September 9 - MONDAY
Theme:
TO PRESERVE LIFE, NOT TO DESTROY IT
Readings: 1
Cor 5:1-8, Lk 6:6-11
Opening
Prayer
God our Father,
we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ.
He went around doing good
and no law made by human beings could keep him
from carrying out his mission of life and love.
Let your Spirit enlighten us
to understand his mentality
and to give first place to what is important,
that we may live by the law of love
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction:
The
community of Corinth has problems not only of unity but, as an important
pagan port city, it is also easy-going on morality. Paul reminds them
that this is intolerable in Christians. They are now identified with Christ
and should have become new.
1st
Reading: 1 Cor 5:1-8
You have become news with a case of immorality, and such a case that is not even found among pagans. Yes, one of you has taken as wife his own stepmother. And you feel proud! Should you not be in mourning instead and expel the one who did such a thing. For my part, although I am physically absent, my spirit is with you and, as if present, I have already passed sentence on the man who committed such a sin. Let us meet together, you and my spirit, and in the name of our Lord Jesus and with his power, you shall deliver him to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit be saved in the day of Judgment.
This is not the time to praise yourselves. Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 5:5-7, 12
The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.
For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover them with favor as with a shield.
Gospel
Reading Introduction:
It
is strange how, as we read in the gospel, faithful, practicing religious
people, like the scribes and Pharisees - the regular churchgoers of their
day - were a big obstacle to the work of Jesus. They are upset and angry
because Jesus cures a man with a withered hand on the day of the Lord.
Jesus came to do good and to preserve life, as he said, to carry out a
mission of love and life, and these cannot be adequately expressed in
laws and commands. We may and should do good also on Sundays!
Gospel Reading: Lk 6:6-11
On a sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralyzed right hand and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched him: Would Jesus heal the man on the sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.
But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man, "Get up and stand in the middle." Then he spoke to them, "I want to ask you: what is allowed by the Law on the sabbath, to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?" And Jesus looked around at them all.
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored, becoming as whole as the other. But they were furious and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.
General
Intercessions
- That on the Lord's day people may be given the time to rest and recover from the pressure of their work and have the opportunity to worship God and help people, we pray:
- That the people who go to Mass on Sundays may also live according to the gospel on weekdays, we pray:
- That the eucharistic celebration on Sundays may be to all Christians a source of great joy and an encouragement to serve people, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we bring these gifts before you
to celebrate the mystery of the death and life
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Give us the wisdom of the Spirit
to opt always with your Son,
not for death, but for life
and to let even death become
a promise and a seed of your life,
which you give us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
Lord our God,
we are afraid of becoming fixed and rigid
in our attitudes and practices,
even with the best of intentions.
By the word of your Son spoken here
and by the bread of life he has given us,
keep us always young and flexible of heart
and attentive to your presence and call
in the people around us.
Let us never stand in the way of any good
done in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Blessing
It is lawful to do good on Sundays. It is even commendable for it makes the day of the Lord greater, more wonderful. May almighty God bless you for the good you do: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Luke shows once again in this Gospel episode that Jesus, the Son of Human, is truly Lord. The Scribes and Pharisees, who lost touch with the real lives of the poor, could not match his authoritative teaching and healing. They lost the real and pristine meaning of the Sabbath; i.e., wholeness of life and freedom. Practices arise from life situations and in response to them. They will remain relevant only to the extent that they are deeply concerned with such situations. Otherwise, they become mere tools of self-aggrandizement and dominating control over others. What practices do we zealously espouse? Do they humanize?
September 10 - TUESDAY
Theme: CHOSEN TO DO GOD'S WORK
Readings:
1 Cor 6:1-11; Lk 6:12-19
Opening
Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ could build
firm foundations for your Church
on weak and fallible people
Only he could do it; we would not dare.
We pray with your Son
that our faith may remain unshaken
in your Church and those who lead it.
As they struggle and grope,
let your Holy Spirit fill them
with his wisdom and fire.
And lead us all forward in hope.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction:
If there are difficulties
and dissensions in the community, these should be settled in the community
itself rather than bringing them before a civil court, St. Paul tells
the Corinthians. Shouldn't communities not be "one heart and one
soul?"
