NARRATOR:
<i>From the Saint Ignatius Chapel</i> <i>at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual</i>
Renewal Centre <i>in Pickering, Ontario.</i> <i>The National Catholic</i>
Broadcasting Council <i>presents...</i> The Daily TV Mass. Welcome to the celebration
of the<i>Sunday TV Mass</i> on the 25th Sunday
in ordinary time. I am Father
Francis Salasiar. The televising of this mass
is made possible by the contribution
from an anonymous donor from Toronto, Ontario. This mass is offered
in thanksgiving for blessings received. Our sincere thanks
to our donor for the gift of the televising
of this mass to the faithful of Canada
and around the world. In the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God in the communion of
the Holy Spirit be with you all. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. Whoever wants to be first
must be last of all and servant of all. One of the things
that can be very damaging to peace and happiness
is our ambition. When we're ambitious, we put ourselves
and our own interests first. The liturgy of today
challenges us to put the needs
of others first. So, let us ask God's mercy
for our failures. Lord Jesus, you said, "Blessed are the gentle,
they will inherit the Earth." Lord have mercy. CONGREGANTS:
Lord have mercy. FATHER FRANCIS:
Christ Jesus you said, "Blessed are
those who serve. "They will be the greatest
in the kingdom of Heaven." Christ have mercy. CONGREGANTS:
Christ have mercy. FATHER:
Lord Jesus, you said, "Blessed are
the peacemakers. "They will be called
the children of God." Lord have mercy. CONGREGANTS:
Lord have mercy. May almighty God
have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us
to life everlasting. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. Glory to God in the highest. And on Earth,
peace to people of goodwill. FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
We praise you, we bless you, we adore you,
we glorify you, we give you thanks
for your great glory. Lord God,
heavenly king, o God,
almighty Father, Lord Jesus Christ,
only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. You take away the sins
of the world. Have mercy on us. You take away the sins
of the world. Receive our prayer. You are seated at the right hand
of the Father. Have mercy on us. For you alone are the holy one,
you alone are the Lord, you alone are the most high,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father.
Amen. Let us pray. O God, who founded all the
commands of your sacred law, upon love of you
and of our neighbour, grant that by keeping
your precepts, we may merit to attain
eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. A reading from
the Book of Wisdom. "The godless say, "'Let us lie in wait
for the righteous one, "'who makes life inconvenient
to us and opposes our actions. "'Who reproaches us
for sins against the law "'and accuses us of sins
against our training. "'Let us see
if His words are true "'and let us test what will
happen at the end of His life. "'For if the righteous one
is God's son, God will help Him "'and will deliver Him from
the hand of His adversaries. "'Let us test Him
with insult and torture "'so that we may find out
how gentle He is "'and make trial
of His forbearance. "'Let us condemn Him
to a shameful death. "'For,
according to what He says, "'He will be protected.'" The word of the Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Thanks be to God. (Organ music playing) (Woman singing) # Save me, o God
by your name # # And vindicate me
by your might # # Hear my prayer, o God # # Give ear to the words
of my mouth # # For the insolent
have risen against me # # The ruthless seek my life # # They do not set God
before them # # But surely God
is my helper # # God is the upholder
of my life # # With a freewill offering # # I will sacrifice to you # # I will give thanks
to your name for it is good # A reading from the letter
of Saint James. "Beloved, where there is envy
and selfish ambition, "there will also be disorder
and wickedness of every kind. "But the wisdom from above
is first pure, "then peaceable, gentle,
willing to yield, "full of mercy
and good fruits, "without a trace of partiality
or hypocrisy. "And a harvest of righteousness
is sewn in peace "for those who make peace. "Those conflicts
and disputes among you, "where do they come from? "Do they not come
from your cravings "that are at war
within you? "You want something
and do not have it, "so you commit murder. "And you covet something
and cannot obtain it, "so you engage in disputes
and conflicts. "You do not have
because you do not ask. "You ask and do not receive
because you ask wrongly "in order to spend what you get
on your pleasures." The word of the Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Thanks be to God. (Organ music playing) # Hallelujah, hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah, hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # God has called us
through the good news # # To obtain the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ # # Hallelujah, hallelujah # # Hallelujah # The Lord be with you. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. A reading from the holy gospel
according to Mark. CONGREGANTS:
Glory to you, Lord. "After leaving the mountain, "Jesus and His disciples
went on from there "and passed through Galilee. "He did not want anyone
to know it, "for He was teaching His
disciples, saying to them, "'The Son of man is to be
betrayed into the hands of men, "'and they will kill Him. "'And three days after being
killed, He will rise again.' "But they did not understand
what He was saying "and were afraid
to ask Him. "When they came to Capernaum "and when He was in the house,
Jesus asked them, "'What were you arguing about
on the way?' "But they were silent,
for on the way, "they had argued with one
another who was the greatest. "Jesus sat down,
called the 12 and said to them, "'Whoever wants to be first
must be last of all "'and servant of all.' "Then He took a little child
and put it among them, "and taking it in His arms,
He said to them, "'Whoever welcomes one such
child in my name, "'welcomes me and who-- "'welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me.'" The gospel of the Lord. FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Four buddies caught up
for coffee many years after
their high school. Each was trying to say
