Saturday July 29, 2017
St. Martha
Introduction
Martha. To serve without being asked, to be ready for others. To be given little publicity but to work backstage. Not to ask for honors and pass on the shoulder but to do one’s work quietly. This is how she followed the Lord. And her faith was deep and strong in Christ as the Son of God who could raise the dead back to life.
Opening Prayer
We honor today Saint Martha
as a woman of faith
and an unobtrusive servant of people
Give us her faith in Christ
as the Lord of life
and the firstfruits of the resurrection.
Make us willing servants of one another
who attend to others in their need.
We ask your this through Christ our Lord.
Reading 1 Ex 24:3-8
When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
"We will do everything that the LORD has told us."
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the children of Israel
to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do."
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
"This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15
R. (14a) Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me."
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
Alleluia Jn 8:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 11:19-27
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."
or Lk 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."
Intercessions
– That the Gospel of the Lord may keep striking priests, catechists and all other ministers of the Word as a message of good news for our day and that they may proclaim it with conviction and warmth, we pray:
– That those who promised fidelity to one another in marriage may keep growing in love and reflecting God’s love for his Church, we pray:
– That among us here and in all Christian communities, there may be committed love and loyalty to God and one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
In every eucharist
your Son Jesus serves us at his table.
Let him fill us with the love and dedication
needed to wait on our brothers and sisters
without imposing ourselves,
but in all simplicity,
because we know that in them we are serving
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, in this eucharist
your Son Jesus Christ has nourished us
with the bread of resurrection and life.
Strengthened by this food,
may we live as your people
called to rise already in this life
above our failures and sins
and may we also raise up one another
to bring about together a better world
where love and justice prevail.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Here is the covenant that the Lord has made with you. If only we were more aware of how near to us God wanted to be. May God keep you in his love and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.