When you have a complaint against a brother, how dare you bring it before pagan judges instead of bringing it before God's people? Do you not know that you shall one day judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you incapable of judging such simple problems?
Do you not know that we will even judge the angels? And could you not decide every day affairs? But when you have ordinary cases to be judged, you bring them before those who are of no account in the Church! Shame on you! Is there not even one among you wise enough to be the arbiter among believers?
But no. One of you brings a suit against another one, and files that suit before unbelievers. It is already a failure that you have suits against each other. Why do you not rather suffer wrong and receive some damage? But no. You wrong and injure others, and those are your brothers and sisters. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Make no mistake about it: those who lead sexually immoral lives, or worship idols, or who are adulterers, perverts, sodomites, or thieves, exploiters, drunkards, gossips or embezzlers will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Some of you were like that, but you have been cleansed and consecrated to God and have been set right with God by the Name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of our God.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 149:1-6, 9
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands...to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
Gospel
Reading Introduction:
As
in other very important occasions in his life, Jesus prays before selecting
twelve apostles from among his disciples. For this is a very important
moment. He will train them and then will take the risk of entrusting his
own work to fallible people. He knows they will not always do the best
they can, as they will have moments of fear, discouragement, cowardice
and compromises. Still, he trusts them enough and will help them to bring
his work to a good end in God's own good time. In this eucharist we express
our trust in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom he called apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.
Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood on a level place. Many of his disciples were there and a large crowd of people who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear him and be healed of their diseases; likewise people troubled by evil spirits were healed. All the crowd tried to touch him because of the power which went out from him and healed them all.
General Intercessions
- For the pope, that he may lead the Church in faith, wisdom and mercy, we pray:
- For our bishops united with the pope, that they may see and attend to the great needs of the Church in our day, we pray:
- For those who are afraid to answer the call of God to follow Christ and to serve the people of God, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in the name of Jesus your Son,
your ministers and people offer to you
the memorial of his death and resurrection.
Let us, sinful as we are, be your holy people,
that we may bear witness to your name
and be a believable sign to all
that your Son lives
and that you are our mighty God and Father
now and for ever.
Prayer
after Communion
Holy God and Father,
to us, your people on the way,
you have let your Son speak
his uplifting word
and give to us his food of strength.
Renew your Church in its leaders and members,
that we may live as we believe
and raise in our world a prophetic voice
that speaks with credibility
of justice, truth and unity.
May thus the world believe in your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Jesus entrusts his own mission to weak and fallible human hands. "Entrusts," for he trusts them enough. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can do God's work. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is the distinctive posture and action of the Lucan Jesus. Yesterday's Gospel ended with an ominous scene: the Jewish leaders were furious, and discussed what to do with Jesus. It is after such a conflictive situation that the choice of the Twelve took place. Jesus was shown withdrawing himself from such a scene to take an important measure before confronting the said reality. The apostles, who would be witnessing what Jesus said and did and who eventually would continue them, must be people whom God-Self had chosen for him. Luke shows an important dynamic of Jesus' life, which the Twelve must follow: Jesus' attentiveness to the Spirit of God, so that in the power of that Spirit he "in ordinary life" could do the work of God, giving wholeness to all. Do we follow this dynamic, as we follow Jesus?
September 11 - WEDNESDAY
Theme:
BLESSED ARE YOU... OR WOE TO YOU
Readings:
1 Cor 7:25-31; Lk 6:20-26
Opening
Prayer
Lord, God of the rich and the poor,
let the message of Jesus your Son
strike us and shake us up
from our certainties and securities.
Indeed, may we use our riches
of mind and heart and faith and goods
in the service of the poor,
our power for the benefit of others,
our abundance to be shared
and to get us out of our self-satisfaction,
our happiness to console
and bring your joy, not ours.
Make us poor in pride, hungry for justice,
weeping for the evil we have caused.
And let people insult us
when we do not live up to the gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction:
Regarding each one's state in
life, whether celibacy or marriage, Paul gives his personal advise that
conversion does not demand anyone to change this status but rather to
live this status according to the best of one's abilities.
With regard to those who remain virgins, I have no special commandment from the Lord, but I give some advice, hoping that I am worthy of trust by the mercy of the Lord.
