November 18 - Monday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Theme:
JESUS, LIGHT OF OUR EYES
Readings:
Rev 1:1-4; 2:1-5a; Lk 18:35-43
Opening Prayer
God, almighty Father,
each of us too could say:
Let me see again, for I am blind to the love
that you show me in the people around me.
Let me see again,
for I am blind to your goodness and beauty
that you reveal to me in your creation
and in the events of life.
May we too hear from the lips of your Son:
your faith has saved you.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction
From today until the end of the
Church year we read from the book of Revelation, an apocalyptic writing.
The author wants to express trust in God and the future, for ultimately
God will win the struggle between good and evil, involving not only the
earth but also having heaven intervening. He does not know how, and to
a large extent he is guessing, using traditional apocalyptic images, many
inspired by religious experiences of God’s people in the past and trying
to apply them to the present but even to the future. But underlying all
this, even when describing calamities, is the firm faith and hope that
God will win and that therefore there is no reason to be afraid.
First Reading: Rev 1:1-4; 2:1-5a
God gave it to him to let his servants know what is soon to take place. He sent his angel to make it known to his servant, John, who reports everything he saw, for this is the word of God and the declaration of Jesus Christ.
Happy is the one who reads aloud these prophetic words, and happy those who hear them and treasure everything written here, for the time is near. receive grace and peace from him who is, who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits of God which are before his throne.
Write this to the angel of the Church in Ephesus, "Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
I know your works, your difficulties and your patient suffering. I know you cannot tolerate evildoers but have tested those who call themselves apostles and have proved them to be liars. You have persevered and have suffered for my name without losing heart.
Nevertheless, I have this complaint against you: you have lost your first love. Remember from where you have fallen and repent, and do what you used to do before. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place; this I will do, unless you repent.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 1:1-4, 6
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away...for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Gospel
Introduction
After Jesus had scolded the apostles
for their lack of understanding and faith, Luke shows him curing the blind
man. Is it perhaps to teach the apostles a lesson and showing them that
they need to be healed from their blindness by faith? In any case, Jesus
becomes light and gives light to the blind man. We ask our Lord to give
us eyes of faith.
When Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging. As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what it was, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. Then he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The people in front scolded him, "Be quiet!" but he cried out all the more, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him, and when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the man said, "Lord, that I may see!" Jesus said, "Receive your sight, your faith has saved you." At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God. And all the people who were there also praised God.
General Intercessions
– Lord, see the eyes of children that are open to life; see the eyes full of hope of those who believe in your future; fill them with your light, we pray:
– Lord, see the eyes full of hatred or spite of those who are frustrated; see the joy in the eyes of those who know how to love, we pray:
– Lord, see the eyes of those who suffer; see the eyes of those who are shut to others, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, almighty Father,
through this bread and wine
we ask you to give us
the light of our lives, your Son Jesus Christ.
Through him, the Son of David,
have pity on us,
that we may praise you
for the saving goodness which you show us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, in this eucharist
you have let us experience your goodness
through Jesus’ saving presence.
Do not allow us to hide his light
or to darken the lives of our neighbor.
Make us clear-eyed and let us be lights
for those without insight or hope,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
When we are at times blind to what God asks of us, we too cry out: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. Let me see again.” And may he answer us, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.” May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The verb "to see" has a special meaning in the Gospels. It's not just a material seeing. When Jesus cures a blind man, he cures his eyes and his heart as well. In reality many of us suffer some kind of heart blindness. It's the blindness that prevents us from seeing the needs of those living around us and makes us judge them harshly. It's the blindness that so many times makes the horizon of our eyes end up at the tip of our nose. And our problems become the center of our world. Such blindness is like a chronic illness. We all need to be cured of it. As the blind man. To follow Jesus.
November 19 - Tuesday , 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Theme:
I MUST STAY IN YOUR HOUSE
Readings:
Rev 3:1-6.14-22; Lk 19:1-10
Opening Prayer
God of mercy and compassion,
you know how often our fervor cools off,
how poor of heart we are at times
when we think we are rich
and sure to belong to you.
Let us encounter your Son again
in the deepest of our selves,
help us to look for him,
that his presence may change us
and that he may live among us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction
John reprimands the Christians of
Sardis and Laodicea that they have abandoned their earlier fervor and
are in need of conversion. Note the harsh words to the Laodiceans who
are neither cold nor hot but only lukewarm: “I will spit you out of my
mouth.”
