Greeting: (see the Gospel)
Jesus our Lord has called us together and he says to us today: “Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand.” May we hear his word and put it into practice, and may the Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
1. The Spirit of the Law
How do you experience laws, especially God’s commandments? Many people consider them as something coming from outside themselves, as burdens imposed on them. Of course, if they are outside you, you cannot love them, you feel like rejecting them or observe only the absolute minimum required. If we understand that their inspiration is love of God and love and respect for people, then they can become a part of ourselves and live in our hearts. Let us ask the Lord that with generosity and love we may go far beyond the letter of the law.
2.With All Your Heart
We are gathered here to listen to the word of God and to eat from his table. To listen means not simply to hear what the Lord has to say, but to let his word guide our life. But even our obedience to God’s word should not become a mechanical compliance. God is a God who loves us, who wants to be near to his people. If we respond to his love, our response to him and to his word and commandments cannot be anything else than a response from the heart, an answer given to him by free and responsible people.
Penitential Act
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us that we have not always lived according to the spirit of the commandments. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you said, This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you taught us: Do to one another what I have done for you. Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you told us: what you do to the least of those who are mine you do to me. Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us our sins, Lord, and help us to serve you and others. with a generous love. Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that our whole life may give praise and thanks to the Lord (pause)
Father, God of the ever-new covenant, you have tied us to yourself with leading strings of lasting love; the words you speak to us are spirit and life. Open our hearts to your words, that they may touch us in the deepest of ourselves. May they move us to serve you not in a slavish way but as your sons and daughters who love you and whom you have set free through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 The Law Brings Life and Wisdom
Keeping God’s law brings wisdom and life to his people. It is their response of loyalty to God’s liberating nearness.
Second Reading: James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27: Live by God’s Word
God’s word has brought us life. We should put it into practice, with love of neighbor as the heart of it; then we will give genuine worship to God.
Gospel: Mark 7:-8, 1-15, 21-23: Serve God with the Heart
True religion consists in a personal relationship with God (and people), not in the observance of the law. Human traditions often stand in the way of God’s law of love.
Intercessions
Let us pray to God, the giver of all good gifts, that we may always obey his laws with the free attitude of Christ, and let us say: R/ Father, your will be done.
– For the Church, that it may not replace the Gospel with rites and laws of human invention but bring people to the freedom, the gentleness and the light of Christ, let us pray:
R/ Father, your will be done.
– For the leaders of people everywhere, that God’s Spirit may inspire them to give their people wise laws that bring them freedom and justice, let us pray:
R/ Father, your will be done.
– For those who do not know Christ, that they may discover God’s law written in their hearts and find salvation by the integrity of their lives and the love of their neighbor, let us pray:
R/ Father, your will be done.
– For those upset by the changes in the Church, that they may learn to appreciate the attempts of God’s people to understand and live our faith in a contemporary way that remains true to the gospel, let us pray:
R/ Father, your will be done.
– For us who share in the Lord’s table, that we may learn from Jesus our Lord that love is the heart of the law and that true love knows how to serve, let us pray:
R/ Father, your will be done.
Lord our God, may we not only hear your word but live by it day after day by the strength of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, we bring before you our readiness to respond to your love. Strengthen us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ, that with him we may be dedicated to you with our whole mind and heart, and that we may be capable of communicating your love and justice to all those around us. Grant this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With Jesus we now give thanks to the Father that he has given us the example of Jesus himself to make us understand that love is the basis and the spirit of all commandments.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
Our lips will now speak Jesus’ own prayer. May his Spirit speak in our hearts that we may really mean those words: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our day. Keep us from formalism and lip-service in obeying your commandments. Help us to serve you and people in freedom and responsibility and let love inspire all we do, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, the Lamb of God who said: My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Father, let your will be done, not mine. Happy are we to be invited to the table of the Lord and to receive from him the strength to do the will of God. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, your Son has shared himself with us in this Eucharistic celebration. Give us his Spirit of strength, we pray you, that we may also share in his attitude of openness to your will and to the needs of people. May we thus fulfill more than the law and serve you as your sons and daughters, in whom you recognize Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In a spirit of gratitude for all God has given us, let us put our hearts into seeking in the commandments not our will but the will of God. God’s word in the gospel and Jesus’ own attitude tell us what is meant by God’s will. May almighty God give you the strength to do his liberating will: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go and seek God’s will in all we do. R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
Is Sunday Mass an ‘Obligation?
