Sunday 28 th august 2022
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Psalter II
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 85: 3, 5
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to you.
Collect
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Ecclesiasticus 3:19-21,30-31
My son, be gentle in carrying out your business, and you will be better loved than a lavish giver. The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord; for great though the power of the Lord is, he accepts the homage of the humble. There is no cure for the proud man’s malady, since an evil growth has taken root in him. The heart of a sensible man will reflect on parables, an attentive ear is the sage’s dream.
Psalm 67(68):4-7,10-11
R/ In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
- The just shall rejoice at the presence of God, they shall exult and dance for joy. O sing to the Lord, make music to his name; rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.
- Father of the orphan, defender of the widow, such is God in his holy place. God gives the lonely a home to live in; he leads the prisoners forth into freedom:
- You poured down, O God, a generous rain: when your people were starved you gave them new life. It was there that your people found a home, prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor.
Second reading : Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24
What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or a gloom turning to total darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the great voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn14:23
Alleluia, alleluia! If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 14:1,7-14
On a sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher.” In that way, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’ Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this sacred offering, O Lord, confer on us always the blessing of salvation, that what it celebrates in mystery it may accomplish in power. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 30: 20
How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by this bread from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that, being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you in our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Our readings today invite us to cultivate the virtue of humility. In our First Reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus, Sirach teaches us that if we perform our tasks with humility, we will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the humbler you should be. (Ecclesiasticus 3:19-21,30-31). Jesus in the Gospel (Luke 14:1,7-14) gives us some practical rules of humility, especially during celebrations. We have the “high table syndrome” in many of our cultures. We live in a stratified society in which some privileged few represent the multitude on a special table get the best of benefits. We are afraid to lose face or status. We connive with an unjust status quo, while pretending to be Christians. Jesus condemns this and teaches us that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted. In many instances in the Bible, Jesus asks us to imitate Children: “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt. 18:2-4).