First Reading: Rev 3:1-6.14-22
Write this to the angel of the Church in Sardis, "Thus says he who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
I know your worth: you think you live but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen that which is not already dead. For I have found your works to be imperfect in the sight of my God. Remember what you were taught; keep it and change your ways. If you do not repent I will come upon you like a thief at an hour you least expect.
Yet, there are some left in Sardis who have not soiled their robes; these will come with me, dressed in white, since they deserve it. The victor will be dressed in white and I will never erase his name from the book of life; instead, I will acknowledge it before my Father and his angels.
Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches."
Write this to the angel of the Church in Laodicea, "Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation:
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! You are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold so I will spit you out of my mouth. You think you are rich and have piled up so much that you need nothing, but you do not realize that you are wretched and to be pitied, poor, blind and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold that has been tested by fire, so that you may be rich, and white clothes to wear so that your nakedness may not shame you, and ointment for your eyes that you may see. I reprimand and correct all those I love. Be earnest and change your ways.
Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my call and open the door, I will come in to you and have supper with you, and you with me. I will let the victor sit with me on my throne just as I was victorious and took my place with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches."
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 15:2-5
Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the LORD; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.
Gospel
Introduction
Today we meet Zacchaeus, the rich typical
sinner as a tax collector, who is small and poor as a person. He runs
to encounter Jesus and is converted through this encounter, but it is
really Jesus who takes the initiative by calling Zacchaeus out of the
tree and asking whether he can stay in his house. This is the solution
for the sinner, cold or lukewarm: accept to encounter the Lord again.
This message is spoken to us too. Encountering Jesus will change us too.
When Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the city, a man named Zaccheus was there. He was a tax collector and a wealthy man. He wanted to see what Jesus was like, but he was a short man and could not see because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree. From there he would be able to see Jesus who had to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, come down quickly for I must stay at your house today." So Zaccheus hurried down and received him joyfully.
All the people who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to the house of a sinner as a guest." But Zaccheus spoke to Jesus, "The half of my goods, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much." Looking at him Jesus said, "Salvation has come to this house today, for he is also a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost."
General Intercessions
– That we may do all we can to see and find the Lord and to be close to him, we pray:
– That our encounter with the Lord in prayer, in good people and in the poor we help, may change us, we pray:
– That our eating from the Lord’s table in the eucharist may deepen our love for Christ and for people, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
your Son stands at the door and knocks
to share with us our bread of poverty.
May we open to him the doors of our hearts
and welcome him eagerly.
Let it be his bread and his mentality
that nourish us,
that we may overcome all evil
through him who is our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
you have given us Jesus as our guest
and at the same time our host
who has given us himself to eat.
He has found us;
let him fill us to the brim
with his life and his love,
to make a new beginning with us.
Help us to be to one another
as hospitable as he has been to us
and let him stay with us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Blessing
May we hear from the Lord too: salvation has come to this house, to this person, this community. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Zaccheus' call by Jesus is a life program for any Christian: "Come down!" We can imagine Zaccheus as a man living according to the level of his wealth, of his well-guarded house. His car would have tinted glass windows and air conditioning. He was not mixing with common people. But Jesus calls him to come down to earth, to enter into contact with reality, with the poor and simple people whom he had stolen so much from. And conversion springs up from there. Maybe the best place to read this Gospel and to listen to Jesus is in the street, near our brothers and sisters. There the words of Jesus gain a new meaning.
November 20 - Wednesday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Theme:
INVESTING THE GIFTS OF FAITH
Readings:
Rev 4:1-11; Lk 19:11-28
Opening Prayer
Good and loving Father,
you have made us rich in many ways,
our faith, the good news of the gospel,
your Son Jesus Christ above all,
with his life and his Spirit,
and the people around us.
Help us grow in this faith and this love,
teach us to invest ourselves
in your kingdom of goodness and hope,
that we may be worthy of your trust,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First Reading Introduction
Borrowing
images from Ezekiel 1 and 10, the author of Revelation gives us an inaugural
vision in which he describes a liturgy of heaven, showing the power of
God, who will win the fight between good and evil.
After this, I looked up to the wall of the sky and saw an open door. The voice which I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here and I will show you what will come in the future."
Immediately I was seized by the Spirit. There, in heaven, was a throne and one sitting on it. He who sat there looked like jasper and carnelian and round the throne was a rainbow resembling an emerald.
In a circle around the throne are twenty-four thrones and seated on these are twenty-four elders, dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.
Flashes of lightning come forth from the throne, with voices and thunderclaps. Seven flaming torches burn before the throne; these are the seven spirits of God.
Before the throne there is a platform, transparent like crystal. Around and beside the throne stand four living creatures, full of eyes, both in front and behind.
