BLESSED VERSUS CURSED
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
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: The word of God today challenges us to choose who we will be: the one who trusts the world and its peoples, or the one who trusts in God. Choose!
We pray that we may choose God and be ready for the consequences: poverty, hunger, tears, and persecution!
Penitential Rite
L: Often we are too self-satisfied to make room for God and for people. We now ask the Lord and one another for forgiveness.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you became poor for our sake
to make us rich with your forgiveness and life:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you came to join us in our suffering
to heal us and to bring us joy:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you make us hungry for enduring love
to fill us with your lasting happiness:
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,
who alone can satisfy our deepest hungers,
move our hearts to seek first your kingdom,
that ours may be the security and joy
of those who place their trust in you.
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 Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Response Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
your reward will be great in heaven.
Gospel Luke 6:17, 20-26
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are on the level ground among the disciples/ crowds. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear Jesus declare a blessing on those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated; and a woe on those who are rich, well fed, laughing, and well-spoken of?
Sunday Snippets
A preacher asked for a show of hands from all in the congregation who would love to be poor, hungry, weeping, and hated. No hand went up. Then he asked of those who would love to be rich, well fed, laughing, and well-spoken of. All hands went up. What would my response be?
Popular culture is quick to counsel us that we will be happy if only we can get that latest gadget, the new house, the swankiest vehicle, and so on. It is seductive.
Yet, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares a blessing on those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated. He then pronounces a woe on those who are rich, well fed, laughing, and well-spoken of.
Does Jesus mean poverty is a sign of divine approval and prosperity a sign of divine disapproval? Certainly, not! Poverty, hunger, weeping, and hatred are all misfortunes; no good parents would want these for their children. Neither would God, our loving parent, want these for us.
How are we then to understand the beatitudes?
The first key is at the end of the last beatitude: “on account of the Son of Man.” Those who accept these as the price for following Jesus are the blessed ones. The passage immediately preceding today’s gospel is the call of the twelve. Today’s text is like an appointment letter; it has the terms and conditions of being apostles! The beatitudes are the direct consequences of discipleship. To be an apostle of Jesus meant instant membership in the club of the poor, the hated, the reviled, the excluded.
The second key is in understanding “poor”. The poor are the ‘anawim’ – a small group of people who, despite difficulties and trials, have been faithful to God’s covenant. They have no resources to meet their needs, recognize their total dependence on God, and trust in him. Those who are ‘blessed’ have put their trust in God; those to whom Jesus says ‘woe’ trust in the material.
Jeremiah prophesies in the first reading: “cursed is the man who trusts in humans… blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.”
The liturgy today challenges us with choices: blessed vs cursed; trust in God vs trust in myself. What’s my choice?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: Compare and contrast the tree planted beside the water with the barren bush. Do I identity with the tree or do I have some of the barren bush in me?
Is there any area of my life in which I place my trust in human beings? Why? In which areas of my life do I place my trust in God?
Reading 2: The “resurrection” was a new idea for the early Christians and hard for some to believe. How I you handle new ideas?
How does the idea of resurrection impact my life? What would my life be like if I had no hope of resurrection?
Gospel: Although it is inevitable that disciples suffer, these directives do not require me to be constantly poor or hungry, but that I realize my constant need for God. They demand a choice. Is this a choice I can make once or do I have to make it repeatedly?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Jesus had his own definition of who are blessed and who are to be pitied. Let us ask the Lord that we may judge and live not by our standards but by his, as we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that Christ’s resurrection may give us vision and perspective for our lives and the courage to live for God each day, we pray…
R: For the leaders of nations: that God may give them wisdom to address critical issues, free them from self-reliance, and inspire them to work for the common good, we pray…
R: For all who are suffering: that God may heal the sick, and guide the homeless to shelter, the hungry to food, and the abused to places of safety, we pray…
R: For those who are hungry: that the Lord may give them the bread of eternal life and inspire us to give them the bread of each day;
For those who are now filled with themselves: that he may arouse their hunger and open them to trust in him, we pray…
R: For the protection and renewal of the earth: that we may strive to be good stewards of the air, land, and water which God has gifted us, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may see beyond the false answers of consumerism and recognize that we will find the true fulfilment of our hungers and desires in God, we pray…
L: Lord our God, your Son experienced the poverty, the hunger, the suffering, and the persecution that is the lot of many. Give us a share in the newness of his risen life, and let our lives proclaim the happiness to which you call us. 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,
give us the grace to trust
that you will pour grace into our hearts…
to hear the cry of the poor;
to show us how to love our neighbour;
to feed the hungry and clothe the naked;
to console those who mourn;
to love those excluded;
to welcome the homeless and the migrant;
to end our communalism and racism;
to care for creation.
Give us the grace to trust
in you and in you alone.
Then
we will experience the blessedness you promise us
because you are with us.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God our Father,
you ask us
to choose freely and responsibly
the happiness that endures.
Let the gospel of your Son shock us
into recognizing the emptiness and poverty
of material riches and human power
and fill our poverty
with the riches and freedom
of your truth, love, and justice.
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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