Introit:Ps 98:2-6 (antiphon: Ps. 98:1)
Gradual: [adapt. From Matt. 28:7; Heb. 2:7; Ps. 8:6]
Psalm: Ps 148 (antiphon: Ps 148:13)
First Reading: Acts 11:1-18
Epistle:Rev 21:1-7
Proper Verse: Rom 6:9; Jn 14:23
Gospel: John 16:12-22 or John 13:31-35

Jesus Turns Sorrow into Joy
On earth "you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy" (John 16:20). Already the Spirit grants you peace and joy through the forgiveness of your sins. For by the cross of Christ, "God has granted repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18). His Gospel is "a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household" (Acts 11:14). He gives freely "from the spring of the water of life" (Rev. 21:6), "and death shall be no more" (Rev. 21:4). He dwells with His people, adorning His Church as a bride for her husband, "making all things new" (Rev. 21:5). Therefore, as the Son of Man is glorified by His cross, "and God is glorified in him" (John 13:31), so He is glorified in us by our "love for one another" (John 13:35), which His Spirit works in us by His grace.

Introit:Ps 55:4, 16-18 (antiphon: Ps 55:22)
Gradual: [adapt. From Matt. 28:7; Heb. 2:7; Ps. 8:6]
Psalm: Ps 67 (antiphon: Ps 67:3)\nFirst Reading: Acts 16:9-15
Epistle:Rev 21:9-14, 21-27
Proper Verse: Rom 6:9; Jn 16:33b
Gospel: John 16:23-33 or John 5:1-9

We Pray to the Father in Jesus' Name
"In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus has opened the way to the Father so that "whatever you ask of the Father" in Jesus' name, "he will give it to you" (John 16:23). We pray, therefore, in the confidence that we will be heard and answered, that our "joy may be full" (John 16:24). We pray because the Gospel has been preached to us and the Lord has opened our hearts to believe the Gospel (Acts 16:10, 14). We pray in the name of Jesus because we have been baptized into Him, as Lydia and her household were baptized (Acts 16:15). We have been healed, and we live and walk and pray in newness of life (John 5:8_9). For we stand upon the firm foundation "of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:14), and our temple is "the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb" (Rev. 21:22).

Introit:Ps 61:3, 5-8 (antiphon: Ps 61:1)
Gradual: [adapt. From Matt. 28:7; Heb. 2:7; Ps. 8:6]
Psalm: Ps 133 (antiphon: Ps 133:1)
First Reading: Acts 1:12-26
Epistle:Rev 22:1-6 (7-11) 12-20
Proper Verse: Rom 6:9; Jn 14:18
Gospel: John 17:20-26

Jesus Is with Us in His Holy Christian Church
On the night when He was betrayed, Jesus interceded for His Church „ for His apostles and all who believe in Him through their word „ that all of His disciples "may become perfectly one" in the Father and the Son (John 17:21_23). For Jesus became flesh and dwells among us in order to reveal the Father and His name, to share with us the glory of His righteousness, and to bring us to the Father in Himself. As the Father loved the Son from "before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24), so He loves the whole world (John 17:23, 26). Through the apostolic witness to the Baptism, cross and resurrection of Jesus (Acts 1:21_22), the Lord gathers His disciples throughout the world "with one accord" as one Body in Christ (Acts 1:14). And so with one voice and by one Spirit, His Bride prays, "Come" (Rev. 22:17). And He comes to us. He gives us "the water of life without price" to wash our robes and quench our thirst (Rev. 22:17); He feeds us from "the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit" (Rev. 22:2).