Greeting
Jesus spoke to people the
Good News of healing and life. He speaks this same Good News to us here in this
assembly. May his words stir our hearts and bring us healing and life. May the
Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you.
1. Here Is a New Teaching
When priests or
teachers speak to you about our faith as if they are reciting a lesson learned
by heart, you will probably pay little attention. But when you feel personally
addressed, if they speak from their own experience that shows that they deeply
believe in what they say, you are eager to listen. That is the way Jesus speaks
to us today. He addresses each of us with the force of his own life behind his
words. We open our ears and hearts to him.
2. Jesus’ Healing
Words and Hands
Sick people feel very
much how they are handicapped by their illness. There are things they want to
do but can’t; it is as if they are not fully human. We see this most strongly
in the mentally handicapped. Today we see Jesus at work with his healing power.
Not that he heals everyone who is sick, but he shows that God wants people to
be whole and wholesome – that is what “healing” means. He wants us to become
like him, that is, completely human, good and whole persons, not only
physically but in every way. For it is then that we can fully honor God as his
image. Let us ask Jesus in this Eucharist to make us whole and wholesome.
Penitential Act
1. Here Is a New Teaching
Let us ask the Lord to
forgive us for having paid too little attention when he spoke his word to us. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you speak
to us. Speak to our hearts and let your word liberate us: Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you
speak to us. Let your words make a deep impression on us and give us the
courage to change: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you speak
to us. Let your word move us to become more and more like you. Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us,
Lord, and drive out from us the evil of sin. Fill us with your light and
strength and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
2. Jesus’ Healing
Words and Hands
Sin is too often the
disease of our heart. We ask the Lord to heal us from all sin. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you came
to heal us and to restore us to life: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have
mercy.
Jesus Christ,
firstborn from the dead, you have made us sons and daughters of the living God:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you made yourself
one of us so that we could see in you the perfect image of the Father: Lord,
have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us,
Lord, and only say the word by which you heal us from sin. Lead us to
everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
1. Here Is a New Teaching
Let us pray that the
Word of God may keep resounding in the world (pause)
God our Father, you
have spoken to us in our brother, your Son Jesus Christ, your Word that endures
for all ages. He lived as he spoke, and so his message became flesh and blood
and was reliable. Give us in our day men and women of vision and integrity who
speak in your name with authority and who can translate this message for us in
a language we can understand. Let their voices give direction to our lives and
stir us up to bear witness to your kingdom of community and serving love. We
ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
2. Jesus’ Healing
Words and Hands
Let us pray to God that
he may bring us healing and salvation (pause)
All-loving and
faithful God, in your Son Jesus Christ you have shown us what it means to be
fully human and you let him bring to all who receive him the healing of
forgiveness and life. Let him touch us with his saving hand, let him speak to
us his restoring word, that he may make us whole and free and that with him we
may fight all evil and serve you, our living God, and the people you have
entrusted to us. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
First Reading:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20 The True Prophet Is God’s Voice
To God’s people
prophets were – and still are – the mouthpiece of God. They interpret his will
with authority and direct the people toward God’s future.
Second Reading: 1
Corinthians 7:32-35 Free for the Lord
All are called to
holiness; (Paul stresses the advantages of the charism of celibacy) those who
are not married are free to devote themselves to the Lord and his affairs.
Gospel: Mark
1:21-28 Jesus Taught with Authority
Jesus could teach with
authority like no one else, for he was the living Word of God, God’s own Son.
By the power of his word alone he overcame the power of evil.
Intercessions
1. Here Is a New Teaching
In these confusing
times let us pray to our reliable God for men and women who can speak his word
to us with the assurance and authority of faith. Let us say:
R/ Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
–
For the leaders of the Church, that they may receive God’s word with humility
and pass it on to us and to the world without fear or compromise, we pray:
R/ Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
–
For those who remain unmarried for the sake of the kingdom of God, for priests
and religious, that their undivided love of God may open their hearts to all
people and all needs, we pray:
R/
Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
–
For those who speak in the name of people without voice or rights, that they
may not be silenced by the mighty and that they may stimulate us to give all
their due and even more, we pray:
R/
Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
–
For those to whom God’s word is spoken, especially for those receiving
religious formation, for couples to be married, of parents preparing for the
baptism of their children, for those attending retreats and renewal sessions,
that they may freely accept the word of God, we pray:
R/ Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
–
For all of us here, that the Eucharist may give us the openness to receive with
eagerness and joy and great simplicity the word of God as it comes to us, also
when it upsets and demands, we pray:
R/
Speak, Lord, your servants listen.
Lord our God, make us
indeed attentive to your word and let it become alive in us by the power of
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
2. Jesus’
Healing Words and Hands
Let us pray to God who
gives us healing and salvation. Let us say:
R/ Lord, speak your healing word.
–
That in the Church we may bring to each other the healing of forgiveness and
compassion, let us pray:
R/
Lord, speak your healing word.
–
That all who are ill may keep hoping that they will be cured and may at least
bear their suffering in patience, let us pray:
R/ Lord, speak your healing word.
–
That all who suffer at a young age may experience the love and attention of
people who care for them, let us pray:
R/ Lord, speak your healing word.
–
That we may have room and concern for the mentally handicapped and that we may
give them a place in our heart, let us pray:
R/
Lord, speak your healing word.
–
That all those in hospitals and nursing homes may be given much human, loving
care and be visited by those dear to them, let us pray:
R/ Lord, speak your healing word.
–
That in our communities we may dare to lighten one another’s suffering and
learn to share each other’s pain, let us pray:
R/
Lord, speak your healing word.
Compassionate God, we
know that you love us in sickness and in health. Be always with us and help us
attend to one another, in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the
Gifts
God, as we bring
before you these gifts of bread and wine, let your Son speak to you in our
name. Accept through him our silence and our meager efforts to give shape to
your word in the language of our lives. Let this offering please you on account
of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the
Eucharistic Prayer
Let us give
wholehearted thanks to the Father, for he has given us Jesus who died and rose
from the dead to set us free from all evil.
Introduction to the
Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray to God our
Father in the words of prayer of Jesus himself, who can give voice to all our
unspoken requests: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from
every evil and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy, keep us from being
deaf to the words you speak to us. Let their sound convert us and inspire us to
prepare with joy and hope the full coming among us of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to
Communion
This is Jesus the
Lord, who taught a message of good news with power and authority. Happy are we
to hear his invitation and to receive from him our bread of healing and
strength. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after
Communion
Lord our God, in this
assembly you have brought us more closely together by your mighty word and the
festive table of the Eucharist. As we return to everyday life, keep speaking
your liberating message even in the commonplace events of life and in the
friendship of our brothers and sisters. Open our ears and hearts to your
ever-new language and let it lead us to you by the power of Jesus Christ our
Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We know from life’s
experience how powerful words can be. At their marriage, husband and wife accept
each other’s Yes to love and they also give love to one another, not just for a
moment but for a lifetime. Christ has spoken his word to us here. It was a word
of trust and love, and it cannot leave us indifferent. Christ makes us face a
decision: either to reject him and his word or to give ourselves to him and his
message. May we accept his gospel wholeheartedly with the blessing of almighty
God: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go and let God’s word
come alive in you.
R/ Thanks be to God.