I think this is good in these hard times in which we live. It is good for someone to remain as he is. If you are married, do not try to divorce your wife; if you are not married, do not marry. He who marries does not sin, nor does the young girl sin who marries. Yet they will face disturbing experiences, and I would like to spare you.
I say this, brothers and sisters: time is running out, and those who are married must live as if not married; those who weep as if not weeping; those who are happy as if they were not happy; those buying something as if they had not bought it, and those enjoying the present life as if they were not enjoying it. For the order of this world is vanishing.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 45:11-12, 14-17
and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him; the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people...in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
Gospel
Reading Introduction:
Luke is the only evangelist
coming from paganism - a world of slavery, fear and oppression, and of
moral license. He is so struck by the fact that Christ had a place for
the poor and for marginal people, for whom nobody cared in his milieu,
that this concern of Christ is one of the major emphases in his gospel,
particularly in its social aspects. For example, he says, not like Matthew,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit," but "Blessed are you,
the poor. Woe to you, the rich..."
Gospel
Reading: Lk 6:20-26Lifting up his eyes to his disciples, Jesus said,
"Fortunate are you who are poor, the kingdom of God is yours."
Fortunate are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Fortunate are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Fortunate are you when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember that is how the ancestors of this people treated the prophets.
But alas for you who have wealth, for you have been comforted now.
Alas for you who are full, for you will go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Alas for you when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of these people treated the false prophets."
General
Intercessions
- For the poor, that God may fill their expectations; for the satisfied, that God may change their hearts and make them capable of sharing, we pray:
- For those who are hungry, that the Lord himself may give them the bread of life and inspire us to give them the bread of every day, we pray:
- For those who now weep, that the Lord may console them with his love; for those who now laugh, that he may remind them of the seriousness of life and make them capable of reflection, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
God, with bread and wine
we celebrate the death and suffering
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Teach us here, by his example,
that sickness and pain make sense,
that even death is a seed of life.
In humility and with shame
we accept this insight, Lord,
and ask you to let it inspire us.
May we accept it also
as a hard but saving reality,
by which we try to live, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
Lord our God,
you let the Word of your Son upset us,
but this eucharist gives us the strength
to take his word with open hearts and minds.
Let our riches in any form
not satisfy us but others,
that there may be room in us for hope.
Let us feel the weight of our limitations,
that we may keep hungering
for love and justice and freedom.
Give us tears to weep
that we have not dared to be
your sign of contradiction in this world.
Bless us, Lord, that we may praise and bless you
and your Son, now and for ever.
Blessing
Blessed are you… What God wants is our happiness. He leaves us free: we are the ones to make the choice what we are going to do with our lives. May God give you the right insight and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Prayer also enables one to transcend reversals of life and see where true happiness lies. Also on the "plain" after coming down from a whole night of prayer, Luke makes Jesus pronounce the beatitudes and woes. It is wrong to see the message of Jesus in these reversals to be "pie in the sky." On the contrary, the reign of God is already here! For, God in Jesus the Christ has clearly demonstrated the divine predilection for the poor whose security is in God alone and not in anyone or in anything else. And happy, indeed, are the disciples who follow Jesus, the Prophet, who no matter what the dominant and privileged would do to him, went on proclaiming and doing the justice and peace of God to show that the reign is truly here and now.
September 12 - THURSDAY
Theme: LOVE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
Readings: 1
Cor 8:1-7, 11-13; Lk 6:27-38
Opening
Prayer
God our Father,
from whom all good things come
and for whom we live,
fill us with your own gratuitous love,
the one you have shown us in Jesus Christ.
Teach us to love and bless
even those who curse or maltreat us.
Indeed, deepen and widen our limited love,
make it without measure, like yours,
that we may be called sons and daughters
of you, the Most High, our Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction:
In ancient times in the
Greek world much of the meat of the sacrifices was then sold for the food
of the people. By eating this meat, did Christians share in idolatry?
They do not honor false gods, since these do not exist, says Paul. But
as some Christians are scrupulous, it is better not to offend them and
therefore to abstain from meat coming from sacrifices to false gods and
to abstain from something they could legitimately do. That is love, and
love should rule the community.
