First Reading

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 4:13-21

In those days, the high priests, elders, and scribes were astonished to see the boldness with which Peter and John spoke, for they knew they were uneducated, ordinary men. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, but they did not dare to contradict them, because the man who had been cured of paralysis was standing there with them.

So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, and they began to confer among themselves: “What shall we do with these men? They have performed an obvious miracle that the whole of Jerusalem knows about, and we cannot deny it; but to prevent this from spreading further among the people, we must warn them sternly not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.”

Then they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

The Sanhedrin members repeated the threats and released them, because they could find no way to punish them, since the whole people were glorifying God for what had happened.

Gospel

Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Mark

Mark 16:9-15

After rising at dawn on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Afterward, he appeared in a different form to two of them who were walking into the country. They returned and told the others, but they did not believe them either.

Later, as the Eleven were at table, Jesus appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen. Then he said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”