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July
13, 2003 - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A.
Don't Keep the Word to Yourself
B. Let Your Life Speak God's Word
C. Speak in My Name: You Are a Prophet
D. Chosen in Christ
Readings:
Am 7:12-15; Ps
85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14; Eph 1:3-10; Mk
6:7-13
Commentaries
/ Gospel Reflections from:
Sunday's
Into Silence • Diario
Biblico • Daily Gospel • A
Certain Jesus
Greeting
(see Second Reading)
God
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
has chosen us in Christ
to live in his presence
and with him to carry out his plan
of bringing everyone together under Christ.
May the Lord's peace and grace
be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
by the Celebrant
A.
Don't Keep The Word To Yourself
A
good test of how strong our faith is would be how much we want to
share it with the people around us. We cannot keep for ourselves what
is good and rich and beautiful. If the gospel has shaped our lives
and made it deep and precious for us, why not let it become Good News
also to others? Not everyone is called to go out and preach it but
just to let it speak for itself by the way we live it. Ask the Lord
here in this eucharist to help us live and spread his Good News.
Go
to Penitential Act
B.
Let Your Life Speak God's Word
Ordinary
people like you and me went out into the world with the message of
Jesus, with nothing else to offer than the Good News, and yet the
gospel spread far and wide. In the early centuries after Jesus' coming
most of the converts were won over by seeing how the Christians lived,
how they worshipped God and loved and served one another. In that
way they lived and preached the heart of the gospel message. Is it
perhaps this simplicity and directness which we need in our day? With
the Lord Jesus among us, we ask him how best to make his Good News
known.
Go
to Penitential Act
C.
Speak in My Name: You Are a Prophet
Who
of us dares to stand up and speak out on seeing something in society
or the local community that is against the gospel and genuine human
values? To speak and spread the Good News is not always welcome to
people. Even some faithful protest. It demands courage on the part
of the messengers. For it will upset some of the leaders, and they
will say you are meddling in politics when you are merely asking for
justice or defending the voiceless poor. But speak we must, for it
is God's word he has entrusted to us. A prophet is literally one who
speaks for God. We ask Jesus for courage.
Go
to Penitential Act
D.
Chosen By God In Christ
It
is not we who have chosen God, because we like him or because he conforms
to our ideas about him or seems to answer our aspirations. It is he
who has chosen us to become his sons and daughters. He has forgiven
our sins and given us life through Jesus Christ. All is given us,
all is grace. How rich we are! We are God's people called to give
him glory in the name of all the world and to bring the world to him.
With Jesus we thank the Father for having chosen us in Christ.
Penitential
Act
Our
lives may have been far
from being Good News to others.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, in you we have been blessed
with all love and grace from heaven:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus
Christ, in you we have been chosen
to be holy and spotless in God's sight:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord
Jesus, in you the Father chose us
to live through love in his presence:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Touch
us with your healing hand, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us free and rich in grace
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening
Prayer
A.
B. C. God's
Word
Let
us pray that we may share with all
the Good News of Jesus our Lord
(PAUSE)
God of justice and mercy,
you have set us free from the evil of sin
by the life and death and rising again
of your living reflection and word,
your Son Jesus Christ.
Let
his life and message inspire us
to voice his truth and bring his freedom
to everyone on this earth.
Give us no other assurance
than that we proclaim his Good News
and that our companion on the road is
your own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Go
to Liturgy of the Word
D.
Chosen In Christ
Let
us pray that we may live the life
of God's sons and daughters
(PAUSE)
Blessed are you, God our Father,
that you have chosen us in Christ
to be your sons and daughters,
set free by the blood of your Son.
Keep us free and make us live
a life that reflects the Good News
brought us by Jesus.
Make our spirit of love and service contagious,
that it may inspire people and attract them
to you, our living and loving God.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Scripture
Reading
First
Reading Introduction: The Lord Took Me and Sent
Me
Amos has to speak God's uncomfortable
message of conversion to a self- sufficient people which paid only lip-service
to God and speak he does.
First
Reading: Amos 7:12-15
Amaziah
then said to Amos, "Off with you, seer, go back to the land of
Judah. Earn your bread there by prophesying. But never again prophesy
at Bethel for it is a king's sanctuary and a national shrine."
Amos
replied to Amaziah, "I am not a prophet or one of the fellow-prophets.
I am a breeder of sheep and a dresser of sycamore trees. But Yahweh
took me from shepherding the flock and said to me: Go, prophesy to my
people Israel."
Responsorial
Psalm: Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
R
(8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will
hear what God proclaims;
the Lord-for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness
and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The
Lord himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Second
Reading Introduction: God Has Chosen Us in Christ
Paul thanks God for his
plan of love. For God has chosen all people to be his children through
the blood of Christ and has destined us to be his people and heirs of
eternal happiness.
Second
Reading: Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10
Blessed
be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord,
who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing.
God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world
to be holy and without sin in his presence.
From
eternity he destined us in love
to be his sons and daughters through Christ Jesus,
thus fulfilling his free and generous will.
