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Vol. 38 No. 43
JULY 31, 2011
Cycle A
XVIII
SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
They need not go away; you give them something to eat
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
God, come to my help. Lord, quickly give me assistance. You are the one who
helps me and sets me free: Lord, do not be long in coming. (Ps 69:2,6)
PENITENTIAL RITE
In today’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus’ compassion – in curing the sick and
satisfying the hunger of the people with five loaves and two fish. Jesus, our
Lord and Saviour, reaches out to all of us in our time of need. We too are
empowered with the help of the indwelling Spirit to reach out to others and
share with them the compassion of Jesus. Let us, therefore, ask ourselves: do we
experience the Lord, who comes to us in his Word and Sacrament? Do we have the
compassion of Jesus, that we are able to share our resources with others and be
kind to them? (Pause)
I confess…
Glory to God…
OPENING PRAYER
Father of everlasting goodness, our origin and guide, be close to us and hear
the prayers of all who praise you. Forgive our sins and restore us to life. Keep
us safe in your love.
FIRST READING
(This contains an invitation to come to a banquet. The banquet stands for the
life of love and friendship, God wishes to share with His people. For Israel,
the return from exile meant an outpouring of God’s graces and blessings for all
people.)
A reading from the Book of Isaiah
(55:1-3)
Thus says the Lord, “Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who
has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and
without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your
labour for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what
is good, and delight yourselves in fatness. Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (144)
Response: You open wide your hand, O Lord, you grant our desires.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How
good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.
The eyes of all creatures look to you and you give them their food in due time.
You open wide your hand, grant the desires of all who live.
The Lord is just in all his ways and loving in all his deeds. He is close to all
who call him, who call on him from their hearts.
SECOND READING
(St Paul affirms that nothing in this world or in the next can separate us from
the love of Christ.)
A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans (8:35,37-39)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
This is the Word of the Lord
ACCLAMATION
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; he who follows
me will have the light of life. Alleluia! (Jn 8:12)
GOSPEL
(Jesus meets the needs of the hungry, heals the sick and thus manifests God’s
compassion and love.)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (14:13-21)
When Jesus heard the news of John the Baptist’s death, he withdrew from there in
a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him
on foot from the towns. As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had
compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples
came to him and said, “This is a lonely place and the day is now over; send the
crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said,
“They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We
have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.”
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves
and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the
loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all
ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken
pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women
and children.
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, Jesus shows great compassion in curing the sick
and satisfying the hunger of the people. Let us, therefore, pray that he may
satisfy our hunger for the food that will give us abundant and eternal life.
Response: Lord, lead us to eternal life.
1. That the Pope, bishops and priests may come to recognize and experience Jesus
at the breaking of the bread and share the compassion of Jesus with all.
2. That Christians, all over the world, may act with compassion towards others
in need.
3. That the rich in our country may overcome selfishness and narrow mindedness
and have a genuine spirit of sharing and caring.
4. That the rich and affluent nations may learn to share their resources and
riches with the poor and underprivileged countries, across the globe.
5. That each of us, here present, trust in the providence of God and seek
fulfilment in spending ourselves for others.
(Pray for local and personal needs)
Cel: Heavenly Father, you have blessed us with eternal life. Grant us the grace
to live a life of compassion so that we may share your messianic banquet in the
age to come. We ask this…
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Merciful Lord, make holy these gifts, and let our spiritual sacrifice make us an
everlasting gift to you. We ask this…
PREFACE (P 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
The Lord says: I am the bread of life. A man who comes to me will not go away
hungry, and no one who believes in me will thirst. (Jn 6:35)
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord, you give us the strength of new life by the gift of the Eucharist. Protect
us with your love and prepare us for eternal redemption. We ask this…
LITURGY AND LIFE
According to a Persian legend, there was a great bird in the East and the shadow
of its wings would bring fortune. One day the king, in his splendor, was riding
with his courtiers. Then they saw the bird and all the servants—except one—ran
to get under the shadow of its wings. The king was surprised. “Why didn’t you
also go?” the king asked. “Why should I run after a mere bird, when I can enjoy
the presence of my king?” The king was so impressed, that he gave him a
promotion.
This story cautions us against our human tendency to chase the shadows and miss
the substance. Today’s people are restlessly craving for a miracle or a fortune
to happen in their lives. We come across people, making pilgrimages with the
intention of getting favours or people flocking to retreat centres for miracles.
There are people among us, who run from one god to another; one religion to
another and one god-man to another. Seldom do these people realize, like the
servant in the story, that it is a privilege to be in the company and presence
of a God, who fills the “deserted areas” of their lives and makes them whole.
Jesus, our king, alone can give us the bread that will give us eternal life; he
alone can lead us to God’s Kingdom and he alone can satisfy our hunger and bring
us to eternal peace and happiness.
The crowd in today’s Gospel was following Jesus, not that they had understood or
known him, but they saw him as a miracle worker and an extraordinary human
person. Jesus responds to them with compassion. From their immediate needs,
Jesus leads them to the future banquet of eternal life.
The multiplication of the loaves and fish was intended to help the people accept
the gift of his own body and blood, for their salvation. Jesus does not stop
with satisfying the physical hunger of his followers, but he wants to challenge
them to hunger for the bread that will give them eternal life. In order to
receive this bread from Jesus, we need to know who Jesus is and what he is
capable of accomplishing for us. Our tendency is to stay with the bare facts of
the miracle—Jesus’ display of great power and all were fed—and miss the deeper
significance of this event itself. Jesus, through this significant miracle
proves that human resources are not sufficient to make present what God’s
kingdom promises. Jesus invites the people to witness the power of his presence
and challenges them to go beyond meagre human resources and depend on the one
who can satisfy them without any cost. The abundant food freely given marks this
as a sure sign that in the person of Jesus Christ the Kingdom of God is present.
The ‘deserted place’ of the Gospel story we just heard, was by a lake, at the
time of Jesus. Today, the “deserted place” is within us, but few people have the
courage to go there and explore that inner space and wait for God. So many
people do not allow themselves to experience their own spiritual hunger or get
in touch with it. Let us be reminded that the bread that Jesus gives us is not
merely to satisfy physical hunger but to give us eternal life. Unlike the
loaves, Christ is not multiplied; he remains one and the same, unchanged
forever. Neither is he divided; he remains in his completeness and fullness and
gives himself to us that we may have life and have it in abundance.
—Fr Johnson Vattakkunnel, ssp
AUGUST 2011
READINGS OF THE WEEK
Psalter Week 2
01 Mon (W) St Alphonsus Liguori, Nm 11:4b-15/ Ps 81:12-13.14-15.16-17/ Mt
14:22-36
02 Tue (W) Sts Eusebius of Vercelli/Peter J. Eymard,
Nm 12:1-13/ Ps 51:3-4. 5-6ab. 6cd-7.12-13/ Mt 15:1-2. 10-14
03 Wed (G) Nm 13:1-2. 25 – 14:1. 26a-29a. 34-35/ Ps 106:6-7ab. 13-14. 21-22.23/ Mt 15:21-28
04 Thu (W) St John Mary Vianney, Nm 20:1-13/ Ps 95:1-2.6-7.8-9/ Mt 16:13-23
05 Fri (W) Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome
Dt 4:32-40/ Ps 77:12-E13.14-15.16 and 21/ Mt 16:24-28
06 Sat (W) TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD, Feast
Dn 7:9-10.13-14/ Ps 97:1-2.5-6.9/ 2 Pt 1:16-19/ Mt 17:1-9 |