First Reading: Bar 1:15-22
During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed:
"Justice is with the Lord, our God;
and we today are flushed with shame,
we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem,
that we, with our kings and rulers
and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors,
have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him.
We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God,
nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us.
From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt
until the present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God,
and only too ready to disregard his voice.
And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant,
at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt
to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today.
For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Gospel Reading: Lk 10:13-16
Jesus said, "Alas for you Chorazin! Alas for you Bethsaida! So many miracles have been worked in you! If the same miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would already be sitting in ashes and wearing the sackcloth of repentance. Surely for Tyre and Sidon it will be better than for you on the Judgment Day. And what of you, city of Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead.
"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me."
Chilling
If we are able to read this, it is because we have a computer—or maybe a good friend who provides it for us—and because we have the interest to look up what Scripture is saying to us today. That means we have opportunity, access to resources, and, in some way, we have been called. In many respects, we are privileged. We cannot claim ignorance as an excuse to fall into error or evil. If we did, it would be guilty ignorance. The truth has been right within our reach.
That is why Jesus tells His followers today: those who have been able to hear, who have had the opportunity, and yet have not followed God’s ways, are far more guilty than those who never had that chance and therefore did not repent. The judgment will be much harsher for those who had the means and did not use them—or used them badly. We have the Word of God, and it is clear: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Would it then be better not to know anything, never to have heard? Some might say yes. But the truth is, it is not better to pass through life in darkness and miss the joy of knowing the Gospel and drawing near to God. Jesus’ words are not a defense of ignorance, but a call: to respond freely to what we have freely received; a call to repentance for our daily failings; a call to live facing God; a call to gratitude for all that has been given to us.
It is a bit chilling to hear Jesus’ “Woe to you!” and to think of the time we have wasted. But there is still time. Because what would be even more chilling is to arrive at the final judgment and see all the goodness, all the truth, and all the beauty that could have been ours for years—if only we had received it. Do we prefer to be Chorazin or Tyre?
Carmen Fernandez AguinacoIntroduction
The reading from Baruch is not from the hand of Baruch, who was the secretary of Jeremiah. It dates from the time of the Maccabees and is like a penitential celebration deploring the sins that had led to the present calamities and oppression.
Modern means of communication have brought the world more closely together and shown us more clearly too, the presence of sin and evil in the world; more than half of the world is hungry and exploited, the world economy has gone out of hand notwithstanding dole-outs for development aid and whole nations are not free from inside or from outside. And in our own little worlds, there is repeated selfishness, pride at the expense of others, suspicion... While condemning the sins of society, let us not lose our personal sense of sin in the process; let us not forget our solidarity to sin, and at the same time, live better through our solidarity to love and life on account of Christ. Sin is a rejection of Christ and his message.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, merciful Father,
it is easy for us to condemn wars, civil strife,
corruption, exploitation, slavery of any kind.
But we ask you, Lord God, though very timidly,
to open our eyes to the evil in us.
Make us see Lord, that we are doing
on a small scale, in our own little worlds,
the evil for which we blame the big world.
Make us see that we too, are sinners in need of forgiveness
brought us by Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Intercessions
– That the world of today may not lose its sense of sin and “legalize” things that are wrong, we pray:
– That all those hardened in sin may be touched by the Spirit of the Lord to repent and change their ways, we pray:
– That the many who bear a heavy burden of sin and guilt and those who suffer from the sins of others may keep trusting in God’s liberating and forgiving goodness, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, merciful Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
your Son comes among us with his cross
to put an end to all pride of sin
and to be the starting point of our new existence.
In him, you showed us the new person.
Give us his strength to repent and to be converted,
to rise above our petty selfishness
and like him, to love and serve
without counting the cost.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, merciful Father,
you respect and educate our freedom.
You do not give us guarantees against failure,
but you call us to choose and decide.
God, forgive us and help us
when in our clumsy, awkward efforts
to see your Son’s freedom become real and alive,
we take risks and make mistakes.
We want to remain faithful to you
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
We regret it, and in our best moments, we don’t really want it, but sin always returns. May God have mercy on us and help us. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
