14th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

                              Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town

Entrance Antiphon

Within your temple, we ponder your loving kindness, O God. As your name, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with justice.

PENITENTIAL RITE

As we celebrate this great mystery of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, let us become aware of our vocation to participate in the triple mission of Jesus as priest, prophet and king. We ask ourselves: have I been faithful to my spiritual duties? Do I take a prophetic stand to build my community on the values of the Kingdom of God? Do I use my power and authority to serve my people in the family and in my community?  

I I confess...

Glory to God...

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. Father, through the obedience of Jesus, your servant and your Son, you raised a fallen world. Free us from sin and bring us the joy that lasts for ever. We ask this...

FIRST READING

(In this reading we hear about the birth of Moses in the midst of the persecution of the Hebrews by Pharaoh. It reminds us of the struggle a prophet goes through from the very beginning of his life.)

A reading from the Book of Ezekiel (2:2-5)

When the Lord spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’. And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them.”

This is the Word of the Lord

Psalm (122)

Response: Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

To you have I lifted up my eyes, you who dwell in the heavens: my eyes, like the eyes of slaves on the hand of their Lords. R./

Like the eyes of a servant on the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy. R./

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. We are filled with contempt. Indeed all too full is our soul with the scorn of the rich, with the proud man’s disdain. R./

SECOND READING

(St Paul confesses about his weaknesses and acknowledges that it is God’s grace which is the strength of every prophet.)

A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (12:7-10)

To keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is the Word of the Lord

ACCLAMATION (Rev 2:10)

Alleluia, alleluia! Even if you have to die, says the Lord, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life. Alleluia!

GOSPEL

(Jesus experiences rejection at Nazareth and comments that a prophet is not without honour except in his own hometown.)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (6:1-6)

Jesus went to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

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 friends in Christ, through our baptism we have committed ourselves to participate in the three-fold mission of Jesus. Let us ask our heavenly Father to strengthen us in this mission, saying:

Response: Lord, help us to be prophetic in our life.

1. That our Holy Father, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and Religious may be strengthened in their ministry as priests, prophets and kings, in the Universal as well as Local Church, we pray to the Lord. R./

2. That the faithful may realize their call to be prophetic in their day-to-day life and be motivated to build the kingdom of God’s love, joy and peace in this world, we pray to the Lord. R./

3. That those who are rejected and are suffering for the sake of the kingdom, may be empowered by the grace of God in their undertakings, we pray to the Lord. R./

4. That we may recognize the prophets in our own hometown, in our own parish and community and heed to their message, we pray to the Lord. R./

5. That the Lord may help us in our weaknesses and teach us to surrender our weaknesses to Him and experience His forgiveness and compassion. we pray to the Lord. R./

                                               (pray for local and personal needs)

Cel: Abba Father, thank you for inviting us to share the mission of Christ your Son. Help us to have the sense of the sacred in our spiritual duties, to be prophetic in our dealings and to use our authority and power to serve humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Lord, let this offering to the glory of your name purify us and bring us closer to eternal life. We ask this…

PREFACE (P 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 ANTIPHON

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord; blessed is he who hopes in God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Lord, may we never fail to praise you for the fullness of life and salvation you give us in this eucharist. We ask this…

                    Liturgy & Life

There is a story about St Thomas More. He was endowed with the gifts of intellect and devout life. Seeing his capacity he was appointed as the Chancellor of England in 1529 by King Henry VIII. He was doing very well as the Chancellor. Suddenly something went wrong in the smooth running of the royal court of the king. The king divorced his queen and married another wealthy woman. This was not in keeping with the teaching of the Catholic Church. People began to speak about this scandal openly. In order to stop this talk of the town, the king issued a circular stating that his marriage was valid and the Church of Rome had approved it. This was not true. The circular was sent to all the officials of the royal court. Many officials signed the circular for the fear of losing their position. When it came to Sir Thomas More he refused to sign it. Lord Norfolk, the one who was carrying this official document, persuaded him saying, “Come on, it is the question of only ten letters T-H-O-M-A-S  M-O-R-E.”

Sir Thomas More said, “It is not the question of ten letters but three convictions which I have lived up to in my life. The first conviction is truthfulness. I have never stood by falsity. What I read in this circular is not true. Secondly, I trust in the teaching of the Catholic Church. According to this teaching divorce is not allowed. The king has violated this teaching. Finally, I listen to my conscience. My conscience is telling me at this moment not to sign this document because it is not written according to the will of God.”

Lord Norfolk would not give in so easily. He started threatening the Chancellor, “The king may call an assembly and throw you out of the court.” Sir Thomas More said, “The king may have one assembly. I have the teaching of the councils of the Church for last fifteen hundred years. I stand by this teaching.” Lord Norfolk persisted saying, “The king may persuade the Archbishop to excommunicate you from the Catholic Church.” Sir Thomas More said confidently, “The king may have one Archbishop. I have the whole galaxy of saints praying for me in heaven.” Now Lord Norfolk was on fire. He said, “The king may kill you.” And there came the golden sentence from the mouth of Sir Thomas More, “I die today, you die tomorrow. I die in the state of grace but remember one day you too have to die and give an account of all your deeds before God.” Sir Thomas More was beheaded. The Church celebrates his martyrdom on 22nd June every year. St Thomas More stood by his convictions because he firmly believed in life after death.
From the life story of St Thomas More and the readings of today we draw three characteristics of a true prophet:

a) Compulsion to Preach and Act in the Name of God: A true prophet is always fired with zeal and enthusiasm for God. He feels compelled to preach and act in the name of God.

b) Courage to Confront the Wrong: A true prophet is courageous to tell the truth. Thomas More was courageous to say that the king was wrong in misleading the people with a false claim.

c) Readiness to Suffer: A true prophet stands the test of suffering. He does not run away in the time of persecution or avoid suffering with cunning tactics.

As we break the bread today let us ask the Lord to help us to remain faithful to his call to each one of us to our mission as priests, prophets and kings in our communities.

                                                                                                             – Fr Robert  D’Souza
July 2009

 READINGS OF THE WEEK

 Psalter Week 2

06 Mon (R) St Maria Goretti, Gen 28:10-22a/ Ps 90:1-2,3-4,14-15 Mt 9:18-26
07 Tue (G) Gen 32:23-33/ Ps 16:1,2-3ab,6-7,8&15/ Mt 9:32-38
08 Wed (G) Gen 41:55-57,42:5-7a,17-24a/ Ps 32:2-3,10-11,18-19/ Mt 10:1-7
09 Thu (G) Gen 44:18-21,23b-29;45:1-5/ Ps 104:16-17,18-19,20-21/ Mt 10:7-15
10 Fri (G) Gen 46:1-7,28-30/ Ps 36:3-4,18-19,27-28ab,39-40/ Mt 10:16-23
11 Sat (W) St Benedict, Gen 49:29-33;50:15-26/ Ps 104:1-2,3-4,6-7/ Mt 10:24-33