THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Sunday October 31

 

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 

1. Love Summit and Summary of All Commandments
2. Share God’s Love
3. 

 

Greeting (see Second Reading)

Jesus here among us offered himself for us.

He is living for ever

to intercede for all of us who come to him.

May his grace and peace be always with you. R/ And also with you.

 

Introduction by the Celebrant

Love: Summit and Summary of all Commandments.

There is no greater love than that which disposes someone to give up one’s life for others. Jesus, the person who tells us this, proved by his own life and death that he meant what he said. He insists that love of God and love of people are one and inseparable. It is perhaps easy to love an unseen God but it is often very difficult for us to love people whose weakness we see, people who are cranky and rough and unreliable. But if we cannot love these people, we really do not love God. Jesus, who is God’s love alive, can give us his own endless, reliable love.

 

Share God’s Love

People who love one another deeply are disposed to sacrifice themselves for one another. Yet, what counts more than the sacrifice itself, is their mutual love; that is the root. Love is so great because, more than anything else, it is a gift from God who loved us first. If we become fully aware of this it will be easy to love people and to be at peace and in love with ourselves, for God loves us in all our frailty and fickleness and he keeps accepting us. Why, then, should we not accept also those around us? We ask the Lord in this Eucharist to let us feel his love and to enable us share it.

 

Penitential Act

Whose love has not failed at times?

Let us ask the Lord and those we have hurt

to forgive us in the generosity of their heart.

(pause)

Lord Jesus, let us share in your love

that was attentive to all people

and cured their ills:

Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, let us share in your love

that embraced even sinners and outcasts:

Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, let us share in your love

that went all the way, even accepting death

to save the unjust, the ungrateful, the hard-hearted:

Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,

and forgive us all our sins.

Make us capable of a love that excludes no one

and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

 

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God, the source of all love

to refresh our love

(pause)

Lord our God, loving Father,

all true love comes from you and leads to you.

You have committed yourself to us

in a covenant of lasting love

in the person of Jesus Christ.

Help us to respond to your love

with the whole of our being

and to live your commandments

not as laws forced on us from outside

but as opportunities to love you

for yourself and in people, our brothers and sisters.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

 

First Reading: Love the Lord with All Your Heart

God said as early as in the Old Testament: Listen, people of the covenant: The one Lord God loves you. Love God with all your heart.

Reading 1: DT 6:2-6

Moses spoke to the people, saying:

“Fear the LORD, your God,

and keep, throughout the days of your lives,

all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,

and thus have long life.

Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,

that you may grow and prosper the more,

in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,

to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

and with all your strength.

Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.”

 

Responsorial Psalm: PS 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

(2) I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,

O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

R.I love you, Lord, my strength.

My God, my rock of refuge,

my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,

and I am safe from my enemies.

1. I love you, Lord, my strength.

The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!

Extolled be God my savior.

You who gave great victories to your king

and showed kindness to your anointed.

R.I love you, Lord, my strength.

 

Second Reading: Christ, the Definitive High Priest

Christ is the definitive mediator and high priest, for he is the eternal Son of God and he sacrificed himself totally for us. He alone can bring real communion with God.

Reading 2 :HEB 7:23-28

Brothers and sisters:

The levitical priests were many

because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,

but Jesus, because he remains forever,

has a priesthood that does not pass away.

Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him,

since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:

holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,

higher than the heavens.

He has no need, as did the high priests,

to offer sacrifice day after day,

first for his own sins and then for those of the people;

he did that once for all when he offered himself.

For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,

but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,

appoints a son,

who has been made perfect forever.

 

Alleluia: JN 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;

and my father will love him and we will come to him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: No Greater Than These Two

Listen, people of the new covenant: Love the Lord God with all that is in you; remember, that love includes everyone.

Gospel: MK 12:28B-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this:

Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

‘He is One and there is no other than he.’

