6th Sunday of Easter Year A (2023)

Mass Readings for the 6th Sunday of Easter Year A

• First Reading – Acts 8:5-8, 14-17: “Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
• Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 66: “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.”
• Second Reading – 1 Peter 3:15-18: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.”
• Gospel – John 14:15-21: “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.”

Themes for the 6th Sunday of Easter Year A

The readings for the 6th Sunday of Easter Year A remind us that God is always with us and always caring for us, no matter where we are or what the circumstance. The first reading tells of how Peter and John went from Jerusalem to Samaria to pray with the people there and call down the Holy Spirit on them. The psalm is our response to God’s loving care for us. The second reading tells us that Christ suffered for all of us, righteous and sinners alike. And in the gospel, Jesus tells us that he has not abandoned us. He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always.

• Trust in God
• Reverence for human dignity
• The Holy Spirit

See the Homilies and Reflections section and the More Thoughts section for further expansion on these readings and some reflection questions for the 6th Sunday of Easter Year A.

I Am With You Lesson Plan

This I Am With You lesson plan will help youth understand how the Holy Spirit helps us remember and live the teachings of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit Background Material

The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity and can be described as the love which flows between the Father and the Son. This love is so strong that it is a separate person of the Trinity.

Patient Trust Prayer of Teilhard de Chardin

This prayer is about waiting patiently for God. It is especially good for high school students and young adults who are discerning a vocation or possible career. We can be impatient about wanting an answer from God during the discernment process and this prayer is a good way to help trust that God will eventually show us where we are supposed to head.

Do You Love Jesus?

Jeff Cavins reflects on the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) and challenges us to ask ourselves if we truly love Jesus.

The Spirit on the March

From Bishop Robert Barron. This Easter season, the Church has asked us to meditate on the Acts of the Apostles. Today Jesus tells us to wait for the coming of the Spirit, which will descend upon them and empower them in their work. It is up to Christians today to continue the work of the apostles and spread the mission of Christ.

Five Signs of the Spirit

From Bishop Robert Barron. As Pentecost approaches, the church gives us readings redolent of the Holy Spirit. Our passages for this Sunday speak in various ways of the presence of the Holy Spirit: bold speech, signs and wonders, joy, intellectual curiosity, and love.

Alive in the Spirit

From Scott Hahn. Jesus will not leave us alone. He won’t make us children of God in Baptism only to leave us “orphans,” He assures us in today’s Gospel.

Give a Reason for the Hope That Is in You

Also from Bishop Barron. Peter says, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” Something that is distinctive to biblical Christianity is that, from the beginning, it has been very interested in doctrine and expressing doctrine clearly and articulately.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.

God walks along the dusty paths of our lives and responds to our longing for love and happiness by calling us to joy.

Pope Francis