>>> St LUCY – Pray for Us!
SAINTS AND SINNERS
Introduction
Saint Lucy, the virgin and martyr from Syracuse in Sicily, is greatly honoured in the Roman Church because of her faith and great courage. As the young man who proposed marriage to her was not a Christian, she rejected his marriage proposal. He denounced her to the authorities as a Christian and she was cruelly tortured. Her name means “light.” Scandinavian countries celebrate her memory with a feast of light.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you let the light of faith shine
in your young and courageous martyr, St. Lucy.
On her feast day we ask you:
May our faith remain young and fresh,
strong in the face of contradiction and indifference
as a treasure never to be abandoned.
May our faith be like a light
brightening not only our lives
but also shining on people around us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading ZEPHANIAH 3:1-2, 9-13
Thus says the LORD: Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted, to the tyrannical city! She hears no voice, accepts no correction; In the LORD she has not trusted, to her God she has not drawn near. For then I will change and purify the lips of the peoples, That they all may call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord; From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and as far as the recesses of the North, they shall bring me offerings. On that day you need not be ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against me; for then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD: the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; they shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.
Responsorial PSALM 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad. R.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him. R.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them. R.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him. R.
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, O Lord, do not delay;
forgive the sins of your people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MATTHEW 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.”
Commentary
All is Grace
Why does, in Jesus’ parables, a man always has two sons, and neither of them is perfect? Neither in the parable of the prodigal son nor in today’s parable do the sons come off as perfect. Perhaps that is the truth: there are no perfect sons or daughters in this side of life. A glance through the Scriptures is enough to convince us that none of the great patriarchs or prophets or kings or apostles is a paragon of virtues; in fact, many of them did terribly roguish things! It is here the words of Lord Illingworth, a character in Oscar Wilde’s 1893 play, “A Woman of No Importance” take on a deeper meaning: “The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” We are saved by God’s grace, not by our virtues. We just need to respond to this grace, as the younger son in the story does, the impulse for which also comes from grace.
Intercessions
– For the Church, that it may recognize more that it is in constant need of reform so that its members can become more like Jesus, we pray:
– For the poor among us, that we may share more with them what we have and treat them better as human persons, we pray: Lord, come and save us.
– That, aware of the poverty of our hearts, we may become less pretentious and more open to Christ, we pray: Lord, come and save us.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the death of your Son
but also his resurrection in glory.
May the Eucharist give us the strength
to profess our faith
not only when it is tested in trials
but also in the life of every day,
that we may live fully as we believe.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
let the word of Jesus be to us a light
that shows us the way to you and to one another.
May the body and blood of your Son
give us the courage to bear witness
that we want to live in this light
every day you give us.
Grant us this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
Jesus will live among us if we are a people humble and lowly, who seek with Jesus the will of the Father. Perhaps then some who think they don’t belong will join us. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!