Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday October 3

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

1. They Become One
2. May Our Love Last

Greeting

All praise be to God our Father
for creating people in his likeness
and making them capable of faithfulness
through the self-giving love of his Son
and the unifying power of the Spirit.
May the Lord be always with you in his love. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

They Become One

The first pages of the Bible tell us that God created man and woman in his own image. That means that God, who is love, wanted to unite them in the bond of love and make them live for the love of each other. That is how it was in the beginning. And that is how it should be still now. When Jesus came, he made the bond between husbands and wives even more sacred, assuring them of God’s grace. Are people faithful to their yes given in the presence of God and the Church? Let us ask the Lord today for faithfulness and deep, deep love between our married couples – and for all our friendships.

May Our Love Last

The ardent wish of husband and wife on their day of marriage is: may our love last! This is not only God’s wish for them but his very command. He wants their union in love to be like his own love for his people: faithful, strong, lasting, a covenant love. With all married couples, with all those bound together in friendship, with all our Christian communities we stand before the Lord today and we ask: May our love for one another be strong, reliable, faithful.

Penitential Act

We ask the Lord for forgiveness
that our loves have not been strong and lasting.
                        (pause)
Have mercy, Lord Jesus,
on homes where love is dying,
where husband and wife are becoming estranged:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy, Lord,
on homes broken by infidelity,
on couples who can no longer forgive each other:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Have mercy, Lord,
on homes where there is little or no love,
on couples who have no time for their children:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on all of us, Lord,
and forgive us our sins against love.
Let our homes and communities
reflect your faithful love
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray that our love
may be strong and faithful
                        (pause)
God, source of all love,
blessed are you for your tenderness
inscribed in the hearts of people;
blessed are you for giving us your Son
as the token of your faithful love.
Keep us from separating
what you have united:
husbands and wives,
parents and their children,
your Son and his Church,
friends in their joys and sorrows.
Let us all live in your creative, lasting love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

First Reading: Created for Love

Men and women are destined not for selfish loneliness but for building community in faithfulness and unifying love.

Reading 1: GN 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him."
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name. 
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman, '
for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh.

Responsorial Psalm: PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

(cf. 5) May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Second Reading: Love Is Self-sacrificing

The source and model of all love is the self-sacrificing love of Christ for us.

Reading 2: HEB 2:9-11

Brothers and sisters:
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”

Alleluia: 1 JN 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another, God remains in us
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R.Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Love Is Faithful

In God’s plan marriage is, beyond human legalisms, an unbreakable union of love and fidelity. The love of husband and wife will live on in their children.

Gospel: MK 10:2-16 

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" 
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" 
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment. 
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh. 
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate." 
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. 
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

Or MK 10:2-12

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" 
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" 
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her." 
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment. 
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh. 
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate." 
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

Intercessions

Let us pray to God our Father that he may complete in us his work of love and faithfulness, and let us say:

R/ Lord, keep us in your love.

–   For the Church, the bride of Christ, that she may always be faithful to the message of the Gospel and the liberating love of Christ, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, keep us in your love.

–   For the homes built on unselfish love, that through them we may understand better all the depth of God’s love, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, keep us in your love.

–   For homes that are broken and for partners who have failed each other, that people may show them understanding and that God may give them mercy, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, keep us in your love.

–   For the young who prepare for marriage, that they may learn from life that the depth and beauty of love rest on generosity and sharing, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, keep us in your love.

–   For those who have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God, that they may never become loners but that their hearts may be spacious and warm, open to all people and to all needs, let us pray:

     R/ Lord, keep us in your love.

Our God and Father, be present with all your faithfulness wherever people come together to build communities of love and friendship. Build with us, that our love may endure, now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Our God and Father,
confirm your covenant with us
through the bread and the cup
which we bring before you.
Let your Son stay with us
and make us keepers
of one another’s happiness.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

With joy and gratitude we praise our Father in heaven for the great love he has shown us. He is the source of all love among us and the Holy Spirit keeps this love alive in our homes and in our communities.

Preface of Marriage

We suggest to use one of the prefaces of marriage from the Missal, e.g., the third.

Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer

We have a loving Father in heaven.
To him we pray
in the words of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us the capacity to love
without conditions or compromise.
Give us a love that stays faithful
and grows deeper in days of trial.
Keep us free from all fear
of committing ourselves to one another,
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
whose love was faithful to the end.
He sacrificed himself
to give us the courage
to love without measure.
Happy are we
to be called to his supper. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Thanksgiving of Married Couples

Married couples could pray together the following prayer taken from the fourth preface for marriage in the French missal.

Our God and Father,
it is right and good that we give you glory
and offer you our praise.
For you have made man and woman your image
and have placed in their hearts
the love that binds them to one another,
that they may always be one.
You tell them that in the pains and joys of their life,
in days of weariness and wonder,
you are near to them.
Through the communion of their love and destiny
you make your own life grow in them,
until the day you will fulfill all their hopes
in Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. R/ Amen.

Prayer after Communion

Our God and Father
you have entrusted love to us
not as a finished product
but as an assignment for life.
Let the love of your Son invest our love
with indestructible fidelity and generosity,
that it may weather all storms
and keep growing in depth,
until you crown it with your joy
that lasts for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.

God is the source and strength of all love.
May he bless our Christian families
with happiness and faithfulness. R/ Amen.

May he bless our Christian communities
with unity and peace
and make us one heart and soul. R/ Amen.

May he give to all of us
a love that brings out the best in each other. R/ Amen.

May God bless you all
and keep his love alive in you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go in the love of the Lord.

R/ Thanks be to God.

Commentary

Treat her as your own flesh!

The first reading recalls what was the beginning of all things. It tells it in a romantic way. Maybe it wasn't exactly like that, but the most important thing is contained in that story: man and woman met and recognized each other. The look did not stop at the eyes. It reached the heart. Then began a story that lasts to this day. Both felt called to become one flesh, to live united in love.
There are situations in which two spouses wonder if it is still worth insisting on trying to fix a relationship that began badly and is proving to be irreparably broken. They no longer love each other, there are incompatibilities of character, they are mean to each other, speak only to offend…What sense does it make to continue together? Can God demand that we continue living together in a way that is a torment?
Human logic responds without hesitation: divorce is better. When so many couples separate after only a few years of marriage, they ask: Isn't cohabitation preferable? If things don't work out, we break up without too many problems.
Many people, including Catholics disagree with the Church on this one issue of divorce. Any priest who speaks of the Church teaching and the indissolubility of marriage soon would be unpopular for them. That was the case with Jesus too.
Mark tells us that the attempt of the Pharisees by raising the question on divorce was a trap to make Jesus unpopular with the crowd. Because the Jewish society practiced divorce as an established norm. Jesus responds in a straightforward and unexpected way. He brings everything back to the beginning, to the beginning of creation, to teach us that God blesses human love, that it is he who joins the hearts of two people who love each other, he who joins them in unity and indissolubility. This shows us that the goal of conjugal life is not simply to live together for life, but to love each other for life! In this way Jesus re-establishes the order which was present from the beginning.
It’s true that there are difficulties in marriage, there are problems with children or with the couple themselves, arguments and fights… It is here, we must understand well the meaning of “becoming one flesh.” In the sacrament, these two individuals have become one flesh. Which means the joys, successes, achievements, of one of them is also joys and achievements of the other. In the same way the illness, pains, sufferings, and failures of one is also the failures and pains of the other. Those in married life, must always remember that your marriage is a silent homily for everyone else, a daily homily.