Twenty-Fifth
Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
General Intercessions
Celebrant: Trusting in the Lord,
we bring Him our needs, the needs of our community, and the needs of the whole
world.
Deacon/Lector:
That the Church may continue to
spread the message of hope to every corner of the world, we pray to the Lord...
That those who minister in the
Church may be blessed with the wisdom to lead God's people to the kingdom of
heaven, we pray to the Lord...
That national and local leaders
may seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit as they make their decisions for the
common good, we pray to the Lord...
That our nation may become a
Culture of Life that rejects abortion, and more effectively welcomes children
for Jesus' sake, therefore welcoming Him, we pray to the Lord...
That Christians will work
together to assist those who are poor and needy, we pray to the Lord...
That those who have fallen away
from the practice of their faith may seek the help of the Holy Spirit to be
renewed and to live their faith more fully, we pray to the Lord...
That those who have died may
share fully in the joy of the saints in heaven, we pray to the Lord...
Celebrant: Almighty Father,
enable us to be more responsive to your word and to lead our lives in ways which
give you praise and glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bulletin Insert
Pope Benedict XVI on Life…
“We are well aware that all too
often … life is exalted as long as it is pleasurable, but there is a tendency to
no longer respect it as soon as it is sick or handicapped. Based on deep love
for every person it is possible instead to put into practice effective forms of
service to life: to newborn life and to life marked by marginalization or
suffering, especially in its terminal phase. The Virgin Mary received with
perfect love the Word of life, Jesus Christ, who came into the world so that
human beings might "have life... abundantly" (Jn 10: 10). Let us entrust to her
expectant mothers, families, health-care workers and volunteers who are
committed in so many ways to the service of life. Let us pray in particular for
people in the most difficult situations” (February 5, 2006).
Homily Suggestions on
Pro-life Themes
Receiving the child is tantamount to receiving God, the Gospel of this weekend
tells us. This is why Pope John Paul II could write in “The Gospel of Life,” “whoever
attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself” (n. 9), and
“rejection of human life, in whatever form that rejection takes, is really a
rejection of Christ” (104).
Jesus
places this teaching in the context of humble service to others, and his lesson
on service is, furthermore, in the wider context of his impending passion, death
and resurrection. In other words, at the heart of the Christian life is the
Paschal Mystery. That is what brings salvation and changes us. It changes us
precisely into people who have the power to love by giving ourselves away. The
dynamic of giving ourselves away in humble service is that “self-emptying” of
which St. Paul speaks when he writes to the Philippians and says that the Lord
Jesus “emptied himself” (Phil. 2:7). The link between these themes in today’s
Gospel is that the same self-emptying is exactly what is needed in order to
welcome one another, from the elderly to the unborn, from those who are like us
to those who differ in a thousand ways. Self-emptying frees us from the
prejudice that fails to see the one who is different as our neighbor, and frees
us from the selfishness that welcomes only those whom we choose to welcome. The
Christian faith demands that we accept responsibility for our neighbor based on
God’s choice, not ours. The “pro-choice” Culture of Death, on the other hand,
says we have responsibility only for those for whom we choose to have
responsibility.
This
ties into the first reading. What is described in this passage from Wisdom is
essentially an abdication of personal responsibility for one’s actions. Those
who beset the just man say to themselves that if God is on the just man’s side,
then it’s God’s responsibility to save him. We are off the hook. If we attack
and God does not intervene, then it must be OK. We see a reflection of this
mindset in the temptation to abortion. By claiming that “circumstances” leave no
other choice than to abort a child, one is placing back on God the
responsibility that we each have to take to empty ourselves in humble service,
imitating the Master and welcoming the child.
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