1st
Reading: 1 Cor 8:1-7, 11-13
o 1 Regarding meat from the offerings to idols, we know that all of us
have knowledge but knowledge puffs up, while love builds. 2 If anyone
thinks that he has knowledge, he does not yet know as he should know,
3 but if someone loves (God), he has been known (by God).
4 Can we, then, eat meat from offerings to the idols? We know that an
idol is without existence and that there is no God but one. 5 People speak
indeed of other gods in heaven and on earth and, in this sense, there
are many gods and lords. 6 Yet for us, there is but one God, the Father,
from whom everything comes, and to whom we go. And there is one Lord,
Christ Jesus, through whom everything exists and through him we exist.
7 Not everyone, however, has that knowledge. For some persons, who until
recently took the idols seriously, that food remains linked to the idol
and eating of it stains their conscience which is unformed.
11 Then with your knowledge you would have caused your weak brother or
sister to perish, the one for whom Christ died. 12 When you disturb the
weak conscience of your brother or sister and sin against them, you sin
against Christ himself. 13 Therefore, if any food will bring my brother
to sin, I shall never eat this food lest my brother or sister fall.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 139:1-3, 13-14, 23-24
O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Gospel
Reading Introduction:
Love
does not rest on sympathies alone. A gospel-love, a love of faith, has
no boundaries. One who loves gives more than asked and loves the "unlovable,"
including enemies. It does not judge nor condemn, is always ready to be
compassionate and forgiving. When we look at all these implications, we
have to confess with shame that we are far from this ideal proposed us
by our Lord. How far are we in this world the sign of God's own love?
Jesus said to his disciples, "I say to you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you and pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; from the one who takes your coat, do not keep back your shirt. Give to the one who asks and if anyone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have others do to you. If you love only those who love you, what kind of graciousness is yours? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do favors to those who are good to you, what kind of graciousness is yours? Even sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of graciousness is yours? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return.
But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. For he is kind towards the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Don't be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back."
General
Intercessions
- For all Christians, that our readiness to forgive and our constant quest for tolerance and peace may point to Christ and his gospel, we pray:
- For all who can hardly believe in forgiveness, for those who give others no opportunities, for those who keep holding grudges, for those blinded by hatred, that God may enrich them with his mercy, we pray:
- For our Christian communities, that we may hear the call of Jesus to do away with our division and selfishness, and that he may help us to overcome evil by goodness, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
God our Father,
you treat alike sinners and those who love you
with the bread and drink of joy of your Son.
All are invited, all are loved.
Help us to set the table of ourselves
to friend and foe alike,
to those we love and those we fear.
May this be our offering to you,
which you accept through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
Compassionate Father,
through your Son you have asked us
in this eucharistic celebration
not to judge or condemn,
and even to grant generous pardon
to those whom we feel to have hurt us.
Let your Son Jesus Christ give us the capacity
to give without seeking repayment,
to claim no merit or credit,
but simply to love without boundaries,
as you have loved us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
"If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Love your enemies!" It is something very difficult to do, but it is at the core of Christianity. Let us ask the Lord for strength, for a Christian love deep enough to make us capable of this. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
A clear sign that the reign of God has captivated somebody is one's attitude to one's enemies. For, one is enabled to see beyond the surface. One is enabled to go beyond the basic moral demands and consequent hopes of reward and punishment. One is enabled to go beyond religion. One is enabled "to see" the Most High and live as this divine Benefactor, who freely bestows gifts to all. Indeed, morality is basic to human living. But it does not suffice to let us become as the heavenly Father/Mother.
September 13 - FRIDAY
Theme: CLEAR EYES
Readings:
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-27; Lk
6:39-42
Note. September 13 - Feast of ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Bishop, Church doctor - see also Celebration of Saints
Opening
Prayer
Lord our God, you are just and holy,
and yet you are patient and tolerant with us.
We are but slow-learning students
of our one Teacher, Jesus Christ.
He saw people's faults,
but he had come not to condemn
but to forgive and save.
Give us clear eyes to look
into our own hearts and consciences,
but dim them with the shades of love
when we see the faults of those around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction:
Paul
says he has put his life in the service of the gospel and by doing so
he has only done what he was supposed to do. He has given the gospel to
people free of charge. It had come to him as a grace, and he gives it
to others as a grace, a freely given gift.
