As we begin our celebration, rejoice in the Lord, and the diversity
of His creation.
You open our eyes to new possibilities. Lord have mercy
You open our hearts to those who are different. Christ have mercy
You open our minds to your creative power in us. Lord have mercy
May our loving and creative Lord, who has created us in diversity,
forgive us our sin and bring us to life everlasting. Amen
Numbers 11:25-29
The Lord came down in the Cloud. He spoke with Moses, but took some
of the spirit that was on him and put it on these seventy elders.
When the spirit came on them they prophesied, but not again. Two men
had stayed back in the camp; one was called Eldad and the other
Medad. The spirit came down on them; though they had not gone to the
Tent, their names were enrolled among the rest. These began to
prophesy in the camp. The young man ran to tell this to
Moses, ‘Look,’ he said ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the
camp.’ Then said Joshua the son of Nun, who had served Moses from
his youth, ‘My Lord Moses, stop them!‘ Moses answered him, ‘Are you
jealous on my account? If only the whole people of the Lord were
prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all!’
James 3:16 – 4:3
An answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are
coming to you. Your wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all
eaten up by moths. All your gold and your silver are corroding away,
and the same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your
body. It was a burning fire that you stored up as your treasure for
the last days. Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated them –
listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realise that
the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of
slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. It was you who
condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered you no
resistance.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Your word is truth, O Lord, consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia
Mark 9:38-43.45.47-48
John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us
casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we
tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one
who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone
who is not against us is for us. ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water
to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you
solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘But anyone
who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have
faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone
round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it
off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have
two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And
if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for
you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown
into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it
is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye,
than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does
not die nor their fire go out.’
Prayer of the Faithful
Because you are Father, Son and Spirit, great God, we are your
family. We offer you praise and thanks. Lord hear us
Lord, open our hearts, that we may be a welcoming and inclusive
community. Lord hear us
For refugees and migrants, who are forced to abandon their homes
because of their faith or ethnicity or war and violence: that they
will find in us a community of generous welcome and active
solidarity. Lord hear us
For the memory of those who have died, and whose lives inspire us
and give us hope, we are grateful. Lord hear us
May our Church be challenged by the Word of God to open its heart to
the many whom it excludes, and learn to welcome and include them.
Lord hear us
Reflection
An individual has not started living until they can rise above the
narrow confines of their individualistic concerns to the broader
concerns of all humanity.
Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the
test of our civilization.
Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through
variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated, not
absorbed.
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to
recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.
Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It is the key to
growth.
A lot of different flowers make a bouquet.
True diversity inevitably leads to Wisdom
Remembered this Weekend
Betty Butler (Recently Deceased)
Patrick, Joseph, David Kelly,
Rosaleen Kelly
Margaret Graham (5th A)
Annie Geraghty & Dec Family
Tommy, Phyllis & May Irvine
Brendan Byrne (5th A)
Carmel & John McDonald
Ellen & Mary Graham
Ellen Kennedy
Feel free to contact us at the
email addresses
below.
