Lord
our God,
the person who laid down his life
to save us from our human limitations
and to let us live in your world
is your own Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Give us the true wisdom
to accept him as the Lord of our lives
and your presence among us.
Let him lead us to you,
our God for ever and ever.
Liturgy
of the Word
First
Reading Introduction
The
author of 2 Timothy asks Timothy to learn from Paul how
to bear persecution and difficulties. He assures Timothy
that the persecutors will be punished. Then he asks Timothy
to hold on firmly to the faith and to the sacred writings
that express it. The scriptures are inspired by God and
like a handbook for a life of faith.
First
Reading: 2 Tm 3:10 –17
You
have followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith,
patience, love, endurance, persecutions, and sufferings,
such
as happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, persecutions
that I endured. Yet from all these things the Lord delivered
me. In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ
Jesus will
be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will
go from
bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you, remain
faithful
to what you have learned and believed, because you know
from
whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have
known
the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you
wisdom
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture
is
inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation,
for
correction, and for training in righteousness, so that
one who
belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every
good
work.
R./
O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
Though
my persecutors and my foes are many,
I turn not away from your decrees. R./ O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
Permanence
is your word’s chief trait;
each of your just ordinances is everlasting. R./ O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
Princes persecute me without cause
but my heart stands in awe of your word. R./ O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
Those who love your law have great peace,
and for them there is no stumbling block. R./ O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
I wait for your salvation, O LORD,
and your commands I fulfill. R./ O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
I keep your precepts and your decrees,
for all my ways are before you. R./ O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.
Gospel
Reading Introduction
Using
a rabbinic form of argumentation, Jesus states that he
is more than a descendant of David. No king would have
addressed his son as Lord. The Savior is more than a human
being. Early Christianity understood this title of "Son"
and "Lord" in the divine sense.
Gospel
Reading: Mk 12:35 – 37
As
Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, “How
do the
scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David? David
himself,
inspired by the Holy Spirit, said:
The Lord said to my lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet.’
David himself calls him ‘lord’; so how is he his son?”
The
great crowd heard this with delight.
Commentary
The
words spoken by Jesus were compelling, and many came to
follow Him through the power of His message. That same
message is given to us in the Holy Bible so that we might
also listen to Him and be guided by His message.
Through the daily discipline of reading the scriptures
we draw near to divine wisdom. It has been said that every
time the scriptures are proclaimed they are heard for
the very first time. May your keeping of this Bible Diary
help you to be even more attentive to God's Word, God's
holy will in your life.
General
Intercessions
- That
we may recognize and love Jesus as one of us, who knows
us and shares our struggles and concerns, we pray:
- That people everywhere may accept Christ as more than
a great human person and as our Lord and Savior, we pray:
- That our communities may recognize Christ and his Spirit
as the binding force of love and friendship among us we
pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord
our God,
accept in this bread and this wine
our faith and our commitment to Jesus
as our Savior and Lord.
May he help us to grow
in faith and patience,
in love and constancy,
that we may be ready for any good work
and encounter you and people
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son is with us
as our brother and Savior.
It is our joy
that he has become one of us,
human, breathing, living.
We want to go his way.
Let his suffering be our victory,
his humiliation our honor,
his innocence our justice,
his death our life,
his resurrection our comfort,
for he is our Lord for ever. (Based on a prayer by Caspar Neumann,
+1700)
Blessing
We
believe in Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary and one
of us, human, but more than a human person: the Son of God
and our Savior. May almighty God confirm your faith and
bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Claretian Publications MACAU