Attachment to the world is an obstacle in following Jesus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   ENTRANCE ANTIPHON All nations, clap your hands. Shout with a voice of joy to God. PENITENTIAL RITE We have ready explanations for our forgetfulness, our laxity and our earthly entanglements. We are tied down by family, community and many other cares. Christ demands from his followers detachment, fidelity and whole-hearted response to his call. Are we living the Gospel values of Jesus with total dedication? Let us be sorry for all our failures and ask mercy and pardon from the Lord. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Father, you call your children to walk in the light of Christ. Free us from darkness and keep us in the radiance of your truth. We ask this.... FIRST READING (We have here an account of the call of Elisha to the prophetic office. God tells prophet Elijah that he is to appoint Elisha as his successor.) A reading from the First Book of the Kings     (19:16,19-21)   The Lord said to Elijah, “Go; Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.” So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM       (15) Response: O Lord, it is you who are my portion. Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord: “You are my God.” O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize. R./ I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. R./ And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; even my body shall rest in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay. R./ You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness for ever. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul is driving home the lesson that Gentile converts must pay no heed to the false teaching of the Judaizers. He exhorts the Galatians saying: instead of selfishly following their evil inclinations, sinful human nature, they must keep these in check and devote themselves to the service of their faith-community.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Galatians    (5:1,13-18) For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION     (Acts 16:14) Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia! GOSPEL (The lesson that should strike all of us most in today’s gospel passage is Jesus’ insistence on total dedication on the part of his true followers.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke      (9:51-62) When the days drew near for Jesus to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him; but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 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: Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank and praise God for our Christian faith and for all the blessings and graces we have received. As people who are called to be witnesses for Christ in an indifferent world, let us pray with humble and trustful hearts for courage and commitment. Response: Lord, graciously hear our prayer. 1. For our Holy Father the Pope, bishops, priests and religious: that they may give an example to the world of true love and service. R./ 2. For couples who are experiencing difficulty in their married life: that they may receive light and guidance of the Holy Spirit and lead a happy family life. R./ 3. For all the believers in Jesus: that they may follow him with humility and generosity; that they may live by the values of the Gospel. R./ 4. For countries where there is violence and unrest: that their leaders may take the path of peace and reconciliation, and that all the divisive forces may renounce violence and terrorist tactics and work for the welfare of all. R./ 5. For all of us gathered here: that we may grow in intimacy with the Lord through the practice of daily prayer and Scripture reading. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Merciful Father, fill our hearts with your love, and keep us faithful to you and to the Gospel. Help us to detach ourselves from the things of this world and ever keep in mind eternity—the great future destined and prepared for us. Grant this through… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord God, through your sacraments you give us the power of your grace. May this Eucharist help us to serve you faithfully. 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 for ever. May our voices be one with theirs in their triumphant hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy… COMMUNION ANTIPHON O, bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, may this sacrifice and communion give us a share in your life and help us bring your love to the world. We ask this…     LITURGY  AND  LIFE   In the First Reading of today we heard about the call and commissioning of Elisha. After Elijah had spent some time in the cave of Mount Horeb, the Lord told him to appoint Elisha as his disciple. When he found Elisha he threw his mantle on him. It was an indirect way of inviting a person to join someone’s mission. That Elisha was not fully prepared is clear from the fact that he was ploughing his field. He could not simply follow the master because he was also accountable to his family members. Yet finally he shares the joy of being called and serves a banquet to his fellow workers and follows Elijah. This was possible for Elisha because he was neither attached to his property (field, twelve pairs of bulls) nor to his family and friends. In the Second Reading St Paul cautions us about the danger of following the desires of our body rather than listening to the spirit. All these desires can be summed up in one word, namely, attachment. This attachment in return can take any form, like addictions, and produces results which in the long run become obstacles in following the promptings of the Spirit. This is what we see happening in today’s Gospel. There are two parts: in the first part Jesus is not welcomed by the Samaritan villages and in the second part Jesus’ invitation to follow him is not accepted by three would-be-disciples. Samaria always had some kind of aversion towards the Jews. Jesus, being a Jew, is not received by the Samaritan villages. Here the Samaritans are attached to their narrow minded thinking. James and John (sons of thunder) wish to call down fire on the Samaritan villages as they were rejected. Jesus rebukes them for their anger which was stemming from their worldly desire. In the second part of the Gospel of today we see three would-be-disciples who are unable to follow Jesus simply because of various attachments, such as comfort, distorted understanding of religion and family ties. The first person desires to follow Jesus wherever he goes. But he is taken aback when Jesus informs him about the cost of discipleship, namely, lack of place to rest in the worldly sense. The second one is called by Jesus. But he puts the burial of his father, a religious and holy duty for any staunch Jew, above discipleship. Jesus extends the boundaries of religion beyond ‘dead traditions.’ The third one wants to bid farewell to his family members meaning to have a last look at his attachment. As we celebrate this Eucharist let us ask the Lord to give us the spirit of detachment so that we can listen to the Spirit and follow in his footsteps wholeheartedly. —Fr Robert B. D’Souza     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- June/July   2010       READINGS OF THE WEEK        Psalter Week 1 28 Mon (R) St Irenaeus (mem)                     Am 2:6-10,13-16; Ps 49:16bc-17,18-19,20-21,22-23; Mt 8:18-22  29 Tue (R) Sts PETER & PAUL, Aps – Sol                   Act 12:1-11; Ps 33:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9; 2 Tim 4:6-8,17-18; Mt 16:13-19 30 Wed (R) Am 5:14-15,21-24; Ps 49:7,8-9,10-11,12-13,16bc-17; Mt 8:28-34 01 Thu (G) Am 7:10-17; Ps 18:8,9,10,11; Mt 9:1-8 02 Fri (G) Am 8:4-6,9-12; Ps 118:2&10,20&30, 40&131; Mt 9:9-13 03 Sat (R) St THOMAS, Apostle of India – Sol                    Act 10:24-35; Ps 41:2,3,5c-f; Heb 1:2-3 or 1 Pt 1:3-9; Jn 20:24-29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------