Greeting (see Second Reading)
The Word of God is alive and active; it can judge our secret emotions and thoughts. It is the Lord Jesus who speaks this word to us. May he always be with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
What Do You Lack?
Today the word of God challenges us: in what do you put your heart? Where is your security? What makes your life valuable and worthwhile? Here comes the advice of God’s word and wisdom as early as the Old Testament, and here comes Jesus’ warning: Do not put your heart in possessions, for they will become your masters. Let God be your Lord. Let it be Jesus whom we follow.
The Lord Invites You
How happy are we when, once in a while, the Lord invites us to encounter him on a deeper level beyond the banality of life, be it in prayer, in listening to the word he speaks to us, in our thanksgiving after communion, in admiring the beauty of his creation. When we really encounter him, he changes us, for known or unknown to us, he invites us to follow him more radically. But we can refuse the invitation. It saddens him, for he loves us. Let us ask the Lord here in the Eucharist that we may always follow his call and invitation.
Penitential Act
Do we dare to trust God more than our own securities and possessions? Let us examine ourselves before the Lord. (pause)
Lord, your wisdom and your love are worth much more than fame, health, beauty and possessions: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you know where our heart is and you want it to be turned to God: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you want us to give up the things that possess and control us and to follow you instead: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
In your kindness forgive us our treacherous attachments. Make us put our trust in you and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God for the wisdom to follow his Son without hesitation. (pause)
Lord our God, your living word upsets us. You give the first place in your kingdom to the last and the least in our judgment: you call the poor rich and blessed and ask the rich to become poor. Give us, we pray you, the wisdom of living for the things that matter and following your Son on the road to you and to our neighbor, that we may become secure in your hand. Grant this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading: Wise with God’s Wisdom
More precious than power, riches, health and beauty is the wisdom that comes from God. It make us live in God’s love.
1st Reading: WIS 7:7-11
Second Reading: God’s Word Is Living and Effective
God’s Word is upsetting. It forces us to face ourselves and to make a choice, for or against God. It is decisive for the outcome of our lives.
2nd Reading: HEB 4:12-13
Gospel: Come, Follow Me without Useless Baggage
Like the rich man, we have not given anything to God if we do not answer his invitation to follow him the way he wants us to.
Gospel: MK 10:17-30
Intercessions
Let us pray to God for the wisdom to appreciate his gifts with gratitude and to use them for the good of all. Let us say to him:
R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
– For those in the Church who proclaim to us the wisdom of the Word of God, that they themselves may first live it and share their experience with us, let us pray:
R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
– For the leaders of the Church in particular, that they may give up even the appearance of power and wealth; for leaders everywhere, that they may not sacrifice their principles for power, success and ambition but commit themselves to promote human dignity and the values of the Gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
– For those engaged in mass media, in radio, television, movies and newspapers, that they may not twist words and images to distort the values of life but honestly seek the truth, let us pray:
R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
– For parents and educators, that they may challenge the young to live for things that matter; and for the young, that idealism and generosity may keep guiding their lives, let us pray:
R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
– For those rich in possession and talents, that they may learn to share what they are and have with those who have less, let us pray:
R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
God, we pray you not for riches but for trust, not for power but for courage, not for pleasure but for joy, not for pretence but for integrity. Make us wise with the wisdom of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, your wisdom has a name: Your Son Jesus Christ. In these signs of bread and wine we celebrate the folly of the cross whereby he saved us from sin and death. Make us aware of the poverty and emptiness of our hearts and of the passing value of the things to which we attach ourselves. Convert our hearts and set them on riches that never devaluate: Justice, truth and generous love. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
We praise and thank God for creating and guiding all things with his wisdom and power. May we be stewards of his creation and use the goods of this earth for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
God is our riches and we cry out to him in the words of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant your peace to a world that is tired of wars and injustice. Give us your Holy Spirit of wisdom that we may not seek our happiness in ambition, power and possessions. Help us to seek you and your kingdom, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord, the Lamb of God. He is God’s gift to us and the riches of those who are poor of heart. Happy and wise are we if we accept our Lord’s invitation and eat the bread of life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, we are easily satisfied with ourselves and our own little worlds. Wake us up and give us the courage to set out with your Son on his adventure of hope and love. Make us ask ourselves not what have we done for you but what have we not done and not yet given. By the strength of this Eucharist help us to follow your Son today more than yesterday but less than tomorrow. Grant this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
Christ and his Gospel keep challenging us not to seek contentment and safety in the things we have, our own little worlds, not even in self-congratulations for having obeyed God’s commandments. If we want to be really happy with a joy which nobody can rob from us, we must learn from Jesus to give ourselves without reserve to God and the people around us. They are our riches and security. May God give you this wisdom and strength: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go and follow the Lord
every day that he gives you. R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
The path to true happiness
Mark says the man who approached Jesus was rich, and Mathew presented him as young. So, we have combined both adjectives to describe him as young and rich.
