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First Reading: Rom 12:5–16ab
Brothers and sisters:
We, though many, are one Body in Christ
and individually parts of one another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us exercise them:
if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;
if ministry, in ministering;
if one is a teacher, in teaching;
if one exhorts, in exhortation;
if one contributes, in generosity;
if one is over others, with diligence;
if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3
R./ In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R./ In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.
R./ In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.
R./ In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Gospel Reading: Lk 14:15–24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled,
the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you have made us like parts of a body
dependent on one another.
Teach us to love one another,
for only when we are united
can we live in hope and joy
and persevere in trials.
Only when we are one can we relieve the suffering
that oppresses many of our neighbors far and near.
Give us this unity in love
that unites us beyond the boundaries of death
with you and one another,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
We belong together as members of the same body of Christ, each with one’s gifts and talents, with one’s own contribution to make for the well-being of the whole and for the service of others, in the solidarity of one common destiny in Christ. We are like guests at the same table, where there is room for everyone, also for those who are the last and the least in our merely human system of values. We belong together at the same table.
Gospel Introduction
Today’s Gospel has partly the same theme as that of yesterday: that in the kingdom of God, we have to open our homes and hearts to the poor, the neglected, the people without name or fame. This is why we take the messages of the first reading.
General Intercessions
– That the Church may not only love the poor and care for them but speak out with courage when they are trampled upon, we pray:
– That in the poor, the sick, and the handicapped, we may recognize and welcome the suffering Lord Jesus himself, we pray:
– That the poor and the suffering may not become embittered when freedom and dignity are slow to come, but that they keep believing in people’s capacity for love and God’s justice and care, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, our Father,
we thank you for your invitation
to break bread with your Son
and to celebrate his memory
around this table.
Dispose us to share the bread
of our food and of ourselves
with all those you love,
that we may be your one community
of service and mutual love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, in your kindness,
you have again given us the food of life
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
As we have shared this meal,
keep us united with you and one another.
Let the Spirit of Jesus live in us,
that we may support one another
on the way to lasting happiness
which begins here on earth
and goes on for ever and ever.
Blessing
Extend hospitality to strangers, bless those who persecute you. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Quite a task! May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
