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The Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 15, 2009
 
GATHERING
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
I ask the grace
to love.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray
Our
Cadillacs
will pass away,
our condos crumble to the ground.
Everything
goes: worries, investments, honors, pains.
Yet Jesus, you say this to us:
“My words
will not pass away.”
Please,
overload
our hearts with love.
Love remains, and your words are love.
Let us give and receive such love everyday,
filled full
with it in this life, overflowing, packed in,
running over.
Amen
First Reading:
A Reading from the Book of Daniel (Daniel 12:1 - 3)
In those days, I Daniel,
heard this word
of the Lord:
"At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince,
guardian of your people;
it shall be a
time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began until that time.
At that time your people shall escape,
everyone
who is found written in the book.
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;
some shall live
forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
“But the wise shall shine brightly
like the splendor of the firmament,
and
those who lead the many to justice
shall be like the stars forever."
Thanks be to God
Second Reading:
A
reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 19:11 - 14, 18)
Brothers
and sisters:
Every priest stands daily at his ministry,
offering frequently those same sacrifices
that can never
take away sins.
But this one offered one sacrifice for sins,
and took his seat forever at the right hand of God;
now
he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering
he has made perfect forever those who are being
consecrated.
Where there is forgiveness of these,
there is no longer offering for sin.
Thanks
be to God.
The Gospel Acclamation
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark (Mark 13:24
- 32)
Glory to you, O Lord
Jesus said to his disciples:
"In those days after that tribulation
the sun will
be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in
the heavens will be shaken.
"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds'
with great power and
glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to
the end of the sky.
"Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you
know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth
will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
"But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ
The Homily
Today’s readings are full of gloom and doom. The first reading from
the Book of Daniel talks about the end of time being a time of unsurpassed stress where some who die shall be in everlasting
horror and disgrace. The Gospel reading from the Apocalyptical sections of Mark presents the end of time as being the
day of tribulations, when the earth will shake and even the stars will fall out of the sky. Scary stuff, these end of
the world readings.
But are they? Look again at the first reading: Daniel prophesies that many will live
forever. The wise will shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice will
be like the stars forever. And in Mark Jesus adds, “the elect will be gathered from the four winds, from the end
of the earth to the end of the sky.”
The early Christians did not look at the Second Coming and end of time
with terror. Instead, they saw it as a time when the Lord would return to his people and correct the injustices of the
world. Christians were being put to death for the Lord in the most horrible ways. Throughout the world, children
were starving to death while rich people ate heartily. The conquering Romans, like the Greeks and Persians before them, had
no respect for any life other than their own and killed the population of whole cities: men, women and children, viciously
and randomly.
This is not what God created the world to be. The world was suffering from
sin. Therefore, the Christians prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha. Come and recreate the world
in your image.”
The world has not changed much in its barbarity. Gay people are still killed for who they
are. Genocide contineus in certain African nations. Anyone in America who says the way of war should not be the
way of the most civilized, advanced country of the world will be attacked and labeled by Republians as not being patriotic;
even being treasonous.
And children are still hungry. They are hungry in Africa, hungry in South America,
and hungry right here in America. The world has not changed
all that much.
And yet, it has. The major change in the world is that with Jesus the Christ
there is hope. There is hope that war will no longer be acceptable. There is hope that starvation will become
a bad memory. There is hope that racism, sexism, and homophobia will not only be legislated out of exstance but
excised from people's hearts. There is hope that oppression will lose its control over the vulnerable. There is
hope that those who do evil will not prevail. There is hope that the evildoers who have tried to destroy America will
be held accoutable.
Evil is not a part of God's plan. What America and Americas are faced with today,
economic disaster and the threat of Islamic terrorism, are not a part of God's plan but rather the result of economic
and political evil committed by our own government that created them.
Evil is not part of God’s plan. But
we are part of his plan. The readings today urge us to become involved. We are assured that if we take up
the battle of good against evil, good will prevail and we will join in the triumph of God’s forces.
Prayers of the People
Now as the people who are action oriented
Christians, let us pray:
For the Church: that we may be a light in times of confusion and turmoil
through our deeds of compassion and our care for others.
Hear us, Risen Lord.
For all who are experiencing persecution for their faith, for those who have
been dismissed or demoted for their belief, for those imprisoned unjustly: that God will strengthen their hearts and make
bright the light of their faith so that their persecutors may encounter the Good News.