The first living creature is like a lion, the second like a bull, the third has the face of a man and the fourth looks like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures has six wings full of eyes, all around as well as within; day and night they sing without ceasing,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God,
master of the universe,
who was, and is and is to come.Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to the One on the throne, he who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him and worship the One who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns in front of the throne and say,
Our Lord and God, worthy are you
to receive glory, honor and power!
For you have created all things;
by your will they came to be and were made.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 150:1-6
Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Gospel
Introduction
Faith, the gospel, the life
of Christ are rich gifts which we have received to work with, to produce
with, to do business with, as the gospel says. We cannot just take our
faith for granted. We are stewards of the goods of the kingdom; a good
steward does not only keep what the master gives him or her, butinvests
it to produce more. One who has will be given more. This is Luke’s presentation
of the parable of the talents. How productive is our faith?
While the disciples were listening to him, Jesus went on to tell them a parable. He said, "A man of noble birth went to a distant place to have himself appointed king of his own people, after which he would return. Before he left, he summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds. He said: 'Put this money to work until I get back.' But his compatriots who disliked him sent a delegation after him with this message: 'We do not want this man to be our king.'
He returned, however, appointed as king. At once he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came in and reported: 'Sir, your pound has earned ten more.'
The master replied: 'Well done, my good servant. Since you have proved yourself capable in a small matter, I can trust you to take charge of ten cities.' The second reported: 'Sir, your pound earned five more pounds.' The master replied: 'Right, take charge of five cities.'
The third came in and said: 'Sir, here is your money which I hid for safekeeping. I was afraid of you for you are an exacting person; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.'
The master replied: 'You worthless servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew I was an exacting person, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow! Why, then, did you not put my money on loan so that when I got back I could have collected it with interest?'
Then the master said to those standing by: 'Take from him that pound, and give it to the one with ten pounds.' They objected: 'But, sir, he already has ten!'
'I tell you: everyone who has will be given more; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for my enemies who did not want me to be king, bring them in and execute them right here in my presence.'"
So Jesus spoke, and he went on ahead of them, on his way to Jerusalem.
General Intercessions
– That all people may share in the earth’s resources in justice, friendship and peace, we pray:
– That all of us here may hold ourselves responsible under God for our own lives and each other’s happiness, we pray:
– That we may not be misers with the talents God has given us, but give God and one another the best of ourselves, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you have given us much
and we have little to return to you.
But accept us in these humble gifts
and reassure us that you can do much
with people aware of their poverty.
Keep us faithful in all things,
whether small or important,
that we may render faithful service
to you and to people.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, loving Father,
we thank you for the living word
and the body of Jesus your Son.
We are but timid and hesitant,
afraid of committing ourselves
because you ask for ourselves.
Give us the courage to live the gospel
consistently and radically,
that however poor we are
we may be rich
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
When the Lord asks us what we have done with the rich gifts he has given us, what will we answer? Shall it be simply but inadequately, that we have done no evil, or can we say that we have invested in people, in truth and justice and love, as the Lord asks of us. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
If up to now we are still using this Bible Diary 2002 day after day, this means that we belong to the privileged group. Most Christians in the world have no access to God's Word in this manner. Nor are they able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a certain frequency. Nor can they participate in each Sunday's Eucharist. We are among those who have received the "ten pounds." An immediate question comes up: What are we doing with those pounds? Are we making them produce? Let's remember that only by sharing can one's things multiply in the Kingdom.
November 21 - Thursday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Theme:
PRESENTATION OF MARY
Readings:
Zech 2:14-17; Mt 12:46-50
Introduction
There is no indication whatsoever in the scriptures that Mary was presented in the Temple. But this pious legend wants to state something real: that Mary followed her Son, that her mentality and attitude was that of Jesus, and that like her Son she was entirely set on seeking God's will in everything. She was a true relative of Jesus, also mentally, spiritually, in the spirit of the gospel of today.
Opening
Prayer
Almighty God,
you know and you love us;
like Mary we know that whatever happens to us
we are in your hands.
Wherever you lead us,
you know here you want us to go.
We ask you for trust and faith.
Make your will our will,
that you may lead us to your home
under the guidance of him
who did your will in everything
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you," says Yahweh.
"On that day, many nations will join Yahweh and be my people, but my dwelling is among you." The people of Judah will be for Yahweh as his portion in his holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again.
Keep still in Yahweh's presence, for he comes, having risen from his holy dwelling."
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: Mt. 12:46-50While Jesus was still talking to the people, his mother and his brothers wanted to speak to him and they waited outside. So someone said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are just outside; they want to speak with you."
