Year B
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
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‘Go, prophesy to my people.’ Whenever we experience a good occasion, we desire to share it with others. It might be a birth, a graduation, a wedding, or a job promotion. We might share this good occasion through a text message, an e-mail, TikTok, X, or a traditional card in the post or even a phone call. We rarely keep good news to ourselves but share it with others. This is also includes sharing our faith with others. Yes, it can be daunting, especially in our secular culture and society. We might even feel embarrassed and timid at times, worrying about how other people will think about us. However, as we hear in today’s scriptures, we are invited not to keep our faith to ourselves but to share it with others. Yes, this is a difficult task, but we should take consolation, that through the Sacrament of Confirmation we are given the assistance of the Holy Spirit to live and share our faith with others. The manner of our life through our words and actions, give testimony or witness to Jesus Christ. Through the fruits of the Holy Spirit, we are able to live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We should never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives in order for us to witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pope St Paul VI reminded us, that “modern people listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it because they are witnesses.” We may ask ourselves today, does my manner of life through my words and actions give witness to Jesus Christ? But, you might ask, what exactly am I to share with others? We share that a life of fullness, peace, love, reconciliation, justice, integrity, and true happiness is made possible through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That evil, injustice, hatred, conflict, will never have the final say. What a great message we Christians have for our world! To be a witness to Jesus Christ, and therefore to share it with others, entails that we spend time learning about our faith which is rooted in prayer and the sacraments. After we hear the Word of God and celebrating the Eucharist together, the priest or deacon instructs us to go out to the world – ‘Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord’ – ‘Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.’ We are not Christians restricted to the Church walls, but we are invited to bring the Church beyond the church walls. As Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out, so we too, are sent out to share the Good News.
The Mass for the fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time begins with an Entrance Antiphon recalling words of the Psalmist: As for me, in justice I shall behold your face; I shall be filled with the vision of your glory. (cf. Ps.16:15) These words give expression to the deepest longing of the human heart, placed there by the Creator in the beginning. We may try to ignore it, cover it up, smother it, but deep down the desire to see God will not go away.
On Mount Sinai Moses said to the Lord: I pray thee show me thy glory, only to hear the reply: You cannot see my face; for man shall not see my face and live. (Ex.33:18, 20) But made in the image of God, the human heart cannot endure such a word. The heart which naturally seeks God can only say with Saint Augustine: Thou hast made us for thyself O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in thee.
It was to bring this frustrated desire to fulfilment that the son of God became the Son of Man. In him the most intimate communion of God and man appeared on earth and was made possible for us all. On the cross Jesus worked the justice which removed all that separated us from the divine vision. Henceforth, through faith, we begin to see God in a mirror dimly, and wait with eager longing to see him face to face. We look forward to the Just One coming again in glory, and when he appears we shall be like him, we shall see him as he is.
Bidding Prayers
Let us pray for all Christ's faithful people, that seeking the one thing necessary, we may grow into the likeness of him, who, lifted up from the earth, draws all things to himself.
Let us pray for all who seek for meaning and direction in their lives, that they may find the Lord, who, even now, sends forth his Spirit into their hearts.
Let us pray for all who sleep in Christ, that they may open their eyes to the vision of his glory.
Note: These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
God has chosen me (CFE212, L858)
God's spirit is in my heart (Go tell everyone) (CFE227, L864, LHON297)
I will be with you (CFE289, L866, LHON379)
Lord, you give the great commission (CFE394, L870, LHON459)
Take the word of God with you (CFE679 L856)
We have a gospel to proclaim (CFE778, L852)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
