A PRAYER FOR MOTHERS

All-loving God,
we give you thanks and praise
for mothers young and old.

We pray for young mothers,
who give life and count toes and tend to our every need;
May they be blessed with patience and tenderness
to care for their families and themselves with great joy.

We pray for our own mothers
who have nurture and cared for us;
May they continue to guide
in strong and gentle ways.

We remember mothers who are separated
from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict;
May they feel the loving embrace of
our God who wipes every tear away.

We pray for women who are not mothers
but still love and shape us
with motherly care and compassion.

We remember mothers, grandmothers,
and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us
but who live forever in our memory
and nourish us with their love.

Amen.

WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES PRAYER

God and Father of us all,
in Jesus, your Son and our Savior,
You have made us Your sons and daughters
in the family of the Church.

May Your grace and love help our families
in every part of the world be united to one another
in fidelity to the Gospel.

May the example of the Holy Family,
with the aid of Your Holy Spirit,
guide all families, especially those most troubled,
to be homes of communion and prayer
and to always seek Your truth and live in Your love.

Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
pray for us!

4th SUNDAY OF EASTER, year B (Readings)

Acts 4:8-12
Psalm 118 “The stone rejected by the builders 
has become the cornerstone.”
1 John 3:1-2
John 10:11-18

Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29 
R. The stone rejected by the builders 
has become the cornerstone

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders 
has become the cornerstone

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders 
has become the cornerstone

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders 
has become the cornerstone

1 John 3:1-2

Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

John 10:11-18

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”