First Reading
Acts 2,1-11
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. And suddenly
out of the sky came a sound like a strong rushing wind and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting. There appeared tongues as if of fire, which parted and came to
rest upon each one of them. All were filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak other
languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. Staying in Jerusalem were religious
Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered,
all excited because each heard them speaking in his own language. Beside themselves
with amazement and wonder, they said, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
How is it that we hear them in our own native language? Here are Parthians, Medes
and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors
from Rome, both Jews and foreigners who accept Jewish beliefs, Cretians and
Arabians; and all of us hear them proclaiming in our own language what God, the
Saviour, does.
Responsorial Psalm
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Clothed in majesty and splendour;
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
How varied O Lord, are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all -
the earth full of your creatures.
When you hide your face they vanish,
you take away their breath, they expire
and return to dust.
When you send forth your spirit,
they are created,
and the face of the earth is renewed.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my song give him pleasure,
as the Lord gives me delight.
Second Reading
1Cor 12,3-7.12-13
I tell you that nobody inspired by the Spirit of God may say, "A curse on Jesus," as no
one can say, "Jesus is the Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. There is diversity of gifts,
but the Spirit is the same. There is diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same.
There is diversity of works, but the same God works in all. The Spirit reveals his
presence in each one with a gift, which is also a service. As the body is one, having
many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with
Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptised in one
Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit.
Gospel
Jn 20,19-23
On the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked
where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews, but Jesus came and stood in
their midst. He said to them, "Peace be with you"; then he showed them his hands and
his side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy. Again Jesus said
to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." After saying
this he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit; for those whose
sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained."