WHEN THE DOLLARS ARE IN THE WAY
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: We need things that are necessary for life, but experience keeps reminding us that accumulating riches does not bring happiness! The joy of living does not depend on full granaries or fat bank accounts but on how much we love the Lord and one another and on how much we share what we have. This is how we become rich in the sight of God. We pray that we may get our priorities right.
Penitential Rite
L: For the moments we have focused exclusively on ourselves, and we have put our happiness and life in what is perishable, we ask the Lord for forgiveness.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you are our life
and you want us to live for values that last:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you are rich in mercy
and you want us to be rich in forgiveness and love:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you brought us freedom
and you want us to be free from greed, free for God and people:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: O God,
the giver of every gift that endures,
only by your grace can we understand
the wonder of life and why it is given.
By the word of your Son
challenge our foolishness, confront our greed,
and shape our lives to the wisdom of the gospel .
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalm Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
Response If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2 Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Gospel Luke 12:13-21
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are in the crowd when someone asks Jesus: “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear the question and when you hear Jesus’ response and the parable of the rich fool?
Sunday Snippets
Henry Ford asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave him a pair of specs with dollar coins instead of lenses. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. “Nothing,” the man said, “the dollars are in the way.” Ford told him that he should invest in reaching out to others, not simply in making money.
Money is important. It is necessary! But it is only a means to higher ends. When the “dollars” get in the way of our seeing God, others, and the world, it’s time to change/remove our specs!
In the gospel, when called to arbitrate in a property dispute, Jesus warns his listeners—through the parable of the rich fool—not to focus on possessions. The rich man of the parable is a “fool” not because he is rich; but because
a) he trusts inordinately in his riches: he cannot see beyond himself; in his barns, there is room only for grain, not for God.
b) he is totally self-centred: when he has a problem, he talks it over with himself; all his planning is for his benefit and comfort only.
The man has riches but is extremely poor in his relationships.
This is why St Paul, in the second reading, cautions the Colossians: “put to death… the greed that is idolatry.” The first reading, from the Book of Ecclesiastes, sums up Jesus’ teaching!
This text appears in the section on discipleship. Having spoken of the central place of love and prayer in the life of the disciple, Jesus now stresses the need to be rich in what matters to God: becoming truly human, that is, becoming rich in our relationship with God and others.
Few of us are as rich as the man in the story; but each of us has riches: talents, time, resources, families…
Do my “riches” isolate me from others or do I share my riches with others and use these to build my relationships? Where does my security lie: in the bank or in God? On what do I focus: grain/ green/ God? Are the “dollars” in the way?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: Is there more of “toil and anxiety” than I want in my life?
This reading is about priorities. Do mine occasionally need to be checked and rearranged?
Reading 2: “Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision.” Could St Paul give the same speech today? How would acting as if “Christ is all and in all” solve today’s problems like racism?
Gospel: Many would determine their worth as a person by the greatness of their house or portfolio or the make of their car. What about me? How do I estimate my/a person’s worth?
What are some qualities that “matter to God”?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: God is the origin and end of our riches, peace, and joy. To him we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may recognize our dependence upon God and let go of our attempts to control our lives, we pray…
R: For leaders of nations: that they work for effective political, social, and economic reforms that allow people to enjoy the fruits of their work, material and spiritual goods, and the treasures of education and culture, we pray…
R: For families that are divided by inheritance and financial issues: that God may help them recognize the value and dignity of each other and guide them to a resolution of their conflicts, we pray…
R: For health and healing: that God may protect us from the new coronavirus variants and other rampant diseases, and heal those who are ill, we pray…
R: For greater stewardship: that we may understand the beauty and value of God’s creation and work to protect it, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may appreciate all the gifts that God has given us and become rich through words of faith, attitudes of hope, and deeds of love, we pray…
L: Lord our God, keep us attentive to the brittleness of all things to which we attach ourselves. Make us share our goods and talents and keep us trusting in you, our true wealth and our hope. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
If I owned all the clothes in the mall
but I did not clothe the naked;
if I sipped tasty wines
but did not give a glass of cold water;
if I took time to rake in money
but did not spread love;
then, what would I have?
Lord,
What would you want me to have?
Make me want that more than anything else.
Through your Holy Spirit,
help me take off the old self
and put on what is new
so I can better seek what is above.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Father, you care, and so in you we trust.
Our hearts are divided,
yet we must provide care and security to those we love.
Do not allow greed to blind us
so as to pile up goods we do not need
and things that do not really matter.
Make us generous sharers of what we have
that we may become rich in your sight.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
No comments:
Post a Comment