THURSDAY OF THE TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
CALLED TO THE FEAST
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Introduction
The first reading reflects the primitive conditions and the moral underdevelopment of the period of the Judges. Jephthah, a man of good will and a dedicated servant of Yahweh, lacks the moral discernment to distinguish between the binding force of an imprudent vow and respect for the human person.
All are invited to the kingdom of God, even repeatedly, the good and the bad alike. Salvation is open to all. But they should be willing, they must respond to the call. And once they respond, they should be consistent. They must share in the death struggle of Christ against evil, to live with the life of Christ. The force to live the Christ life is indeed given to us in the eucharistic meal. There the Lord prepares us for the royal marriage feast.
Opening Prayer
Merciful Father of all people,
you open the doors of your kingdom
to invite us all, good and bad alike,
to share the life of Jesus, your Son.
Give us the wisdom and the strength
to respond to your generous call
with the whole of our being.
Help us to go the loyal way
to you and to one another
of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He went through Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and then entered the territory of the Ammonites.
Jephthah vowed to the Lord:
“If you make me victorious,
I shall sacrifice to you whoever first comes out of my house to meet me when I return from battle. He shall be for the Lord, and I shall offer him up through the fire.”
Jephthah crossed the territory of the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave him victory.
He pursued them from the city of Aroer to the entrance of Minnith and Abel-keramin, seizing twenty towns. So he defeated the Ammonites.
When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter met him. She was so happy to see her father that she danced to the sound of her tambourine. She was an only child; he had no other daughter or son besides her.
When Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and cried out:
“My daughter, you have shattered me; you have brought me misfortune. I have made a foolish vow to the Lord, and now I cannot return it.”
She answered him:
“Father, even if you have made such a foolish vow, you must do to me just as you promised, for the Lord has avenged you and crushed your enemies.
I beg you to give me two months to live with my companions in the mountains. There, I shall lament because I will never marry.”
Jephthah said to her:
“Go then.”
And he sent her away for two months. She and her companions went to the mountains and wept because she would never marry.
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he fulfilled his vow. The young girl had never known a man. From this comes the Israelite custom
Responsorial Psalm
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
(8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Alleluia Verse
Alleluia: Ps 95:8
Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prayers of the Faithful
Intercessions
– That the Lord may gather all peoples in one common praise of his name, we pray:
– That the lives of all Christians may radiate joy and hope and bring a feast of happiness to others, we pray:
– That the communities without priests, isolated and abandoned as they often feel, may receive the word of the Lord as their food and occasionally also the Lord’s body, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in these signs of bread and wine
you invite us now to the table
of your Son Jesus Christ,
as a token and pledge
of your unending feast meal in heaven.
Give us the strength to respond to your call,
that we may become new in Christ
and live his life day after day,
until you let us share in his glory
for ever and ever.
Prayer after Communion
Loving Father,
we thank you for giving us your Son
as our food and drink
on the long road to you.
Through this eucharist
make us resemble him more and more,
that we may respect and love him
in one another,
that we may be his image to the world,
and that you may recognize his traits in us
when you welcome us
to the everlasting feast of joy.
Grant us this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
All are invited to the Lord’s feast meal, but not all come. Are some absent because we do not make them feel welcome? Let us do all we can to make people feel at home with us. May God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.