Monday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: LIKE CHILDREN

Readings:
I. Zec 8:1-8; II. Job 1:6-22; Lk 9:46-50

Introduction

Year I. Today's chapter of Zechariah is a later addition by his disciples. It pictures the restoration of a remnant, with faithful people, young and old, in the streets of Jerusalem, and God living among them.

Year II. Today we hear the beginning to the book of Job. Job is not historical but a reflection, mostly in a poetic form, on the existence of evil, particularly as it comes to good, innocent and God-fearing people. For his answer, because he lacks the perspective of eternal life, the author cannot go beyond this: God is wise, we are too small to understand him. God knows. Leave everything to him. Be patient and trust him.

Gospel. Childlike, but not childish... We are God's children, yet not infants. We have to grow up constantly to the maturity of Christ, to remake with the help of the Spirit, our unity, the center of ourselves.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ became a child of people.
He made children the privileged symbol
of the truly adult disciple.
May we have the openness and receptivity
of the child: humble, authentic,
and open to your love and to your gifts.
For only then will you fill our emptiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

General Intercessions

- For those who are the greatest in the Church, that they may serve with great dedication and without looking down on them the weakest, the poorest, those wounded in life, we pray:

- For the mighty of this earth, that they may care about the rights, the dignity and the well-being of especially the lowliest under their charge, we pray:

- For those who work in lowly jobs shunned by others, for those who have unhealthy and dangerous tasks, for those who care for the old and the handicapped, that we may appreciate them and that the Lord may reward them, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, we come before you
with our human wisdom:
self-assured, sophisticated, and world-wise.
Make us see, Lord,
that we have to accept your wisdom,
the wisdom of trust and simplicity,
the wisdom that is hard to fully accept,
the wisdom of Jesus crucified.
Only then are we ready to accept
a God who became man and dwells among us,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Our God and Father,
we are your sons and daughters, your children,
and you are our Father.
May we all grow up
to the full maturity of Jesus Christ,
for this is your wish, Father,
that we retain the openness to you of the child,
yet that we reach the full adulthood
of Jesus Christ, God like you,
yet your loyal Son and fully human.
He is our Savior for ever.

Blessing

"Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me, says Jesus." Let us love children and learn from them; forget the ridiculous competition to be the greatest. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Tuesday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year I)

Theme: A MISSIONARY COMMUNITY

Readings:
I. Zech 8:20-23; Lk 9:51-56

Introduction

Year I. If God lives in the community of his faithful, this community is by itself missionary, for it reveals the face of God; by its witnessing, it attracts others.

Gospel. The prophet Elijah did not find God in the storm wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in the gentle breeze. The "sons of thunder," James and John, wanted fire to come down on the Samaritan village that did not receive Jesus, but Jesus reprimanded them. Violence is not God's way.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
the early Christian community
was praised by Jews and pagans alike
and led many to the faith by their example.
Like them, may we be united heart and soul,
as a community of faith, prayer, service,
and of sharing with one another.
May people discover
that the Spirit of Jesus Christ is alive in us,
so that they may praise your name
now and for ever.

General Intercessions

- That those who search and grope for faith may encounter the Lord Jesus in the witness of faith and love of our communities, we pray:

- That the universal Church, the local churches and missionary societies may proclaim Christ to the world not by power and prestige but by humble service, we pray:

- That each of the young churches may be deeply rooted in its own people as a community of faith and love that enriches the whole Church, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Bread and wine are here,
gifts from your hands
to bring us your greater gift, your own Son.
God, may peoples and nations
come and see that through him
you are alive in your community.
And may they want to go your way with us
and find favor with you,
our Lord and God for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you ask much of us, your people,
for it is not easy for us
to reveal your face to people.
May we never be screens that hide you
but your transparent images,
patterned after your Son Jesus Christ
and growing day after day
in the likeness of him
who is our Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing

After the time of the apostles and the persecutions, the Church spread mostly because of the inspiring life of the Christian community. It attracted people, for they saw God alive in the Church. May you be a Church that attracts people to God, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Tuesday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)

Theme: WHEN IN PAIN WE COMPLAIN

Readings:
II. Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23; Lk 9:51-56

Introduction

Year II. Job cries out his misery in complaints to the Lord. He cannot take it, he doesn't see any sense in it, and he asks God why. Jesus knows how to take suffering. He does not run away from it, for he accepts the consequences of his task: to be faithful, whatever the cost, to his mission of love of reconciling people to his Father and of saving us.

