Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sent to Heal
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Greeting (See Second Reading)
God loves us, even though we sin.
By dying for us,
Jesus brought us reconciliation
and has filled us with joyful trust in God.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you
Introduction by the Celebrant
Many in our society and our communities are in need of healing. We, too, need the healing of forgiveness, maybe also of illness, pain and suffering. Jesus came to bring us healing from sin, and he sends out his disciples, in the past and today, to bring healing to a world so often afflicted and yet often harsh and pitiless. Let us ask the Lord that we may pass on to others the mercy he is showing to us.
Penitential Act
Let us ask forgiveness from the Lord
because we have often been hard and merciless.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you are our Good Shepherd
who laid down your life for people:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you went around doing good,
healing the people from all their ills:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you want us to pass on to others
what we have received for free from you:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Take pity on us too, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Heal us and restore us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God
that we may be to everyone
the sign of his healing love
(pause)
Lord God, source of all love
You showed through your Son Jesus Christ
How you take pity on people in their helplessness.
You have made yourself our God
and have bound us closely to yourself
in a lasting covenant of life and love.
Mould us into real people
set free by Jesus, your Son.
Make us responsible for one another
and let us be to all a living sign
of your tender love and compassion.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
Chosen by God as His Holy People: God chose Israel as his people, liberated them and bound himself to them in a covenant union of permanent life and love. The priestly mission of this people was to reflect the holiness of God and to make it known to all.
They arrived there, having come from Rephidim, and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.
The Israelites camped there in front of the mountain, but Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying:
“This is what you are to say and to explain to the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.
Now, if you listen to me and keep my Covenant, you shall be my very own possession among all the nations. For all the earth is mine,
but you will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for me.”
And he added, “This is what you are to say to the people of Israel.”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3c) We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Second Reading
We Are What We Are by God’s Love: God made us what we are by his love. The proof of the depth of his love is that his Son Jesus Christ died for us to reconcile us with God and to let us share in his life.
Consider, furthermore, the time when Christ died for us: when we were still helpless and unable to do anything.
Few would agree to die for an upright person; although for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.
But see how God demonstrated his love for us: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us;
and we have been made righteous through his blood. Therefore, even more, we are justified now and will be saved from any condemnation.
Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of his Son; with even more reason, now we can be saved through his life.
Not only that, but we also boast in God because of Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom we have been reconciled.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Sent to Proclaim the Good News: Jesus sends out his apostles on a mission that will be the mission of the whole People of God: to bring to everyone God’s compassionate love which we ourselves have experienced.
Jesus’ Compassion
When he saw the crowds, he was filled with compassion, for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples:
“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only a few.
Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.”
The Twelve
Jesus called his Twelve disciples to him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the Twelve apostles: first, Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray him.
Mission of the Twelve
Jesus sent these Twelve on a mission with the instructions: “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town.
Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.
Go and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ that with him we may take compassion on people and heal their wounds by God’s power. Let us say: R/ Lord, fill us with your mercy.
– Lord Jesus, make your Church treat its erring members with deep compassion and endless patience, in the way you are lenient with us. And so we pray: R/ Lord, fill us with your mercy.
– Lord Jesus, make political leaders aware of the many poor in society: the homeless, refugees, the jobless, those abandoned by parents or spouses. We pray: R/ Lord, fill us with your mercy.
– Lord Jesus, look with pity on those of your faithful who have no shepherds to lead them, on parishes without priests or with inadequate shepherds, on discouraged and bungling priests. We pray: R/ Lord, fill us with your mercy.
– Lord Jesus, make us look with pity for young people without ideals or guidance, for sad old people in their loneliness, for broken families and couples in irregular marriages. We pray: R/ Lord, fill us with your mercy.
– Lord Jesus, look with pity on our communities. Unite them when they are divided, make them welcome those who have erred, let them be hospitable to all. We pray: R/ Lord, fill us with your mercy.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, by your free gifts, you have been very good to us. Dispose us to be equally kind and good to all people in need. Lead us, Lord, now and forever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you have given us without charge
this bread and wine.
Turn them by the power of the Holy Spirit
into your best free gift to us,
your Son Jesus Christ.
Dispose us not to keep him to ourselves
but to share him freely with all those around us,
without any other preference than his own:
the poor, the needy, and the little people.
May this be the sign
that your kingdom has come among us,
that we are your people
and you our God for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has made us his chosen people. We, that “holy people,” offer ourselves with Jesus to bring God’s compassion and healing to all.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
Our Lord Jesus Christ has filled us
with joyful trust in God.
With him we pray to our Father in heaven. R/ Our Father...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, the Lamb of God,
who died for us while we were still sinners.
He has made us into God’s new people.
Happy are we to receive him
and to live through him in the Father’s love.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, Father of all,
again we ask of you to make us more
the people of the covenant.
Through Jesus, your Son-with-us, make us all one,
praying and working together
to build up your kingdom among people.
Let none of us be an uncommitted spectator
but make each of us fully aware
that weak and fallible as we are,
You need us and want us to be a holy people,
The sign to all of your lasting goodness.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In his love, God chose us
and made us his own people.
Now he sends us out
to make his love known to all.
May we be his heart that beats for others,
his hands that lighten burdens,
his word of encouragement and hope.
And on all our ways
may he go with you and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
The Lord guides us to one another;
let us go in his peace. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 9:36–10:8
Jesus has a Mission for you!
We all hope that something new will emerge in our world, that chaos will give way to order, and that peace, justice, and respect for each individual will reign.
The evangelist Mathew began his Gospel by introducing the vision and Mission of Christ through the Sermon on the Mount. After the long discourse on the mountain, Matthew narrates ten healings and wonders Jesus performed for humanity. He wants to tell us that Jesus' Word brought healing and changes in people’s lives; his word makes all that is inhuman disappear from the world. The Gospel heals us from our inabilities and enables us to see the face of God and listen to the voice of God.
In Jesus, God fulfilled this promise and has personally come to care for the sick humanity. God revealed himself in Jesus as someone emotionally involved and compassionate for humanity’s pain. But Jesus makes it clear that he is not going to accomplish this mission alone. He calls on us to join his mission, to be a part of the healing of a broken world.
There are two tasks that Jesus asks us to carry out: to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. This means that we are called to give continuity to his work of salvation, and to carry out this mission, he gives us the power to perform wonders, to expel unclean spirits. Unclean in the Bible means everything contrary to life. They are the demons; they are called envy, jealousy, hatred, grudges, and always desires to possess more goods, to dominate and to enslave others.
These demons create a ruthless world where the other is seen as a rival, an enemy, not as a brother or sister to love. These demons must be cast out from each person’s heart because we are all possessed. Seeing the large crowd, the Lord says, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only a few; therefore, ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest. “We are the workers, and we must join together to cast out the demons of hatred and division and replace them with the love of God.
Mathew names the 12 apostles, including himself. Number 12 represents the 12 tribes of Israel. In Jesus’ time, not everyone in Israel believed in God. One betrayed the Master; another denounced the Master thrice... Despite their infidelity and weaknesses, Jesus assigns them with the mission.
For example, how come Judas Iscariot also got selected? Was he a wrong choice? A theologian had an interesting answer: “I am not sure if Judas was a wrong choice, but I have an even harder question: Why did Jesus choose me?” Because he has a mission for you