who is the greatest and how successful
and wealthy they have become. The first guy said, "See the bank building
across the street? "I'm going to buy it
within the next six months." The second guy then said, "See the courthouse building
next to the bank? "I'm going to buy it
within next month." Now, one--
not wanting to lose out, the third guy
quickly said, "See the shopping complex
next to the hotel? "I'm going to buy that
next week." Then, they looked expectantly
at the fourth guy, who simply smiled and took
one long sip of his coffee before muttering the words, "I am not selling
any of them." (congregants chuckling) Who is the greatest? We all have a desire
for recognition. Some kind of authority
over others, and to have some
important position. There's nothing wrong
with these desires. These are human desires
and they are legitimate. Can you imagine if there is
no reward for your hard work, there is no increment, there is no advancement
of your position, would you be working hard? I doubt that. But what is here
at stake is that Jesus
is not talking about merely human way
of functioning. He invites us to go beyond
the basic human desire. When we look at Maslow's
hierarchy of needs, the need
for power and prestige comes in
the psychological needs. But Jesus invites us in a way
to go to that last stage, self-fulfillment, and even beyond that. What Christ sets out
to do here is to challenge the focus
of the disciples and lead them to see beyond the earthly desires
and ambitions. Whoever wants to be first
be last of all and servant of all. In the second reading, Saint
James invites our attention to the contrast
of the wisdom of the ungodly with the wisdom
that comes from God. The former, the ambition
of the human desire, gives rise to a rivalry,
disharmony, and fighting. The later leads to gentleness,
compassion, and peace. In the world,
you become great by putting yourself forward
to be recognised, clawing your way
to the top while pushing others down. Being arrogant
and self-focused. But in God's kingdom, you become
great by lowering yourself and being the last of all. And Christ shows this humility
in His own life, by becoming human,
like one of us, by washing the feet
of the others. If being great in the world
means being served by others, in the kingdom being great
means serving others. To make this point, Jesus takes
a small child and states, "Whoever welcomes
one such child in my name "welcomes me
and whoever welcomes me "welcomes not me
but the one who sent me." He says that ev-- the very qualities
that are necessary to receive are childlike qualities, that are to characterize
the behaviour, the believer's life. What is to receive a child? First and foremost, receiving a child
requires humility. At times when I am talking
with the couples who are going to be married,
who are engaged, as I'm preparing them
for marriage, I used to joke with them,
saying, "Do you know your freedom
will be taken away "as soon as a new member
comes into the world?" You cannot do
whatever you used to do. You can not go on
to party as you like. Your life is
going to be controlled by this little creature. So, we need to have a humility
to receive that small child. Secondly, receiving a child
requires courage. It's not easy
to raise up a child. A child is
a great responsibility. When you receive a child,
you accept the responsibility for the child's care
and welfare. Thirdly, receiving a child
requires faith and trust. A person has to believe
the child will respond and learn, not rebel
and reject and run away. Can you imagine
if every parent thinks, "Oh, my child's
gonna be a rebel?" Who'd have a child? Fourthly, receiving a child
requires patience and endurance. A person has to be patient
and persevering in teaching and training. Children don't learn
at the same pace as we do. So, in all of these things, the important reminder
for each of us is when we don't
transcend ourselves from the worldly things, we could miss out what the
kingdom of God is all about. Jesus makes it clear
that the kingdom of God is not about seeking honour
and glory for oneself but about serving others. So,
dear brothers and sisters, let us go into the world
to be of service to each other. Let us profess our faith. I believe in God,
the Father almighty-- FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
--creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ,
his holy Son, our Lord, who was conceived
by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died,
and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again
from the dead. He ascended to Heaven, and is seated
at the right hand of God, the Father almighty. From there, He will come to
judge the living and the dead. I believe in
the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection
of the body, and life everlasting,
Amen. Let us bring before God
our needs. Let's pray for ourselves,
for a sense of humility, to accept the kingdom of God
that God desires. We pray to the Lord. FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
Lord, hear our prayer. We pray for our family members
and friends who have fallen away
from faith, that they may understand
the higher call that God gives
to each of us. We pray to the Lord. FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
Lord, hear our prayer. We continue to pray
for the sick and suffering and all those
who are seeking our prayers, that they may continue to
receive the blessing of God. We pray to the Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Lord, hear our prayer. For all those in our
Daily TV Mass community who are dedicated
to the care of the sick, may they receive the grace
to continue their ministry of compassion and caring
with hope and joy. We pray. FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
Lord, hear our prayer. Let us sum up all our prayers
through Christ, our Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. Blessed are you, Lord,
God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you, fruit of the Earth
and work of human hands. It will become for us
the bread of life. CONGREGANTS:
Blessed be God forever. (whispering) Blessed are you,
Lord God of all Creation, for through your goodness
we have received the wine we offer you. Fruit of the vine
and work of human hands, it will become
our spiritual drink. CONGREGANTS:
Blessed be God forever. (murmuring) Pray,
