Thirteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Cycle B
General Intercessions
Celebrant: Jesus brought
healing, comfort, and new life to those who believed. Let us join our prayers of
intercession for our needs and the needs of the world.
Deacon/Lector:
That the Church and her
leaders will continue to be a sign of faith to all people in a world faced with
sadness and strife, we pray to the Lord...
That as our nation observes
Independence Day, we may give thanks for our freedom and use it in the service
of life and of God, we pray to the Lord...
That on this National Voter
Registration Sunday, citizens may recommit themselves to exercising their right
and duty to vote in every election, we pray to the Lord...
That God, who did not make
death and who is the source of all life, may bring an end to the abortion and
all other forms of violence of in our world, we pray to the Lord...
That our community of faith
may be a living example of the mystery of God's presence among us, by our love
for each other, we pray to the Lord...
That those who have died may
find rest in the tender embrace of God, let us pray to the Lord...
Celebrant: Loving
Father, you are always near to us. Hear these prayers which we make with
confidence in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Bulletin Insert
The Bishops Speak
In their statement “Catholics
in Political Life” (June 2004), the United States bishops said the following:
“We need to continue to teach
clearly and help other Catholic leaders to teach clearly on our unequivocal
commitment to the legal protection of human life from the moment of conception
until natural death. Our teaching on human life and dignity should be reflected
in our parishes and our educational, health care and human service ministries.
“We need to do more to
persuade all people that human life is precious and human dignity must be
defended. This requires more effective dialogue and engagement with all public
officials, especially Catholic public officials. We welcome conversation
initiated by political leaders themselves.”
Homily Suggestions on Pro-life Themes
“God did not make
death …for he fashioned all things that they might have being.” This line from
the first reading is not only an assertion that tells us something about God; it
is a mandate for his people to stand against the power of death and to defend
and promote life. Likewise, the raising of the dead girl to life, recounted in
the Gospel passage, is not simply a story about what Jesus did; it is a summons
to his people to do it again and again as they build a Culture of Life in the
world.
One could ask, in
the face of miracles like the raising of the dead, why Jesus did not do it more
frequently. The answer is that his miracle was a sign of the meaning of his
mission and ours. His occasional raising of the dead reveals the meaning of
everything he is doing at every moment. He is reconciling humanity to God, and
hence destroying the very source of death. In the end, all will rise – but they
are called first to come to Christ, who is Life itself, and embrace that gift of
natural and supernatural life.
We can say,
therefore, that the pro-life movement is not simply a response to Roe vs. Wade.
Rather, the pro-life movement is a response to Jesus Christ. God is in the
business of destroying death, and has done so through Christ. To stand with
Christ is to stand with life, and therefore to stand against whatever destroys
it. Nothing in our world destroys more life than abortion.
Some wonder why we
would preach about abortion at Mass, or be concerned about what, in the eyes of
some, is none of our business. Yet it is our business, because we serve a God
who destroys death. We are the People of God and the People of Life. It is the
business of love to save human lives. In the Mass, we literally touch the
victory of life over death. What can be a more appropriate time and place to
talk about it?
Liturgical Resources
