Twenty-Eighth Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Cycle A
General Intercessions
Celebrant: In the
first reading, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a world free of hunger and filled
with God’s peace. Let us offer our prayers for all those in need of God’s
abiding presence.
Deacon/Lector:
That all Church leaders will minister to the
people of God in generosity and self-sacrifice, we pray to the Lord…
That governments of the world will recognize
that their power comes from God and may exercise their duties according to His
law, we pray to the Lord…
That we, the People of Life, may always
proclaim and defend human life as a gift from God, who destroys death forever in
Christ, we pray to the Lord...
For those in our community who are lonely,
sick, and suffering, may God shower them with his love and compassion, we pray
to the Lord…
For the prayers we hold in our hearts, united
with Mary, the mother of God and all the saints, we pray the Lord…
Celebrant:
God of life,
hear the prayers of your people
voiced in the name of Jesus Christ your Son,
who is Lord forever and ever.
Bulletin Insert
Life is Primary
A major Vatican document reminds us
that the right to life is primary: “The teachings of Pope John XXIII, the Second
Vatican Council, and Pope Paul VI have given abundant indication of the concept
of human rights as articulated by the Magisterium. Pope John Paul II has drawn
up a list of them in the Encyclical Centesimus Annus…The first right
presented in this list is the right to life, from conception to its natural end,
which is the condition for the exercise of all other rights and, in particular,
implies the illicitness of every form of procured abortion and euthanasia” (Compendium
of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace,
Vatican City, 2004).
Homily Points for Pro-life Themes
Is 25:6-10a
Phil 4:12-14, 19-20
Mt 22:1-14 or 22:1-10
(Further info at www.priestsforlife.org/preaching)
The readings assigned for today
speak about the banquet to which God – in the old and new covenants – calls his
people. The homilist can point out that this is a banquet of life. The
prophecy of Isaiah tells us that God is in the business of destroying death. “On
this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all people, the web that is
woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever.” This is the same
mountain on which he will provide the choice foods and wines.
God did not make death; rather, he destroys
it. He does so in Christ, for whom the wedding banquet (the marriage of Christ
the Bridegroom with the Church his bride) is celebrated. To stand with Christ is
to stand with life, and to stand with life is to stand against whatever
destroys it. Nothing destroys more life than abortion.
We are on the holy mountain now – in the
Eucharist, where the Church, and each of us individually, renew our vows to the
Lord, and receive (not simply recall) his victory over death. It remains
for us to “proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of Life” (as John Paul II
put it in Evangelium Vitae), to apply that victory to every sector of
society.
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