12th SUNDAY  OF  THE  YEAR Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? ENTRANCE ANTIPHON God is the strength of his people. In him, we his chosen live in safety. Save us, Lord, who share in your life, and give us your blessings; be our shepherd for ever. PENITENTIAL RITE God’s love for us is so great that He brings us back to the fold each time we go astray. The greatest intervention of God among us took place when He sent his only Son to liberate us from sin and bondage. Let us pray that we feel the mighty hand of God in our lives and work earnestly for the creation of a ‘new earth’ and a ‘new heaven’. For our failures to fulfil our duties towards God and one another, let us be sorry and ask pardon. I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Let us pray. Father, guide and protector of your people, grant us an unfailing respect for your name, and keep us always in your love. Grant this… FIRST READING (God’s ways are mysterious which are beyond our limited understanding and narrow worldview.) A reading from the Book of Job (38:1,8-11) The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?”                                                                                            This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (106) Response: “O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.” Some sailed to the sea in ships to trade on the mighty waters. These men have seen the Lord’s deeds, the wonders he does in the deep. R./ For he spoke; he summoned the gale, tossing the waves of the sea up to heaven and back into the deep; their soul melted away in their distress. R./ Then they cried to the Lord in their need and he rescued them from their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; all the waves of the sea were hushed. R./ They rejoiced because of the calm and he led them to the haven they desired. Let them thank the Lord for his love, the wonders he does for men. R./ SECOND READING (The redeeming power of Jesus’ death brought us to life. Hence, we must die to self and live for Him.) A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (5:14-17) The love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has com                                                                                        This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Jn 15:15) Alleluia, alleluia! I have called you friends, says the Lord, because all I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. Alleluia! GOSPEL (God responds each time we invoke him with confidence and faith; He calms all the fears of our lives.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (4:35-41) When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them just as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” and he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” and they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”                                                                                      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: The sincere prayers of the humble always reach the throne of God. And God in his love and mercy answers all our prayers. With confidence and faith, let us invoke God, saying: Response: Lord, defender of the poor, listen to our prayers.  1. For the Pope, bishops, priests and religious, that they may experience the love of God in their lives, and realise the need to embrace generously the sacrifices and renunciations that their way of life demands. R./ 2. For all the people in trouble, that they feel the ever - loving presence of God amidst every situation of their lives, and be strengthened to carry out their responsibilities as new creation in Jesus. R./ 3. For all people, that renouncing violence and corruption, open themselves to the message of salvation brought by Christ, and work for justice and peace. R./ 4. For those who are afflicted by persecutions and fear, that the Lord who calmed the sea may bring comfort and peace in their lives. R./                               (pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Lord God, sustain us with the power of your Spirit, and assist us to work for the creation of a new world order with generosity and a sense of responsibility. We ask this through Christ our Lord. PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, receive our offering, and may this sacrifice of praise purify us in mind and heart and make us always eager to serve you. We ask this… PREFACE (31) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. We see your infinite power in your loving plan of salvation. You came to our rescue by your power as God, but you wanted us to be saved by one like us. Man refused your friendship, but man himself was to restore it through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him the angels of heaven offer their prayer of adoration as they rejoice in your presence forever. May our voices be one with theirs in their triumphant hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON The eyes of all look to you, O Lord, and you give them food in due season. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, you give us the body and blood of your Son to renew your life within us. In your mercy, assure our redemption and bring us to the eternal life we celebrate in this eucharist. We ask this…                Liturgy & Life The Old Testament portrays God as one who talks, walks, works and as one who is interested in the daily lives of the people. The New Testament presents Jesus as the one who freely associates with people. Jesus shared the concerns of the people and identified himself with them. But these elements of involvement and closeness are just some of the many qualities that we attribute to God. Another major theme, that all the readings of today focuses is the mystery of God’s ways. God’s answer to Job’s suffering is that human beings cannot comprehend God’s ways. And to Job’s astonishment, he could not answer any of the questions that God had posed for him. In humble surrender, Job accepts the plan of God and praises God saying, “the Lord has given and the Lord has taken away; praise be the Lord”. In the second reading, St Paul explains the redeeming power of Jesus’ death. Humanly speaking, was it not God’s injustice that He condemned His own Son to death? Could not God free his only Son from death? The only answer we can have is that God’s ways are mysterious! And the Gospel too presents the mysterious ways of God by calming the wind of the sea. Amidst the widespread evils of corruption, craze for money, lack of respect for life, moral degradation, violence, exploitation of the weak, and violation of human rights, we ask the same question that the disciples of Jesus asked, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Of course, Jesus did respond immediately to the pleas of the disciples by calming the sea. But today, we feel that God does not answer our prayers and does not intervene in the history! Is it true? Here, we must try to understand the history with a broad mind and with a larger perspective and realise our own mistakes. First of all, we must take responsibility for the situation of the world today. The situation today is not caused by natural disasters or calamities, but human selfishness and lack of understanding of the mechanism of life: Life is not all about money; life is not all conveniences; life is not security; but life is all about love and relationships. Only when human beings begin to understand the value of love and relationship, only then can we feel the miraculous intervention of God amidst us. Man-made situation can be remedied by man himself. But someone, somewhere has to begin the initiative. God points the finger at each one and tells, “it is you to whom I entrust this responsibility”. God is not sleeping. God is listening to all our prayers and that too instantly, but we expect God to act while we remain tight-lipped and hands-tied. The storms can subside only if we get up from our slumber and act. In order to better appreciate our responsibilities of building a new world order, it is good to understand the situation we were in. The history of salvation shows that we were on the verge of death due to sin. The weight of sin was such that we ourselves were unable to liberate us. It was in this situation that Jesus intervened, taking the sins of humanity upon him. In reality, he bought us paying a huge ransom. Hence, we are slaves with no rights of our own. But God does not want slaves, but sons and that is what he made us to be. We are sons in the Son! In the Son, we are a new creation. We also become free in the Son. God does not limit our freedom, and we too would not appreciate God limiting our freedom. Our freedom as new creation in Christ always carries with it certain responsibilities. As God’s property, we are invited to perceive everything from the perspective of God, and use our gift of freedom as an opportunity to create a new world order marked by justice, freedom and love. As new creation, we must give up the old ways of life and retain the “new creation” status given by Jesus. Amidst complexities and difficulties of life, we feel insecure and fearful. It is then (not only then), that we need to raise an alarm and wake up the power of God asleep in us. The awareness of the presence of the Lord gives us an added strength to fulfil our responsibilities as new creation. For the one who feels the presence of God, aloneness is only a pleasant solitude, silence is only a great revitalising force, problems are only opportunities.                                                                                   –Fr Devasia Puthiyaparambil, SSP June 2009 READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 4 22 Mon (R) St Thomas More, Gen 12:1-9/ Ps 32:12-13,18-19,20&22/ Mt 7:1-5 23 Tue (G) Gen 13:2,5-18/ Ps 14:1b-3a,3b-4b,4c-5/ Mt 7:6:12-14 24 Wed (W) THE BIRTH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST (Sol) Is 49:1-6/ Ps 138:1-3,13-14ab,14c-15/ Acts 13:22-26/ Lk 1:57-66,80 25 Thu (G) Gen 16:1-12,15-16/ Ps 105:1-2,3-4ab,4c-5/ Mt 7:21-29 26 Fri (G) Gen 17:1,9-10,15-22/ Ps 127:1-2,3,4-5a&c/ Mt 8:1-4 27 Sat (W) St Cyril, Gen 18:1-15/ Lk 1: 46-47,48-49,50&53,54&55b/ Mt 8:5-17