Mark narrates the way he approaches Jesus: He comes running and kneels before Jesus. The Gospel presents two other characters who also behave like this man. One was the demoniac, who was possessed with an evil spirit. The other was the leper, who felt impure and punished by God. This young and rich man behaves as if he is possessed, and that makes him feel impure, like a leper.
He is indeed possessed by the most dangerous of demons: the demon that forces him to cling to the goods of this world. It is the devil that makes you attach your heart to the riches of the world. This demon of material riches and possessions dehumanizes you.
But who doesn’t love to be rich and enjoy the comforts of life? In Chinese culture, riches are regarded as the good fortune. On Chinese New Year, people wish one another “Gung-hei Faat-choi” – which means “wish you plenty of wealth and riches.”
But, the greed of riches will make you lose the meaning of life. This man runs up to Jesus for something that only Jesus could give: peace of mind and harmony in his life. Jesus proposes him a new approach to his life. He says: 'You must share your assets. They are not yours, they belong to God and you must share them with those who need them.' Give up, abandon, part with – are the words we must pay attention to. The rich young man moves away sad.
Jesus is clear: One does not enter into the new world that he proposes unless one accepts the logic of sharing the goods with all; goods of this world must be transformed into love. Jesus wants to bring to our attention the danger of wealth because wealth possesses the strength of a seductive god.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…." It cannot happen, even if it tries. But then comes the promise: "For people it is impossible, but not for God; because for God everything is possible." When we allow the proposal of Jesus to penetrate our hearts, human nature is restored in our lives, and the demon of material possessions and riches is driven out of our lives. Once that leprosy of selfishness is healed from our body, we become joyful to make ourself available to our brothers and sisters.
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13 October 2024
Mark 10:17-30
De-cluttering is a valuable virtue
The rich man in today’s gospel is essentially a good man. He desires to understand what he must do to inherit eternal life. This wealthy man observed all the commandments since he was young. However, he runs up to Jesus and throws himself at his feet, expressing a deep inner restlessness and dissatisfaction that afflicts him. He acts as though he is under the influence of the demon of amassing wealth and riches.
We need to be cautious of various demons, including envy, arrogance, desire for power, and the inclination toward moral corruption. However, the most perilous demon is the one that drives you to accumulate your riches. The wealthy individual departed feeling sorrowful because he was unwilling to relinquish everything to the less fortunate.
Jesus says that if you want your life to be in tune with the life of the Eternal, you must observe your duty towards man. You can only show your love for God by loving others. Mark emphasises the gazes of Jesus, referencing them 27 times in his Gospel - with different meanings, from the basic 'to see' to 'to observe, fix one's gaze,' and in this instance, 'to look at interiority.'
As disciples of Jesus, we must be willing to let go of people and things. Despite our concern and care for our biological family, they don't hold any power to control the choices we make in believing in Christ and following his teachings.
It is significant that the wife is not included among the persons and things to be renounced for the sake of the Kingdom! This is beautiful because Jesus did not come to break up families, and married people should not enter the kingdom of God alone but with their husband or wife because unconditional and definitive love unites them; together, they are called to cleave to Christ.
You don’t offer to God anything until you offer everything!
