Jesus, the Messiah of God -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   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 blessing; be our shepherd for ever. PENITENTIAL RITE Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father through his sufferings, death and resurrection. In him we have the forgiveness of our sins and the inheritance of eternal life. Let us, today, through his loving kindness, pray for forgiveness, healing and strength. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God in the highest,/and peace to his people on earth./Lord God, heavenly King,/almighty God and Father,/we worship you,/we give you thanks,/we praise you for your glory./Lord Jesus Christ,/only Son of the Father,/Lord God, Lamb of God,/you take away the sin of the world:/have mercy on us;/you are seated at the right hand of the Father,/receive our prayer./For you alone are the Holy One,/you alone are the Lord,/you alone are the Most High,/Jesus Christ,/with the Holy Spirit,/in the glory of God the Father./ Amen.   OPENING PRAYER Father, guide and protector of your people, grant us an unfailing respect for your name, and keep us always in your love. Grant this...   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 blessing; be our shepherd for ever. e, and keep us always in your love. Grant this… FIRST READING (The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will mourn and grieve over the one they put to death. But he will be a fountain to purify us from our sins and uncleanness.) A reading from the Book of Zechariah      (12:10-11;13:1) Thus says the Lord: “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a first-born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM     (62) Response: For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God. O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. R./ So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise. R./ So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy. R./ For you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice. My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast. R./ SECOND READING (Through our faith in Christ Jesus, we are children of God. Being baptized and clothed into Christ, we become one in Christ and inheritors of the promises made to Abraham.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Galatians     (3:26-29) Brethren, in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. 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 (Jesus is revealed as the Messiah, but a suffering Messiah. Suffering will be part of the lives of his followers too.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke     (9:18-24) It happened that as Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.” And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” But he charged and commanded them, to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. 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, our loving Father has sent his Son to save us from sin and reconcile us with God and with one another. Let us, through our Saviour Jesus, approach the God of mercy with all our needs, petitions and prayers. Response: Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. 1. For our Pope, bishops, priests and all those who shepherd the Church of God. May they always experience the power of the Holy Spirit in leading and guiding God’s people. R./ 2. For the consecrated men and women religious and those aspiring to religious life. May they have the grace to respond to God’s call with openness and generosity. R./ 3. For those working in healthcare centres all over the world. May they have the compassion and courage to care for those who suffer from various illnesses and be rewarded for their generous service. R./ 4. For those who suffer from sickness, poverty, loneliness and rejection. May they find strength and comfort in God’s mercy and goodness. R./ 5. For those engaged in divisive, destructive and terrorist activities in the world. May they realize the harm they do to humanity and thus be changed by the power of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Father of mercy, we offer you these prayers and all our unspoken needs and intentions. Grant what we need and help us to live always for your glory alone. 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     (30)   Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Out of love for sinful man, he humbled himself to be born of the Virgin. By suffering on the cross he freed us from unending death, and by rising from the dead he gave us eternal life. 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 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  AND  LIFE   Jesus had arrived at a turning point in his ministry. He had realized that it was time to make an assessment of his performance by asking the people what they thought about him and his influence in their lives. However, by a closer look, one might find that it was in fact an assessment of the acceptance and understanding level of the people in general and his close followers in particular rather than his performance level. Jesus, thus, comes out with a questionnaire of sort with only two short questions. The first question was about the public opinion about him as to who did people think he was. Their answer was, ”Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the ancient prophets has arisen” (Lk 9:19). John the Baptist was so great a figure that many Jews, and Herod their king, thought that John’s spirit had entered Jesus.  Elijah and Jeremiah were two great prophets, believed to be the forerunners of the Messiah. Thus when they said Jesus was John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah, or a great prophet, they were paying him a great compliment and setting him on a high pedestal. The second question was more pointed and challenging: “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 20). Jesus asked this question because often times public opinions can be misleading. However, honest lived experience was closer to reality. Peter, on behalf of Jesus’ close circle of friends, declared publicly: ”You are the Messiah of God”. This declaration of Peter, however, went beyond his own understanding of Jesus. It was the result of a special revelation of God. In fact God used Peter to declare the true identity of Jesus to the world. To say that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one of God, meant that he was the Immanuel, the Salvation of God – God who became man to save sinners!  However, Jesus was quick to warn them not to misunderstand him as a political messiah who would overthrow the Romans and liberate them from the occupying powers. He was, instead, the Messiah who would usher in freedom and salvation to humankind by his suffering, death and resurrection.  The question that challenged the disciples of Jesus 2000 years ago continues to echo in our ears today: Who is Christ? Most people in the world today acknowledge Jesus as the founder of the largest religion, a revolutionary Jewish reformer, a great teacher and a man of peace. His teachings have transformed the lives of an incredible number of people. He can indeed be termed as the single most influential person ever lived in world history. No other person in history has occupied so much space in books, poetry, paintings and sculptures. Yet all these do not make him what he truly is: the Saviour of the world and our personal Saviour. Thus the most important question is “Who is Jesus to me?” Is he my Saviour, the Lord and master of my life? What influence does he have in my plans, programme, choices, priorities, decisions and above all in my life? Like Peter, if, inspired by God, we are able to declare that he is the Messiah of God, we gain our lives in him. This is possible when we have a deep faith and a live-experience of his life, teachings and his love. –Fr Joe Eruppakkatt, ssp   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- June 2010   READINGS OF THE WEEK   Psalter Week 4 21 Mon (W) St Aloysius Gonzaga, rel (mem)                      2 Kgs 17:5-8,13-15a,18; Ps 59:3,4-5,12-13; Mt 7:1-5 22 Tue (G) 2 Kgs 19:9b-11,14-21,31-35a,36; Ps 47:2-3a,3b-4,10-11; Mt 7:6,12-14 23 Wed (G) 2 Kgs 22:8-13;23:1-3; Ps 118:33-34,35-36,37&40; Mt 7:15-20 24 Thu (W) THE BIRTH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST – Sol                      Is 49:1-6; Ps 138:1-3,13-14ab,14c-15; Act 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66,80 25 Fri (G) 2 Kgs 25:1-12; Ps 136:1-2,3,4-5,6; Mt 8:1-4 26 Sat (G) Lam 2:2,10-14,18-19; Ps 73:1-2,3-5a,5b-7,20-21; Mt 8:5-17   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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). Circulation Manager: Br Arockiam, ssp. Email : sundayliturgy@gmail.com, Visit us at: www.thesundayliturgy.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------