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First Reading: Philippians 1:18b-26
Brothers and sisters:
As long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,
Christ is being proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Indeed I shall continue to rejoice,
for I know that this will result in deliverance for me
through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
My eager expectation and hope
is that I shall not be put to shame in any way,
but that with all boldness, now as always,
Christ will be magnified in my body,
whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.
And this I know with confidence,
that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you
for your progress and joy in the faith,
so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me
when I come to you again.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 42:2, 3, 5cdef
R./ My soul is thirsting for the living God.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
R./ My soul is thirsting for the living God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R./ My soul is thirsting for the living God.
I went with the throng
and led them in procession to the house of God.
Amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.
R./ My soul is thirsting for the living God.
Gospel Reading Introduction
Our Lord invites us to his table. He knows that we are people with faults, people who have hurt him and others, by the wrong we done and the good we have failed to do. Knowing who we are, he still loves us and invites us as his friends to join him at his table. Let us humbly take part in his meal and ask the Lord to make us more open to the humble, to people who have erred, and to the poor.
Gospel Reading: Lk 14:1,7-11
One sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.
Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said, "When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited, and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you: 'Please give this person your place.' What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!
"Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you: 'Friend, you must come up higher.' And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised."
Opening Prayer
Our Father, who lift up the lowly,
your Son Jesus came into our world
as the servant of all and he cherished the helpless.
With him, make us respect and appreciate
the weak, the defenseless and the humble,
and accept to be numbered among them.
Dispose us to help them and to seek their help,
for you have poured out your mercy on us too,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Paul’s imprisonment and difficulties matter very little, provided Christ be proclaimed. Christ is Paul’s life in his sufferings and his joys, in life and in death.
General Intercessions
– Lord, in our world the powerful are honored and the humble are looked down upon. Remember the humble, we pray:
– Lord, in our homes many sick people, the old and the weak and the lonely are often neglected and abandoned. Remember all those who suffer, we pray:
– Lord, many children and old people have only the street to live and to sleep in. Remember all of them, Lord, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
you overlook the poverty of our hearts
and you have given us a place of honor
at the table of your Son.
May we learn from him
to be at the service of all,
that you may give us a place,
however lowly,
at the eternal festive meal
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
we stand here before you
as guests invited to his table
by your Son Jesus Christ.
We thank you that he has accepted us
without judging or condemning us,
though our faith is not clear-eyed
and we often limp while trying to follow him.
Dispose us too to accept as friends and guests
the poor and the weak,
just as you have accepted us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
If we want the Lord Jesus to live among us, there is only one place that fits us, the last place, the place of people who know how to serve. There is no room for pretending what we are not. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
