LIFE IN A WHOLE NEW WORLD
INTRODUCTORY RITES
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:
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: Our God is the God of the living, not of the dead. And he invites us to live fully in this life so that we might live fully with him in the next… which is a whole new world!
We pray that we may stay rooted in him and live by the ideals and values of his kingdom.
Penitential Rite
L: And for our failure to live thus, we ask his pardon.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you defeated death by rising to life again:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you raise the dead to life in the spirit:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you lead us into everlasting life:
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: God of all the living,
in the resurrection of Christ Jesus
you have given us the life
which even death cannot destroy.
Remember your unshakeable promise
and strengthen us to live in this world
as your new creation.
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 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
Psalm Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
Response Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Reading 2 2 Thessalonians 2:16–3:5
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead;
to him be glory and power, forever and ever.
Gospel Luke 20:27-38 or 20:27, 34-38
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are present when the Sadducees give a far-fetched example before asking their question about the resurrection. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear the example and when you hear Jesus’ response?
Sunday Snippets
In the film Aladdin, Aladdin sings to and with Princess Jasmine the song: A Whole New World. The last verse of the song is:
A whole new world; that’s where we’ll be
A thrilling chase, a wondrous place for you and me!
These words sum up the thrust of the readings of today.
In the gospel, the Sadducees—who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead—reduce this belief to absurdity by using a far-fetched example of seven brothers, who are married successively to the same woman and die before having children. They ask: “At the resurrection which of the brothers will be the wife’s husband?”
Jesus indicates that their question betrays their limited perspective. He draws a sharp distinction between this world and the “coming age”. The latter is not an extension of this world; it is a whole new world, in which a human being is a child of God and not a piece of property.
In this life, marriage and procreation are needed for the continuation of humanity. In the “age to come” people will neither die nor be born; there is no need for marriage and procreation.
We enter new relationships with God, we will be his children; and with people in relationships that transcend blood and marriage.
We will have a new way of being like angels! We will live forever in the fullness of our person.
The reason/basis for our hope in this new world is God!
The first reading is a narrative of seven brothers and their mother who are killed for their faith in the God of life. They believe that he will raise them to a higher life because they have lived faithfully on earth.
The way to prepare ourselves for this new world is living on this earth without making ideas, things, persons, and relationships into gods. We need to nurture our rootedness in God and to live faithfully by his values and ideals.
A little girl and her father were walking on a clear, starry night. She turned to him and asked: “If the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what will the right side be like?”
When it comes to answering that question, we’ll just have to leave it up to God! We’ll do our part of living right on the wrong side of heaven!
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: What are some burdensome earthly trials besides martyrdom that people might be able to endure because of the hope of the resurrection? What suffering could such hope allow me to endure?
Reading 2: Does Paul pray that his ministry and that of his friends speeds forward or that the Word of the Lord does the same through their efforts? Discuss. What is the difference?
Gospel: When I encounter Christ in the Sacraments, in my fellow human beings, in community, might I get a taste of eternity? If God is love, when I experience real love might I get a taste of the risen life?
How does my life on earth prepare me for the whole new world afterwards?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Sisters and brothers, our God is a God not of the dead but of the living. We pray to him for everything that makes life valuable and meaningful: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may offer faithful witness to God's abiding care for us and always live as his children, we pray to the Lord…
R: For the world: that God may change the minds and hearts of government and military leaders who use pain to control and punish people, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who do not believe in eternal life: that they may come to know the living God who offers the fullness of life and everlasting peace to everyone, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who are recovering from illness, natural disasters, violence, or crime: that God may ease their pain, give them strength, and guide them to the support and assistance that they need, we pray to the Lord…
R: For a spirit of stewardship: that we may protect and care for all creation which God has made and which reflects God’s glory, we pray to the Lord…
R: For ourselves: that God may help us to place him at the centre of our life and to let go of all the things that interfere with our relationship with him, we pray to the Lord…
L: God of life, you want us to live even beyond death as fully human and complete persons, and yet made totally different by your love. Give us a firm faith that life is meaningful and worthwhile, and that death is not the end but a completely new beginning. 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
Lord,
a place where no squalls rage,
where there is peace and harmony.
What can I bring along to that place?
How about my heart and spirit?
Lord,
is there a piece of us that never dies;
a sacred space in us where love resides?
Widen that space while time remains.
Prepare our hearts now
to live faithfully by your values and ideals.
Let our hearts flow out now and forever
with your boundless and infinite love.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God of the living,
you have created us for life, love, and joy.
As we share in the cross of Jesus,
keep our hope alive that your faithful love
will have the final say,
and that life will overcome death.
Give us the firm longing and faith
that you will raise us up with him.
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:
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