Jesus answered, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
Then he pointed to his disciples and said, "Look! Here are my mother and my brothers.
Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is for me brother, sister, or mother."
Prayer
over the Gifts
Almighty Father,
this bread and this wine
are signs that with Jesus and with Mary
we are ready to seek your will.
Allow us to share his table
as his brothers and sisters
and to follow him on his loyal way
to you, our God for ever.
Prayer
after Communion
Lord, our God and Father,
with Mary we want to be
your true relatives, your mother,
your brothers, your sisters.
Make us capable of seeking your will
with the eagerness of Mary,
who did all the common tasks uncommonly well
because she knew she was serving you
as she served Jesus and his mission
with all that was in her.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Tradition has it that very early in her life, Mary was taken to the Temple of Jersualem and was educated there. Historically this is hardly tenable. Besides I have never understood the mania of making saints look as a rare species from birth. I prefer to imagine Mary running and playing around in the playgrounds of Galilea together with other boys and girls, having a happy childhood and attending the synagogue on Saturdays with the rest of the children to listen from the lips of the rabbi the beautiful history of her people. There, among her own, with her parents, was surely the place where Mary learned to pray and to be attentive to God's word. There could not be a better place. That is why, when she grew up and matured, she could discover the presence of God not only in the holy actions at the Temple, but also in ordinary life. She understood that her whole life was a sign of the presence of God. That was the best education she could ever have.
November 22 - Friday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Theme:
CLEANSING THE TEMPLEReadings:
Rev 10:8-11; Lk 19:45-48
Note. November 22 - Feast of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr - see also Celebration of Saints
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
we often turn our hearts
into houses of pride and greed
rather than into homes of love and goodness
where you can feel at home.
Destroy the temple of sin in us,
drive away all evil from our hearts,
and make us living stones of a community
in which can live and reign
your Son Jesus Christ,
our Lord for ever and ever.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction
Today the author of Revelation reflects,
like Jeremiah and Ezekiel before him, on his prophetic role. The word
of God is sweet-tasting to him, but contains a bitter message of warning
he has to preach.
And the voice I had heard from heaven spoke again, saying to me, "Go near the angel who stands on the sea and on the land, and take the small book open in his hand." So I approached the angel and asked him for the small book; he said to me, "Take it and eat; although it be sweet as honey in your mouth, it will be bitter to your stomach."
I took the small book from the hand of the angel, and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, it turned bitter in my stomach. Then I was told, "You must again proclaim God's words about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings."
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches.
Your decrees are my delight, they are my counselors.
The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.
Gospel
Introduction
Jesus drove out the merchants from the Temple and it might be a good time
to ask ourselves: What has the Lord to drive out from us to make us better
Christians? What stands in the way of being closer to him in the life
of every day? What matters for us Christians is that we are attached to
the Lord and close to the people he has entrusted to us. Then we can worship
him with our whole life.
Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out the merchants. And he said to them, "God says in the Scriptures: My house shall be a house of prayer: but you have turned it into a den of robbers."
Jesus was teaching every day in the Temple. The chief priests and teachers of the Law wanted to kill him and the elders of the Jews as well, but they were unable to do anything, for all the people were listening to him and hanging on his words.
General Intercessions
– That in our churches the Christians community may experience the presence of God in prayer and joyful worship, we pray:
– That we may make our houses of prayer places of hearty encounter for God with his people, we pray:
– That as living stones of the Church we may build up our communities as people who love and serve, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, our Father,
with the bread of life
and the wine of joy of himself,
your Son will renew his covenant with us.
Let Jesus give us the will and the love
to be faithful to its demands
the way he was faithful to it
even if it meant the cross.
Let us give you true worship
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, our faithful Father,
you have given us in this eucharist
your Son Jesus Christ
to show us in him what loyal obedience means.
Let your Son be alive in us,
so that our Christian community may be
the temple in which he lives
and where he gathers us together
as his brothers and sisters.
Keep us from all formalism,
that we may worship you with our lives,
by the power and wisdom
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
By his word and actions Jesus has spoken to us today that we must serve God as he himself did: in spirit and in truth, that is: our everyday living must correspond to what we believe, in loyal service of God and people. May God bless you and guide you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
There was plenty of money moving around in the Temple of Jerusalem. The pilgrims' flow from Palestine and from other places of the known world was continuous. The same happens today with Rome, Jerusalem and other Christian pilgrimage places, especially during the Jubilee Year two years ago. Believers go there in good will, but there are always people who take advantage of that situation to do business. Maybe it is unavoidable. But let us remember that we can find God, the God of Jesus, in any squatter area as well as in any of those places. Why don't we start making pilgrimages to those living sanctuaries who are our brothers and sisters, the poor?
