No. 13         January 30,  2011             (Cycle A) IV SUNDAY OF THE YEAR The Beatitudes are Values a Christian should live by   ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Save us, Lord our God, and gather us together from the nations, that we may proclaim your holy name and glory in your praise. (Ps 105:47)   PENITENTIAL RITE   The Beatitudes are at the heart of the Gospel. They have inspired not only Christians worldwide, but also other believers. Yet many regard them as impractical and far too demanding for ordinary human beings. For they are a complete reversal of conventional standards and values. In the Beatitudes, we see the values Christ preached and lived—values he wishes to see in his followers. As we prepare ourselves to encounter the Lord in the Eucharist, let us ask ourselves whether we are the people God calls us ‘to be’. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God...   OPENING PRAYER    Lord our God, help us to love you with all our hearts and to love all men as you love them. Grant this…   FIRST READING   (The prophet Zephaniah turns to the poor, the “humble of the land who obey His commands”, and exhorts them to continue to be faithful—to keep on seeking Him in justice and humility.)   A reading from the Book of Zephaniah (2:3;3:12-13)   Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the Lord. “For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” This is the Word of the Lord   PSALM   (145)   Response: How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   It is he who keeps faith forever, who is just to those who are oppressed. It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets prisoners free. R./ It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord, who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan. R./ It is the Lord who loves the just but thwarts the path of the wicked. The Lord will reign for ever, Zion’s God, from age to age. R./   SECOND READING   (St Paul reminds us of the immense debt of gratitude that we owe to the loving God, for the gift of the Incarnation, and our Christian call. We are ordinary people whom God, in His divine goodness, has chosen as His own.) A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians   (1:26-31) Consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.” This is the Word of the Lord   ACCLAMATION   Alleluia, alleluia! The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To all who received him, he gave power to become children of God. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. Alleluia! (Jn 1:12-1, Mt 5:12a)   GOSPEL   (Jesus describes the values and attitudes, which he wants his followers to possess in this life if they hope to be with him in heaven. St Matthew gives us here what are commonly known as the Beatitudes.)   A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (5:1-12)   Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” 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, let us pray to our heavenly Father for those qualities and dispositions, Christ wants to see in his followers, saying:   Response: Lord, graciously hear our prayer.   1. For the Church: that the Pope, bishops and clergy may continue to proclaim the word of God to all peoples, and help them to live the beatitudes, so that their efforts may bear fruit; we pray to the Lord. R./ 2. For all Christians: that they may set their hearts on the Kingdom of God and live ‘the Beatitudes’ so as to become witnesses of the Kingdom; we pray to the Lord. R./ 3. For the leaders of all nations: that they may be kind and merciful; and may be willing to heal old wounds and divisions; we pray to the Lord. R./ 4. For those who suffer for doing what is right: that they may be strong and endure hardships patiently; we pray to the Lord. R./ 5. For all of us here present: that we may hunger and thirst for a life of goodness, and live faithfully the values of Jesus; we pray to the Lord. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs)   Cel: Heavenly Father, give us the grace to imitate your Son Jesus more closely, and to follow him more faithfully, so that we may know the blessedness of belonging to your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord.   PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS   Lord, be pleased with the gifts we bring to your altar, and make them the sacrament of our salvation. We ask this…   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 for ever. May our voices be one with theirs in their triumphant hymn of praise:   All: Holy, holy, holy…   COMMUNION ANTIPHON   Let your face shine on your servant, and save me by your love. Lord, keep me from shame, for I have called to you. (Ps 30:17-18)   PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION   Lord, you invigorate us with this help to our salvation. By this Eucharist give the true faith continued growth throughout the world. We ask this…       LITURGY AND LIFE   The Scripture readings of today’s liturgy are about ‘attitudes’. They are either stifling or liberating. It is very clear that God can’t endure the ostentation of pride even in the great, and still less in the mediocre. Why? Fundamentally, because humility is truth, and pride is falsehood. God hates lies. The proud aren’t free to love. They are so busy measuring the worth of others with their false tape measures. In contrast, the Christian attitude, found in the Gospel of today, in the Beatitudes is what God wants. If God, like the rich and proud, restricts friendship to those who measure up to what he has and is, who would be his friends? But Jesus carries the matter much further by exalting the poor in spirit, the sorrowing, and those who hunger for holiness, to the heights of sanctity. How can that be the case, when the world thinks that it is the wealthy, who need nothing who are the lucky ones? The answer is that there is no mortal who needs nothing. We all have needs, and these people are blessed because they have blessed needs. They are free of materialism, free to live the Christian moral life, which is founded on selfless love. One should not think that a good Christian life consists only in keeping the Ten Commandments. They are only the foundation on which we build a life of virtue. They mostly tell us what not to do and what not to be. The Beatitudes, on the other hand, tell us what to do and what to become. They suggest attitudes and actions which are the flowering of every virtue. The Beatitudes teach us that, just when we think we have lost everything, we have gained blessedness. The man who is poor, and doesn’t mind, because he trusts in God’s care, is blessed. The person who grieves over the evil all around him is not burdened by his loss of worldly joy, but blessed by his share in Christ’s own sorrow. The people who hunger and thirst for God, have given up the things and the pleasures of this world. They are enriched through the companionship of God. The people who are merciful, look like soft-hearted fools to the proud, are blessed because they will have all the mercy they will ever need to assure their eternal salvation. And now a serious question: Why do so few seem to understand the Beatitudes, when in fact Jesus addressed them to us all? The answer is: as long as we govern our lives by our own commonsense we can neither understand nor practise the Beatitudes. That is because the Beatitudes go beyond commonsense, they are supernatural. They can be practised only by those who are attuned to the Holy Spirit and make use of His gifts. Why do so few people let the Holy Spirit guide them? Perhaps the chief reason is that many people desire to make progress in the world rather than in their love of God. They don’t want to be poor in spirit, because they desire to possess all the passing things of this world. The Beatitudes make us rich in the sight of God. They open our minds and hearts to a new way of seeing and judging. They give us a whole new set of bearings. A person who lives according to the Beatitudes is already enjoying the blessings of the Kingdom of heaven. —Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp   Jan/Feb 2011      READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 4 31 Mon (W) St John Bosco, Heb 11:32-40/ Ps 30:20.21.22.23.24/ Mk 5:1-20 01 Tue (G) Heb 12:1-4/ Ps 21:26b-27.28 & 30.31-32/ Mk 5:21-43 02 Wed (W) PRESENTATION OF THE LORD, Fst, (Day of Consecrated Life) Mal 3:1-4/ Ps 24:7.8.9.10/ Heb 2:14-18/ Lk 2:22-40 03 Thu (R) St Blasé, Heb 12:18-19.21-24/ Ps 47:2-3ab.3cd-4.9.10-11/ Mk 6:7-13 04 Fri (G) Heb 13:1-8/ Ps 26:1.3.5.8b-9abc/ Mk 6:14-29 05 Sat (R) St Agatha, Heb 13:15-17.20-21/ Ps 22:1-3a.3b-4.5.6/ Mk 6:30-34