Liturgy Alive 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Sunday, October 10, 2021

 

Greetings (see Second Reading)

The Word of God is alive and active;
it can judge our secret emotions and thoughts.
It is the Lord Jesus who speaks this word to us.
May he always be with you.
R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. What Do You Lack?

Today the word of God challenges us: in what do you put your heart? Where is your security? What makes your life valuable and worthwhile? Here comes the advice of God's word and wisdom as early as the Old Testament and here comes Jesus' warning: Do not put your heart in possessions for they will become your masters. Let God be your Lord. Let it be Jesus whom we follow.

B. The Lord Invites You

How happy are we when once in a while the Lord invites us to encounter him on a deeper level beyond the banality of life, be it in prayer, in listening to the word he speaks to us, in our thanksgiving after communion, in admiring the beauty of his creation. When we really encounter him he changes us, for known or unknown to us he invites us to follow him more radically. But we can refuse the invitation. It saddens him, for he loves us. Let us ask the Lord here in the eucharist that we may always follow his call and invitation.

Penitential Act

Do we dare to trust more in God
than in our own securities and possessions?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(PAUSE)
Lord, your wisdom and your love
are worth much more than fame,
health, beauty and possessions:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, you know where our heart is
and you want it to be turned to God:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you want us to give up
the things that possess and control us
and to follow you instead:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

In your kindness forgive us
our treacherous attachments.
Make us put our trust in you
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God for the wisdom
to follow his Son without hesitation.
(PAUSE)
Lord our God,
your living word upsets us.
You give the first place in your kingdom
to the last and the least in our judgment:
you call the poor rich and blessed
and ask the rich to become poor.
Give us, we pray you, the wisdom
of living for the things that matter
and following your Son on the road
to you and to our neighbor,
that we may become secure in your hand.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.. R/ Amen.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction: Wise with God's Wisdom
      More precious than power, riches, health and beauty is the wisdom that comes from God. It make us live in God's love.

Second Reading Introduction: God's Word Is Living and Effective

      God's Word is upsetting. It forces us to face ourselves and to make a choice, for or against God. It is decisive for the outcome of our lives.

Gospel Introduction: Come, Follow Me Without Useless Baggage

      Like the rich man, we have not given anything to God if we do not answer his invitation to follow him the way he wants us to.

General Intercessions

Let us pray to God for the wisdom to appreciate his gifts with gratitude and to use them for the good of all. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.

- For those in the Church who proclaim to us the wisdom of the Word of God, that they themselves may first live it and share their experience with us, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.

- For the leaders of he Church in particular, that they may give up even the appearance of power and wealth; for leaders everywhere, that they may not sacrifice their principles for power, success and ambition but commit themselves to promote human dignity and the values of the gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.

- For those engaged in mass media, in radio, television, movies and newspapers, that they may not twist words and images to distort the values of life but honestly seek the truth, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.

- For parents and educators, that they may challenge the young to live for things that matter; and for the young, that idealism and generosity may keep guiding their lives, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.

- For those rich in possession and talents, that they may learn to share what they are and have with those who have less, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.

God, we pray you not for riches but for trust, not for power but for courage, not for pleasure but for joy, not for pretense but for integrity. Make us wise with the wisdom of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
your wisdom has a name:
your Son Jesus Christ.
In these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the folly of the cross
whereby he saved us from sin and death.
Make us aware of the poverty
and emptiness of our hearts
and of the passing value of the things
to which we attach ourselves.
Convert our hearts and set them
on riches that never devaluate:
justice, truth and generous love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

We praise and thank God for creating and guiding all things by his wisdom and power. May we be stewards of his creation, and use the goods of this earth for the benefit of others and the glory of God.

Invitation to the Lord's Prayer

God is our riches
and we cry out to him
in the words of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant your peace to a world
that is tired of wars and injustice.
Give us your Holy Spirit of wisdom,
that we may not seek our happiness
in ambition, power and possessions.
Help us to seek you and your kingdom,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is Jesus our Lord,
the Lamb of God.
He is God's gift to us
and the riches of those
who are poor of heart.
Happy and wise are we
if we accept our Lord's invitation
and eat the bread of life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
we are easily satisfied with ourselves
and our own little worlds.
Wake us up and give us the courage
to set out with your Son
on his adventure of hope and love.
Make us ask ourselves
not what have we done for you
but what have we not done and not yet given.
By the strength of this eucharist
help us to follow your Son
today more than yesterday
but less than tomorrow.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Blessing

Christ and his gospel keep challenging us
not to seek contentment and safety
in the things we have, our own little worlds,
not even in self-congratulations
for having obeyed God's commandments.
If we want to be really happy
with a joy which nobody can rob from us,
we must learn from Jesus
to give ourselves without reserve
to God and the people around us.
They are our riches and security.
May God give you this wisdom and strength:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Go and follow the Lord
every day that he gives you. R/ Thanks be to God.

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