Tuesday October 24, 2017
Introduction
We are one in our weaknesses, one also in God’s love and in the salvation he offers us in Christ in the solidarity of grace. Sinners and saints, at the same time, the enemy in us and paradise within us, we long to be saved by Christ now, to transcend our doubts, our different forms of selfishness, our sufferings, our divisions within ourselves and our separations from one another. Yet, it is in this kind of life, within this torn human destiny, that Christ will save us, if with him, we accept his life and grace.
In the Gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples to vigilance. They are like servants who should always be ready for the master’s call.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
Jesus your Son, has broken down
the barriers dividing peoples and nations,
but why are we still so far apart,
even within our own households?
He has brought us close by his blood,
but why does his one body remain a dream
far removed from reality?
God, let us not be aliens to one another,
bring us together, help us to demolish
the walls of hatred and exploitation,
of distrust and power that divide your people,
that we may be all one
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reading: ROM 5:12, 15B, 17-19, 20B-21
Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.
If by that one person's transgression the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one
the many will be made righteous.
Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more,
so that, as sin reigned in death,
grace also might reign through justification
for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm 40:7-8A, 8B-9, 10, 17
R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Alleluia LK 21:36
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: LK 12:35-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants."
Intercessions
– That Churches that follow Christ as their Lord may always stress more what unites us than what divides us, we pray:
– That all the peoples of the earth may hear where the Lord Jesus can be found and come to know his name and to pray to him, we pray:
– That among the People of God, there may not be aliens and strangers, but only people who are different and yet who accept one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, you bring us together
around a piece of bread
and a cup of wine.
Let this bread and wine come alive,
give us Jesus, your Son
that we may no longer be foreign visitors
of this place and to one another,
but members of your own household,
and citizens of the kingdom
of peace, truth and justice
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
however different we are,
whatever separates us here in your Church
and in the world at large,
you have given us the body and blood of your Son
to bring us all together.
Let Jesus be the cornerstone
on which we all build.
Let your Spirit make us the living stones
of the house in which you live
as our God, for ever and ever.
Blessing
We are “all members of the household of God,” says Ephesians, not only to Jewish and ex-pagan Christians, but to us all here, however, different we may be in personality, origin, profession, whatever. We are all one in Christ. May we become more one with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
