First Reading: 1 Peter 1:18-25
Beloved:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:
"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R./ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. or: Alleluia.
Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R./ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. or: Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R./ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. or: Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R./ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. or: Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Mark 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.
Fr. Paulo Morlachi was an Italian Missionary who served in Hong Kong as a hospital chaplain for many decades. A motor accident in his youth almost crippled him and he walked with difficulty ever since. But that did not stop him from visiting many hospitals every day without fail, visiting patients and administering them the sacraments. He was old, limping, and was not fluent in the local language, but even years after his death, many people in Hong Kong remember him with affection for the comfort and peace he brought into their lives when they needed it most.
But today we live in a world where we want to stand out above others and prefer to be in places of honour and recognition. In the Gospel today, we have James and John requesting the Lord to consider them to the top position when the Lord establishes his Kingdom. Jesus gives them a beautiful catechesis: «whoever wants to be great, let him be your servant and whoever wants to be first, be the slave of all.»
Fortunately, there are among us great people as Jesus asks us to be. They never appear in the media, nobody gives them recognition. They may not have academic qualifications nor do they possess much wealth, but they do have something that is worth more than material goods: kindness, tenderness and compassion for those in need. Men and women who walk through our streets, simple and ordinary people but who are found at the right moment when you need a word of encouragement, a friendly look, a happy smile, a favour …
Good parents who take time, even if they come tired from the day’s work, to listen to the thousand and one questions of their little children, who enjoy their games and discover the best of life with them. Tireless mothers who fill their homes with love and joy; women who are priceless, because they know how to give their children what they need most at every moment; Spouses who are maturing their love day by day, learning to give in, generously taking care of the happiness of the other, forgiving each other in the thousand little frictions of life.
These are the ones who make life more pleasant and the world more liveable. Jesus said of them that they are “great” because they live at the service of others and help them to live with hope and joy.
In the desert of this world, where only rivalry and confrontation seem to grow, they are small oases where friendship, trust and mutual help sprout. They may never receive a tribute or even a word of thanks, but these men and women – «an uncountable crowd» as Revelation says – are great because they are human.
Opening Prayer
God Lord of all,
your Son Jesus, was your equal
and yet he made himself our brother and servant.
May his Spirit be alive in us
and dispose us to become like him,
powerless and vulnerable,
so that we can serve one another,
especially the weakest of our brothers and sisters.
In this way, may people experience
how bold you make your love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Peter reminds his audience that they have the obligation to live up to their baptism. For they have been reborn at the expense of the blood of Christ, who also rose for them.
Gospel Introduction
The Gospel tells us that the great God will save people through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came as a servant of all. Those who follow Jesus must, like him, learn to serve, and learn to serve even at the cost of pain.
General Intercessions
– For those in authority in the Church, that they may not become functionaries but be "ministers," that is, servants, we pray:
– For our Christian families, that by their mutual care and service, parents may prepare their children to render service to others, we pray:
– For the many who serve us in various ways and provide us with the things and help we need—servants, drivers, nurses, technicians and so many others, too many to name—that we may be grateful and kind to them, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
as your Son serves us himself at table
in the signs of bread and wine,
he asks us to drink with him
the cup of self-sacrificing love.
Let your Son fill us with that love
which alone can understand
that to be great is to serve others
and to use up our lives
to give people a chance to live and be free.
May we seek no other reward
than to share the destiny of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Loving Father,
your Son has been with us
in this Eucharistic celebration
as the servant of us all.
Let him dispose our hearts
and give us his courage
to understand and accept others,
to accompany them on the road of life,
to suffer their pains,
to rejoice with their joys
and to carry each other's burdens,
that he may be with us,
now and for ever.
Blessing
We, too, are here to serve rather than to be served. It is not an easy task. Spare others by not sparing yourself. May Almighty God bless you for this, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
