Liturgy Alive Tuesday, November 4, 2014

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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

 

Opening Prayer

Lord mighty God,
people—that is we—
often want to be their own gods;
we want to decide for ourselves
what we want to be and what is right and wrong.
Thank you for sending us your Son
who is God and wanted to be a human being,
to serve people, to suffer for people,
to save people from their pride and self-sufficiency.
Thank you for upsetting our values
and holding out the promise to us
that you will raise us up with Jesus,
and that we may acclaim him as our Lord
to give you glory, for ever and ever.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction
      
We hear today in the first reading two stanzas from a beautiful hymn to Christ. It may be of Syrian origin and was probably used in the liturgy. It sums up Christ and his work in a few concise terms: divine, yet in the humble condition of a servant, a human being; crucified but risen and glorified above all. He emptied himself, that is, gave up the glory that was rightfully his. And this Christ is the model for people, the image of what a person must become. Are we that image?

 

Gospel Introduction
      Today’s Gospel has partly the same theme as that of yesterday: that in the kingdom of God, we have to open our homes and hearts to the poor, the neglected, the people without name or fame. This is why we take the messages of the first reading.

General Intercessions

– That the People of God and its leaders may not seek to impress the world with outward splendor and power but go to all as humble servants, we pray:
– That from Christ, we may learn to go out of our way to serve others, we pray:
– That we may help the poor not to boast of the good we do but to better their lot without humiliating them, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus, appears among us here
in the humble, everyday signs
of a piece of bread and a bit of wine.
As we are full of ourselves,
let him give us the insight and courage
to empty ourselves of our pretenses.
Teach us to become with him
unassuming servants of one another
and of you, our God and Father for ever.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
in this Eucharist, you have let us enjoy
the presence of him,
who was fully human among people like us,
your Son, Jesus Christ.
May we learn from him 
that to be fully human means
to say yes to life with its joys and also its crosses,
to live for others
and even to accept death 
as the gate to the lasting joy,
which you have prepared for us
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ. He emptied himself and humbled himself, accepting even death on the cross. Therefore, God exalted him. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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