September 12, 2010 24th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR         (Cycle A)        ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Give peace, Lord, to those who wait for you and your prophets will proclaim you as you deserve. Hear the prayers of your servant and of your people Israel. PENITENTIAL RITE The two parables of Jesus in today’s Gospel—The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin—portray God as one Who actively seeks what is lost. We are all sinners in one way or another. We have all gone astray, got lost like the sheep and the coin in those stories, sometime or other. No matter how far we have wandered or how deep we have fallen, God never gives up on us. We are always special, precious and of great value in His eyes. Let us believe in God’s mercy and turn to Him today with a truly contrite heart and ask for His pardon. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God...   OPENING PRAYER Almighty God, our creator and guide, may we serve you with all our heart and know your forgiveness in our lives. We ask this... FIRST READING (Moses bravely speaks to God on behalf of the sinful Chosen People, who had returned to paganism and idolatry. God listens to the plea of Moses and spares the idolatrous people.) A reading from the Book of Exodus     (32:7-11,13-14) The Lord said to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people; now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does thy wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power and with a mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by thine own self, and didst say to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever’.” And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM    (50)   Response: I will leave this place and go to my Father. Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. R./ A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit. R./ O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise. My sacrifice is a contrite spirit; a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul recalls his sinful past and expresses his wonder at the infinite mercy of Christ, who not only forgave all his past sins but showered his graces on him abundantly.) A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to Timothy   (1:12-17) I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for this, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION     (Jn 10:27) Alleluia, alleluia! My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them and they follow me. Alleluia! GOSPEL (The lesson that the two parables of Jesus has for us is clearly a lesson of hope and confidence in the infinite mercy of God in his dealings with sinners.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke   (15:1-10) The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 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 in Christ, the merciful Father sent His Son Jesus to seek out and to save the lost. He cares for everyone. With confidence let us pray to Him for all our needs, saying: Response: God of mercy, hear our prayer. 1. We pray for all leaders of the Church: that they may faithfully watch over their flock and become effective instruments of God’s mercy and forgiveness for sinners. R./ 2. We pray of all Christians: that they may not condemn their strayed fellow-Christians, but with sympathy and compassion work to bring them back to the fold. R./ 3. We pray for all those who through unemployment, poverty or sickness, sit on the sidelines of life: that God may send His messengers to help them to find meaning in their life. R./ 4. We pray for people who are missing from their homes and for their grieving families: draw them back home with your grace and thus once again they experience joy and love in their homes. R./ 5. We pray for all gathered here: that we may have the humility to come before the merciful God exactly as we are—with our weaknesses, failures and sins. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: God, our merciful Father, grant us the grace to rise above our selfishness, weaknesses, disappointments and failures. Enrich us with your love and compassion. We ask this… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, hear the prayers of your people and receive our gifts. May the worship of each one here bring salvation to all. Grant this... PREFACE     (30) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Out of love for sinful man, he humbled himself to be born of the Virgin. By suffering on the cross he freed us from unending death, and by rising from the dead he gave us eternal life. 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 O God, how much we value your mercy! All mankind can gather under your protection. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, may the Eucharist you have given us influence our thoughts and actions. May your Spirit guide and direct us in your way. We ask this…     LITURGY  AND  LIFE   God’s forgiveness of His Chosen People on Mt Sinai (First Reading) foreshadowed what Jesus would do and teach. Today’s Gospel begins with the Pharisees’ complaint that Jesus was eating with sinners. To counter the Pharisees, Jesus told them three parables about God’s reaching out to sinners in forgiving love, which is broader and deeper than people’s love, and can forgive even when people would refuse to do so. Today let us reflect on Jesus’ two parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin. They are so simple that it is easy to miss the fact how sublime they are. In his book ‘Rediscovering the Parables’, Joachim Jeremias calls our attention to some of their significant details. First, the chief actors in each story. A shepherd was reckoned among the “sinners” because he was suspected of driving his flocks into foreign fields and embezzling the profits. A woman was considered a second-class citizen, the mere property of man. What a revolutionary move on Jesus’ part to use them to play the role of God in his parables! It’s as if he said, “Do you want to know what God is like? Then look at the shepherd or the woman in my story.” Second, the value of what was lost. One sheep did not cost much, but it was helpless to find its own way back and would eventually starve or be killed by a wolf. The lost coin in the other story may have been part of the woman’s dowry, representing her most precious possession and future security. For us the sheep and the coin denote our unique worth as individuals in the sight of God. Society may dehumanize us and reduce us to anonymity, but God never. Third, the intensity of the search. With unwearying persistence the shepherd pursues the wandering sheep through cliffs and crags until he finds it. The woman lights a lamp and relentlessly sweeps her house until she recovers her precious coin. No matter how far we fall or how far we wander, God never gives up on us. He searches for us until he finds us. Finally, the joy of finding what was lost. The expressions, “there is joy in heaven” and “there is joy among the angels,” show that God is the one who rejoices when the lost are found and sinners repent. These two parables of Jesus went against the tradition, which never conceived of a God Who went out to search for sinners. After these two stories ‘portrayal of God as one Who actively seeks what is lost’, Jesus told a glorious story of the Father Who seems content to wait for a sinner to come to his senses and return home (Lk 15:11-32). Nothing speaks of the radical nature of Jesus’ message more than his teaching on forgiveness. Forgiveness is the final form of love, and wholehearted forgiveness is so loving that it is God-like. Those realizations should inspire us to see our need for Jesus’ gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for God’s forgiveness of our sins. Every human being is in need of forgiveness. It heals our inner wounds and hurts. Hence let us be generous in offering forgiveness and thus contribute to heal our world. —Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp   September 2010     READINGS OF THE WEEK          Psalter Week 4 13 Mon (W) St John Chrysostom, mem                      1 Cor 11:17-26,33; Ps 39:7-8a,8b-9,10,17; Lk 7:1-10 14 Tue (R) THE TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS – Fst       Num 21:4b-9 or Phil 2:6-11; Ps 77:1-2,34-35,36-37,38; Jn 3:13-17 15 We (W)  Our Lady of Sorrows, mem   Heb 5:7-9; Ps 30:2-3a,3b-4,5-6ab,15-16,20; Jn 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35 16 Thu (R)   Sts Cornelius, & Cyprian, mem                      1 Cor 15:1-11; Ps 117:1-2,16ba&17,28&21; Lk 7:36-50 17 Fri (W)   St Robert Bellarmine 1 Cor 15:12-20; Ps 16:1,6-7,8b&15;                       Luke  8:1-3 18 Sat (G)   1Cor 15:35-37,42-49; Ps 55:10,11-12,13-14; Lk 8:4-15