Your sins are forgiven -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Lord, hear my voice when I call to you. You are my help; do not cast me off, do not desert me, my Saviour God. PENITENTIAL RITE Today’s liturgy presents before us a picture of our God—a merciful and compassionate Father. In the Gospel we see a sinful woman drawing close to Jesus in love and trust to hear from him the words of mercy and compassion: ‘Your sins are forgiven’. Often our guilt-feeling and fear prevent us from drawing close to the Lord. Let us humbly turn to the Lord with all our burden of sins, confident that we will find acceptance and forgiveness. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Almighty God, our hope and our strength, without you we falter. Help us to follow Christ and to live according to your will. We ask this…. FIRST READING (When challenged about his sin by the prophet Nathan, King David readily admits it and repents.) A reading from the Second Book of Samuel    (12:7-10,13) Nathan said to David, “You are the man. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul; and I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”   This is the Word of the Lord PSALM       (31) Response: Forgive, Lord, the guilt of my sin. Happy the man whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile. R./ But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide. I said: “I will  confess my offence to the Lord.” And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin. R./ You are my hiding place, O Lord; you save me from distress. You surround me with cries of deliverance. R./ Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord, exult, you just! O come, ring out your joy, all you upright of heart. R./ SECOND READING (All Paul’s strength comes from his belief in and union with Christ.) A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians        (2:16,19-21) We know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION   (Jn 17:17) Alleluia, alleluia! Your Word is truth, O Lord, sanctify us in the truth. Alleluia! GOSPEL (In the gospel story we hear of a moving encounter between Christ and a sinful woman in the house of a Pharisee.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke     (7:36-50) One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was sitting at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “What is it, Teacher?” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon. “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” This is the Gospel of the Lord   I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen.   PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Beloved in Christ, Jesus received the sinful woman with great kindness and respect. We are confident that he will receive us in the same way as we humbly approach him with all our needs: Response: Gracious Lord, have mercy on us. 1. For the Church: that through the ministry of the pastors, sinners may experience the love, mercy and forgiveness of Christ. R./ 2. For Christians: that they may imitate the compassion and forgiveness of Christ. R./ 3. For those who have been the victims of unfair and harsh judgements: that they may receive from God strength and courage to withstand all their trials and humiliations. R./ 4. For those who hold public office: that they may speak truth and act justly.  R./ 5. For all present here: that we may never belittle the dignity of another person by word or deed.  R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: God of mercy and compassion, help us to keep our hearts pure, our minds clean, our words true and our deeds kind. We ask this through Christ our Lord. PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord God, in this bread and wine you give us food for body and spirit. May the Eucharist renew our strength and bring us health of mind and body. We ask this… PREFACE    (29) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through his cross and resurrection he freed us from sin and death and called us to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. Everywhere we proclaim your mighty works for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy… COMMUNION RITE One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, may this Eucharist accomplish in your Church the unity and peace it signifies. Grant this…   LITURGY  AND  LIFE There are many in our society who won’t accept the possibility that people can change? They are not willing to give people a second chance. A culture that doesn’t believe in redemption is a culture without hope. In the Gospel story Jesus shows himself to be ‘the friend of sinners’, which is Luke’s favourite way of portraying him. As a result of her encounter with Jesus the sinful woman began to live a new and better life. And she would travel farther down the road than any of those who were now judging her. By welcoming her as Jesus did, and graciously accepting her, Jesus put wind in her sails. Simon was a Pharisee, one of the ‘separated ones’ who would have nothing to do with sinners. Consequently, he was scandalized to see that Jesus allowed a sinner, not only to approach him, but to actually touch him. He reckoned that Jesus must be unaware of the character of the woman. Otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed her to touch him, thereby incurring ritual uncleanness. Hence, he concluded that he could not be the prophet whom many believed him to be. In Simon’s mind the woman was beyond redemption: she was a sinner, and would always be a sinner. Therefore, he didn’t want anything to do with her. Jesus was not repelled by someone like her. Yet he allowed her to approach him and to touch him. There wasn’t a hint of condemnation. Jesus knew well that the woman was a sinner. But he saw that there was another and better side of her. He saw that she was repentant and thirsting to be seen as a person and not as an object. By graciously accepting her humble and loving service, he helped her to believe in her own goodness. Had he treated her with disdain, he would have sent her back to the darkness from which she had come. We can never improve people by rejecting them. It is marvellous to feel that somebody loves us unconditionally and that we are not judged or condemned. Luke contrasts the cold reception Simon gave Jesus with the warm reception of the sinful woman. What Jesus was saying to Simon (in his parable of the debtors) was that this woman, despite her sinful past, was nearer to God than he was. To reclaim a person is a delicate and difficult task. We have to learn to see the goodness in one another, and affirm that. People’s faults can be cured only by loving them. We cannot change anyone unless we accept them as they are. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses. Jesus did not condemn the woman. He saw her sorrow, her humility, her courage and her love. He affirmed this side of her. The woman had never experienced anything like this before. Jesus was the best person she had ever met. She was not only forgiven, but loved by Jesus. By treating her with kindness, Jesus helped her to believe in her own goodness. –Fr Flor McCarthy, sdb     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- June   2010      READINGS  OF  THE  WEEK    Psalter Week 3 14 Mon (G) 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Ps 5:2-3,5-6,7; Mt 5:38-42 15 Tue (G) 1 Kgs 21:17-29; Ps 50:3-4,5-6a,11&16; Mt 5:43-48 16 Wed (G) 2 Kgs 2:1,6-14; Ps 30:20,21,24; Mt 6:1-6,16-18 17 Thu (G) Sir 48:1-14; Ps 96:1-2,3-4,5-6,7; Mt 6:7-15 18 Fri (G) 2 Kgs 11:1-4,9-18,20; Ps 131:11,12,13-14,17-18; Mt 6:19-23 19 Sat (G) 2 Chr 24;17-25; Ps 88:4-5,29-30,31-33,34; Mt 6:24-34   =================================================== A Pastoral Ministry of the Members of the Society of St Paul. With ecclesiastical approval. Readings from the RSV Bible with publisher’s permission. Editor: Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp, Email: skattackal@gmail.com). 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