Catholic Doctrine and the Sunday Readings for May 2023

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for May 2023 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. Let’s better understand key verses from May’s Readings[1] by learning the doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that clarify them so that Our Lord may count us among “all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith” (Eucharistic Prayer I). Doctrines are those unchanging truths with which we must agree in order to be Catholic.

May 7, The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Although the Catechism cites verses from the First Reading, it does not cite them in any of its paragraphs about deacons.

In the Second Reading, all the members of the Church are exhorted to be “a priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5, 9). So in the Catholic Church, there are two priesthoods: the priesthood of the laity (the non-ordained) and the ministerial priesthood (the ordained). Note that in any religion a priest is the one who offers sacrifice.

Lumen Gentium, the Vatican II document cited in the same Catechism paragraph (1546[2]) that cites 1 Peter 2:5, explains the priesthood of the laity better than the Catechism. There the priesthood of the laity means that “all the disciples of Christ . . . should present themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Everywhere on earth they must bear witness to Christ and give an answer to those who seek an account of that hope of eternal life which is in them” (LG 10). Unlike Protestant Christianity, but like Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity has a valid ministerial priesthood, elaborated on in CCC 1546-1589.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that He is preparing a place for them in His Father’s house (John 14:2-3). “Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the ‘Father’s house,’ to God’s life and happiness. Only Christ can open to man such access . . .” (CCC 661). Yes, we should take full advantage of all true temporal methods of happiness and health – religious and non-religious. But we should never forget that complete happiness and well-being will only be found in the Father’s house, the Kingdom of God.

• From the First Reading[3] (Acts 6:1-7): Acts 6:6 is cited in CCC 2632; and Acts 6:7 in CCC
• From the Second Reading (1 Peter 2:4-9): 1 Pt 2:4-5 is cited in CCC 1141 and 1179; 1 Pt 2:4 in CCC 552; 1 Pt 2:5 in CCC 756, 901, 1268, 1330, and 1546; 1 Pt 2:7 in CCC 756; and 1 Pt 2:9 in CCC 709, 782, 803, 1141, 1268, and 1546.
• From the Alleluia (John 14:6), see below.
• From the Gospel (John 14:1-12): Jn 14:1 is cited in CCC 151; Jn 14:2-3 in CCC 2795; Jn 14:2 in CCC 661; Jn 14:3 in CCC 1025; Jn 14:6 in CCC 74, 459, 1698, 2466, and 2614; Jn 14:9-10 in CCC 470; and Jn 14:9 in CCC

May 14, Sixth Sunday of Easter

In the First Reading, the apostles in Jerusalem sent Peter and John to Samaritans who had been baptized but had not received the Holy Spirit. “Then [Peter and John] laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). “[T]he apostles, in fulfillment of Christ’s will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. . . . The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church” (CCC 1288).

After quoting John 14:17 from today’s Gospel, that “the world . . . neither sees nor knows” the Holy Spirit, the Catechism spells out where we find the Holy Spirit: Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the Magisterium, the Sacraments, prayer, the charisms and ministries of the Church, the signs of apostolic and missionary life, and the witness of the saints (CCC 687-688). We find the Holy Spirit in these things when they do not contradict Catholic Doctrine. For example, prayer or discernment contradicting Catholic Doctrine is not of the Holy Spirit. See CCC 90, 114, 214-217.

• From the First Reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17): Acts 8:14-17 is cited in CCC 1315; and Acts 8:15-17 in CCC
• From the Alleluia (John 14:23): Jn 14:23 is cited in CCC
• From the Gospel (John 14:15-21): Jn 14:16-17 is cited in CCC 729 and 2615; Jn 14:16 in CCC 692; Jn 14:17 in CCC 243, 687, 2466, and 2671; and Jn 14:18 in CCC

May 18, The Ascension of the Lord

The First Reading and the Gospel Reading give us Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven and His parting words to the Eleven Apostles. The “historical and transcendent event of the Ascension” (CCC 660) is “the irreversible entry of [Jesus’] humanity into divine glory” (CCC 659). In other words, Jesus ascended into Heaven with the glorified body He had from the moment of His Resurrection. When Jesus physically left the world, He did not stop having the glorified body He had at His Resurrection. As we saw on the Fifth Sunday of Lent and on the Second Sunday of Easter, eternity involves a soul united with a body that has been transformed to remain physical and yet transcends space and time – for Jesus since His Resurrection and for us at His Second Coming.

• From the First Reading (Acts 1:1-11): Acts 1:1-2 is cited in CCC 512; Acts 1:3 in CCC 659; Acts 1:6-7 in CCC 672; Acts 1:7 in CCC 474 and 673; Acts 1:8 in CCC 672, 730, 735, 857, and 1287; Acts 1:9 in CCC 659 and 697; Acts 1:10-11 in CCC 333; Acts 1:11 in CCC
• From the Second Reading (Ephesians 1:17-23): Eph 1:16-23 is cited in CCC 2632; Eph 1:18 in CCC 158; Eph 1:19-22 in CCC 272 and 648; Eph 1:20-22 in CCC 668; Eph 1:22-23 in CCC 830; and Eph 1:22 in CCC 669, 753, and 2045.
• From the Verse before the Gospel (Matthew 28:19a, 20b): see below.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20): Mt 28:16-20 is cited in CCC 857 and 1444; Mt 28:16-17 in CCC 645; Mt 28:17 in CCC 644; Mt 28:18-20 in CCC 1120; Mt 28:19-20 in CCC 2, 767, 849, 1223, 1257, and 1276; Mt 28:19 in CCC 189, 232, 543, 691, 730, 831, 1122, and 2156; and Mt 28:20 in CCC 80, 788, 860, and 2743.

