Vol. 36 No. 51                                                                                                    (Cycle B)  25th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 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 We are not individuals in opposition to one another, we are members of the one Body of Christ. The Christian whose first thought is for himself/herself and his/her own welfare is moved by unchristian, selfish ambition which makes him/her forget, and eventually despise his/her neighbour. We hear in today’s gospel Jesus telling his disciples his kingdom would be one of service. As we stand before the altar of God to offer the sacrifice let us humbly ask pardon for our worldliness, covetousness and selfish ambition. I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: 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 (The Book of Wisdom describes the ‘ungodly’ as planning to torture some righteous, just man, because he has condemned their mode of living. These ‘ungodly’, as appears from the context, were the perverted Jews.) A reading from the Book of Wisdom (2:12,17-20) The godless say to themselves, “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions: he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (53) Response: The Lord upholds my life. O God, save me by your name; by your power, uphold my cause. O God, hear my prayer; listen to the words of my mouth. R./ For proud men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life. They have no regard for God. R./ But I have God for my help. The Lord upholds my life. I will sacrifice to you with willing heart and praise your name for it is good. R./ SECOND READING (St James has some eminently practical points in today’s passage for Christians of all races and ages. He pinpoints the cause of all wars and fightings, whether they be family feuds, village quarrels, or global confrontations. It is the sinful coveteousness.) A reading from the Letter of St James (3:16-4:3) Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 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 (Today’s gospel passage gives us Christ’s second prediction of his passion, death and resurrection. It also shows how worldly and earthly-minded his disciples still were.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (9:30-37) Jesus and his disciples went on from the mountain and passed through Galilee. And he would not have anyone know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” 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: Heavenly Father, as we pray together in the name of the Church and Jesus, turn our minds and hearts back to you. Help us to overcome all our weaknesses. Lord, in faith we call upon you and pray: Response: Have mercy on your people praying. 1. May your Church be a light to all the nations, the sign and the source of your power to unite all people. May your pastors lead humankind to the mystery of your love. R./ 2. May we never despise any of our fellow human beings since we are all your children. Help us rather to work for their material and spiritual well-being. R./ 3. May your grace help us to hear your voice through the situations in which we live and work today. R./ 4. May we be united in one body and may we pursue the things that make for peace and build up your kingdom. R./ 5. May the rights of children and the voiceless be protected everywhere; and may no one suffer from malnutrition, ill-health, and mental disabilities. R./ (Pray of local and personal needs) Cel: Almighty God, through Jesus, you revealed the meaning of human living, may we never fail to give thanks for all you have given us. May your gifts of faith, hope and love be stronger in us every day, and find expression in all our ways of living. We make this prayer through… 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 (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 forever. 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 Today’s gospel contains Jesus’ teaching on the “way” of discipleship as he makes his ‘way’ toward Jerusalem. Mark is the evangelist who reminds us most often of how difficult it was for the apostles to believe in Jesus and to accept the demands of discipleship. Mark writes, “They did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him” (v. 32). Jesus intends to help them take the final leap, asking them: “What were you discussing on the way?” (v.33). In spite of that the disciples ‘were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest’ (v.34). The irony here is profound. ‘On the way’, when they should have been reflecting on the mystery of their call to follow Jesus and bear the cross, they trade ambitious desires. Jesus then calls ‘the twelve’, the symbol of the reconstituted people who are to embody his values, places a child right in front of them, and says: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (v. 37). To understand the power of Jesus’ prophetic and symbolic action, we should not think of children as loving and innocent. At the time of Jesus children were ‘non-persons’, without any power and often unprotected, and they functioned as symbols of powerlessness and vulnerability. Contrary to the disciples’ desire for positions of power in God’s kingdom, Jesus says they should be more concerned with welcoming into their midst the poor and vulnerable and by so doing they will receive both Jesus and the One who sent him. Jesus offers a permanent challenge to his followers to welcome the powerless, to take to heart the weakest members of the community. He places himself in their company. Special hospitality should be offered to those from whom we can benefit the least. Their vulnerability is something that Jesus not only shares but values. In drawing his own followers away from looking to power and prestige for models of discipleship, Jesus invites them to a new openness to the Father. No earthly power will save Jesus from death in Jerusalem; only his Father can save him from being left for dead. That is what the Father does. The gospel passage reminds the Church today of the dangers of ambition and posturing for positions of power. Even those who volunteer to work for his Church should have the desire to be of service, and should have the competence to do that for which they volunteer—whether that be as priest, deacon, Eucharistic minister, altar server, musician, usher, or other. Service is the keynote of his true followers—service that is an attitude as well as an action. The pursuit of honours, the desire to be the centre of decisions, self-complacency in the authority entrusted to us, all these are temptations which are found in the Church itself. It is a major perversion of the message of the Lord reminding us once again that the mark of disciples consists in being “the last of all and the servant of all” (v. 35). The Lord invites all of us, without exception, to follow his own example. —Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp September 2009 READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 1 21 Mon (R) St MATTHEW, Ap & Ev (Fst) Eph 4:1-7,11-13; Ps 18:2-3,4-5ab; Mt 9:9-13 22 Tue (G) Ezr 6:7-8,12b,14-20; Ps 121:1-2,3-4ab,4cd-5; Lk 8:19-21 23 Wed (W) St Pius of Pietrelcina, pt (mem) Ezr 9:5-9; Ps Tob 13:2,3b-4,6bc,7,8; Lk 9:1-6 24 Thu (G) Hag 1:1-8; Ps 149:1-2,3-4,5-6a&9b; Lk 9:7-9 25 Fri (G) Hag 1:15b-2:9; Ps 42:1,2,3,4; Lk 9:18-22 26 Sat (R) Sts Cosmas & Damian, Zech 2:5-9,14-15a; Ps Jer 31:10,11-12ab,13; Lk 9:43b-45