Hear us, Risen Lord
For the curtailment and destruction
of nuclear weapons: that God will lead all nations on a new path that will protect human life and enable us to live peaceably
with all people.
Please add your own prayers and petitions.
Amen
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Celebrant:
Blessed are you Lord God of all creation.
Through your goodnes we offer these gifts of bread and wine which earth has given and human hands have made. May they
become our spritual food and drink.
May the Lord accept our sacrifice for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good, and the good of all his church.
Celebrant:
The Lord be with you.
Celebrant:
We lift up our hearts to the Lord.
Celebrant:
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God as it is right to give him thanks
and praise.
Father, it is our duty and salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the Word through whom you made the universe, the Savior you sent to redeem us. By the power of the Holy Spirit he
was born of the Virgin Mary. For our sake he opened his arms on the cross; he put an end to death and revealed the resurrection.
In this he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.
And so we join the angels and saints in proclaiming your glory:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise. All life, all holiness comes from you through your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit. From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from
east to west a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name.
And so, Father, we bring you these gifts. We ask you to make them holy by the power of your Spirit, that they may become
the body and blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate this eucharist.
On the night he was betrayed, he took bread and gave you thanks
and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which will be given up for you.
When supper was ended, he took the cup.
Again he gave you thanks and praise,
gave the cup to his disciples, and said:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all
so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of me.
Celebrant:
Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith.
When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim our death,
Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
Celebrant:
Father, calling to mind the death your Son endured for our salvation, his glorious resurrection
and ascension into heaven, and ready to greet him when he comes again, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.
Look with favor on your Church's offering, and see the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself. Grant that we, who
are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ. May he
make us an everlasting gift to you and enable us to share in the inheritance of your saints, with Mary, the virgin Mother
of God, with the apostles, the martyrs, and all your saints, on whose constant intercession we rely for help.
Lord, may this sacrifice, which has made our peace with you, advance the peace and salvation of all
the world. Strengthen in faith and love your pilgrim Church on earth: your servant, Pope Benedict; the Ecumenical Patriarch,
Bartholomew; our Presiding Bishop, Mark; and all the bishops with the clergy and the entire people your Son has
gathered here before you. In mercy and love unite all your children wherever they may be. Welcome into your kingdom our departed
brothers and sisters, and all who have left this world in your friendship. We hope to enjoy for ever the vision of your glory,
through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come.
Amen
The Lord's Prayer:
Celebrant:
We pray for the coming of the kingdom as Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
now and forever.
Amen.
The sign of Peace:
Celebrant:
The Peace of the Lord be with us all.
Celebrant:
Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.
Therefore, let us keep the feast.
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you.
But only say the word and I shall be healed.
Communion of the Faithful:
The Body and Blood of Christ bring us to everlasting life.
Amen
Closing Prayer:
Let us pray
Look up!
Look at the splendor
of the firmament
light years away from the dust of the earth.
It is the wise who are shining like stars
giving us
directions,
showing the way.
How did they get there?
How did they attain such heights?
They offered a cup
of water,
or their house or food or anything they could find.
They gave away their time, their money and
their lives
and never counted the cost.
They used every gift they had
and also some they didn’t,
and spent a lifetime
eaching
others
how to use
theirs.
Lord, let these stars guide us.
They were made out of our same dust,
rose to
unimaginable heights
by love.
Amen
Blessing and Dismissal:
Celebrant:
The blessing of God Almighty: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you now and forever.
This celebration is ended. Go forth to love and serve God and his
people.
Amen.
The Music
Gospel Acclamation
Michael Joncas
Holy, Holy, Holy
Michael Joncas
Memorial Acclamation
Michael Joncas
Amen
Michael Joncas
Seek the Lord
St Louis Jesuits
A Time Will Come for
Singing St
Louis Jesuits
Announcement
Like all "good churches" we have announcements, but they are
beginning to clutter the call to celebrate so they are now at the end of the celebration as well as on the Bulletin Board.
As we approach Thanksgiving and the "Black Friday" please think
of how you could incorporate charity into your gifts so tha our celebration of Jesus' birth is both joyous and meaningful.
In addition to the Heifer Project we will provide othe suggestions, Please suggest your own.
Please read our pages on the Heifer Project as well as Think
Globally-Act Locally.
"Every gun that is fired, every warship launched, every rocket
fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, ...Dwight David Eisenhower
If you would like to light a virtual candle on our Light-a-Candle page for someone who is sick, deceased,
or in need, send an email to Fr. Jack at pastorsjcc@gmail.com
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