May 21, Seventh Sunday of Easter

The Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter will be used in those dioceses which observed the past Thursday as the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. The Readings from the Mass of the Ascension of the Lord will be used in those dioceses which did not observe the past Thursday as the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.

Today’s Gospel reading is the first half of the “Prayer of the Hour of Jesus” or the “High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.” It “sums up the whole economy of creation and salvation. It fulfills the great petitions of the Our Father” (CCC 2758).

• From the First Reading (Acts 1:12-14): Acts 1:14 is cited in CCC 726, 1310, 2617, 2623, and 2673.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 27:1, 4, 7-8): Psalms 27:8 is cited in CCC
• From the Second Reading (1 Peter 4:13-16): 1 Pt 4:14 is cited in CCC 693.
• From the Alleluia (John 14:18): Jn 14:18 is cited in CCC
• From the Gospel (John 17:1-11a): Jn 17:1 is cited in CCC 730, 1085, 2750; Jn 17:2 in CCC 2750; Jn 17:6-10 in CCC 2751; Jn 17:6 in CCC 589, 2750, and 2812; Jn 17:7 in CCC 2765; Jn 17:8 in CCC 2812; Jn 17:9 in CCC 2750; Jn 17:10 in CCC 2750; and Jn 17:11 in CCC 2747, 2749, 2750, 2815, and 2849.

May 28, Pentecost Sunday at the Vigil Mass

The Catechism cites today’s Gospel Reading (John 7:37-39) to give us a tremendous definition of prayer: “Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God” (CCC 2561) for our love.

• From the First Reading (Genesis 11:1-9): Gn 11:4-6 is cited in CCC OR from the alternative First Reading (Exodus 19:3-8a, 16-20b): Ex 19:5-6 is cited in CCC 709, 762, and 2810; Ex 19:6 in CCC 63 and 1539; and Ex 19:16-25 in CCC 2085. OR from the First Reading (Ezekiel 37:1-14): Ez 37:1-14 is cited in CCC 715; and Ez 37:10 in CCC 703. OR from the First Reading (Joel 3:1-5): Jl 3:1-5 is cited in CCC 715; and Jl 3:1-2 in CCC 1287.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 104:1-2, 24, 35, 27-28, 29, 30): Ps 104:24 is cited in CCC
• From the Second Reading (Romans 8:22-27): Rom 8:22 is cited in CCC 2630; Rom 8:23-24 in CCC 2630; Rom 8:23 in CCC 735; Rom 8:26-27 in CCC 2634; Rom 8:26 in CCC 741, 2559, 2630, and 2736; and Rom 8:27 in CCC 2543, 2736, and 2766.
• From the Gospel (John 7:37-39): Jn 7:37-39 is cited in CCC 728, 1287, and 2561; Jn 7:38-39 in CCC 1999; Jn 7:38 in CCC 694; and Jn 7:39 in CCC 244 and 690.

May 28, Pentecost Sunday Mass During the Day

The Catechism cites verses from the First Reading (Acts 2:11) and the Gospel Reading (John 20:22) in one sentence which ties together their two accounts: “On several occasions, Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit (prophesied in Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Joel 3:1-2), a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost” (CCC 1287).

The meaning of Jesus sending the Apostles, giving them the Holy Spirit, and giving them the authority to forgive sins (John 20:21-23) is that “[t]he saving mission entrusted by the Father to his incarnate Son was committed to the apostles and through them to their successors” (CCC 1120), who are the bishops. Unlike Protestant Christianity, like Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity has bishops who were ordained by bishops in an unbroken chain of ordination of bishops going back to the Twelve Apostles who ordained the first bishops. This reality is called Apostolic Succession. See CCC 77, 861, and 1087.

• From the First Reading (Acts 2:1-11): Acts 2:1-4 is cited in CCC 1287; Acts 2:1 in CCC 2623; Acts 2:3-4 in CCC 696; and Acts 2:11 in CCC
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34): Ps 104:24 is cited in CCC 295; and Ps 104:30 in CCC 292 and 703.
• From the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13): 1 Cor 12:3 is cited in CCC 152, 449, 455, 683, 2670, and 2681; 1 Cor 12:4-6 in CCC 249; 1 Cor 12:6 in CCC 308; 1 Cor 12:7 in CCC 801 and 951; and 1 Cor 12:13 in CCC 694, 790, and 798.
• From the Gospel (John 20:19-23): Jn 20:19 is cited in CCC 575, 643, 645, and 659; Jn 20:20 in CCC 645; Jn 20:21-23 in CCC 1087, 1120, and 1441; Jn 20:21 in CCC 730 and 858; Jn 20:22-23 in CCC 976 and 1485; Jn 20:22 in CCC 730, 788, and 1287; and Jn 20:23 in CCC 1461 and 2839.

[1] There are too many citations, or references, in the Catechism to the verses in a month of Sunday Mass readings to identify all the pertinent doctrines, so I will use my best judgment to select which verses and doctrines to cover in a column that may not exceed 2,000 words.

[2] CCC abbreviates the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 1546” means paragraph 1546 of the Catechism.

[3] If a Reading is not listed, then none of its verses is cited by the CCC.