The Prayer for the Sick is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
The Jews celebrate Shavuot (Pentecost).

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Acts 19,1-8

It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.' He asked, 'Then how were you baptised?' They replied, 'With John's baptism.' Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him -- namely Jesus.' When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men in all. He began by going to the synagogue, where he spoke out fearlessly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul arrives in Ephesus, a rich and populous city, the capital of the province of Asia and the crossroads of the main sea and land paths between the East and the West. He stays there for three whole years, making it the centre of his mission. From Ephesus he left to establish other communities and wrote several letters to his communities, including the one to the Corinthians. As soon as he arrives in the city, Paul finds several disciples of the Baptist. It is a group of about twelve people who referred to the prophet of the Jordan River and that had somewhat spread in the region. Paul then became companion of that small group of "disciples of John." It may seem a minor story but it reveals well the pastoral attentiveness of Paul in seizing every occasion to proclaim the Gospel, in being attentive to the questions at times hidden in the hearts of people how long however to meet Jesus. Thus Paul becomes their companion in their spiritual journey; he communicates the Gospel to them till their baptism. And while the apostle laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit descends in the hearts of those believers and transforms them into disciples of Jesus. The Spirit immediately reveals its strength through those newly baptized disciples who immediately become able to speak in tongues and prophesy, as Luke notes. Paul teaches us to be attentive to the need of Gospel, help and mercy hidden in the hearts of so many men and women.