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First Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.
For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
In every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people. or: Alleluia.
Sing to the Lord a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people. or: Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people. or: Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia!
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people. or: Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.'
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.'
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it."
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
you want us to be the body of your Son.
Let our faith be deep and strong,
like a light in the darkness
for us and for all our neighbors far and near.
Let hope sustain us on the way
to you and one another
and keep us from discouragement.
Let your Holy Spirit bind us together
in one loyal love that is always ready
to excuse, to trust, to hope,
and to endure whatever comes,
on account of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
Introduction to the First Reading
The very reason why we are together here is that we believe in God and his Son, Jesus Christ, that through the Holy Spirit, we hope in the promises of God our Father and in the future to which Christ leads us, that we are united through the Spirit of love with God and one another. These are the marks of a good Christian community, for which Paul praises his Christians of Thessalonica, the first Christian foundation in Europe (the present Salonika in Greece). 1 Thes is also the first New Testament writing, written in 51 of the Christian era. May faith, hope and love be a characteristic for us and all our Christian communities.
Introduction to Gospel Reading
When we hold on to the letter of the law without concern for its spirit, we easily become hypocrites, perhaps without realizing it fully; also when in the name of tradition, we sap it of all life, or worse, when we speak beautiful words but act differently. For example, when we speak of poverty, community, or dialogue, but live in grand style or fail to communicate from person to person. Such contradictions are not only the lot of Pharisees and scribes: they are often with us today.
General Intercessions
– For the community of the Church, that our leaders may inspire us by their faith and that we may bring God's joy and peace to a world in dire need of hope and love, we pray:
– For our national community, that there may be reconciliation where we are divided, and that both our leaders and people may believe in a future based on justice and peace, we pray:
– For our communities of religious men and women, that their members may accept, respect, and enrich one another, we pray:
– For the community of our parish, that we may be concerned about the poor and the sick among us and that we may strengthen their faith as they recognize your goodness in us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
with trusting faith
we bring these gifts before you.
One with our Lord, Jesus Christ,
we offer you ourselves,
our willingness to serve
and to become more like him.
Accept our offering,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
we have celebrated the mystery of faith
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
May he live on in our hearts and deeds
and mark us with his love without boundaries,
that he may grow in us
and that we may build up in hope
your kingdom of justice and peace
that will last, for ever and ever.
Blessing
It is good to hear the joyful praise Paul gives about a fervent Church, a good Christian community. Would that our community deserves such praise also! May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
