SEPTEMBER 19, 2010   25th  SUNDAY  OF  THE  YEAR  (Cycle - A)  ENTRANCE ANTIPHON I am the Saviour of all people, says the Lord. Whatever their troubles, I will answer their cry, and I will always be their Lord. PENITENTIAL RITE In today’s Gospel Jesus invites us to have a proper attitude towards wealth. There are various ways of understanding the role of wealth in one’s life. Some consider it as master and God. They tend to go to the extreme of doing anything for the sake of money. Some others take wealth as their friend. They depend on money for everything. But there are very few people who consider wealth as a servant, as a means to achieve some higher goal in life. For all the times we have considered wealth as ‘friend and god’ at the cost of losing our moral and spiritual life, let us ask God’s pardon and mercy. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Father, guide us, as you guide creation according to your law of love. May we love one another and come to perfection in the eternal life prepared for us. Grant this... FIRST READING (Amos, the prophet of social justice, condemns those who exploit the poor. He exposes the unjust social structures and reminds the Israelites of the primacy of Yahweh in their lives.) A reading from the Book of Amos    (8:4-7) Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great, and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the refuse of the wheat?” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM   (112) Response: Praise the Lord, who raises the poor. Alleluia! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! May the name of the Lord be blessed both now and for evermore! R./ High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory. Who is like the Lord, our God, who has risen on high to his throne yet stoops from the heights to look down, to look down upon heaven and earth? R./ From the dust he lifts up the lowly, from the dungheap he raises the poor to set him in the company of princes, yes, with the princes of his people. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul proposes the ideal of universal prayer for all people, especially those who hold the responsibility of public office. He exhorts Timothy to be loyal to his calling as a good soldier of Christ.) A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to Timothy   (2:1-8) First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanks- giving be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION   (Lk 19:38) Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Alleluia! GOSPEL (The first part of today’s Gospel passage is about the shrewd steward who cleverly arranges for his future. The second part contains Jesus’ warning: No one can serve two masters—God and money.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke   (16:1-13) Jesus said to his disciples, “There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ And the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence; for the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations. “He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God... PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us thank and praise God our Father who has entrusted us with various types of wealth. With grateful hearts, let us place before our heavenly Father all our needs, saying: Response: Lord, teach us to be prudent and wise. 1. For our Pope, bishops, priests and deacons: that they may be closely united with Christ through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, so as to give God the first place in their lives. R./   2. For all those in positions of authority: that they may practise transparency and integrity in their office; that they may exercise their power for the good of all whom they serve. R./ 3. For those who are engaged in terrorist activities: enlighten them with your grace, that they may realize their folly and change their evil ways. R./ 4. For people all over the world: save them from the blind pursuit of wealth; make them sensitive to the needs of others and move them to share their wealth with the poor. R./ 5. For the poor, the victims of injustice, the disadvantaged and the oppressed: that they may be saved from their dehumanizing situation and their rights may be recognized and respected. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: God our Father, in your wisdom you created us, by your prudence you rule us; teach us your eternal values so that we may always love and serve you. May we never violate the rights of others. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, may these gifts which we now offer to show our belief and our love be pleasing to you. May they become for us the Eucharist of Jesus Christ your Son, who is Lord for ever and ever. PREFACE   (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 You have laid down your precepts to be faithfully kept. May my footsteps be firm in keeping your commands. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, help us with your kindness. Make us strong through the Eucharist. May we put into action the saving mystery we celebrate. We ask this...      LITURGY  AND  LIFE   In the Gospel of today Jesus presents us with a parable of a dishonest, and yet prudent, manager or steward who made use of wealth to win the favour of his master as well as that of the debtors. Jesus does not recommend dishonesty. He is simply telling us that we have to be as careful and far-sighted about our spiritual growth and our eternal happiness as the crooked manager was about his earthly happiness. Jesus suggests also that riches can endanger our salvation by blinding us to the real, the genuine, values of life. Some of the unhappiest, most insecure people in the world are those who have everything. They are never satisfied, they always want more, and many become grasping, miserly, greedy; they live in fear that they will lose everything they have. Most of us may feel that Jesus’ warning is for millionaires and business managers. Our Lord didn’t say so. There was not a single millionaire in his audience. He meant it for all of us, for what he warned against was not the just acquisition of this world’s goods or money but their unjust acquisition, and the dishonest use of them even when they were justly acquired. The steward in today’s Gospel has three liabilities: morally he is not honest, physically he is not strong and socially he is not confident. His asset is prudence. Fr George Soares-Prabhu interprets this parable in the following manner. He says, “What the steward does is to re-adjust the bond, so that the capital of the master is left intact but the commission or interest is cancelled. This commission or interest would be to the profit of the steward. So he forgoes his profit with an eye to receiving future favours from his co-workers.” At the end of the parable Jesus teaches his disciples two lessons: Be faithful in little things and serve the right master. While earthly objects have their own intrinsic value, they are not as great as the rewards of heaven. Yet, it is how we use the little things of earth now that will determine our greater rewards in heaven later. The disciples are told to be faithful regarding perishable things like money so that they are able to handle imperishable things, like the gifts of the Spirit. Greed for money has brought about the downfall of many a person. Almost every day we hear about some minister or some top executive, who is being accused of corruption. The second lesson is: One must serve the right master. One cannot serve two masters with equal respect. Then Jesus specifies these two masters, namely, God and wealth. The invisible and eternal God is to be loved and served above the perishable, visible and transitory wealth. Jesus is insisting on total dedication. We cannot be completely committed to the cause of Christ, and at the same time be excessively concerned about making money. Jesus shows how greed for money can ruin a person, and stresses the impossibility of any compromise between God and money. At this Eucharistic celebration, let us ask God, our ever-loving Father, for the grace to use our wealth prudently and wisely, and to make Him our supreme good. –Fr Robert B. D’Souza     September  2010        READINGS OF THE WEEK          Psalter Week  1 20 Mon (R)      St Andrew Kim Taegon & Comps, mem                           Prov 3:27-34; Ps 14:1b-3a,3bc-4ab,4c-5; Lk 8:16-18 21 Tue (R) St MATTHEW, Ap Ev, Fst; Eph 4:1-7,11-13; Ps 18:2-3,4-5ab; Mt 9:9-13 22 Wed (G)  Prov 30:5-9; Ps 118:29&72,89&101, 104&163; Lk 9:1-6 23 Thu (G)  Qoh 1:2-11; Ps 89:3-4,5-6,12-13,14&17ab; Lk 9:7-9 24 Fri (G)  Qoh 3:1-11; Ps 143:1a&2abc,3-4; Lk 9:18-22 25 Sat (G)  Qoh 11:9-12:8; Ps 89:3-4,5-6,12-13,14&17ab; Lk 9:43b-45