1st Reading: 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-27
Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel: I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel. So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody's slave in order to gain a greater number.
To the weak I made myself weak, to win the weak. So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it.
Have you not learned anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.
So, then, I run knowing where I go. I box but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.
Gospel
Reading Introduction:
The
gospel of today has everything to do with seeing: blind people cannot
show the way to others, wounded eyes distort what they see in others and
cannot see their own defects. We should have a bit of "sympathetic"
blindness to the faults of others. And let us look first into our own
hearts; this is perhaps the way to love others a bit more.
Jesus offered this example, "Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother's eye while you have a log in your eye and are not conscious of it? How can you say to your neighbor: 'Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,' when you can't remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor's eye."
General
Intercessions
- That Jesus may show the road to follow to the honest seekers of truth and goodness, that false leaders may not mislead them, we pray:
- That Jesus may show the road to follow to those who easily condemn and are reluctant to forgive and accept people, we pray:
- That Jesus may show us the road to follow, that we may learn to see the evil that is in us and no longer condemn others for the evils we too are inclined to commit, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ let his light shine
in our darkness;
he opened the eyes of the blind.
Give us your Son here in this eucharist,
that he may open our eyes
to your forgiving love and to your goodness
present in people around us.
Grant this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
God our Father,
you let all of us here share,
with our faults and irritating habits,
in the meal of brotherhood and unity
of Jesus Christ your Son.
Help us to accept one another also in everyday life
and to cover each other's shortcomings
with the mantle of love.
May we overcome evil with good
and bring your peace on this earth,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Eyes that do not look for the evil in others are like the eyes of God. He is not a policeman out to catch us when we do wrong. He forgives, he heals. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All of us are somehow blind. It is so difficult to always see clearly! Any kind of reality is made up of flight and shade. Sometimes it's difficult to find the way. Sometimes we get lost. We know well our personal stories. What is striking is that we sometimes like to be the masters of light. It seems that we could penetrate with out eyes the darkness surrounding others, and so we could teach them the right way. We could use a little bit move of humility to recognize that we are all traveling the same road, that we are searching with our brothers and sisters the same Light, and that our tiny flashlight is not the Light.
September 14 - SATURDAY
EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
Theme: God Raised Him On High
Readings: Num
21:4-9 ; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17
Greeting
Praise to God our Father,
who loved us much
that he gave us his only Son,
so all who believe in him may have eternal life.
May Jesus fill us with his life
and be with you always. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Today's feast of the Triumph of the Cross reminds us that Christians live under the sign of the cross. It is by the cross the Jesus brought us forgiveness and life. On the cross he passed through suffering, gave it meaning and overcame it by making it a way to life. God has created us for happiness, and yet we know that life is marked with the cross. Even after his resurrection Jesus bore the scars of his wounds. Our wounds and pains, too, can be bearers of life if we offer them with Jesus so that others might live and be free.
Penitential Act
We have run away from sacrifices and the cross
even when they would have brought life
to ourselves and to others.
We ask the Lord to forgive us
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus,
When you were lifted up on the cross,
your death brought us forgiveness and life:
Lord, have mercy, R/ Lord, have, mercy.Jesus Christ,
When you were lifted up on the cross,
you opened your arms wide to all people:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.Lord Jesus,
When you were lifted up on the cross
from your pierced heart flowed treasures of grace and love:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have Mercy.Lord, forgive us all our sins
and make us take up our crosses in life
to follow you all the way.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening
Prayer
Let us pray to God that we may learn
to bear our cross with his Son
(Pause)
Lord, God of loyalty,
we are constantly under the threat
of contesting our dependence on you
and of blaming you for the evil in the world.
Lord God, make us see
the redeeming value of suffering.
Give us the mentality of Jesus Christ:
Make us ready to be totally Christian,
totally committed to you and to people,
even at the cost of suffering.
Give us the strength to follow all the way
your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction: Saved by Faith in the Sign of Salvation
Tired
and discouraged from their long journey and stay in the desert, the Hebrews
we lose faith in God and begin to revolt. God punishes them, but saves
those who look up in faith to a sign of salvation.
From Mount Hor they set out by the Red Sea road to go around the land of Edom. The people were discouraged by the journey and began to complain against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna."
