TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
1. Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
2. Faith of the Servant
Greeting (See Second Reading)
May you keep alive in you the faith and love in Christ
Jesus. May the Holy Spirit who lives in you help you to guard the riches of
your faith and be always with you. R/ And also with you.
1. Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
Beautiful statements about our faith may impress others and
ourselves for a moment, but they do not change us. Inspiration to change comes
from living witnesses, people who inspire us by the way they live. Often the
disciples did not even understand Jesus, but they saw what he did, and how he
lived. They admired him and so they asked, “Lord, make our faith grow!” People
consider us practicing Christians, but the heart of the matter is whether we
are believers, people of faith, close to our Lord, who live as we believe. Let
us also ask: Lord, make our faith grow! 2.
Faithful Servants
Who are we before God? This is the question asked of us
today. We are just ordinary servants, who do what they have to do and do so in
a spirit of faith, which is God’s greatest gift to us. But if we have faith,
God can do much with us. Even our stammering prayers, our clumsy attempts to
love people and God, our efforts to make this world a bit more human and a bit
more the way God wants it, are no more than things we are supposed to do and
which the Lord expects us to do. We ask Jesus in this eucharist that we may be
good servants of God and people, and that with his help we may do better what
we have to do.
Penitential Act
Our faith is often weak. We ask now the Lord to forgive us. (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, the disciples saw you pray and they asked;
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, your disciples saw you as a man in deep union
with the Father and they asked you, “Show us the Father.” Christ, have mercy.
R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, your disciples then and now see you seeking the
will of the Father in everything, and we ask you, “Increase our faith, Lord.” Lord,
have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us our weak faith, Lord, and give us a faith that
moves mountains, strong and deep and loving. Lead us to everlasting life. R/
Amen.
Opening Prayer
1. Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
Let us ask the Lord for a faith that keeps growing (PAUSE) God
our Father, we thank you for our faith, which we have received from you as a
gift to be developed with your help. Make our faith grow day after day, let it
give meaning to our life and express itself in love and justice. Let it bring
us joy and understanding, and make us very close to you and to people. We ask
this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
2. Faith of the Servant
Let us pray that our faith may be strong and bold (PAUSE) Lord
our God, you dreamed a beautiful dream for people and the world, a vision of
truth and life and love. You entrusted it to us as a task to be brought to a
good end in partnership with you. God, we are impatient for results and yet
afraid of the risks of committing ourselves to your plans. Give us, your
servants, a trusting faith, firm, loyal, enduring and bold. Make us grow in the
conviction that you can overcome might and evil with what is weak and little, and
that your kingdom will come by the power and love of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
First Reading: The Believer Will Live
God’s people have to keep trusting in their trials, for
their faith will save them.
Second Reading: Bear Witness to Your Faith
We must keep the faith God has given us, witness to it, and
let it grow.
Gospel: If Only You Had Faith!
Jesus wants his disciples to have absolute faith in God. And
yet, even a life full of faith does not entitle us to privileges, for faith is
a gift from God.
Intercessions
Let us pray with a trusting faith in God for the hungers and
needs of our world and of the People of God. Let us say: R/ Lord, give us a
strong faith.
– For a fresh and deep faith that makes us, God’s People,
look at all we do in the light of the message and life of Jesus, let us pray:
R/ Lord, give us a strong faith.
– For a courageous faith that is not afraid of contradicting
the evils of injustice and discrimination in our world, let us pray: R/ Lord,
give us a strong faith.
– For a loving and merciful faith that makes us attentive to
the pains and needs of those who go hungry, of those who are underprivileged,
let us pray: R/ Lord, give us a strong faith.
– For an unswerving faith that helps us overcome all doubts
and hesitations and keeps us seeking God’s will and plans even when the cost is
high, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us a strong faith. – For a humble faith which
recognizes that faith itself is a gift from God and is grateful for the good
that people do to us, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us a strong faith.
– For a serving faith that seeks the good of the community
and tries to bring people together in strong bonds of mutual help and sharing,
let us pray: R/ Lord, give us a strong faith.
Loving God, in you we believe, in you we trust, on you we
rely, through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father, we firmly believe that Jesus your Son will
change into himself these simple gifts of bread and wine, so that he might be
with us with all his strength and love. Help us to believe with all that is in
us that he is also with us in everyday life, as the Lord of our lives and our
friend, giving meaning to all we do. Let him make our faith a way of life that
gives you all honor and praise now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
God is near to us with all his love and grace in the life of
every day. He has saved us through Jesus. Let us give him our wholehearted
thanks and praise.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray with trusting faith to God, our Father in heaven,
and ask him to strengthen this faith when it is tested by evil: R/ Our
Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us in our day
the peace of knowing that you are always with us. Keep us from blaming you when
we suffer from the evil we inflict on one another. Do not allow our sins to
weaken the faith of those around us. Help us to encourage one another and to
prepare together in hope for the full coming among us of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, the Lamb of God, who died to give us life. We
believe he is our saving Lord and our only hope. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, accept our thanks for giving us Jesus to
revive and strengthen our faith. Reassure us that he stays with us in the cares
and the heat of the day, and that, with him walking by our side, everything
becomes possible. Keep this faith and hope alive in us, and help us to bear
witness to it through him who is with us always, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
Blessing
The eucharist has been an occasion to strengthen our faith
in the Lord’s presence. It is perhaps good that at times our faith is tried and
tested through difficulties and questions, so as not to become complacent. May
such occasions be for us opportunities to place all our trust in the love and
concern of God. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. R/ Amen. Go in peace and take the Lord with you in all you do. R/
Thanks be to God.
Commentary
One day a group of elderly Jewish women were talking about
the catastrophes and evils of the world and, after a long litany of problems
and conflicts, one of them exclaimed: “It makes you wonder who is in charge.”
Facing evil and sorrow in the world always raises such questions. It is the
same question that the prophet poses in the first reading and a question we
often ask ourselves: “Why does God allow such things to happen in the world? Is
so much pain God’s will? On the other hand, and particularly in this
individualistic society, we consider things are acquired through our own merit
and actions. Sometimes people think they can even avoid death forever by taking
the necessary precautions, exercising, and eating healthy. In both cases—whether
we give God full responsibility for everything that happens or consider that we
are in complete control—we are denying true faith. Faith asks for great trust,
without fears or anxiety. Faith demands that we allow God to be God, while
working to turn this world into what He desires. That is, we are asked to have
attitudes and actions in accordance with the call we received. It means working
as if everything depended on us and praying although we know perfectly well
that everything depends on God. We cannot blame God for things that are the
fault of people’s actions or their lack of action, nor can we think that by our
own efforts we will turn things around. We need to work and trust, often not
seeing the final result, but grounding ourselves firmly in God’s promises. The
words of Jesus, which state that once we have done everything in our power, we
must say “we are but worthless servants,” are not trying to say Christians
should have low self-esteem, but to recognize that all control and grace come
from God. We act in faith according to the promise and we know that faith can
move mountains.
Points to Ponder
When have I doubted God or have asked why
He allows certain things to happen in the world?
Have I felt frustrated thinking that all my efforts should
be producing greater results?
Where was God during this moment.