November 23 - Saturday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Theme:
THE GOD OF THE LIVING
Readings:
Rev 11:4-12; Lk 20:27-40
Opening Prayer
God, source and purpose of all life,
you have committed yourself to us
with a love that never ends.
Give us the indestructible hope
that you have prepared for us
a life and a happiness
beyond the powers of death.
May this firm hope sustain us
to find joy in life
and to face its difficulties and challenges
resolutely and fearlessly,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture Readings
First
Reading Introduction
At a time when the first persecutions
of the Church had begun, the Book of Revelation speaks of the killing
by evil forces of those who witness with their lives. But like the dried-up
bones in Ezekiel, the martyrs will be raised to life and go to heaven.
These are the two olive trees and the two lamps which are before the Lord of the earth. If anyone intends to harm them, fire will come out of their mouths to devour their enemies: this is how whoever intends to harm them will perish. They have the power to close the sky and hold back the rain during the time of their prophetic mission; they also have the power to change water into blood, and punish the earth with a thousand plagues, any time they wish.
But when my witnesses have fulfilled their mission, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war upon them, and will conquer and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in the square of the Great City which the believers figuratively call Sodom or Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. And their dead bodies will be exposed for three days and a half to people of all tribes, races, languages and nations who will be ordered not to have them buried.
Then the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice, congratulate one another and exchange gifts among themselves because these two prophets were a torment to them.
But after those three and a half days, a spirit of life coming from God entered them. They then stood up, and those who looked at them were seized with great fear. A loud voice from heaven called them, "Come up here." So they went up to heaven in the midst of the clouds in the sight of their enemies.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 144:1, 2, 9-10
Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.
I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.
Gospel
Introduction
“God is the God of the living,” says Jesus. He calls back to life those
who die; death is overcome, since Jesus rose from the dead. The witnesses
of the first reading are put to death by the mighty of this earth because
they contest the abuse of power, but God raises them up. The resurrection
is the core of our faith, not only as a promise to live on in God’s joy
after death, but already now as a power of building up one another in
human dignity, justice, peace and serving love. We cannot die for ever,
because God cannot stop loving us.
Some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection and they asked Jesus this question, "Master, in the Scripture Moses told us: 'If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and the child to be born will be regarded as the child of the deceased man.' Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact all seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be wife? For the seven had her as wife."
And Jesus replied, "Taking husband or wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die for they are like the angels. They too are sons and daughters of God because they are born of the resurrection.
Yes, the dead will be raised, and even Moses implied it in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For he is God of the living and not of the dead, and for him all are alive."
Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, "Master, you have spoken well." They didn't dare to ask him anything else.
Intentions
– That we may keep up the good fight against all that is deadly to Christian life: dehumanizing kinds of labor, suppression of freedom, paralyzing fear, lack of love and compassion, we pray:
– That all suffering and dying people may share in our resurrection faith and find strength in the knowledge that God loves them in life and beyond death, we pray:
– That our beloved dead may live on in the life they gave us, in the faith they passed on to us and in the good we do, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God of the living,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the memory of Jesus, your Son.
He died for us,
but he is now alive here among us
as our risen Lord.
Strengthen us with his body and blood
and give us a great respect for our own body
in which we hope to rise one day.
Like your Son, may we use it
to serve and love and thank you
and to reach out to our neighbor
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God of the living,
you want us to live even beyond death
as fully human and complete persons,
and yet totally transformed by your love
that makes us your daughters and sons.
Give us the quiet but firm faith
that life is meaningful and worthwhile
and that death is not the end
but the beginning of a new way of living.
May this certainty encourage us
to share our hope with those
to whom life makes little sense.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We are people of hope and joy, for Christ is risen. We are sure that we too shall rise with him one day. This is why our hope in God’s love and life is indestructible. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Is there life after death? Life after death preoccupied the Sadducees when they asked Jesus: "In the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, since seven had married her?" Their basic premise is that resurrection is a continuation of this life and therefore needs propagation or else it will die. Christ's response is that in the life to come marriage is abolished and procreation ended. The woman no longer belongs to any man. Purely temporal categories and dichotomies are overcome. The different nature of the resurrected life is emphasized. "They cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection." Life comes from God. If there is life beyond death, it is God's gift to those who have accepted God's love and have lived the life of the beatitudes.
Taken
from Liturgy
Alive for Weekdays
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