Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Sent Without Security
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. The closing chapter of Hosea is an emotional call for conversion, for a loyal return to the Lord. He alone can save, he alone is the master of history, and he alone can provide the happiness which people seek so frantically.
Gospel. What Jesus says of his apostles-missionaries applies also to all who follow him: they have to live with insecurity. They will be contradicted, ridiculed, perhaps persecuted. The gospel, meant to bring peace, in reality often divides. It sets off, sets apart. It brings division even among those who claim Christ as their Lord. Jesus promised to his disciples then and now his Holy Spirit to stand by their side in their trials.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
Our faith is often put to the test
in the confusion of our time.
Let your Holy Spirit speak in us
When we meet a contradiction
on account of the gospel of your Son.
May he be our strength and peace
in living with the uncertainties
That is the lot of those who believe in you.
Stay with us when the going is rough
and bring us home to you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Conversion
Return to your God, the Lord, O Israel!Your sins have led to your downfall.
Return to the Lord with humble words. Say to him: Oh, you who show compassion to the fatherless,forgive our debt, be appeased.Instead of bulls and sacrifices,accept the praise from our lips.
Assyria will not save us: we will no longer seek horses, nor will we ever again say ‘Our gods’ to the work of our hands.
I will heal their disloyalty and love them with all my heart, because my anger has turned away from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel, and he will flourish like the lily. Like a cedar, he will send down his roots;
his young shoots will grow and spread. His beauty will be like an olive tree, and his fragrance, like a Lebanon cedar.
They will dwell in my shade once more,they will flourish like crops,they will blossom like a vine,and their fame will be like Lebanon wine.
What would Ephraim do with idols, when I am the one who hears him and makes him prosper? I am like an evergreen cypress tree; all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Epilogue
Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who is discerning enough to grasp it? The ways of the Lord are straight: the righteous walk in them, but sinners stumble.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14, 17
R. (17b) My mouth will declare your praise.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
Behold, you are pleased with sincerity of heart,
and in my inmost being you teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
When the Spirit of truth comes,
he will guide you to all truth
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Warning of Persecution
See, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. You must be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Be cautious around people, for they will turn you over to their courts and flog you in their synagogues.
You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a witness to them and to the pagans.
But when you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it; when the time comes, you will be given what to say.
For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will give his brother over to death, and a father to his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.
Everyone will hate you because of me, but anyone who stays firm until the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, escape to the next. I assure you, you won’t have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For all churches and missionary societies, that they may proclaim Christ not by power and prestige but by humble service, we pray:
– For missionaries, that they may discover the good there is in the hearts and minds of people and in their culture, to heal, to ennoble, and to perfect them in Christ, we pray:
– For all our young churches, that they may be deeply rooted in their own people as communities of faith and love that enrich the whole Church, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
Jesus, your Son, was defenceless
against those who rejected him,
Yet he entrusted himself to you
and you raised him from the dead.
Give him to us now
in these signs of bread and wine.
Let him accompany us on the road to you,
that we may remain faithful with him
and persevere until the end.
May we thus also live with him
who is our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
we thank you for encouraging us
through the word and example
of your Son Jesus Christ.
His word is not comfortable
and neither was his example.
Send us to make his gospel known
by the way we ourselves live it.
And when our ardour cools off,
remind us that you are our God
who sends and accompanies us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
People speaking in the name of God should not worry about what to say, for Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit is speaking through them. May God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 10:16-23
In today’s Gospel passage, Matthew begins recording Jesus' Missionary Discourse. As Jesus gathers his twelve disciples and assigns them to preach, exorcise, and heal the people of Israel, he warns them of the hostility they will face. He points out that families will be divided and betrayed and that hatred and persecution will be prevalent. Tough stuff!
Jesus calls us to be as intelligent as snakes and as innocent as sheep; we must be vigilant. Then, only a few verses later, he urges us to place ourselves in the hands of the Spirit. “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (v. 22). The world hated Jesus because he brought the light of God to illumine the world, but the world prefers darkness because its deeds are evil. In asking people to change their lives and lifestyles, the vested interests of the evil forces were challenged.
The Gospel today reminds us that the apostles’ mission is very challenging and not for the faint of heart! “Like sheep among wolves”... The “wolves” are all those who threaten or cause great harm and destruction to those who bear the Gospel. Despite this, Christians are not frightened or threatened by persecution because they place their trust in the Holy Spirit, who leads them.
When talking about Christians persecuted worldwide, Pope Francis said, “The Church suffers, in different places, harsh persecution, up to the ultimate sacrifice of martyrdom, to bear witness to the light and the truth. I shall tell you something: today’s martyrs are more numerous with respect to those of the first centuries… there is the same cruelty today, and to a greater extent, toward Christians.
As we partake in today’s liturgy, let us be close to those suffering persecution on account of their faith through our prayers, affection, and tears. And the Pope consoles them in his message saying, “I would like to say to each one of them: if you bear this cross with love, you have entered into the mystery of Christ, you are in the heart of Christ and of the Church.”
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