First Reading

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 3:11-26

While the man who had been cured by Peter and John clung to them, all the people ran to them in great amazement in Solomon’s portico. When Peter saw this, he addressed the people:

«Israelites: Why are you amazed at this and why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk by our own power or piety? The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over to Pilate and denied in his presence, when he had decided to release him.

You denied the holy and righteous one and asked that a murderer be released to you; you put to death the author of life, but God raised him from the dead, and of this we are witnesses. The name of Jesus and faith in him have strengthened the limbs of this man whom you see and know well. This faith has granted him complete health, as you can see.

Now, brothers, I know that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; but in this way God fulfilled what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets: that his Messiah would suffer.

Therefore, repent and convert, so that your sins may be forgiven and the Lord may grant you a time of consolation and send you Jesus, the Messiah who was destined for you; though he must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration, of which God spoke through the mouth of his prophets from ancient times.

For Moses said: The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. Listen to everything he tells you; anyone who does not listen to that prophet will be cut off from the people. And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel onward, also announced these days.

You are the heirs of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham: In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed. To you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities.»

Gospel

Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke

Luke 24:35-48

Then the two disciples who had returned from Emmaus told the others what had happened on the way and how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, «Peace be with you.» But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, «Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; it is I myself. Touch me and see that a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.» And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But they still could not believe for joy and were stupefied, so he said to them, «Have you anything here to eat?» They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them, «These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.» Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, «Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.»