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1st Reading: Am 9:11–15
“On that day I shall restore the fallen hut of David and wall up its breaches and raise its ruined walls and so build it as in days of old.
“They shall conquer the remnant of Edom and the neighboring nations upon which my name has been called.” Thus says Yahweh, the one who will do this.
Yahweh says also, “The days are coming when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes overtake the sower. The mountains shall drip sweet wine and all the hills shall melt.
“I shall bring back the exiles of my people Israel; they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will have orchards and eat their fruit. I shall plant them in their own country and they shall never again be rooted up from the land which I have given them,” says Yahweh your God.
Responsorial Psalm ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17
The disciples of John came to him with the question, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not your disciples?”
Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? Time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, then they will fast.
“No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for the patch will shrink and tear an even bigger hole in the coat. Besides you don’t put new wine in old wineskins. If you do, the wineskins will burst and the wine be spilt. No, you put new wine in fresh skins; then both are preserved.”
Saturday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time
OLD AND NEW
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we are your people on the march,
moving forward to you with your Son
who came to make everything new.
Dispose us Lord, to accept the pain
of leaving the familiar behind us.
Uproot us from our established ways
and guide our faltering steps
toward your new future in Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
We hear in the first reading an appendix to Amos written probably at a later date, but in the style and perspectives of Amos; it promises a new future to those who are faithful.
Gospel Reading Introduction
Can we be people of compromise? To settle disagreement and make peace, to solve disputed matters and to become at least tolerant of one another? Yes, but not with the Gospel. Not when it comes to the renewal of life, whether personal or communal, that is constantly asked of us. Jesus tells his disciples and us, who are living in messianic times, that we are new, liberated people: we cannot compromise with salvation, with our faith, with the Gospel. Young wine belongs in new wineskins. New times require new attitudes.
General Intercessions
– For the Church, that the People of God and its leaders may follow the promptings of the creative Spirit, to speak to the people of today the ever-new language of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we pray:
– For husbands and wives, parents and children, that they may not take one another for granted but renew each other with a love that is inventive and attentive, we pray:
– For artists, poets, and inventors, that they may reveal to us the splendor of creation and the riches of life beyond the apparent drabness of our existence, we pray:
– For this community, that we may not be afraid of authentic change, and draw from Christ the courage to start the reform of our world and our Church with the renewal of ourselves, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
this bread and this wine
are the signs of the new covenant
that you have made with us
in the blood of Jesus Christ.
May we, indeed, be your new people
of the new and everlasting covenant.
Renew our hearts,
make us your new wine of joy and hope,
that we may build a new earth today
and march forward with your Son
towards your new heaven
where you will be our God for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God of our future,
you have given us Jesus, your Son,
as our companion on the road
for renewing ourselves and the world.
Let him prod us on
when we try to compromise
by merely patching up the old here and there;
let him curb our impatience
when we try to rush people and things
beyond their capacity for growth.
Lead us forward on the new road of the Gospel
through our trusted guide, Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
We are God's new people, the people of the new covenant. So, we must live the new life of Jesus and do all we can to make our world new in justice and love and compassion. May God give you this insight and the strength to carry it out: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
