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First Reading: Zec 8:1–8
This word of the LORD of hosts came:
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
I am intensely jealous for Zion,
stirred to jealous wrath for her.
Thus says the LORD:
I will return to Zion,
and I will dwell within Jerusalem;
Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city,
and the mountain of the LORD of hosts,
the holy mountain.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women, each
with staff in hand because of old age, shall again sit in the
streets of Jerusalem. The city shall be filled with boys and girls
playing in its streets. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Even if this
should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this
people, shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also,
says the LORD of hosts? Thus says the LORD of hosts: Lo, I will
rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the
land of the setting sun. I will bring them back to dwell within
Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God,
with faithfulness and justice.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 102:16–18, 19–21, 2 and 22–23
R./ The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R./ The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R./ The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence.
That the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion;
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together,
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R./ The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
Gospel Reading: Luke 9:46-50
One day the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he took a little child and stood him by his side. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. And listen: the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest."
Then John spoke up, "Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon your name, and we tried to forbid him because he doesn't follow you with us." But Jesus said, "Don't forbid him. He who is not against you is for you."
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ became a child of people.
He made children the privileged symbol
of the truly adult disciple.
May we have the openness and receptivity
of the child: humble, authentic,
and open to your love and to your gifts.
For only then will you fill our emptiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Today's chapter of Zechariah is a later addition by his disciples. It pictures the restoration of a remnant, with faithful people, young and old, in the streets of Jerusalem, and God living among them.
Gospel Introduction
Childlike, but not childish... We are God's children, yet not infants. We have to grow up constantly to the maturity of Christ, to remake with the help of the Spirit, our unity, the center of ourselves.
General Intercessions
- For those who are the greatest in the Church, that they may serve with great dedication and without looking down on them the weakest, the poorest, those wounded in life, we pray:
- For the mighty of this earth, that they may care about the rights, the dignity and the well-being of especially the lowliest under their charge, we pray:
- For those who work in lowly jobs shunned by others, for those who have unhealthy and dangerous tasks, for those who care for the old and the handicapped, that we may appreciate them and that the Lord may reward them, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, we come before you
with our human wisdom:
self-assured, sophisticated, and world-wise.
Make us see, Lord,
that we have to accept your wisdom,
the wisdom of trust and simplicity,
the wisdom that is hard to fully accept,
the wisdom of Jesus crucified.
Only then are we ready to accept
a God who became man and dwells among us,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
we are your sons and daughters, your children,
and you are our Father.
May we all grow up
to the full maturity of Jesus Christ,
for this is your wish, Father,
that we retain the openness to you of the child,
yet that we reach the full adulthood
of Jesus Christ, God like you,
yet your loyal Son and fully human.
He is our Savior for ever.
Blessing
"Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me, says Jesus." Let us love children and learn from them; forget the ridiculous competition to be the greatest. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
