Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday November 7

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

1. In the Hands of God
3. The Poor Know How to Share

Greeting (see Responsorial Psalm)

Give praise to the Lord
who gives bread to the hungry
and raises up those who are bowed down.
It is he who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
May this loving God be with you always. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

1. In the Hands of God

How much do we Christians dare to live in the hands of God? Shouldn’t that be our trademark as Christians, together with love for one another? We are supposed to love God so much that we trust him completely, absolutely, without conditions, without fear or hesitation. That was the way of Jesus, who lived in the hands of his Father. Even in his humiliating death on the cross he could say, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” Timid and weak people as we are, we now offer with Christ our Lord our trust to the Father and we entrust to him all those dear to us.

2. The Poor Know How to Share

For some it is something surprising and heartwarming to see how many poor people help one another, how they share the very little they have and do so without much ado, discreetly and spontaneously. Should that not be to all of us an invitation to conversion, to greater generosity? It makes the poor person a benefactor, the receiver into a giver, the destitute into a rich person. Where do we stand? Do we know how to give with trust in both God and people? Let us join Christ in his sacrifice, in the Eucharist and in life, for he gave himself totally.

Penitential Act

God has been generous to us,
but we have often been stingy to others
in our love and things to share.
Let us ask pardon from God and from one another.
                        (pause)
Lord Jesus, you called blessed
those who are poor in spirit,
and you showed us the way:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, you gave yourself –
your life, your death, all you are.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you took upon yourself
our sins and faults
and made us rich with your own life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,
take all our sins away
and make us generous like yourself.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God for deep trust in him
                        (pause)
God with the heart of a father and a mother,
you care for the poor,
give justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
In your Son Jesus you have shown us how
to give not from our surplus but ourselves.
Confound our calculations
and change our self-interest
into generous sharing,
that our way of giving may become like yours,
counting the cost.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

First Reading: She Gave the Last She Had

At a time of famine, a pagan widow gives her last food to the prophet Elijah because he asks for it in God’s name. Both the prophet and the widow trust that God will provide.

Reading 1: 1 KGS 17:10-16

In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.
As he arrived at the entrance of the city,
a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,
"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." 
She left to get it, and he called out after her,
"Please bring along a bit of bread." 
She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,
I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar
and a little oil in my jug. 
Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks,
to go in and prepare something for myself and my son;
when we have eaten it, we shall die." 
Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid. 
Go and do as you propose.
But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. 
Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. 
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
'The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" 
She left and did as Elijah had said. 
She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;
the jar of flour did not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

Responsorial Psalm: PS 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

(1b)Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Second Reading: Christ Sacrificed Himself for All

Christ offered to God not man-made gifts but himself. This is why his sacrifice, offered once and for all, was powerful enough to save all.

Reading 2: HEB 9:24-28

Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,
a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,
that he might now appear before God on our behalf. 
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly,
as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary
with blood that is not his own;
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly
from the foundation of the world. 
But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages
to take away sin by his sacrifice. 
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once,
and after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered once to take away the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

Alleluia: MT 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: She Offered All She Had to Live On

While others gave what they did not need, the poor widow gave all she had to live on. She was more generous than anyone else.

Gospel: MK 12:38-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds,
"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues, 
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext
recite lengthy prayers. 
They will receive a very severe condemnation."

He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. 
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury. 
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."

Intercessions

Let us pray to God our generous Father, who loves the weak and the humble, and let us pray for all those who are poor. Let us say:

R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

–   Lord, we pray for your Church. Preserve it from the temptation of power and riches. So we pray:

     R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

–   Lord, we pray for all public officials. Keep them from the temptation of greed and abuse of power. So we pray:

     R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

–   Lord, we pray for widows and orphans. Keep them from despair and make us attentive to their need of love and compassion. So we pray:

     R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

–   Lord, we pray for all the poor who are insecure about the next day. May we bring them security and love. Also for the rich, we pray you that they may open their hands and hearts. So we pray:

