28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

A. Feasting With the Lord
Greeting (See First Reading)

The Lord has prepared for all people
a feast of rich food,
a banquet of fine wines.
He will wipe away
the tears from every cheek.
May the Lord of our joy be always with you.
R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. Feasting With the Lord

Happy are the days of a good celebration, when we can forget our worries for a while, enjoy one another's company and laugh and sing, dance and be happy. We are lucky to have such a day now and then, a day of feasting and real joy. That is what God wishes for all of us. He has invited us to happiness without end and as a token of this he invites us, even now, to the feast meal of his Son Jesus. Do we care about this invitation? Are we aware that everyone is invited, also the weak and the poor and the sad? Let us enjoy our celebration with the Lord.

B. Those At the Crossroads Too Are Invited

We come to today's eucharist in response to the invitation of Jesus our Lord who welcomes all to his festive meal. All are invited, but not all are here. Some dare not come because they feel we do not welcome them or think they are not good enough. Others are not aware that they are invited. Jesus asks us to welcome all and to make all feel at home with us as he feels at home with them.

Penitential Act

Instead of the joys of an honest life
we choose at times the sadness of sin.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you offer us the joy
of forgiveness and acceptance and love:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father
you came to invite us
to the everlasting wedding feast of the Kingdom:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you invite to your feast of love
the weak and the humble with the strong and the healthy:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,
and take us out of the shame and sorrow of sin.
Keep us in your caring love
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray that we may enjoy God's happiness
with all the peoples of the world
(PAUSE)
Lord God, our Father,
we come together here as a people
to share in the feast of Jesus, our Savior.
Let this celebration remain the sign
of the feast without end
which you have prepared for us.
Make us rejoice with you
and welcome all with open arms,
people from everywhere, from all nations,
the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong.
Make all accept your invitation,
that we may rejoice with all
in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction: God prepares a feast for all peoples
In a vision of hope, the prophet describes the time of the messiah-savior in terms of a feast meal. All peoples will come to this meal and find in God the fullness of life and happiness.

Second Reading Introduction: I can do everything through Christ my strength

Paul thanks the Christians of Philippi who had sent him material help in prison. God also has given him strength in his trials.

Gospel Introduction: Come to the feast

Everything in life is an invitation from God, but we often offer excuses. We have also the mission to invite others to the feast of God's love.

General Intercessions

Let us recommend to the Lord all those we encounter at the crossroads of life, that they too may hear and accept the invitation to the table of the Lord. Let us say:
R/ Lord, be our life and joy.

- That the Lord may gather all peoples in one common praise of his name, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.

- That the life of all Christians may radiate joy and hope and bring a feast of happiness to others, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.

- That the Lord who destroys death may give consolation and strength
to all those who mourn the loss of someone they love, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.

- That the communities without priests, isolated as they often are, may also receive the Lord as their food, let us pray:R/ Lord, be our life and joy.

- That the Lord in the eucharist may be the joy and the bond of love of all our Christian communities, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.

Lord, it is good to be with you. Let our hearts overflow with joy and make us share with one another all the good gifts with which you have enriched us. Bless us in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, as a loving Father
you prepared among us the table of your Son
for the sick and the healthy,
the poor and the rich,
for saints and for sinners.
Accept our joy and gratitude
and let your Son present here among us
rouse us from our sluggishness and cowardice
and lead us to the feast of your unending joy.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

We are now invited to share in the sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. That means: to accept his life, his love, but also to give ourselves with him to one another and to the Father.

Invitation to the Lord's Prayer

We accept the invitation of Jesus our Lord
to pray with him to our Father in heaven.
: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from our apathy,
our easy excuses and pretexts
that keep us from accepting your invitation
to follow your Son on the road to you.
Do not allow us to be sad,
since you are our joy and strength.
Keep us from all sin that divides us
and lead us forward in hope
to the coming among us in power and mercy
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
R/ For the kingdom..

Invitation to Communion

This is the Lord who invites us:
Come, the table is set,
everything is ready.
Come to the feast.
Happy are those who are invited
to the supper of the Lamb.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Thanksgiving (J. Zink)

(This prayer can be said by all if they have leaflets,
or read slowly by the leader as a guided thanksgiving.)

God, we bless you,
we worship you,
we praise you for your glory.
We rejoice in this festive day
which we receive from your hand.
We thank you for the meal
and for letting us enjoy your many gifts.
We thank you for food and drink,
which are the image and sign of a feast.
We thank you for all the love that surrounds us,
for the nearness of people whom we love.
We thank you for giving us many reasons
to be glad and joyful.
We rejoice in all that succeeds
and we trust your word
that ultimately all our life will be successful,
when after all our efforts
we celebrate your feast for all eternity. R/ Amen.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, our faithful God,
we have celebrated with joy
the liberating presence among us
of your Son Jesus Christ
and we have eaten from his table.
Accompany us in life
through the Holy Spirit of your Son,
the playful Spirit of wisdom and fantasy,
of encounter and gratuitous love,
that hand in hand we may go on
believing in the unexpected
and making the impossible come true:
a world of justice and love,
until you gather us around the table
of your feast that lasts for ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

In this eucharist we have been attentive
to the voice of God:
we have come to this feast,
we have heard God's word.
But now the invitation continues
in the routine of everyday life:
in our prayers and hopes,
but also in our work and cares.
Let us be open to that call,
also when it cries out
in the needs of the poor and the humble.
May God bless you and keep you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

May God go with you
and keep you in his love. R/ Thanks be to God.