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First Reading: Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22
Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land; so a man from Bethlehem of Judah departed with his wife and two sons to reside on the plateau of Moab. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other Ruth.
When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband. She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab because word reached her there that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her.
Naomi said, “See now! Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!” But Ruth said, “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Thus it was that Naomi returned with the Moabite daughterin-law, Ruth, who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 146:5-6,7,8-9,9-10
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
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!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
The LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
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.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. One of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to test him with this question, "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?"
Jesus answered, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. But after this there is another one very similar to it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments."
Opening Prayer
Lord, mighty God,
to a world that is divided
and struggling against dehumanizing forces,
to a Church that is confused
and often discouraged,
you speak a message of hope.
With your grace call us out of our weary sluggishness,
breathe your Spirit of vigor and love into our dry bones,
that hope may fill our hearts
and love may move us forward
on account of him who came
to make everything new,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Against the rather narrow nationalism of Judges and Ezra-Nehemiah the small book of Ruth gives a romantic, idyllic example in Ruth that even non-Jews can become integrated into the Jewish people. Ruth figures even in the genealogy of Jesus.
General Intercessions
– Lord, our resurrection and life, blow your Spirit on our dry bones, to make us a Church alive in our time with the warmth of your love, we pray:
– Lord, revive our love to care for the disinherited and those who suffer, we pray:
– Lord, revive our communities, that we may really and without reservation serve one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in these signs of bread and wine
we relive the holy meal
at which your Son has invited us
to love you and one another
as he loved you and us.
Write these words with fire
into our hearts and deeds,
that we may never forget them
but that by their power
we may renew ourselves,
the Church and the world,
and march to the land of the promise,
where you will be our God for ever.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in this eucharist you have reassured us
that you are always with us
and can give new life to our dry bones.
Fill us with the Holy Spirit
of your Son Jesus Christ;
let him give wings to our dreams
of a new world of human dignity
that speaks of your wonderful deeds
and lead us to your new heaven
where all will praise you for ever.
Blessing
Open yourselves to the Spirit of the Lord, and let him breath new life into our old, dry bones! May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
