August 22, 2010 21st  SUNDAY  OF  THE  YEAR  Cycle - C (Justice Sunday)   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. PENITENTIAL RITE Today the Church in India celebrates JUSTICE SUNDAY. It is to remind all of us our responsibility to others, especially the poor and the weaker sections of the people. Every type of discrimination is contrary to God’s will. The liturgy of today invites us to reflect on God’s plan for us and our response to His plan. Responding to God’s plan would mean accepting graciously and courageously the trials of daily life, disciplining oneself, and persevering to enter through the narrow door. For our failure and unwillingness to accept God’s plan for us and to respond to Him; and for negligence in serving the poor and our unjust dealings with others; and our failure to respect other’s dignity, let us be sorry and ask pardon from the Lord and from one another. (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 (Isaiah tells of God’s universal will to save all people. God in His goodness and love, wants to gather the dispersed and bring reconciliation to the divided.) A reading from the Book of Isaiah      (66:18-21) The Lord says this, “I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord. Just as the Israelites bring their cereal offerings in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM   (117) Response: Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News. O praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! R./ For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord! R./ SECOND READING (Discipline, training and perseverance are essential forerunners of glory and joy. We cannot win the prize unless we undergo hard training.) A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews    (12:5-7,11-13) Have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? – “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.  This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION    (Eph 1:17,18) 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! GOSPEL (God’s salvation is open for all, but it is offered only to those who strive to enter by the narrow door of self-discipline and selfless love.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke  (13:22-30) Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” 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: My dear brothers and sisters, with confidence in the Father’s infinite mercy and love, let us pray for all our spiritual and material needs: Response: Lord, listen to your people praying. 1. We pray for our Pope and all leaders of the Church: that they may become instruments of justice and equality, and eradicate all types of discrimination in the Church and in the society. R./ 2. We pray for all Christians: that the difficulties of daily life may not hinder them from accepting and responding adequately to God’s plan. May they shun inflicting any form of violence on others but promote brotherhood in the world. R./ 3. We pray for leaders of all nations: that God may grant them wisdom to govern justly. May your Spirit guide them to eradicate all types of discriminations. R./ 4. We pray for parents and teachers: may they learn to respect human life and raise the moral standard of living in the family and in society. May they promote education of the economically backward and socially marginalized children. R./ 5. We pray for all gathered here: that we may rise above our natural inclinations to opt for the easy path; to please God rather than our own interests; to choose the Gospel values rather than popularity. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Merciful Father, fill our hearts with your love, teach us to act justly and to be compassionate to all. Help us to create a just world where men and women are treated with equal respect and given equal opportunities. 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   (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. 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                     God’s plan: The plan of God is that all be saved and come to experience His joy. Each time that human beings lost their way towards salvation by their disobedience, alien worship and immoral activities, God intervened to bring them back to the right path. The First Reading affirms this truth: “I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come to witness my glory.” This promise of God is, in fact, what human beings long for every moment of their lives. Earthly life of human beings is marred by disrespect for life, immorality, injustice, greed and unhappiness. In this situation, everyone looks forward to a life of meaning, peace and happiness; and the Lord offers that which we long for. Therefore, what we desire deeply and what God promises us is salvation. Process of salvation: Salvation is offered to all and it is offered always, but it is not received by all. The process of salvation emphasises both the grace of God and reception of the grace by human beings. The reception of grace is never something passive but active. Accepting the discipline enforced by God: Salvation demands that we face courageously the “training” of the Lord. The words affirmed in the Second Reading are: “do not resent his training”, “perseverance”, “discipline”. A life does not reach its completion until it is focused, disciplined and dedicated. The same truth is affirmed by Jesus’ own life: “no cross, no glory”. Similarly, the salvation promised us demands severe discipline, renunciation of certain habits, acceptance of the essential difficulties of daily life as precious lessons offered by the Lord, and perseverance without losing hope under every circumstance. Preaching of the Good News: Work out your salvation with fear and trembling! Working out of one’s salvation involves preaching of the Good News as affirmed by the First Reading: “They will proclaim my glory to the nations.” It is through proclaiming the Good News by a life of witness that he or she achieves the salvation promised by the Lord. Hence, salvation is individual but it is never obtained by living for self only. Enter through the narrow door: Entering through the narrow door can be closely associated with “accepting the discipline required by God.” It is said that there is no limit to what human beings can achieve. Every expert in his respective field, without overlooking his talents, dedicates hard toil for years; genius is not only a question of talent, but also of hard work. No one is so ignorant as not to know the narrow door; but unfortunately, not everyone wants to be wise enough to opt for the narrow door. Time limit: “Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking at the door.” The closure of the door can come at any moment from now. Nobody can be sure of the time and the hour. Hence, believe that the time to enter by the narrow door is now and only now. —Fr Devasia Puthiyaparambil, ssp     August  2010    READINGS OF THE WEEK     Psalter Week 1 23 Mon (W) St Rose of Lima,   2 Thes 1:1-5,11b-12; Ps 95:1-2a,                                                     2b-3,4-5; Mt 23:13-22   24 Tue (R)   St BARTHOLOMEW, Ap – Fst           Rev 21:9b-14; Ps 144:101-11,12-13ab,17-18; Jn 1:45-51 25 Wed (W) St Louis, 2 Thes 3:6-10,16-18; Ps 127:1-2,4-5a&c;                                       Mt 23:27-32 26 Thu (G)     1 Cor 1:1-9; Ps 144:2-3,4-5,6-7; Mt 24:42-51 27 Fri (W) St Monica,mem, 1 Cor 1:17-25; Ps 32:1-2.4-5,10-11;                                                 Mt 25:1-13 28 Sat (W) St Augustine, mem ,1 Cor 1:26-31; Ps 32:12-13,                                                       18-19,20-21; Mt 25:14-30