Gospel. The prophet Elijah did not find God in the storm wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in the gentle breeze. The "sons of thunder," James and John, wanted fire to come down on the Samaritan village that did not receive Jesus, but Jesus reprimanded them. Violence is not God's way.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
we know that you love us
and that neither suffering nor pain,
even death can separate us from you.
Do not take it too seriously when we complain,
when we are impatient with you,
with ourselves and with people.
Keep before us the image of your Son
who could not be swayed from his mission
and give us the strength to follow him,
for he is our Lord for ever and ever.

Intentions

- Lord Jesus, forgive us when we cry out our pain when it is hard to bear; help us, we pray:

- Lord Jesus, help especially people who are broken and discouraged and alone, that they may carry their burden with you, we pray:

- Lord Jesus, let those who are in a long and painful sickness feel your presence, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
at the table of your Son
uproot from our hearts
all bitterness and impatience.
You did not destroy us with fire from heaven
when we sinned against you and people.
Encourage us with the fire of love
and give us the bread of strength of your Son.
With him we offer you our pains,
our impatience, but also our joy and love.
Grant us this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Patient and loving God,
we know that you love us
and want us to be happy.
You let your Son pay the heavy price
for our pride and selfishness.
By this eucharist restore us,
keep us hoping and believing in you,
and dispose us to live for others
and if necessary in pain and toil
with them and for them,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and stays with us now,
and we hope and pray, for ever.

Blessing

Yes, we have a Lord who was crucified, and we are his followers. But sometimes we forget and complain too easily. Of course, pain hurts and we have not to ask for it. May God stand by your side and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Wednesday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year I)

Theme: MY COUNTRY AND MY GOD

Readings:
I. Ne 2:1-8; Lk 9:57-62

Introduction

Year I. In the Old Testament, too, we find enthusiastic, dedicated leaders, giving the best of themselves to God and country. Nehemiah has a good, secure function at the court of Artaxerxes, as butler - often a confidential job. Hearing alarming reports about the disorganized Jews in Palestine after the exile, he does not want to keep his administrative competency to himself or to serve at a pagan court. He asks the king for permission to give the best of himself to his people and country. He goes to Jerusalem, rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem and the Jewish community, works for social justice, and gets the city and country of God's people going again.

Gospel. Jesus gave himself totally to his mission. He asks the same radical commitment to the kingdom of God of justice and love not only of his apostles but also of all who "follow" him - of us. A "radical" commitment is asked, that is, going to the roots in the depths of our being; it must be consistent, it is a commitment that does not look back but that has its eyes on both the present and the future.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus was born of a Jewish mother;
he loved his people and his country
and wept over Jerusalem.
We pray you today for men and women
willing to give the best of themselves
to our people and country
and capable of building community.
Help them to use their potentials
for bringing out the best in others
to the benefit of all.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Intentions

- For our public officials, that they may respect God's laws, work for the well-being of all citizens and guests, and commit themselves to justice and integrity, we pray:

- For all our people, even the humblest, that they take an active interest in public affairs, vote for honest, responsible and capable leaders, respect just laws and promote peace, we pray:

- For our beautiful country, so rich in human and natural resources, that all may fully use their talents to make us great and be good stewards of nature's bounty, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
you give us your Son Jesus Christ
as the model and source
for being ourselves in his image.
Make us aware of our riches,
of our potentials and also our liabilities,
that we may mobilize all our energies
to commit ourselves to the adventure
of becoming and being a people.
And may we be your people, Lord,
now and for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
we dream of authenticity,
of our identity as a people,
of seeing our human aspirations fulfilled.
May our values and hopes
be in conformity with yours;
perfect and surpass them in Christ
and keep us open to all that is great and good,
that we may take with dignity
our place in the concert of nations
and in the unity in diversity
of your people on earth.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