The evangelist Mark, who writes for an audience in Rome that did not know the customs of the Jews, now feels the need to explain to his readers this obsession of the Jews with the ritual purifications.
The Jews paid great attention to the meticulous execution of the ritual washings, and insisted on its scrupulous execution, but they forgot the meaning of the rite itself and lost its value. We must be careful also about these scrupulously executed rites in our liturgical celebrations because if their meaning is forgotten, they can be dangerous.
The Jews felt satisfied when they went through the rite of purification, although the value of this rite, the rite's memory was lost. Their original intention was to remind the people of God to be thankful to God for his providential care. A rite of purification ended with a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving. But as the ages passed, the scribes and the pharisees interpreted the laws to benefit their interests. Instead of making it as an opportunity to thank God, it was presented as an obligation, failure of which amounted to breaking the law.
Similar misinterpretations and obligatory rituals also happen to us. Where there is true faith that comes from genuine love, nothing needs to be imposed as obligatory. When we try to fulfil what is obligatory in the Church, our actions are based on the rules and regulations and not based on love. Our “days of obligation” in the Church is an example. Are we participating in the Sunday liturgy to fulfil an obligation or because of our love for the Lord and love for the community? When our objective is only to meet the obligations, we are guided by fear and not by love. When the tradition is stripped of meaning, it becomes a meaningless gesture.
The Pharisees became slaves of their religious traditions, and not even Jesus was able to set them free. And Jesus calls them hypocrites. For the Pharisee, the pure hands were those that performed the ritual to its perfection; but for Jesus the pure hands are those that did works of love. It is the works of charity that would purify our hands. We should pay attention not to becomes slaves to the traditions while living our liturgical life in faith.
There are people who are afraid to take communion in the hand because they think that their hands are impure. What makes us believe that our tongues that speak all the wrongs about our brethren are purer and better than our hands?
What does it mean for you to participate in the liturgical life of the community? Are you participating on the Sunday Mass as an obligation, out of fear of punishment?
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1 September 2024
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Purifying hearts, not just hands!
Evangelist Mark, addressing a Roman audience unfamiliar with Jewish customs, clarifies the significance of the Jews' emphasis on ritual purifications. He intends to tell his readers how the Jews emphasised the careful performance of ritual washings and demanded strict adherence to them, but they neglected the real meaning of the ritual itself. He calls our attention to be cautious of not falling into similar danger of being unkind and uncharitable in the process of meticulously performing rituals in our religious ceremonies.
Similar misinterpretations and obligatory rituals also happen to us. When genuine love leads to true faith, there is no need for the imposition of obligations. For example, the "days of obligation" in the Church: Do we participate in the liturgy on Sundays out of a sense of obligation or out of love for the Lord and the community? If our sole aim is to meet obligations, we are driven by fear rather than love. When traditions are observed without understanding the spirit of those traditions and customs, they become hollow gestures.
The Pharisees were bound by their traditions, and Jesus called them hypocrites. While the Pharisees believed that their ritual purification rites cleansed them of all defilements, Jesus taught that clean hands are the result of acts of charity. Works of mercy are what purify our hands.
We must be careful not to be enslaved by traditions, especially in our liturgical practices. Holiness isn’t about rule-keeping; it’s about love. Jesus calls us to acts of charity, kindness, and forgiveness. Our hands may be clean outwardly, but are our hearts pure? Let love purify both. Let’s remember that God desires our hearts, not just our rituals. May our worship flow from love, transforming us into authentic disciples.