     R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

–   Lord, we pray for this community. Make us generous enough to share not only from our abundance but also, when needed, from our own poverty. So we pray:

     R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

–   Lord, we bring also our personal Intercessions before you. (moment of silence) So we pray:

     R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

Father, we know that you love us and care for us with the tenderness of a mother. We entrust all our cares to you. Be generous to us and make us generous like you by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Loving God,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate how Jesus, your Son,
gave himself once and for all,
that we might live and love and be free.
May we learn from him
to ask not how much we can afford
without hurting ourselves,
but let him be our strength
to give the best of ourselves
and to answer his voice
crying out to us in everyone in need.
Grant us this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Let us now give thanks and praise to God our Father for Jesus, who gave all, his whole self, that we might live and become capable of love.

Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer

God knows what we need,
for he is our Father.
We pray to him with the full trust
of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us the peace that comes
from living in your hands
and from discovering your presence
in our brothers and sisters in need.
In your mercy, keep us free
from the fear of really giving ourselves,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the life and salvation
of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is the Lamb of God
who sacrificed himself
to forgive our sins
and to share his life with us.
Happy are the poor and hungry,
for the Lord invites them at his table
to give himself to them. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

God, merciful Father,
your Son came to fill with your gifts
the poor aware of their own emptiness,
and he called them blessed.
Help us to discover how poor we really are —
poor in faith, in trust, in generous love.
Be near to us in your Son,
that we may be available to all
and share the best that is in us
without any outward display
but in quiet deeds of love and service,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and with us for ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

We have celebrated the sacrifice of Jesus.
He gave what he had and was –
his whole self –
to bring others life and happiness.
Let us go to become Christians,
that is, people like Christ
who do not count the cost of our gifts.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go and share ourselves with one another. R/ Thanks be to God.

Commentary

A prophet wants to be heard, not admired.

From the beginning of his public life, Jesus came into conflict with the representatives of the religious institution, the scribes and the Pharisees. They called him a heretic and Jesus called them thieves and robbers who had turned the temple into a den of thieves.

Today's Gospel begins by presenting Jesus' attack against the scribes. During the exile in Babylon there was no longer a temple, and therefore, the scribes gathered the people to listen to the reading from the Torah. When they returned from Babylon, the scribes became the official interpreters of the Word of God.

Jesus denounced their behaviour: "They like to go around in long robes" to attract everyone's attention. Jesus could not stand these comedies. A person united to God, to God's thoughts, to God's feelings, never worried about attracting attention to be admired. A prophet wants to be heard, not admired.

To distinguish themselves from others and to show their superiority these spiritual and religious leaders used special attires. It's a pathetic way of begging for attention, of seeking vainglory. The scribes of Jesus' time are no more, but do we notice pharisaic behaviours today in our church communities? How often do we come cross people who try to enhance their personal glory by adding honorary titles to their names and by demanding the bowing and hand-kissing? If there is a ranking in the Church, the greatest ranking should be given to the disabled, the poor, the needy, and the sinner, because they were ones who became friends of Jesus.

Anything that crated separations and division among people angered the Lord. The only time Jesus speaks of condemnation is against people who created divisions in the community. Today’s passage is a caution for the clergy and leaders of the Church who causes divisions in the community on account rites, rituals, traditions.

Mark also presents the story of Jesus commenting on the offering of the poor widow in the temple treasury. We understand that Jesus was appreciating the selfless offering of the poor widow. Perhaps, there was something more to it. Jesus was already fed up with the temple administration and the evil deeds of the priests of the temple. How would he recommend the poor widow to contribute all her livelihood to such a corrupt system? He must have been expressing his discomfort by pointing out, “This poor widow has offered all what she had.” He must have been condemning a system that demanded an offering to the Church treasury even from the poor and the helpless!

1. Are clericalism and discriminations still a problem in our Church?
2. Is there anything that I can do to promote equality and fraternity in my community?