Yahweh then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, speaking against Yahweh and against you. Plead with Yahweh to take the serpents away."
Moses pleaded for the people and Yahweh said to him, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live."
So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 84:3-6, 8, 12
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah
Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
O LORD of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
Second
Reading Introduction: The Humiliated Christ Is Glorified
Jesus,
God's Son himself, humbled himself by becoming man and even more so by
dying for us on the cross. This is why he is now our glorious Lord.
Though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness,
and in his appearance found as a man.
He humbled himself by being obedient to death,
death on the cross.
That is why God exalted him
and gave him the Name which outshines all names,
so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend
in heaven, on earth and among the dead,
and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is the Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel
Reading Introduction: Jesus' Saving Death Gives
Life
Because he loved us, God sent
his Son into the world as man. By his death, Jesus brought us forgiveness
and life.
Gospel
Reading: Jn 3:13-17Jesus said to Nicodemus, "No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved."
General Intercessions
God
loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to save us and bring
us life by his death and resurrection. Let us pray to Jesus for all who
suffer and let us say: R/ Lord, save us by your
cross.
- For those whose life lacks direction, that they may discover Christ the way, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.
- For those whose ideals have faded, that they may see and accept the novelty of life and constantly renew themselves, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.
- For the perpetual losers of their personal struggles against the forces of evil, that they may trust in Christ, whose grace is mightier than sin and death, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.
- For those who are lonely, deserted, or shut up within themselves, that they may accept the companionship of Christ and through him open themselves to others, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.
- For all of us, that we may learn from our Lord himself to bear our crosses in patience and humility, that somehow they may bring life to us and to whoever is tired and discouraged, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.
- For this community, that with Jesus our Savior it may be poor and serving and open to all people and all needs, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.
Lord Jesus Christ, your cross remains a mystery to us, as does all pain and want. Yet we rely on your word and example that it is a way to joy and freedom. Turn our crosses into bearers of happiness and life, now and forever. R/ Amen.
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord God, with this bread and this wine
we celebrate the saving death of your Son.
In moments when suffering strikes
and when we find it hard to bear,
give us the strength, Lord God,
not to murmur and to protest
but to accept that it is your way to glory,
even if we don not understand fully.
We ask you for this courage
through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction
to the Eucharistic Prayer
Remember that in this and every eucharist we celebrate the sacrifice of the cross by which Jesus brought us forgiveness and life. Let us that the Father for it and offer ourselves with Jesus, our Lord, that we may overcome evil with him.
Introduction
to the Lord's Prayer
Grateful for his saving love,
we pray to our Father in heaven
in the words of Jesus, our Savior. R/ Our Father…
Deliver
Us
Deliver us, Lord from every evil
and forgive us the sins,
which cause your Son's death on the cross.
Help us to join our crosses to his;
give us courage and patience in life,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
Invitation
to Communion
This is the Lamb of God
who died on the cross
to take our sins away.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat his bread of Strength. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer
after Communion
God, our Lord and Father,
we know that you have made us
for joy and happiness,
yet humiliation and death was the price
which your Son had to pay for it.
Let us never be ashamed of his cross
or proclaim a painless Christianity,
for we trust you when you call us
to bear witness to you the way you want us to,
through Jesus Christ, your Son and Lord, R/ Amen.
Blessing
We ourselves have been marked
with the sign of the cross
as people saved by a serving Lord.
On account of the cross, w
e have to learn to forgive,
to bear one another's burdens
and to accept the realities of life
as people of hope and trust,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.Let us go in peace of Christ. R/ Thanks be to God.
Through the course of centuries the discourse on the cross has lost by and large its impact. This powerful symbol has been domesticated by Christian ritual. It has become more of a beautiful decoration, sometimes made of precious metals, studded with equally costly gems and of other valuable materials. It has lost its shocking message. In the first centuries of the Christian or common era, it was taboo to talk of the cross. To die on it was an utter disgrace, reserved for the worst of criminals. That is why, it must have been shocking for Jesus' listeners to hear his demand of discipleship as a taking of one's cross. If there is anything good in it, it is because in seeing Jesus on the cross we see not only the rich and powerful's inhumanity to other humans but above all God's unconditional love for all!
Taken
from Liturgy
Alive for Weekdays
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