ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
May God bless us in his mercy; may he make his face shine on us, that we might
know his ways on earth and his saving power among all the nations.
PENITENTIAL RITE
Every Christian is called to be a missionary. It was after Jesus’ Resurrection
that he gave the Apostles the mandate to proclaim the Gospel to whole creation.
This task entails suffering and even death. Today as we celebrate Mission
Sunday, let us ask ourselves whether we are prepared to make sacrifices and lay
down our lives for the sake of Jesus and his Kingdom? For the times we have
failed to become witnesses of Christ, let us be sorry and ask pardon from him.
I confess...
Glory to God...
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray: God our Father, you will all men to be saved and come to the
knowledge of your truth. Send workers into your great harvest that the gospel
may be preached to every creature and your people, gathered together by the word
of life and strengthened by the power of the sacraments, may advance in the way
of salvation and love. We ask this…
FIRST READING
(Prophet Isaiah reminds Israelites to keep justice and do righteousness, so that
they may obtain salvation, and also they can draw others to worship the One God
in his holy Temple.)
A reading from the book of Isaiah (56:1, 6-7)
Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation
will come, and my deliverance be revealed.
“The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the
name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the sabbath, and
does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy
mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and
their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a
house of prayer for all peoples.”
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (95)
Response: Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the
Lord, bless his name. R./
Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders
among all the peoples. R./
Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power, give the
Lord the glory of his name. R./
Worship the Lord in his temple; O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the
nations: “God is King.” R./
SECOND READING
(Apostle Paul instructs Timothy how to conduct himself as a Christian leader. He
reminds him of God’s plan of salvation for all humankind, and also the duty to
proclaim the message of salvation to all.)
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-givings
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 (Jn 3:16)
Alleluia! Alleluia! God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should have eternal life. Alleluia!
GOSPEL
(Christ came on earth to carry out his Father’s eternal plan of salvation for
all humankind. Before Ascension, Christ solemnly commissions his Apostles to
bring the Good News to every race and nation.)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (16:15-20)
Jesus said to the eleven, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the
whole creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does
not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will
pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it will not hurt them; they
will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord
Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the
right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord
worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it.
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 thank the Father for sending us His Son
Jesus to reveal His love and mercy. Christ is our High Priest, and it is in his
name that we have come together to make our prayer to the Father for our various
needs, saying:
Response: Lord, make us your true disciples.
1. For the Pope, the bishops and all Christian leaders; sustain their faith,
their love and their courage, so that they become zealous missionaries in
today’s world, and proclaim the salvation brought by Jesus Christ. R./
2. Enlighten the minds of all those who oppose Christian missionary endeavours;
grant them grace to come to experience your saving love and mercy, and the
message of the Gospel. R./
3. Keep all missionaries in your special care; may the light of your Spirit burn
strong in them. Guide and protect all those who have consecrated themselves to
serve you in Religious Life. R./
4. Help all Christians to answer your call; may they be salt to the earth, and
light to the world. May your Spirit empower them to face the challenges of
everyday life. R./
(Pray for local and personal needs)
Cel: Almighty God, through your Holy Spirit, the disciples remembered all that
Jesus taught them; pour out your Spirit on the Church leaders and all
missionaries so that they may spread the light of the Gospel to all the world.
We ask this…
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord, look upon the face of Christ your Son who gave up his life to set all men
free. Through him may your name be praised among all peoples from East to West,
and everywhere may one sacrifice be offered to give you glory. We ask this…
PREFACE (P 35)
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to
give you thanks.
So great was your love that you gave us your Son as our redeemer. You sent him
as one like ourselves, though free from sin, that you might see and love in us
what you see and love in Christ.
Your gifts of grace, lost by disobedience, are now restored by the obedience of
your Son. We praise you, Lord, with all the angels and saints in their song of
glory.
All: Holy, holy, holy...
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
Teach all nations to carry out everything I have commanded you. I am with you
always, until the end of the world.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord, you renew our life with this gift of redemption. Through this help to
eternal salvation may the true faith continue to grow throughout the world. We
ask this…
LITURGY AND LIFE
The voice of the Risen Christ should echo in the heart of
every Christian: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...” (Mt
28:18-20).
Certain of the unfailing help of Jesus himself and the presence and the power of
his Spirit, the Apostles set out immediately after Pentecost to fulfil this
command: “They went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with
them” (Mk 16:20). Blessed with the gift of faith, the Church, after two thousand
years, continues to go out to meet the peoples of the world in order to share
with them the Good News of Jesus Christ. She is a community aflame with
missionary zeal to make Jesus known, loved and followed.
There can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation of Jesus
as Lord. The Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium since then, responding
to a certain confusion about the true nature of the Church’s mission, have
repeatedly stressed the primacy of the proclamation of Jesus Christ in all
evangelizing work. Thus Pope Paul VI explicitly wrote that “there is no true
evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom
and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed” (Evangelii
Nuntiandi).
Today there is a great need for a renewed commitment to the proclamation of
Jesus Christ precisely on the Asian Continent which saw the beginning of that
proclamation two thousand years ago. The words of the Apostle Paul become still
more pointed, given the many people of the Continent who have never encountered
the person of Jesus in any clear and conscious way: “Everyone who calls upon the
name of the Lord will be saved. But how are they to call upon him in whom they
have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never
heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” (Rm 10:13-14.)
Every person has the right to hear the Good News of God who reveals and gives
himself in Christ (Redemptoris Missio by Pope John Paul II). To bear witness to
Jesus Christ is the supreme service which the Church can offer to the peoples of
Asia, for it responds to their profound longing for the Absolute, and it unveils
the truths and values which will ensure their integral human development.
Deeply aware of the complexity of so many different situations in Asia, and
“speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), the Church proclaims the Good News with
loving respect and esteem for her listeners. Proclamation which respects the
rights of consciences does not violate freedom, since faith always demands a
free response on the part of the individual.
The more the Christian community is rooted in the experience of God which flows
from a living faith, the more credibly it will be able to proclaim to others the
fulfilment of God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ. This will result from faithfully
listening to the Word of God, from prayer and contemplation, from celebrating
the mystery of Jesus in the sacraments, above all in the Eucharist, and from
giving example of true communion of life and integrity of love.
The Church is called to be a praying Church, deeply spiritual even as she
engages in immediate human and social concerns. The Church realizes that the
silent witness of life still remains the only way of proclaiming God’s Kingdom
in many places in Asia where explicit proclamation is forbidden and religious
freedom is denied or systematically restricted.
— (excerpts from ECCLESIA IN ASIA, Ch IV.)
October 2009
READINGS OF THE WEEK
Psalter Week 1
19 Mon (W) St Paul of the Cross, Rom 4:20-25; Ps Lk 1:69-70,71-72,73-75; Lk
12:13-21
20 Tue (G) Rom 5:12,15b,17-19,20b-21; Ps 39:7-8a,8b-9,10,17; Lk 12:35-38
21 Wed (G) Rom 6:12-18; Ps 123:1-3,4-6,7-8; Lk 12:39-48
22 Thu (G) Rom 6:19-23; Ps 1:1-2.3.4&6; Lk 12:49-53
23 Fri (W) St John Capestrano, Rom 7:18-25a;Ps 118:66&68,76-77,93-94; Lk
12:54-59
24 Sat (W) St Anthony Claret, Rom 8:1-11; Ps 23:1-2,3-4ab,5-6; Lk 13:1-9
