ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
If you, O Lord, laid bare our guilt, who could endure it? But you are forgiving,
God of Israel.
PENITENTIAL RITE
The Liturgy of today reminds us of the demands of discipleship. It exhorts us to
let go of all our unhealthy attachments of this world in order to be more
attached to Christ and his Kingdom. Wealth is a gift of God, but it is a gift to
be shared with others in need. Jesus assures membership in his kingdom to all
those who follow the commandments and share God’s gift with their brothers and
sisters. He wants us to take stock of our lives to see how we meet the
requirements of discipleship. Therefore we must ask like the rich young man,
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Do the riches become an obstacle on my
spiritual journey? Let us be sorry and ask pardon for our failures.
I confess...
Glory to God ....
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray: Lord, our help and guide, make your love the foundation of our
lives. May our love for you express itself in our eagerness to do good for
others. Grant this…
FIRST READING
(The author of the Book of Wisdom says that he received the gift of wisdom from
God, a gift which he esteems as of greater value than all the riches this earth
holds.)
A reading from the Book of Wisdom (7:7-11)
I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of
wisdom came to me. I preferred her to sceptres and thrones, and I accounted
wealth as nothing in comparison with her. Neither did I liken to her any
priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver
will be accounted as clay before her. I loved her more than health and beauty,
and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases.
All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth.
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (89)
Response: Fill us with your love that we may rejoice.
Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord,
relent! Is your anger for ever? Show pity to your servants. R./
In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction for the years when we knew misfortune. R./
Show forth your work to your servants; let your glory shine on their children.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands.
R./
SECOND READING
(The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews urges the Jewish converts not to make
the same mistake as did their ancestors in the desert. He warns all believers
that nothing they do can be hidden from God, for their innermost thoughts and
intentions are known to Him.)
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (4:12-13)
The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the
thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but
all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
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
(Christ tells his disciples that one of the greatest barriers preventing us from
entering into heaven is earthly riches. Wealth in itself is not an evil but when
it becomes “god” we keep ourselves away from the kingdom of God.)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (10:17-30)
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and
asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus
said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know
the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not
bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honour your father and mother’.” And he said
to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” And Jesus looking
upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you
have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow me.” At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for
he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for
those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were
amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is for
those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be
saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with
God; for all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we
have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there
is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or
children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a
hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and
children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”
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, Jesus Christ came down to give us everlasting
life by following the will of his Father. He asks us to get away from all that
hinders us from obtaining the Kingdom of God. Let us now turn to our Heavenly
Father and place before Him our prayers and petitions, saying:
Response: Lord, graciously hear our prayer.
1. For the Pope, Bishops and the leaders of the Church, that they may be
examples of detachment from earthly things in order to be attached to Christ and
his message, and lead people to God. R./
2. For the leaders of our country, that they may detach themselves from
corruption and fraud; that they may work for the welfare and the development of
all the people under their care. R./
3. For those who amass wealth by unjust means and thus bring greater poverty and
misery to their brethren may realize that eternal life is a reward offered to
those who share their wealth and thus care for their neighbours. R./
4. For the departed souls of our friends and relatives, that God in his mercy
and compassion may cleanse them of all their impurities and admit them to
everlasting life in heaven. R./
(Pray for local and personal needs)
Cel: Loving Father, you have assured everlasting life to those who keep the
commandments and fulfil God’s will in this life. Grant the desires of our hearts
if it is according to your will and shower upon us necessary graces that we may
always follow the teachings and the examples of your beloved Son Jesus. We make
this…
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord, accept the prayers and gifts we offer in faith and love. May this
Eucharist bring us to your glory. We ask this…
PREFACE (P 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 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
The rich suffer want and go hungry, but nothing shall be lacking to those who
fear the Lord.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Almighty Father, may the body and blood of your Son give us a share in his life,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.
LITURGY AND LIFE
Choice always
involves getting something and giving up other things. It can often be very
difficult to make choices because we do not want to let anything go. In today’s
gospel account we have the story of the rich young man who ran up to Jesus and
asked him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” His question in fact is the
‘key question’ of our earthly existence and the answer of Jesus is also his
answer to us, “keep the commandments.” Jesus even adds one which is not in the
Ten Commandments:‘Do not defraud’, probably to show that the young man’s wealth
was achieved honestly and he was totally blameless. Jesus read his heart and saw
the materialism that was present there and he saw how attached this man was to
the things of this world.
So Jesus threw greater challenges at him: ‘following me means coming to me on My
terms, not yours’ which the young man could not accept and he went off sadly
because he had much wealth. Jesus clearly teaches us how hard it is for a rich
man to enter the Kingdom of God. Entry into the Kingdom demands freeing oneself
from the attachments of the goods of this world so as to be totally available to
God. By saying, “You lack one thing,” Jesus is simply presenting a basic
requirement to be a follower of Jesus. Jesus saw the danger of material
possessions. They can fix our heart to this world, and can make you think of
everything in terms of ‘price’ rather than ‘value’. Jesus’ challenge to the rich
young man is a challenge to everyone, to every Christian, to come out of the
self, to get out of his/her comfortable and respectable life.
In the Book of Wisdom, Solomon describes his pursuit of Wisdom. He says, “I
preferred her to sceptre and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison
with her.” He chose Wisdom before everything else. But when he received Wisdom,
he received everything else along with her. Jesus is the Wisdom incarnate in the
New Testament and we are invited to receive him. The only way to attain Wisdom
incarnate in Jesus is by following him at all times and placing him ahead of
everything else. And when we do so, we receive everything else along with
Jesus.
It is impossible for any of us to enter heaven through our own efforts but it is
possible with the grace of God if we are willing to let our addictions and
attachments go. Grace is God’s gift, and only those whose arms are empty of self
can stretch out to receive the gift of grace.
This age-old choice, which Solomon, Paul, and Jesus made in one direction and
the rich young man in another, confronts us too—even more, perhaps, in our
society which posits the underlying principle that worth really does come from
material wealth—from the size of our house, the cost of our car, the amount of
our investments. Christ challenges us to change not only ourselves, but even our
capitalist system when it is solely market-driven, heartless, and materialistic.
Jesus demands from his disciples radical choices. Are you ready to take the big
risk? Your choices define you!
—Fr Thomas Mangamthanath, ssp
October 2009
READINGS OF THE
WEEK
Psalter Week 4
12 Mon (G) Rom 1:1-7; Ps 97:1,2-3ab,3cd-4; Lk 11:29-32
13 Tue (G) Rom 1:16-25; Ps 18:2-3,4-5ab; Lk 11:37-41
14 Wed (G) Rom 2:1-11; Ps 61:2-3,6-7,8c-9; Lk 11:42-46
15 Thu (W) St Teresa of Jesus, (mem) Rom 3:21-20; Ps 129:1-2,3-4,5-6ab; Lk
11:47-54
16 Fri (W) St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Rom 4:1-8; Ps 31:1-2,5,11; Lk 12:1-7
17 Sat (R) St Ignatius of Antioch, (mem) Rom 4:13,16-18; Ps 104:6-7,8-9,42-43;
Lk 12:8-12