This
goal suited him:
that his loving-kindness which he granted us in his Beloved
might finally receive all glory and praise.
For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by his blood,
and have the forgiveness of sins.
In
this appears the greatness of his grace,
which he lavished on us.
In all wisdom and understanding,
God has made known to us his mysterious design,
in accordance with his loving-kindness in Christ.
In him and under him God wanted to unite,
when the fullness of time had come,
everything in heaven and on earth.
By
a decree of Him who disposes all things
according to his own plan and decision
we, the Jews, have been chosen and called
and we were awaiting the Messiah,
for the praise of his glory.
You, on hearing the word of truth,
the Gospel that saves you,
have believed in him.
And,
as promised, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit,
the first pledge of what we shall receive,
on the way to our deliverance as a people of God,
for the praise of his glory.
Gospel
Introduction: Sent to Heal and to Save
Jesus
sends his apostles, and us, his disciples today, to liberate people from
all powers of evil that make them less human and to heal them from all
diseases, physical, spiritual and social.
Gospel
Reading: Mk 6:7-13
 Jesus
called the Twelve to him and began to send them out two by two, giving
them authority over evil spirits. And he ordered them to take nothing
for the journey except a staff; no food, no bag, no money in their belts.
They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic.
And
he added, "In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until
you leave the place. If any place doesn't receive you and the people
refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet.
It will be a testimony against them."
So
they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent. They drove
out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them.
Commentary
Those
who truly say and do what Jesus said and did, true representatives
of his, possess only what is necessary to accomplish their mission.
Since the Apostles were traveling preachers, they only needed a walking
stick and a pair of sandals! For the rest, they were to depend on
people's hospitality, trusting always in God's care. How to live this
instruction of Jesus is a question to be asked and answered not only
by ordained ministers and persons with religious vows. It must be
reflected upon by every Christian. After all, baptism makes us all
missionaries. Without imperiling the duties our status in life, each
one must make a sincere decision about possessions. They can advance
or hamper our Christian life and mission.
Read
also: • Gospel
Reflections by Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R.
•
Biblical
Commentaries fro Diario Biblico
General
Intercessions
We
and all the members of our communities are called by the Lord to make
the Good News known. Let us all pray with one another and for each other
that we may respond to God's call according to the grace he gives each
of us. Let us say: R/ Here we are, Lord, send us!
- Lord,
he was only a shepherd and a pruner of trees, but you called Amos and
put your words in his mouth. Give us the courage to speak your word.
And so we pray: R/ Here we are, Lord, send us!
- Lord,
they were only stammerers and timid people, but you called Moses and
Jeremiah to speak out and lead. Make us voice your word without hesitation,
even to people not well disposed to listen. And so we pray: R/ Here
we are, Lord, send us!
- Lord,
they were only fishermen cleaning their nets, but you called your apostles
to spread your Good News. Make us fearless to speak your word. And so
we pray: R/ Here we are, Lord, send us!
- Lord,
he was only a tax collector behind his desk, but you called Matthew
to heal people and to cast out devils. Wounded as we are, make us healers
too. And so we pray: R/ Here we are, Lord, send us!
- Lord,
they are only teachers or parish priests or employees, but you call
your people in our communities to tolerate no injustice, to defend the
poor. Speak through them and through all of us for all that is right
and good. And so we pray: R/ Here we are, Lord, send us!
God
our Father, let the life and message of Jesus so inspire us that we
become willing to voice his truth and bring his kind of freedom to everyone
on this earth, that he may be the Lord of all now and for ever. R/
Amen.
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord
our God,
we have nothing to rely upon
except your strength.
Give us your own Son Jesus
in these signs of bread and wine.
Help us to be to the world today
his message of hope and justice.
As he breaks the bread of himself for us,
may we bring food to the hungry
and love and truth to the satisfied,
in the name of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction
to the Eucharistic Prayer
The
Father has chosen us in Christ to be his daughters and sons and to carry
out his plan with and through Christ. For all this we thank and praise
him with Christ.
Invitation
to the Lord's Prayer
The
Father has chosen us in Christ
to be his beloved children.
We call on him and thank him
in the words of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...
Deliver
Us
Deliver
us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
Keep us holy and spotless
and let us live through love in your presence,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of
our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation
to Communion
This
is Christ the Lord,
who has brought us by his blood
the forgiveness of our sins
and the riches of his grace.
Happy are we to be invited
to the holy meal of his love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer
after Communion
Lord
our God,
you have given us yourself
in your Son Jesus Christ.
Do not allow us to be possessive
but make us realize
that your life and love are ours for good
insofar as we are willing to grow in them
and to share them with our neighbor.
Give us this conviction
and the strength to put it into practice,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
God
has entrusted to us his mission
of bringing the Good News of his Son
to a self-sufficient world,
ill-disposed to receive him.
We ourselves are often poor witnesses,
yet speak we must
by our words and our style of life.
May God himself be our strength
and may he bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let
us go and proclaim God's Good News
to all who are willing to listen. R/ Thanks be to God.
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