Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

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General Intercessions

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Celebrant: God knew us, and our needs, before we were born. We therefore pray with great confidence.

Deacon/Lector: 

That those appointed in the Church to proclaim God's Word may find open hearts and minds among those who hear them, we pray to the Lord... 

That government leaders may have the gifts of faith, hope, and love, to acknowledge God and be of true service to those they govern, we pray to the Lord... 

That God, who knows and loves us even from the womb, may inspire and sustain our work to eliminate abortion and the conditions that lead to it, we pray to the Lord... 

That our youth may learn the ways of God and become faithful disciples of Christ, and that our Catholic schools may be ever more effective in that mission, we pray to the Lord... 

That the sick may grow in faith and in health, we pray to the Lord...

That those who have died may be welcomed into the joys of eternal life, we pray to the Lord... 

Celebrant: 

Father,

As you answer our prayers,

Give us the faith and hope we need in this life,

And above all let us grow in your love which lasts forever.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Bulletin Insert

“Although, by their very nature, healthcare professions are at the service of life, they are sometimes induced to disregard life itself. Yet, as the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate reminds us: “Openness to life is at the centre of true development". There is no true development without this openness to life. "If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away. The acceptance of life strengthens moral fibre and makes people capable of mutual help” (n. 28). This paradoxical situation may be seen in the fact that, while persons are being accorded new rights — at times even presumed rights — life itself is not always protected as a primary value and primordial right of every human being. The final aim of the doctor's action is always the defence and promotion of life” (Address of Pope Francis to International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, September 20, 2013).

Homily Suggestions

Jer 1:4-5. 17-19
1 Cor 12:31-13:13 or 13:4-13
Lk 4:21-30

Watch a video with homily hints

Being pro-life while living amidst a culture of death requires the lessons of today’s first reading and gospel regarding what a prophet faces. We are all prophets by our baptism, and therefore share both in the blessings and burdens of that particular vocation. We are blessed in that we have and know with certainty the Word and will of God regarding the sanctity of life. The burden we have is that we must speak that word – in fact, proclaim it – amidst people who may not necessarily want to hear it. The lesson of these readings is that a) we should expect opposition, not be surprised at it, and b) we should not measure the success of the prophetic mission by how well we are accepted, but rather by how faithful and loving we are in carrying out the mission entrusted to us. 

The prophetic stance we take on behalf of life is not only a stance of example, but also of word. The good example we set must at times be explained.Pope Paul VI (who is now a canonized saint), in his landmark document “Evangelii Nuntiandi” (On Evangelization in the Modern World) made this point when he explained that the witness of life must at times be accompanied and explained by the word of life. Our people need our encouragement – as well as concrete tools – to be able to explain their pro-life position.

The second reading, of course, provides an entire lesson in itself about the meaning of love. The pro-life movement is a movement of love. It can be summed up as a movement which objects to the fact that the unborn are excluded from the most basic requirement of love (that is, the protection of one’s life), and which loves them intensely in order to make up for the lack of love they receive from others. Love ultimately says, “I sacrifice myself for the good of the other.” Abortion says, “I sacrifice the other for the good of myself.” 


Priests for Life
PO Box 236695 • Cocoa, FL 32923
Tel. 321-500-1000, Toll Free 888-735-3448 • Email: mail@priestsforlife.org