ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
O Lord, you had just cause to judge men as you did: because we sinned against
you and disobeyed your will. But now show us your greatness of heart, and treat
us with your unbounded kindness.
PENITENTIAL RITE
Today’s readings ask us to be concerned about the salvation of everyone,
including one’s own. To be a scandal to another person and thereby cause his/her
damnation is the evil that merits the highest punishment. Let us ask the Lord’s
forgiveness and healing for the times we have scandalized others and caused them
to sin through our acts of omission and commission.
I confess...
Glory to God...
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray: Father, you show your almighty power in your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with your gifts of love. Help us to hurry toward the eternal
life you promise and come to share in the joys of your kingdom. Grant this…
FIRST READING
(As an answer to Moses’ doubt the Lord selects seventy elders and bestows them
with the spirit, thereby empowering them to prophesy.)
A reading from the Book of Numbers (11:25-29)
The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses, and took some of the spirit
that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested
upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.
Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad,
and the spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but they had
not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man
ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua
the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord
Moses, forbid them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would
that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit
upon them!”
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (18)
Response: The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to
be trusted, it gives wisdom to the simple. R./
The fear of the Lord is holy, abiding for ever. The decrees of the Lord are
truth and all of them just. R./
So in them your servant finds instruc-tion; great reward is in their keeping.
But who can detect all his errors? From hidden faults acquit me. R./
From presumption restrain your servant and let it not rule me. Then shall I be
blameless, clean from grave sin. R./
SECOND READING
(St James makes it clear that the oppression of the workers and the weak reach
the ears of God. The rich who refuse to share their wealth will be condemned to
miseries.)
A reading from the Letter of St James (5:1-6)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver
have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh
like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the
labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the
cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have
lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a
day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does
not resist you.
This is the Word of the Lord
ACCLAMATION (Jn 8:12)
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; he who follows
me will have the light of life. Alleluia!
GOSPEL
(Jesus makes it clear that even the little ones are precious to God and those
who cause them to sin will have their punishment in hell. )
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (9:38-43; 47-48)
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and
we forbade him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid
him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to
speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to
you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of
Christ, will by no means lose his reward.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be
better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown
into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for
you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable
fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to
enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of
God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm
does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
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, all of us are precious in the eyes of God and
all our cries reach God’s ears. Let us now, with humble hearts and trusting love
implore the God of mercy to grant all our genuine needs:
Response: Lord, have mercy and hear us.
1. We pray for our Pope, Bishops and priests that they may guide and lead
Christ’s faithful with love, care and pastoral zeal. R./
2. We pray for religious sisters, brothers and priests who have committed
themselves to a life of service to Christ’s body. May they be rewarded with
fullness of joy in this world and the crown of salvation in the next world. R./
3. We pray for the poor and the needy. May their needs for food, shelter and a
decent living be met by the generosity of those with plenty. R./
4. We pray for the youth and those guiding them. May they hear the voice of the
Lord and be led by him in the ways of truth, justice and generosity. R./
(Pray for local and personal needs)
Cel: Lord, we thank you for gathering us together to worship and praise you. We
ask you to make us more generous and sensitive to the needs of our sisters and
brothers. We make this...
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
God of mercy, accept our offering and make it a source of blessing for us. We
ask this…
PREFACE (P 32)
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to
give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
By his birth we are reborn. In his suffering we are freed from sin. By his
rising from the dead we rise to everlasting life. In his return to you in glory
we enter into your heavenly kingdom.
And so, we join the angels and the saints as they sing their unending hymn of
praise:
All: Holy, holy, holy...
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
O Lord, remember the words you spoke to me, your servant, which made me live in
hope and consoled me when I was downcast.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord, may this Eucharist in which we proclaim the death of Christ bring us
salvation and make us one with him in glory, for he is Lord for ever and ever.
