Menu
First Reading: Ephesians 4:32–5:8
Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 68:2 and 4, 6-7ab, 20-21
R./ Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night.
R./ Behave like God as his very dear children.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R./ Behave like God as his very dear children.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the Lord watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R./ Behave like God as his very dear children.
Gospel Reading: Lk 13:10-17
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." Then he laid his hands upon her and immediately she was made straight and praised God.
But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day and he said to the people, "There are six days in which to work; come on those days to be healed and not on the Sabbath."
But the Lord replied, "You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?"
When Jesus said this, all his opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonders that happened through him.
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
we come to you in all humility
as we acknowledge to you that we have failed
and now seek your forgiveness.
Straighten us Lord, lift us up,
recreate us anew,
and fill us with your love.
Make us lift up one another
and give thanks to you,
our merciful and living God,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Ephesians speaks of the qualities of love, as a response to the love shown us in Christ. By living in love, we also imitate God. As Christians, we are light and should live as children of light.
Gospel Introduction
The stooped woman whom Jesus cured is just one sample of his love. Again, the legalists protest because Jesus cured a sick person on the Sabbath. Jesus appeals to their common sense. The Sabbath is a day of God, a day on which we remember the goodness of God and thank him for his love. Isn’t the day of the Lord the best day on which we can pass on the love of the Lord to one another and create one another anew?
General Intercessions
– That Christians everywhere may not be men and women of legalisms and outward observances, but people with a heart who do what they can for one another because they are God's children, we pray:
– That we may be reliable friends to those marked by suffering in any form; that we may lighten their burdens and help them trust in God and in people, we pray:
– That the Eucharistic celebration on Sundays may be to all our Christian communities a source of great joy as we deeply encounter the Lord as a spring of strength to follow, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
in these signs of bread and wine,
we offer you our grateful and admiring love
as a gift of pleasing fragrance.
Free us from our infirmities,
help us to stand up in your presence
as your sons and daughters,
who know that you love us
and who communicate that love
to all whom we meet.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
through the presence of your Son,
you have doubled our happiness
and lessened our miseries.
Let him give us in this Eucharist
the joy of sharing with one another
your own joy and goodness.
May we be present to one another,
as you are present to us
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
On the day of the Lord, we intercede as mediators for the great needs of the Church, of the world, and of people in need. It is nice to pray for these intentions, but may the Lord inspire and empower us to do something effective to relieve these needs, whether on the Lord's day or any day, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
