Greeting (See Second Reading)
Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus. May
Jesus, the Lord of life, be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- It
Is Me You Welcome
Are we aware that when we receive strangers, we receive the
Lord himself? We have Jesus’ own words for this. In the stranger, God visits
us. This applies not only to us in our families, but also in our Church
communities. How do we welcome “outsiders” in our churches, and people who have
moved from other parishes? Do we welcome the Lord in them? Remember how the
Lord welcomes us here.
- Come
In, Feel At Home
Unless you are an exception to the rule, most people feel
very happy when they are made to feel welcome, especially in homes and
communities where they are new. In our times, certainly in urban settings, the
sense of hospitality is disappearing at a very alarming rate. Christians in
their communities, even in their own parish churches, are becoming strangers to
one another. Let us listen to Jesus in this Eucharist how he expects us to
welcome one another as he welcomes us.
Penitential Act
The Lord welcomes even with joy those estranged from him
through sin. Let us accept his pardon with gratitude and learn from him to
forgive others. (pause)
Lord Jesus, we welcome you when we welcome those who speak
in your name: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, we give a cool drink to you when we quench the
thirst of a disciple of yours: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have
mercy.
Lord Jesus, we welcome you when we receive the least of our
brothers and sisters: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, and heal in us the wounds of sin. Lead
us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God to make us welcome people, as he is
hospitable to us (pause)
Our kind and caring God, your Son Jesus welcomes us in your
house, speaks to us his message of hope and nourishes us with his own body. Let
him dispose us to welcome in his name those he sends to us, known or unknown, who
ask for justice and love, for integrity or a mere glass of water. Make us an
open and hospitable Church, that one day you may welcome us with joy in your
eternal home. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading; 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
The Woman Urged the Man of God to Stay: With
a great and gratuitous sense of hospitality, the woman from Shunem offered
shelter and food to the prophet Elisha. As she was childless, God rewarded her
with a son.
Second Reading: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Dead to Sin and Alive in Christ: In
baptism, we have encountered Christ. From then on, we journey with him from
death to sin to new life in him.
Gospel; Matthew 10:37-42
Whoever Welcomes You is Hospitable to Me: Jesus
briefs his apostles on their vocation and mission. They must follow Christ and
be ready to sacrifice themselves for him. Those who are hospitable to them or
to anyone are hospitable to God.
Prayers of the Faithful
God has placed people along our way. Let us pray to our
Father who welcomes us in Christ that we may always encounter other people as
persons whom he loves and wants us to love. Let us say: R/ Listen
to your people, Lord.
– For the Church that it may preach the Gospel
without compromise and yet be sensitive to the aspirations and the needs of our
time and see them in the light of Christ, let us pray: R/ Listen
to your people, Lord.
– For those in the Church who bear the burden of
authority, that they may be open to all without favouritism and make everyone
co-responsible for the whole People of God, let us pray: R/ Listen
to your people, Lord.
– For our missionaries, that they may welcome
the cultural values of the people to whom they are sent and be open to their
mentality, let us pray: R/ Listen to your people, Lord.
– For those who live on the edge of society, for
loners and strangers, the poor and old people, or the sick and the
misunderstood, that they may encounter warmhearted people who understand and
welcome them, let us pray: R/ Listen to your people, Lord.
– For this and all other Christian communities,
that we may not tolerate among us any form of prejudice or discrimination but
open our hearts and doors to one another, Let us pray: R/ Listen
to your people, Lord.
Lord our God, help us to welcome one another, that you may
welcome us and stay with us for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, loving Father, your Son Jesus Christ invites
us to share his table and to be his guests. As he is hospitable to us now, may
we learn from him to be hospitable to people with discretion and generosity. Make
us thankful when the guest cannot repay us for the good we have done, for this
is how you accept us in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
However we come, the Lord Jesus invites us to join him in
his offering to the Father. With him, let us give thanks and praise to God.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
One with Christ our Lord through baptism, we pray with him
to our Father in heaven. R/ Our Father...
Prayer for Peace
Lord Jesus Christ, as the grains of wheat once scattered have
been gathered to become one bread, you bring us together in your Church notwithstanding
our faults. Look not on our sins but give to all who will eat your body to
remain in peace and unity with you and one another, that the world may know that
you save those who err and that you are our Lord forever. R/ Amen.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord who invites us to his table. Happy
are we to accept his invitation
to be his guests. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father, today we have been the guests of your
Son; he wants to stay among people in human form—through us. Help us to be to
those around us his helping hand, his smile of welcome, his voice of
encouragement and pardon, the face of his love. May this be his way and ours of
leading people to you, our God. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharist the Lord Jesus has been hospitable to us. He
has spoken to us from heart to heart and has given us the food and drink of
himself. He has told us to welcome people in his name and to treat them as we
would treat him. In his name, then, may we accept and receive one another. May
almighty God bless you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go and accept one another in the Lord’s name.
R/ Thanks be to God.
***
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 10:37-42; The Cost of Discipleship
Being a Christian is always challenging. Our faith would
force us to give up our selfishness, so that it might be a battle within. The
desires for wealth, power, and pleasure are incompatible with faith in God. We
also have to fight against situations and people who try to dissuade us from
our faith. We may be unable to practise our faith at work or during our work
schedules, or we may be prohibited from doing so by society or those in
authority.
The Gospel develops themes of sending disciples on a
mission, and Jesus warns us about this conflict. A disciple may experience
rejection or misunderstanding because of their faith in Jesus, even within
their family or closest circle. Many families today avoid discussing faith
matters to maintain harmony at home. Although we seldom realise it, this lack
of faith in God has become one of the main reasons for the unhappiness and
conflict in our modern families.
The demands of discipleship are presented in all their
harshness. Matthew wrote his Gospel in a time of persecution. To remain
faithful to Christ, the disciples often had to break ties with those who
mattered most - their parents, spouses and children. Because the rabbis had
made the decision to expel those who adhered to the Christian faith from their
synagogues, they were considered heretical and disowned by their families.
It is intended to encourage the persecuted Christians by
reminding them of Jesus’ words in the Gospel. Jesus demands from the disciples
the courage to remain without support, protection, and material security for
the sake of his Gospel.
Jesus’ message is neither light nor abstract. It cuts right
into our family lives. How many youngsters today care the least about their
faith in God while choosing their life partners? How many Catholic parents take
their kids to swimming lessons or music classes on Sundays and ignore their
life in faith and their responsibility to bring up their kids in faith? And how
many Catholic couples consider it normal to terminate a pregnancy when a child
is inconvenient?
A remarkable promise is made to those who welcome preachers of the Gospel in the second part of the passage (vv. 40-42). “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me” (v. 40). Not everyone has received the same qualities and gifts from God. In different ways, but with the same generosity, every true believer is called to support those who dedicate themselves to proclaiming the Gospel.
