We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God.”

They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,

“This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119: 23-24, 26-27, 29-30

Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.

I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.

Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 6: 22-29)

Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,

“Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered them and said,

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

So they said to him,

“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.