We are not only citizens of heaven but also citizens of our own country. We love it. May also you serve it as best as you can, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Wednesday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)

Theme: FOLLOWING JESUS' IDEALS

Readings:
II. Job 9:1-12, 14-16; Lk 9:57-62

Introduction

Year II. To the reasoning of his friends that God must be punishing him for his sins, Job answers that he is innocent, that he cannot answer why he suffers, but that God is wise and that he, Job, can only appeal to him for mercy.

Gospel. Jesus gave himself totally to his mission. He asks the same radical commitment to the kingdom of God of justice and love not only of his apostles but also of all who "follow" him - of us. A "radical" commitment is asked, that is, going to the roots in the depths of our being; it must be consistent, it is a commitment that does not look back but that has its eyes on both the present and the future.

Opening Prayer

God our Father,
we have accepted your invitation
to follow your Son as his disciples.
Let your Spirit give us the wisdom and the strength
to take our faith seriously
and to accept our task in life
with all its consequences.
Let the Spirit help us to go your Son's way
without fear or discouragement,
for we are certain that Jesus will lead us to you,
our loving God for ever and ever.

Intentions

- For the Church, that Christ may become more visible in its will to serve God and people in its loving concern for the poor and its continuous conversion to the gospel, we pray:

- For all Christians who claim to follow Christ, that they may live up without fear to the demands of the gospel and bear witness to the crucified Lord, we pray:

- For those who suffer in their bodies and their hearts, for those who work for justice in the world and for peace among people, that they may find strength in their unity with Christ in his passion and his death, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
in these gifts of bread and wine
we bring ourselves before you
and you let your Son give himself to us.
May we learn from him
to make ourselves free and available
to people and to you
and to seek your will in all we do.
Help us to follow your Son
in his trials and in his glory,
now and for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
in this eucharist you have enlightened us
with the word of wisdom of your Son
and given us the bread that gives us the strength
to follow him without hesitation.
Keep breathing on us
the wisdom and strength of your Spirit,
that we can go with Jesus
through the desert of pain and the cross
for the sake of bringing life and joy
to our brothers and sisters in need
and for giving glory to you,
our God for ever and ever.

Blessing

Jesus tells us today: "Follow me." We have accepted his invitation. Then we have also to accept the consequences. We have to learn to love without end, to forgive without delay, to give ourselves also when not pleasant. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Thursday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year I)

Theme: GOD'S WORD AND COMMUNITY

Readings:
I. Ne 8:1-12; Lk 10:1-12

Introduction

Year I. In the first reading we see how the Feast of Tabernacles, originally a harvest feast for wheat and vintage, was spiritualized into a feast remembering the exodus and the renewal of the covenant. The Word of God was read to the people. The word came as a source of great joy and stirred their hearts. Thus it helped greatly to build up the community.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you speak your word
and it challenges us
to give you a response.
You speak your word,
and it gathers together
those who are willing to listen.
Let it build us into a community
responsive to you in loyalty
and eager to follow your living Word,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.

Intentions

- For those who speak the word of God, that they themselves may be filled with it and out of this fullness proclaim it with conviction and warmth, we pray:

- For those who hear the word of God, that they may receive it and treasure it in their hearts and let it bear fruits of justice and peace, we pray:

- For us, that we may let the word of God free us from banality and fear, our securities and certainties, and give us deeper insight in our faith, that we may live as we believe, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
speak among us over this bread and wine
your living Word Jesus Christ.
Break the bread of strength for us
and pour the wine that unties our tongues,
that we may speak with our lives
a message of hope and joy.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
Speak and tell us, who you are
and what you expect of us.
Speak to us in the events of life
and through the people we encounter.
Speak to us in the silence
of our emptiness and your apparent absence.
And make it quiet in our hearts
that we may hear you
and respond to you
in the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

A community lives by the word of God. It is its heart and soul. The word calls them together, it inspires them, it sends them our to share it with others. May you always listen attentively and eagerly to the word of God, and may God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Thursday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)

Theme: MISSIONARY AND POOR

Readings:
II. Job 19:21-27; Lk 10:1-12

Introduction

Year II. Nothing can destroy the faith of Job in God. Notwithstanding all his suffering, he knows that God lives and is his Redeemer. Job remains convinced that God does not want to crush people.

