Lord of All
Esther 13 9, 10-11
O Lord, you have given everything its place in the world, and no one can make it otherwise. For it is your creation, the heavens and the earth and the stars: you are the Lord of all.
Opening Prayer:
Peace and Salvation
Let us pray that God will forgive our failings and bring us peace.
Father,
your love for us surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings, keep us in your peace and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Alternative Opening Prayer:
Christian Courage
Almighty and eternal God,
Father of the world to come,
your Goodness is beyond what our spirit can touch and your stregnth is more than the mind can bear.
Lead us to seek beyond our reach and give us the courage to stand before your truth.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
First Reading:
Man’s Companion
Genesis 2 18-24
God, knowing that man needs companionship, created animals and birds and finally placed Adam in a deep sleep and took one of his ribs, forming a woman..
The Lord God said:
“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “ This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called ‘woman’, for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.
Responsorial Psalm:
Respect of the Lord
Psalm 128
R: May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the Lord,
Who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favoured.
R:
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who respects the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
R
May you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R
Second Reading:
Christ our Brother
Hebrews 2: 9-11
To suffer, Jesus took a human body. In this way God made our leader perfect through suffering, bringing salvation. All who are consecrated have thereby a common Father and become brothers and sisters.
Brothers and sisters:
He “for a little while” was “made lower that the angels”, that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers”.
Alleluia:
Love one Another
1 John 4: 12
R: Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another, God remains in us
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R
Gospel:
The unity of marriage
and the value of children
Mark 10: 2-16
The Pharisees, knowing the permissions of Moses’ about divorce, test Jesus, but he recalls the reason for the command and reminds them of God’s intention for the unity of marriage. Divorce followed by remarriage is adultery. Jesus then speaks about his love for little children and their innocence..
The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” They replied, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery”.
And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing hands on them
Prayer over the Gifts:
Fullness of Redemption
Father,
Receive these gifts which our Lord, Jesus Christ, has asked us to offer in his memory.
May our obedient service bring us to the fullness of your redemption.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.
Amen.
Communion Antiphon:
Hope in the Lord
Lamentations 3: 25
The Lord is good to those who hope in him,
to those who are searching for love.
Or:
One Bread, One Body
I Corinthians 10: 17
Because there is one bread, we, though many, are one body,
for we all share in the one loaf and in the one chalice.
Prayer After Communion:
Eucharistic Life
Almighty God,.
let the eucharist we share
fill us with your life.
May the love of Christ
which we celebrate here
touch our lives and lead us to you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Amen
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