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First Reading: Samuel 12:7-10, 13
Nathan said to David:
"Thus says the Lord God of Israel:
'I anointed you king of Israel.
I rescued you from the hand of Saul.
I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for your own.
I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.
And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more.
Why have you spurned the Lord and done evil in his sight?
You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword;
you took his wife as your own,
and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites.
Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house,
because you have despised me
and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.'
Then David said to Nathan,
"I have sinned against the Lord."
Nathan answered David:
"The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die."
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11
R./ Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Blessed is the one whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the Lord imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R./ Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the Lord, "
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R./ Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R./ Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R./ Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Second Reading: Galatians 2:16, 19-21
Brothers and sisters:
We who know that a person is not justified by works of the law
but through faith in Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Christ Jesus
that we may be justified by faith in Christ
and not by works of the law,
because by works of the law no one will be justified.
For through the law I died to the law,
that I might live for God.
I have been crucified with Christ;
yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me;
insofar as I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the Son of God
who has loved me and given himself up for me.
I do not nullify the grace of God;
for if justification comes through the law,
then Christ died for nothing.
Gospel Reading: Luke 7:36—8:3
A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
"If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Simon, I have something to say to you."
"Tell me, teacher, " he said.
"Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?"
Simon said in reply,
"The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven."
He said to him, "You have judged rightly."
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
"Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven
because she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."
He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The others at table said to themselves,
"Who is this who even forgives sins?"
But he said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others who provided for them
out of their resources.
Greetings (See Second Reading)
It is not our own life we should live
but the life of Christ who lives in us.
Christ loves us
and he sacrificed himself for our sake.
May his forgiveness and peace be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A . A Meal Of Forgiveness
We know from experience that a meal is a great opportunity for reconciliation and forgiveness. Sharing the same table means accepting one another, forming community, letting bygones be bygones. The meal of the Eucharist is an encounter with the forgiving Christ and with one another in peace. This is why we have in the Eucharist a penitential act, the Our Father, an acclamation to the Lamb of God who takes our sins away, the sign of peace. At the very heart of the celebration we remember how Christ shed his blood so that sins may be forgiven. Let us celebrate this Eucharist in a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.
B. Friendship Forgives
If we admit a person into our home and especially when we invite him or her to eat with us, it means that we fully accept this person. Is this always true? Here at the table of our Lord Jesus, he accepts all of us, the weak and the strong; he brings forgiveness and life to all and calls us all to praise the Father with him. He does not judge us, for he simply wants to be with us and to be our companion in life. Do we welcome one another in the same way?
Penitential Act
Let us ask the Lord to forgive our sins
as we forgive one another.
(pause)
Lord, you love us so much
that you died to bring us forgiveness and life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you told the sinful woman,
as you tell us too:
"Your sins are forgiven; go in peace":
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord, you have forgiven us much;
make us love you much:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
help us to forgive one another
as you forgive us now
and lead us all in peace and joy
to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to our merciful Father
that this Eucharist may bring us his pardon and peace
(pause)
Patient and loving Father,
you sent Jesus your Son among us
to heal what is broken and wounded.
He touched us with his goodness
and did not break the crushed reed.
Forgive us our sins,
let your Spirit continue in us
the work of conversion
and make us patient and understanding
with those who love us and those who fail us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction: The Lord Has Forgiven You
King David humbly accepts the accusation of adultery and murder from the prophet Nathan and repents. God forgives him.
Second Reading Introduction: Christ Jesus Loves Me And Has Saved Me
It is not our deeds in obedience to the law which save us, says St. Paul, but our faith in Jesus Christ. God's Son loved me and saved me. It is his life I live now.
Gospel Introduction: One Who Is Forgiven Little Shows Little Love
The person who needs nobody needs no grace and cannot love. The one who needs forgiveness can grow in love.
General Intercessions
Let us pray with all trust to God our Father, for he has shown us in Jesus Christ that he is patient and rich in mercy. Let us say:
R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That the community of God's people may be a source of peace, of forgiveness and reconciliation, of new opportunities for tomorrow, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That priests may be patient and humble in the ministry of sacramental forgiveness entrusted to their care; that they may lead their people to conversion and renewal of heart, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That we may be gentle in our judgment of others, aware that every day anew we too are in need of forgiveness, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That in our families and communities we may be attentive to the good that is done and not be discouraged by each other's shortcomings, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That we who come together to pray and to celebrate the new covenant in the Eucharist may be reconciled with one another and live together in friendship and peace, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
God our Father, let your word and the Eucharist strengthen us in the spirit of forgiveness, of peace and unity, in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
you have invited us to encounter your Son
and to offer with him the sacrifice
that forgives our sins.
Dispose us to forgive others
as you forgive us
and to share at the table of your Son
the bread of unity and reconciliation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With joy we give thanks to the Father in heaven for forgiving us our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus, for he shed his blood so that sins may be forgiven.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
Let us pray with Jesus to the Father
that he may forgive us our sins
as we forgive others. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from the hardness of heart
that refuses to forgive,
Let the peace and joy
which your forgiveness brings to us
overflow on the people around us
in mercy and compassion,
in mutual acceptance and understanding,
in forgiveness without conditions.
Lead us forward together in hope and joy
as we prepare for the full coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord
whose death and resurrection
has brought us forgiveness and life.
Happy are we to receive
this bread of reconciliation and unity.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Merciful Father,
in this Eucharist your Son Jesus said to us too:
your sins are forgiven
and he ate with us the meal
that brings reconciliation.
May all this deepen our love for you
and dispose us to extend a hand of peace
to all those who have hurt us
and to those we have wounded.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
As a community of brothers and sisters
we have shared in God's Word
and in the bread of Christ.
May we remain such a community in the coming days,
in forgiveness, trust and understanding.
May Almighty God go with you and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go with one another
Christ's way of peace. R/ Thanks be to God.