Gospel. Few people are impressed by the fact that a bishop lives a life of poverty in a big palace or that priests or sisters are sober and restrained in their personal living when they use rich and powerful means and institutions to bring God to people. Missionaries, however dedicated and serving they may be, are not very convincing and have a hard time to build community if they import powerful means from outside. When Jesus sends out his missionaries to evangelize the poor, he wants them to be, like him, poor among the poor. True, evangelical poverty is an ideal not easy to attain. But does it still move us?

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you possess nothing
because you are everything.
In poverty your own Son
was born and lived and died.
Make us first aware, Lord,
of the poverty of our own heart,
that we may be disposed to listen,
to expect and to receive
with the attitude of those who are poor,
and that we may learn to give
what we have and what we are,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and with us for ever.

Intentions

- For missionaries, that they may go to the people to whom they are sent humbly and with a poverty of means, we pray:

- For evangelizers, that they may respectfully discover whatever good there is in the hearts and minds of people and their culture, we pray:

- For the young Churches, that they may be deeply rooted in their own people as communities of faith and love that enrich the whole Church, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
your Son comes here among us
to give himself to us in the poverty
of an ordinary piece of food.
Make us ready with him,
to live with no other security
than to know that we are in your hands
and that you dispose people to accept
the Good News of your Son through us
if we become poor and available
together with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
your Son sent out his disciples
to preach the Good News of salvation
with a disarming poverty of means.
Keep your Church today
from the permanent temptation
of trying to impress people
with riches, power and prestige.
Make it a humble and serving Church
that not only knows what poverty is
but also has the difficult courage to live it
in the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

There is a large harvest waiting. The peace of God's kingdom is to be brought to many. Church, go on your way. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Friday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: SIN - IN US

Readings:
I. Bar 1:15-22; II. Job 38:1-3, 12-21; 40:3-5; Lk 10:13-16

Introduction

Year I. The reading from Baruch is not from the hand of Baruch, who was the secretary of Jeremiah. It dates from the time of the Maccabees and is like a penitential celebration deploring the sins that had led to the present calamities and oppression.

Year II. Now that he has heard God explain to him that his righteousness does not entitle him to special treatment, Job humbly says that he entrusts himself to God.

Gospel. Modern means of communications have brought the world more closely together and shown us more clearly too the presence of sin and evil in the world; more than half of the world is hungry and exploited, the world economy has gone out of hand notwithstanding dole-outs for development aid and whole nations are not free from inside or from outside. And in our own little worlds there is repeated selfishness, pride at the expense of others, suspicion... While condemning the sins of society, let us not lose our personal sense of sin in the process; let us not forget our solidarity of sin and at the same time live better our solidarity with love and life on account of Christ. Sin is a rejection of Christ and his message.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, merciful Father,
it is easy for us to condemn wars, civil strife,
corruption, exploitation, slavery of any kind.
But we ask you, Lord God, though very timidly,
to open our eyes to the evil in us.
Make us see, Lord, that we are doing
on a small scale, in our own little worlds,
the evil for which we blame the big world.
Make us see that we too are sinners in need of forgiveness
brought us by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Intentions

- That the world of today may not lose its sense of sin and "legalize" things that are wrong, we pray:

- That all those hardened in sin may be touched by the Spirit of the Lord to repent and change their ways, we pray:

- That the many who bear a heavy burden of sin and guilt and those who suffer from the sins of others may keep trusting in God's liberating and forgiving goodness, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God, merciful Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
your Son comes among us with his cross
to put an end to all pride of sin
and to be the starting point of our new existence.
In him you showed us the new person.
Give us his strength to repent and to be converted,
to rise above our petty selfishness
and like him, to love and serve
without counting the cost.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God, merciful Father,
you respect and educate our freedom.
You do not give us guarantees against failure
but you call us to choose and decide.
God, forgive us and help us
when in our clumsy, awkward efforts
to see your Son's freedom become real and alive,
we take risks and make mistakes.
We want to remain faithful to you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

