sunday 25 October 2020
THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter II
Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria
.
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 104: 3-4
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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: Exodus 22:20-26
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the sons of Israel this: ‘“You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans. ‘“If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him. ‘“If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset. It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.”’
Psalm 17(18):2-4, 47, 51
R/ I love you, Lord, my strength.
- I love you, Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress, my saviour. My God is the rock where I take refuge; my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold. The Lord is worthy of all praise, when I call I am saved from my foes.
- Long life to the Lord, my rock! Praised be the God who saves me, He has given great victories to his king and shown his love for his anointed.
Second reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
You observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you. This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.
Gospel Acclamation : Ac 16:14
Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, we pray, O Lord, on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 19: 6
We will ring out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God.
Prayer after Communion
May your Sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
In the Gospel of today, Jesus unites two key passages in the Old Testament to give a smooth synthesis of LOVE: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut 6:4-5) and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18; cf. Mk 12:29-31). How do we love God? By keeping his commandments found in the Sacred Scriptures especially as resumed in the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. But how do we love our neighbour? Still found in the New Testament, particularly in Mt 25, we can follow what the church calls the Corporal Works of mercy : To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To harbour the harbourless; To visit the sick; To ransom the captive; To bury the dead. Jesus also teaches in the Parable of the Good Samaritan by encouraging us to love everyone, especially those who are in need, and even our enemies. After such beautiful readings in today’s liturgy, we are challenged to put this love into practice. This recommendation can be our litmus test: make a special effort to love the person whom you find it difficult to love.