June 27, 2003 - Friday, 12th Week in Ordinary Time

A COMPASSIONATE HEART

Readings:
Gen 17:1, 9-10, 15-22; Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4 - 5, 6; Mt 8:1-4

Opening Prayer

Lord God, our Father,
your Son Jesus Christ revealed to us
your compassionate, healing love.
Let his presence here in our midst
fill us with his power of sharing
in the miseries of our neighbor.
Let our words be like balm
on open wounds in their hearts
and let our deeds bring healing
to all those around us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading Introduction: God renews his promises to Abraham.

First Reading: Gen 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty. Walk in my presence and be without blame!

God said to Abraham, "For your part, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. This is my covenant with you, that you will keep, you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised;

God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai, your wife, no longer are you to call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her and from her will come nations; kings and peoples shall come from her."

Then Abraham fell face down, and he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? And can Sarah who is ninety have a child?" And Abraham said to God, "If only you would accept Ishmael as yours!" But God said, "Not at all! It is Sarah, your wife, who will give birth to your son and you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him and his descendants after him forever. As for Ishmael, I heard you. I will bless him and make him fruitful, and I will multiply his race. He shall be the father of twelve princes and I will make of him a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, the child Sarah will have this time next year." When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went away from him.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4 - 5, 6

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Alleluia, alleluia
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
Alleluia, alleluia

Gospel Introduction
         Immediately after the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew gives us a series of miracles of Jesus, the first of which is narrated in today’s gospel, the cure of the leper. Jesus had spoken with power, now he acts with power; Jesus had spoken of the law of love, now he himself puts it into practice in an act of compassionate help to an outcast. Note that in the Bible leprosy is closely linked to sin and like a physical sign of sin. Let us honor our Lord in his compassion and forgiveness.

Gospel Reading: Mt 8:1-4

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.

Then a leper came forward. He knelt before him and said, "Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I want to, be clean again." At that very moment the man was cleansed from his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you do not tell anyone, but go to the priest, have yourself declared clean, and offer the gift that Moses ordered as proof of it."

Commentary

Narciso Yepes, internationally renowned Spanish guitarist, wrote "I am not sure if we need faith in order to be good; but certainly we need to be good in order to believe." The man with leprosy, sign of the existence of sin in him, dared to implore Jesus, "Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean." The if-you-want-to attitude tells us of the good character of that leper of the gospel. He submits to God's will. On the contrary, our prayer often seems like 'demanding' from God to grant us whatever we ask for. Our plans, our desires, our will seems to be far more important that God's will, God's kingdom, God's plans. Besides God, our Father/Mother, already knows what we really need; that is why we should not forget the formula.

General Intercessions

– With all who seek pardon and reconciliation, we cry out to you, Lord, and with all who have found and grant forgiveness, we thank you, Lord: Lord, hear our prayer.

– With all who are rejected by their communities, we cry out to you, Lord, and with all who accept people and restore their dignity, we praise you, Lord:

– With al who hide their suffering, we cry out to you, Lord, and with all who share with others and uplift them, we praise you, Lord:

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
you are good to us.
With these gifts of bread and wine
we offer you the sacrifice of Jesus
that brought us your forgiveness.
Reconcile us with you and each other
and keep cleansing us from the leprosy
of pride and hard-heartedness
that mar in us the face
of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
your Son Jesus has spoken among us
his words and deeds of healing.
He has answered our plea
for forgiveness and fresh hope in life
with the gift of himself.
Make us too capable
of stretching out our hands
to those in sorrows and pain
and of touching them with our love.
And may our compassionate help
reach out most of all
to the outcasts of this cold world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Blessing

When we have sinned, we too should go to God and tell him: Lord, you can clean me, and he is very willing to do so, for he loves us and heals us repeatedly. May we also bring healing to the people around us, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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