And ‘to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding,

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself’

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him,

“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

 

Intercessions

Love can hardly be commanded, yet it ought to be the heart of all we do. Let us pray to the Father of all love for the capacity to love him and our neighbor far and near. Let us say: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

–   That the Church for which Christ died may grow into a universal community of love which makes God’s unconditional love visible to all people, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

–   That Christians everywhere may not be people of legalisms and outward observances but people with a heart, who do what they have to do and more because they are God’s children, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

–   That the nations of the world may learn to respect and help one another, and to build peace and progress not at the expense of one another but on the basis of justice and equitable sharing, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

–   That we may be reliable friends to those suffering in any form; that we may lighten their burdens and help them to keep trusting in God and people, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

–   That our anemic and dried-up love may become rich and spontaneous, like a fresh breath of life and joy brightening the lives of those around us and a wordless song of praise to God, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

Loving God, we claim to belong to you and to your Son. Help us through your Spirit of love to give to your love a human shape, that we may make people happy and be your happy people in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.

 

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,

in these offerings of bread and wine

allow us to join your Son Jesus

in his perfect sacrifice of love.

Accept our heart, our life,

our thoughts and words and Intercessions,

our burdens and our joys

as a grateful way to respond to your love

and to bring life to our brothers and sisters.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

One of heart and voice, let us give thanks to God for the love shown us in Christ, a love that makes us capable of love. Jesus’ obedience too has made us capable of giving to God a response of love.

 

Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer

By the power of the Holy Spirit

who dwells in our hearts,

we pray to our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father…

 

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil

of selfishness and calculation

and open us to your love.

Keep us free from the fear

of committing ourselves in love

to anyone who needs us,

and let our love for those around us

be the test of the quality

of our love for you.

Help us to be one in heart and soul

and to be a community of service,

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

who gave up his life for us

and who said:

Everyone will know

that you are my disciples

if you love one another

as I have loved you.

Happy are we to be invited

to share Jesus’ meal of love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…

 

Prayer after Communion

Our God and Father,

we have learned from your Son

not merely to love others

as we love ourselves

but if necessary more than ourselves.

By the strength of this Eucharist,

dispose us to rejoice with the happy

and to mourn with the sad,

to cultivate the best in ourselves

and to offer it to others as a free gift.

Help us never to take Christ without people,

never people without Christ,

who is our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.

 

Blessing

Did we really need the reminder

that love is the heart of our faith,

as it is the heart of all human life?

Yes, if we are aware

that often we forget that love.

Perhaps the love of God is easier to keep in a way,

because God seems often far away.

But our neighbor is there,

with all his irritating blemishes and habits.

Let us not forget that he or she

is Christ meeting us on the road of life.

May God fill us with his love and bless us:

the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

 

Let us go with one another the way of love of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.

 

Commentary

Listen to him!

Today's text presents Jesus in the temple where, he was asked by a scribe a theological question: "What is the most important commandment?" The scribes had discovered 613 commandments of the Law and the question was: Of these 613, which one is the most important?

Many teachers maintained that the most important of the commandments was the observance of the Sabbath, because God himself observed this, as he rested on the seventh day after six days of creation. But Jesus had disagreements on that. The gospel readings of last week was all about Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees regarding the Law of Sabbath. Others believed that “not to have other gods than the only God of Israel” was the most important.

Contrary to what the scribe expected, Jesus cites the creed of Israel which is given in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 6: “Hear, O Israel!” Jesus gives a new way of understanding our relationship with God, where the first command of the Lord is “Hear, O Israel” – ie., “Listen O chosen people of God”. We are the chosen people of God and we must listen to the Word of God and allow it to transforms us. Hear O Israel, Adonai is our one God ... if you listen to him, you will keep his word.”

“Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your life, with all your strength and with all your mind.” Our entire life project has no other objective than to fulfil the mission entrusted to us on the earth – to do the projects of God. And we do not do this because of any compulsion, rather out of love of God who has designed our life.

The Pharisee had asked for the most important commandment, but Jesus gives us two commandments: “To Listen” and “to love”. Then he teaches us that love of God is not possible without love of neighbour.

According to Luke’s version of this passage, there is only one commandment: 'Love God and love your neighbour as yourself'. In the Gospel of John, in chapter 15, Jesus says: "This is my only commandment: “love one another." In the letter to the Romans, Paul says: 'All the commandments ... do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, they are summarized in these words: you will love your neighbour as yourself.'

How are we to live by this commandment of Jesus? First, Listen to him! To listen to the voice of the Lord, we must resolve to travel with him on the road from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Reading Mark's Gospel is equivalent to making this journey. It may be that having reached the last page, one does not yet dare to offer one's life with Jesus. There is no need to be discouraged because of this; one must resume the journey with him, starting again from Galilee.