>>> St IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH – Pray for Us!
LARGE HEART—NOT LARGE BARN
Introduction
Bishop of Antioch in the 1st century, Ignatius (+c. 107) was arrested and condemned to be thrown to the beasts. On his way to Rome, several communities of Christians received him with much veneration. He thanked them in letters written during his journey, encouraged them to hold on to the faith and to remain united with the hierarchy “as strings on a lyre.” He requested Christians not to keep him from dying a martyr, for “I am the wheat of Christ; let the teeth of the lions grind me, that I may become the stainless bread of Christ.”
We too, become the bread of Christ and our life must become a Eucharist, an offering of thanksgiving with Christ.
Opening Prayer
God our steadfast hope,
St. Ignatius of Antioch knew that in his martyrdom
he identified with your Son, Jesus.
Like Jesus, he was planted as a grain of wheat
in the furrows of the earth.
Let there grow from his death
an abundant harvest of a new humanity.
Give your people strength to follow him
so that our love and deep faith
may bring life and joy to many.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – EPHESIANS 2:1-10
Brothers and sisters: You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Responsorial PSALM 100:1B-2, 3, 4AB, 4C-5
R. (3b) The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song. R.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends. R.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise. R.
Give thanks to him; bless his name, for he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations. R.
Alleluia MATTHEW 5:3
Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – LUKE 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Commentary
All is Grace
The celebrated novel ‘Diary of a Country Priest’ by Georges Bernanos tells the story of an idealistic young priest who suffers in his ministry due to the hostile and dismissive attitude of his parishioners and their shallow faith. Diagnosed with stomach cancer, he visits a former colleague only to collapse in his house. His friend sends for the parish priest, but expresses fear that the priest might not arrive in time before the man passes. Then the dying priest, who had suffered through many inner doubts and external rejections, utters these words haltingly but distinctly: “Does it matter? …. Grace is everywhere.” With these words, he dies. In today’s first reading, Paul consistently underlines the extraordinary riches of Grace given to us as gift. Had the rich man seen his abundant harvest as grace and gift, he would have had the largeness of heart to share it with others. What he needed was not larger barns, but a larger heart. Even if he would have still died that night; but it would have been a graceful death.
Intercessions
– For grateful hearts, that we can thank God for changing us from strangers to him into his sons and daughters in Christ, we pray:
– For loving hearts, that God has brought us peace with himself, with one another, and even with ourselves, we pray:
– For wide-open hearts, with which we can love the many brothers and sisters God’s grace has given us in the Church, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in these signs of bread and wine,
we remember Jesus, your Son,
who gave himself to all
as bread broken and shared
and as wine to be poured for the joy of all.
Give us the spirit of Jesus,
that we too, may commit ourselves
to the happiness of those around us.
Make us willing to accept suffering
if this is the price to pay,
for being faithful to you and to people.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord our faithful God,
on account of his love for you and for us,
no suffering was too painful for your Son,
no death too costly
to win for us lasting life and happiness.
Through this Eucharist, help us to accept
the invitations and risks of love.
Make us follow your Son
in living not for ourselves but for others
and give us the certainty
that pain or death is not the end
but the seed of a new beginning
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
All is grace, all is a gift freely given. Even the use of our talents and our work is God’s gift. Let us also give freely to our neighbour, like our love to the people close to us, but also our help to people who suffer, even if far away from us. And may almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!