dear brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours
be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father. CONGREGANTS: May the Lord accept
the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory
of His name, for our good and the good
of all His Holy Church. Receive with favour,
o Lord, we pray, the offerings
of your people, that while they profess
with the devotion and faith may be theirs through
these heavenly mysteries. Through Christ our Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The Lord be with you. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. Lift up your hearts. CONGREGANTS:
We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks
to the Lord, our God. CONGREGANTS:
It is right and just. It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation always and everywhere
to give you thanks, Lord Holy Father,
almighty and eternal God. For out of compassion for
the waywardness that is ours, He humbled Himself
and was born of the virgin. By the passion of the cross
He freed us from unending death and by rising from the dead
He gave us life eternal. And so, with angels
and archangels, with thrones
and dominions, and with all the hosts
and powers of Heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory
as without end, we acclaim. (Organ music playing) # Holy, holy, holy # # Lord God of hosts # # Heaven and Earth
are full of Your glory # # Hosanna in the highest # # Hosanna in the highest # # Blessed is he who comes # # In the name of the Lord # # Hosanna in the highest # # Hosanna in the highest # You are indeed holy,
o Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy therefore
these gifts, we pray, by sending down your spirit
upon them like the dewfall, that they may become
the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time
He was betrayed and entered willingly
into His passion, He took bread,
giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples,
saying, "Take this, all of you,
and eat of it. "For this is my body "which will be given up
for you." (Bell ringing) In a similar way,
when supper was ended, He took the chalice,
once more giving thanks, He gave it to His disciples,
saying, "Take this, all of you,
and drink from it. "For this is the chalice
of my blood, "the blood of the new
and eternal covenant, "which will be poured out
for you and for many "for the forgiveness of sins. "Do this in memory of me." (Bell ringing) # The mystery of faith # (Organ music playing) (Woman singing)
# When we eat this bread # # And drink this cup # # We proclaim your death,
o Lord # # Until you come again # Therefore,
as we celebrate the memorial of His death
and resurrection, we offer you, Lord,
the bread of life and the chalice
of salvation, giving thanks
that you have held us worthy to be in your presence
and minister to you. Humbly we pray that partaking
of the body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered
into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your church,
spread throughout the world, and bring her
to the fullness of charity. Together with Francis, our Pope,
and Thomas, our Bishop, and all the clergy. Remember also
our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in
the hope of the resurrection and all who have died
in your mercy. Welcome them
into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all,
we pray, that with the blessed
virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the blessed Joseph,
her spouse, with the blessed apostles
and all the saints who have pleased you
throughout the ages, we may merit to be coheirs
to eternal life, and may praise
and glorify you through your son,
Jesus Christ. # Through Him, and with Him,
and in Him # # O God, almighty Father # # In the unity
of the Holy Spirit # # All glory and honour
is yours # # Forever and ever # (Woman singing)
# Amen # And at the Saviour's command,
informed by divine teaching, we dare to say-- FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth
as it is in Heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread, and forgive us
our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, we pray,
from every evil. Graciously grant peace
in our days that by the help
of your mercy, we may be always
free from sin and safe from all distress
as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our saviour,
Jesus Christ. FATHER AND CONGREGANTS:
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever. Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your apostles, "Peace I leave you,
my peace I give you," look not on our sins
but on the faith of your church. Graciously grant her
peace and unity in accordance
with your will who live and reign
forever and ever. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The peace of the Lord
be with you always. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. Let us offer each other
the sign of peace. (Organ music playing) # Lamb of God # # You take away
the sins of the world # # Have mercy on us # # Lamb of God # # You take away
the sins of the world # # Have mercy on us # # Lamb of God # # You take away
the sins of the world # # Grant us peace # Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away
the sins of the world. Blessed are those called
to the supper of the Lamb. FATHER SO AND CONGREGANTS:
Lord, I'm not worthy that you should enter
under my roof. But only say the word
and my soul shall be healed. (Bell ringing) NARRATOR:
Please join me now in this act
of spiritual communion. (Reading aloud) Let us pray. Graciously raise up,
o Lord, those who renew
with this sacrament, that we may come
to possess your redemption, both in mystery and
in the manner of all life, through Christ,
our Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The Lord be with you. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. May almighty God
bless you, the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. Go forth in peace
to love and serve one another. CONGREGANTS:
Thanks be to God. NARRATOR:
Our thanks to our donor for the gift of this mass. # I sing the mighty power
of God # # That made
the mountains rise # # That spread the flowing seas
abroad # # And built the lofty skies # # I sing the wisdom
that ordained # # The sun to rule the day # # The moon shines full
at God's command # # And all the stars obey # # I sing the goodness
of the Lord # # That filled the #