LITURGY AND LIFE
Today’s gospel has
many interesting and yet powerful lessons for life. But the one that strikes a
chord with us most is Jesus’ passionate concern for the salvation of every
person, even “the little ones”. This lesson is based on the fact that the People
of God form one body, one organism. In this body, there can be members who are
weak in their faith and small in their understanding of what spiritual life is.
The body, however, grows through mutual support, encouragement and enrichment.
If the stronger members of the body mislead or put down the weaker and smaller
ones, it affects the growth of the entire body. Every one works as part of the
one body for the betterment and perfection of the whole.
“Whoever is not against us is for us.” (v. 40). In the body of Christ, everyone
has the right and duty to be an instrument of God’s healing and merciful love.
There is no room for jealousy and envy in this body. God has empowered everyone
with his spirit and that spiritual power is for the benefit of the entire
community. In the first reading we see God empowering 70 elders with the gift of
the spirit and making them prophets. They become collaborators with Moses and
thereby God’s own messengers. Through our baptism we have been given the gift of
the spirit which makes us God’s messengers of love and mercy.
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” (v. 41). The cup of water
stands for one’s generosity, and spirit of sharing, even if it is as
insignificant as a cup of water. In the body of Christ, everyone needs to
contribute towards the growth of the other and thereby of the entire body. Each
one is a minister to the other. And every good deed, kind word, forgiving
gesture, welcoming smile and compassionate look will be rewarded by God.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be
better for him if a great millstone was put around his neck and he was thrown
into the sea.” (v. 42). After having enlisted two positive things needed for the
growth of the body of Christ, Jesus now focuses on what needs to be avoided for
the sake of the body. He uses most severe language in warning the disciples of
the sin of scandal. Each member or soul is precious to God. It is true that each
person is responsible for his own salvation. However, as mentioned earlier,
there can be weak and small members who are vulnerable to be misled by the
actions or words of others. People are delicate; they need nurturing,
nourishment and encouragement rather than injecting the poison of falsehood and
evil. Oftentimes we hear of a person who stopped attending Church because of the
behaviour of a priest or an unkind attitude from a fellow Christian. We hear of
the whole bunch of people losing their faith because of the scandal of luxurious
and dubious lifestyle of a leader of the Church. We see Christ’s faithful
questioning their faith as they watch the scandal of division at every level of
Church’s organization. Using the technique of exaggeration, Jesus tells that the
duty of the disciples is to lead people to salvation and not to be obstacles in
their way. This means that a member who causes scandal has no right to be part
of the body of Christ. Any sacrifice is worth making when it is a question of
the salvation of a soul. Even the most vital of your body part may be sacrificed
for the salvation of the whole.
Jesus’ deepest concern is for the salvation of all. He does not want one single
soul to be lost. We are his disciples and this is our concern too. We are
responsible, not only for our salvation, but of our brothers and sisters too.
Let our prayer today be that all of us give true witness to Christ so that all
people may come to know the Lord and find their salvation in him.
—Fr Joe Eruppakkatt, ssp
Sept/Oct 2009
READINGS OF THE
WEEK
Psalter Week 2
28 Mon (G) Zech 8:1-8; Ps 101:16-18,19-21,29&22-23; Lk 9:46-50
29 Tue (W) Sts MICHAEL, GABRIEL & RAPHAEL, Archangels (Fst)
Dan 7:9-10,13-14 or Rev 12:7-12a; Ps 137:1-2a,2bc-3,4-5; Jn 1:47-51
30 Wed (W) St Jerome, pt dr (mem) Neh 2:1-8; Ps 136:1-2,3,4-5,6; Lk 9:57-62
1 Thu (W) ST THERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS, (Fst) 2 Cor 10:17-11:2; Ps 130:1,2,3;
Mt 18:1-4
2 Fri (W) The Holy Guardian Angels (mem) Ex 23:20-23; Ps 90:1-2,3-4,5-6,10-11;
Mt 18:1-5,10
3 Sat (G) Bar 4:5-12,27-29; Ps 68:33-35,36-37; Lk 10:17-24
