Father
in heaven, God of love,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have shown us your tenderness
and accepted us, sinful people,
as your sons and daughters.
Share your heart with us,
make us merciful and understanding people,
that we may learn from the way you have treated us
to accept everyone without conditions,
to forget and forgive all hurts,
so that we can become more like you.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Liturgy
of the Word
First
Reading Introduction
It
is the ungrateful and risky task of the prophet to speak
out against injustice, even when committed by the mighty
of this earth.
First
Reading: 1 Kgs 21:17– 29
After
the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:
“Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules
in Samaria.
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has
come to
take possession. This is what you shall tell him, ‘The
LORD
says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this,
the LORD says: In the place where the dogs licked up
the blood
of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’”
Ahab said
to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?” “Yes,”
he
answered. “Because you have given yourself up to doing
evil
in the LORD’s sight, I am bringing evil upon you: I
will destroy
you and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line, whether
slave
or freeman, in Israel. I will make your house like that
of Jeroboam,
son of Nebat, and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel
into
sin.” (Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared, “The
dogs shall
devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.”) “When one
of Ahab’s
line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one
of them
dies in the field, the birds of the sky will devour
him.” Indeed,
no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight
of the
LORD as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. He became
completely abominable by following idols, just as the
Amorites
had done, whom the LORD drove out before the children
of Israel.
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and
put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept
in the
sackcloth, and went about subdued. Then the LORD said
to Elijah
the Tishbite, “Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself
before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I
will
not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil
upon his
house during the reign of his son.”
Have
mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me. R./ Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For
I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.” R./ Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice. R./ Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Gospel
Reading Introduction
Jesus
concludes part of his Sermon on the Mount with the Words
"Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect."
A goal not easy to attain! Our love must go out to everyone;
it must include even enemies and must imitate God's love,
who lets his sun shine on good and bad alike.
Gospel
Reading: Mt 5:43 – 48
Jesus
said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But
I say
to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he
makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes
rain to
fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those
who love
you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors
do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what
is
unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So
be
perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Commentary
Jesus
calls us to a higher way of life than we could ever obtain
on our own. Mere human wisdom does not permit us to conceive
of a way of life in which enemies are loved and persecutors
are prayed for. Only the Lord can bring us to a way of
life in which we live by His words and follow His example
of forgiving even those we despise most intensely. Love
always brings out the best in us; love is the answer to
the problems of this world.
We do not grow stronger by carrying around a grudge.
General
Intercessions
- Lord,
let your Spirit give us the courage to pray for those who
hate or harm us, and to do good to them, we pray:
- Lord, change the hearts of those who cannot forgive or
refuse to do so, and remind them how you have forgiven them,
we pray:
- Lord, that those in charge of charitable organizations
and works may be honest in administering what has been entrusted
to them, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
Heavenly
Father,
these are the gifts of peace
we bring before you
to celebrate the feast of love of your Son.
Help us to discover with him
the best that is in each of us
and to create one another anew
with the same liberating and forgiving love
that you have shown us
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
Father
in heaven,
we have celebrated with your Son
the sacrifice that has brought us peace.
By his Words and his life he has taught us
to forgive one another wholeheartedly.
Let his Spirit dwell in us,
that our pardon may be without regret
and that we may go with one another
much farther than we are asked
on the way to each other and to you,
our holy God, now and for ever.
Blessing
"Love
your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, and pray for
those who persecute you." Difficult to do, very difficult.
But that's what Jesus did. Is it impossible for us? May
God give you courage and bless you, the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Claretian Publications MACAU