Vol. 38   No. 47                 AUGUST 21, 2011                        Cycle  A   XXI  SUNDAY  OF  THE  YEAR   You are the Christ, the Son of the living God   ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Listen, Lord, and answer me. Save your servant who trusts in you. I call to you all day long, have mercy on me, O Lord. (Ps 85:1-3) PENITENTIAL RITE Peter confesses Jesus as the Son of God in answer to Jesus’ question, regarding his identity, and Jesus establishes him as the rock foundation of his Church. In giving authority to the man, who would deny him, Jesus wanted to show that he was establishing his Church not on human strength, but on his own love and faithfulness. The Church’s true foundation is Christ himself. Today Jesus poses before us the same question: “Who do you say that I am?” A sincere answer will reveal the authenticity of our identity as true Christians. For our lack of faith in Jesus and for not living as his true disciples, let us ask pardon from the Lord. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Father, help us to seek the values that will bring us lasting joy in this changing world. In our desire for what you promise make us one in mind and heart. Grant this… FIRST READING (God removes the corrupt official and replaces him with one who will rule the people with fairness and justice.) A reading from the Book of Isaiah   (22:19-23) Thus says the Lord God of hosts to Shebna, the master of the household, “I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place. And he will become a throne of honour to his father’s house.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM   (137) Response: Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands. I thank you, Lord, with all my heart, you have heard the words of my mouth. Before the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple. I thank you for your faithfulness and love which excel all we ever knew of you. On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul. The Lord is high yet he looks on the lowly, and the haughty he knows from afar. Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands. SECOND READING (St Paul extols the inscrutable mystery of God, Creator and Lord of all that exists. Human beings, with all their wisdom and understanding, cannot comprehend the person of God.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans  (11:33-36) O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?”  “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be  repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION Alleluia, Alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our heart, so that we may know the hope to which he has called us. Alleluia! (Eph 1:17-18) GOSPEL (This passage contains St Peter’s declaration of faith in Jesus, as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and Jesus’ promise to make him the rock on which he will build his Church.)   A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (16:13-20) When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 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 rejects the inadequate ways in which others understand his role, and demands that his disciples speak for themselves. With St Peter, let us also profess our faith in Jesus, and pray for an increase of faith for all Christians, saying: Response: Lord, increase our faith. 1. We pray for our Pope, the servant of God and the successor of St Peter the Apostle: confirm him in faith, may he experience always your loving presence, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 2. We pray for Christian leaders: that they, in spite of their human weaknesses and failures, may be strengthened by the faithfulness and love of Jesus. Help them to grow in faith and holiness and commit themselves to the Kingdom of God. 3. We pray for parents, teachers and all those working with the young: that they may help young people to grow by showing them love, patience, forgiveness and understanding. 4. We pray for political leaders: that they may learn from their mistakes and failures. Open their hearts to your love and their minds to your light, so that they may correct their selfish and evil ways, and serve the people. 5. We pray for our Parish community: that we may recognize Christ, not only as our Lord and Saviour, but a true friend who loves us, cares for us and lifts us up. (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Loving Father, we praise and thank you for your love and concern for us. Grant us the grace to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Merciful God, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ made us your people. In your love, grant peace and unity to your Church. We ask this…   PREFACE   (P 34) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. In you we live and move and have our being. Each day you show us a Father’s love; your Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, gives us on earth the hope of unending joy. Your gift of the Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, is the foretaste and promise of the paschal feast of heaven. With thankful praise, in company with the angels, we glorify the wonders of your power: All: Holy, holy, holy… COMMUNION ANTIPHON Lord, the earth is filled with your gift from heaven; man grows bread from earth, and wine to cheer his heart. (Ps 103:13-15) PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, may this Eucharist increase within us the healing power of your love. May it guide and direct our efforts to please you in all things. We ask this…     LITURGY AND LIFE Was Jesus very curious to know what people thought about him? Did he not know, even before asking the question, how others considered him? The answer is obvious: as Son of God, he was aware of his true identity; he who knew the secret emotions of everyone, knew what others thought about him. Hence, it is certain that the question is not asked for Jesus’ own sake, but for his disciples and for each listener who would hear him. Before the confession of Peter, on several occasions, the evil spirits recognized Jesus as the Son of God. They were unsolicited confessions! But on this occasion, Jesus himself asks his disciples for the first time, about his identity. Probably, Jesus wanted one of his closest collaborators, who lived with him to reveal his identity. There is a difference of reliability in the confession of a close associate of Jesus, who knew him well, and the one who knew him only superficially; there is a difference of intensity in the confession of the one who had an experiential knowledge of Jesus and the one who had it pedantically. Hence, the confession of Peter is reliable and true! The confession of Peter makes Jesus the indispensable part of human life, because one can live, without John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and any of the prophets, but not without Jesus (Son of God) because in Him we live, move and have our being. In Jesus, one sees the courage of John the Baptist, the power of Elijah, the youthfulness of Jeremiah, and the conviction and courage of the prophets. Jesus is all these and more because he is the “Son of God”. The confession of Peter reveals the role of the Spirit in the Church and in the life of each believer. Everyone knew Peter as an impetuous fisherman, without much schooling. Peter’s knowledge of the identity of Jesus did not come from his intelligence and reasoning, but from the revelation of God. Jesus makes it evident saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” (Mt 16:17). For our limited intelligence, St Paul writes, “How unsearchable are His judgements and how inscrutable His ways” (Rom 11:33). Hence, the disciples of Jesus must rely more on God’s providence than on their own strengths. Today, the question that is posed before each baptized Christian is: “Who do you say that I am?” It is the central question that Christianity asks its followers, because it contains the reasons for our faith and the foundation of our life as Christians. In whom do we believe? Who is Christ for me? How does this belief affect the way I live? These are questions to which everyone should answer with utmost sincerity, knowing that the response would mean ‘to be a Christian’ or ‘not to be a Christian’. —Fr Devasia Puthiyaparambil, ssp         August  2011       READINGS OF THE WEEK        Psalter Week 1 22 Mon (W) Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Is 9:1-6/ Ps 112:1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8/ Lk 1:26-38 23 Tue (W) St Rose of Lima, 1 Thes 2:1-8/ Ps 138:1-3.4-6/ Mt 23:23-26 24 Wed (R) St Bartholomew, Ap, Fst, Rev 21:9b-14/ Ps 145:10-11.12-13.17-18/ Jn 1:45-51 25 Thu (W) Sts Louis of France/ Joseph Calasanz, 1 Thes 3:7-13/ Ps 90:3-5a.12-13.14,17/ Mt 24:42-51 26 Fri (G) 1 Thes 4:1-8/ Ps 97:1 and 2b.5-6.10.11-12/ Mt 25:1-13   27 Sat (W) St Monica, 1 Thes 4:9-11/ Ps 98:1.7-8.9/ Mt 25:14-30