We regret it, and in our best moments we don't really want it, but sin always returns. May God have mercy on us and help us. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Saturday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year I)

Theme: THE JOY OF LIBERATION

Readings:
I. Bar 4:5-12.27-29; Lk 10:17-24

Introduction

Year I. In the 2nd century before Christ, a prophet borrowing the name of Baruch makes Jerusalem speak a message of hope and joy to her scattered children in the Diaspora. God will liberate them from their infidelities.

Year II. Today we hear the closing words of the book of Job.
Gospel. In the gospel the disciples, and Jesus with them, rejoice that people have been liberated from the power of evil in the name of Jesus.

Opening Prayer

Lord, our God and Father,
your Son sent out his disciples
to set people free from the demons
that held them captive.
We pray that we too
may become liberated,
free from the blindness and determinism and fears
that obscure our minds and hearts,
free from our infidelities
and our lack of courage to commit ourselves,
free to love and to serve
with him who set us free from sin,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.

General Intercessions

- For the Church, that it may not be imprisoned in structures of power and wealth but become more and more a humble and serving Church, we pray:

- For doctors, nurses, healers and scientists who help in bringing the freedom from illness to the sick, we pray:

- For all the good and loving people who bring more joy into the lives of others, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God and Father,
you invite us to share the table of your Son
and to become free with him
in these signs of bread and wine.
Bless us in our joys and pains,
in our limitations and assets,
and turn these gifts into sources
of the joy and freedom of your kingdom
that lasts for ever and ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, our God and Father,
through the liberating power
of your Son Jesus Christ
make us capable of bringing
your freedom and dignity
to even the least of our brothers and sisters.
Make us aware that we cannot be fully free
as long as anyone of those you love
is not free to be your daughter or son
through our brother, Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.

Blessing

The disciples sent out by Jesus returned full of joy because they had helped people to become freer persons, liberated from evils. May we ourselves become freer too, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Saturday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)

Theme: SUFFERING AND GOD'S WISDOM

Readings:
II. Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17; Lk 10:17-24

Introduction

Year II. Today we hear the closing words of the book of Job. In his sufferings he has voiced his complaints, his friends have tried to justify God, but Job cannot understand fully; finally his eyes have seen, he accepts that God is greater and wiser and that God knows best. We should understand better than Job, for we have seen the suffering face of the crucified Christ.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
in your bewildering wisdom
you let us stand at times
all alone before you with our miseries
and we barely know where you are.
Give us then the courage
to keep our trust in you alive,
as people without pretensions,
humble, without illusions,
but aware that you too have a Son,
who all alone and disfigured,
died one day on a cross for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

General Intercessions

- For the poor and the suffering, for the victims of injustice and exploitation, for the lonely and the desperate, that we may not only show them compassion but help them to lighten their burdens, we pray:

- For the dying in their hour of struggle, that by his agony in the garden the Lord Jesus may be their strength, we pray:

- For all of us, that we may learn to accept our crosses and carry them with Jesus, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Our God and Father,
we bring before you this bread and wine
to be one with Jesus, your Son.
With him, may we not insult those who suffer
with hollow pious words
but stay by their side,
perhaps in silence listening to their plaints
and just let them feel
that we are there,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in this eucharist your Son has been among us
as the person who died one day for us
but who lives now a life of glory.
In him we hope and trust
that no pain is suffered in vain
but that our mourning, our sickness or misery
may make life more bearable and worth living
to someone whom perhaps we may not know,
on account of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

The mystery of suffering and evil remains a problem. To many of its questions we have no answer and a superficial reference to the cross does not satisfy. We know that God wants our happiness. We also know that there is much suffering, much of it caused by people to other people. We keep believing in God's love, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Taken from Liturgy Alive for Weekdays
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