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First Reading: Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8
Tobit walked on the paths of truth and righteousness.
I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life
on the paths of truth and righteousness.
I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people
who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria.
On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks,
a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat.
The table was set for me,
and when many different dishes were placed before me,
I said to my son Tobiah: “My son,
go out and try to find a poor man
from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh.
If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you,
so that he can share this meal with me.
Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back.”
Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours.
When he returned he exclaimed, “Father!”
I said to him, “What is it, son?”
He answered, “Father, one of our people has been murdered!
His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!”
I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;
and I carried the dead man from the street
and put him in one of the rooms,
so that I might bury him after sunset.
Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself
and ate my food in sorrow.
I was reminded of the oracle
pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel:
“All your festivals shall be turned into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation.”
And I wept.
Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him.
The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another:
“He is still not afraid!
Once before he was hunted down for execution
because of this very thing;
yet now that he has scarcely escaped,
here he is again burying the dead!”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6
R./ Blessed the man who fears the Lord. or: Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R./ Blessed the man who fears the Lord. or: Alleluia.
His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R./ Blessed the man who fears the Lord. or: Alleluia.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R./ Blessed the man who fears the Lord. or: Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Mark 12:1-12
They seized the beloved son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes,
and the elders in parables.
“A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.
At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants
to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him,
and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent them another servant.
And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.
He sent yet another whom they killed.
So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.
He had one other to send, a beloved son.
He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
So they seized him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do?
He will come, put the tenants to death,
and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not read this Scripture passage:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?”
They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd,
for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them.
So they left him and went away.
Opening Prayer
God, you love us.
You ask of us today: “My people, answer me:
What more could I have done for you?”
Teach and help us to respond with our whole being
to your daily forgiveness and patience,
to the riches of life brought us by Jesus,
to the prompting of the Holy Spirit,
that we may be a people that bears lasting fruits.
May we bring to all a justice animated by love;
may we learn to share as you do with us.
Show us your mercy through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
General Intercessions
– For us the Church, that it may always remain young and faithful and inspire its members and even the world with a sense of hope and deep love, we pray:
– For the whole Christian people, that we may show patience and compassion to people who go astray, to those who disappoint us, and accept them as the Lord accepts us, we pray:
– And for all in our Christian community here, that we may be grateful that the Lord has made us his vineyard and the tenants from whom he expects much, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Faithful God,
we bring these gifts before you
to celebrate how you have made
with us, your chosen people,
a new and everlasting covenant
through the death and rising of your Son.
Do not allow us to become proud
of being the people you love,
but help us to be worthy of your trust
and to give you a response
of deep faith expressed in service.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, mighty God,
in this Eucharist, your Son has been
your encouraging word and your food of strength
for building up your kingdom among your people.
Deepen our trust that Christ will stay with us
and that he is the foundation on which we build.
Make us inventive and creative
in sharing with all who are willing to listen
the Good News we have received
and to respond to your faithful love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
Blessing
We are God’s vineyard, God’s cherished people. We are answerable to God and sent by him to make his Good News known by our words and deeds, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
