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First Reading: Tobit 11:5-17
Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.
When she saw him coming, she exclaimed to his father,
"Tobit, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!"
Raphael said to Tobiah before he reached his father:
"I am certain that his eyes will be opened.
Smear the fish gall on them.
This medicine will make the cataracts shrink and peel off from his eyes;
then your father will again be able to see the light of day."
Then Anna ran up to her son, threw her arms around him,
and said to him,
"Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!"
And she sobbed aloud.
Tobit got up and stumbled out through the courtyard gate.
Tobiah went up to him with the fish gall in his hand,
and holding him firmly, blew into his eyes.
"Courage, father," he said.
Next he smeared the medicine on his eyes, and it made them smart.
Then, beginning at the corners of Tobit's eyes,
Tobiah used both hands to peel off the cataracts.
When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around him and wept.
He exclaimed, "I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!"
Then he said:
"Blessed be God,
and praised be his great name,
and blessed be all his holy angels.
May his holy name be praised
throughout all the ages,
Because it was he who scourged me,
and it is he who has had mercy on me.
Behold, I now see my son Tobiah!"
Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice
for everything that had happened.
Tobiah told his father that
the Lord God had granted him a successful journey;
that he had brought back the money;
and that he had married Raguel's daughter Sarah,
who would arrive shortly,
for she was approaching the gate of Nineveh.
Tobit and Anna rejoiced
and went out to the gate of Nineveh
to meet their daughter-in-law.
When the people of Nineveh saw Tobit walking along briskly,
with no one leading him by the hand, they were amazed.
Before them all Tobit proclaimed
how God had mercifully restored sight to his eyes.
When Tobit reached Sarah, the wife of his son Tobiah,
he greeted her: "Welcome, my daughter!
Blessed be your God for bringing you to us, daughter!
Blessed is your father, and blessed is my son Tobiah,
and blessed are you, daughter!
Welcome to your home with blessing and joy.
Come in, daughter!"
That day there was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
R./ Praise the Lord, my soul! or: Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R./ Praise the Lord, my soul! or: Alleluia.
The Lord keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets captives free.
R./ Praise the Lord, my soul! or: Alleluia.
The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the just.
The Lord protects strangers.
R./ Praise the Lord, my soul! or: Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts
The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, through all generations! Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
R./ Praise the Lord, my soul! or: Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Mark 12:35-37
As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said,
"How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David?
David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said:
The Lord said to my lord,
'Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet.'
David himself calls him 'lord';
so how is he his son?"
The great crowd heard this with delight.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the person who laid down his life
to save us from our human limitations
and to let us live in your world
is your own Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Give us the true wisdom
to accept him as the Lord of our lives
and your presence among us.
Let him lead us to you,
our God, for ever and ever.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Our text is a profession of faith and a liturgical hymn. The profession of faith is made because Gnosticism was creeping in.
Gospel Introduction
As there were so many rules of the Law to observe, it is easy to understand the desire of scribes to ask which was the key commandment. Twice a day pious Jews professed the "Hear, Israel," with the love of God unique and very important. Jesus attaches to it love of neighbor too, as a total commitment that he will practice on the cross.
General Intercessions
– That we may recognize and love Jesus as one of us, who knows us and shares our struggles and concerns, we pray:
– That people everywhere may accept Christ as more than a great human person and as our Lord and Savior, we pray:
– That our communities may recognize Christ and his Spirit as the binding force of love and friendship among us we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
accept in this bread and this wine
our faith and our commitment to Jesus
as our Savior and Lord.
May he help us grow
in faith and patience,
in love and constancy,
that we may be ready for any good work
and encounter you and people
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son is with us
as our brother and Savior.
It is our joy
that he has become one of us,
human, breathing, living.
We want to go his way.
Let his suffering be our victory,
his humiliation our honor,
his innocence our justice,
his death our life,
his resurrection our comfort,
for he is our Lord for ever.
(Based on a prayer by Caspar Neumann, +1700)
Blessing
We believe in Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary and one of us, human, but more than a human person: the Son of God and our Savior. May Almighty God confirm your faith and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
