Celebrant: We now approach the Father through the One Mediator, Jesus Christ, and we present all our needs.

Deacon/Lector:

For God's Holy Church throughout the world, and for all entrusted with the ministry of the Gospel, we pray to the Lord...

That God may bless the efforts of governments to ensure a fair and plentiful distribution of the goods of this world, we pray to the Lord...

That the concerns people have about money may never be greater than their readiness to welcome and cherish the gift of children, we pray to the Lord…

For college students, especially those who are away from home, that the Lord may bless them in their studies and keep them close to Himself, we pray to the Lord...

For the sick, that they be comforted and healed according to God's will, we pray to the Lord...

That those who have died may be purified and share the joys of everlasting life, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:
Father,
All things are of Your making.
As you answer our prayers,
May we share Your blessings
With all our brothers and sisters. 
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Cain vs. Abel

“Brother kills brother. Like the first fratricide, every murder is a violation of the "spiritual" kinship uniting mankind in one great family, in which all share the same fundamental good: equal personal dignity. Not infrequently the kinship "of flesh and blood" is also violated; for example when threats to life arise within the relationship between parents and children, such as happens in abortion or when, in the wider context of family or kinship, euthanasia is encouraged or practiced” (John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, n.8).

Am 8:4-7
1 Tm 2:1-8
Lk 16:1-13 or 16:10-13

Watch a video with homily hints

The second reading today contains a verse that forms the basis for the lessons in the other readings: “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” It is the reality of the Incarnation that forms the basis for Christian morality, and in particular for our moral obligations regarding the use of money. The fact that Jesus is both God and man means that our relationship with God cannot be purely in a detached spiritual realm, disconnected with the things of earth. Rather, it is precisely through the proper use of the things of earth that we connect with our salvation and our God.

Hence, we recognize the importance of earthly goods, and the teaching of the Church that the goods of the earth are meant for all people. In the first reading and in the Gospel, the lesson is that people are more important than money. When we mistreat people for the sake of monetary benefit, we harm our relationship with God.

This is a core tenet of the Church’s social doctrine. The priority of people over things is a theme that shapes the Church’s view of economics, health care, politics, and every realm of human activity. Governments exist for people, not the other way around. Economies exist for people, not the other way around.

These truths form the basis for a culture of life, because it is only when these priorities are reversed that societies or individuals feel free to resort to violence against people – including the violence of abortion and euthanasia – in order to “make things right” in some other regard. But a rejection of the human person can never make things right. Only in the affirmation of the person do we find the path to God.