Daily Liturgy
Tuesday October 19
TWENTY-NINETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SOLIDARITY IN SIN
Introduction
We are one in our weaknesses, one also in God’s love and in the salvation he offers us in Christ in the solidarity of grace. Sinners and saints at the same time, the enemy in us and paradise within us, we long to be saved by Christ now, to transcend our doubts, our different forms of selfishness, our sufferings, our divisions within ourselves and our separations from one another. Yet it is in this kind of life, within this torn human destiny, that Christ will save us, if with him we accept his life and grace.
In the gospel Jesus exhorts his disciples to vigilance. They are like servants who should always be ready for the master’s call.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we experience every day that we are
a melting pot, at times a boiling pot,
of courage and cowardice,
of questions, hesitations, vulnerability,
of selfishness and generosity, of sin and grace.
God, grant that we may accept
our solidarity in sin,
to share the better our solidarity in the salvation,
which comes to us through your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reading 1: Rom 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21
Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.
If by that one person’s transgression the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one
the many will be made righteous.
Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more,
so that, as sin reigned in death,
grace also might reign through justification
for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
(8a and 9a) 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.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, “The LORD be glorified.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Alleluia: Lk 21:36
Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 12:35-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.”
Intercessions
– That the Church may recognize that it is also a Church of sinners who make mistakes and need conversion, we pray:
– That priests and bishops may be dedicated and patient ministers of forgiveness and reconciliation, we pray:
– That we may acknowledge our sins and ask pardon for them, rather than seek easy excuses, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we bring bread and wine before you,
food and drink for human life,
yet signs of our salvation in Christ,
signs that salvation is not to be sought
outside the realities of life.
God, make us understand
that we are to be saved as we are,
human, frail, in a life
that is not different from that of others,
but that is to be lived differently,
in the way Jesus lived it,
who is our Savior and our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
strengthened by your Son in this eucharist,
we do not ask for the grace to be harmless,
for then we would lose the capacity
of being valuable to you and to people.
Lord God, as we are one in our frailty,
may we also be one in your love and grace,
that we may accept life
with its risks and joys and sufferings
and that we may seek to make it meaningful
by the grace of him who has given us his body
and in the light of him who is our Savior,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
If we would accept more readily our solidarity in sin, our responsibility for evil in the world, many evils would be overcome and we would be more united also in justice and mercy, forgiveness and peace. May God make you more one in grace and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Today’s reading from Romans is the classical contrast between the disintegration inherited from Adam and the reintegration that comes from Christ. The one man, Adam, introduced sin to the world; with sin came death. Death passed to every human being in as much as all sinned. Through one man’s sin, all inherited condemnation, since they in turn ratified by their own conduct the sin of the first man. The conclusion is a tragic one; because one man disobeyed, all then have become sinners, and sin has reigned in death.
Yet, in this dire situation, God’s remedy was already at hand. In the coming of Jesus the damage inflicted by Adam is overcome, and in abundance. The gift of Christ is justification and life; humanity is acquitted of its sinfulness. If disobedience brought death and tragedy, so through the obedience of one man, justification has come to the many. Where sin may have proliferated, now grace is more than abundant. Sin brought death; grace has brought justification and life eternal in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now what God asks of us is vigilance. We do not know when the master will return from the wedding. He may come at the first, second, or third watch. When he finds his servants alert and waiting, he will render them able service. In other words, the faithful will be received into glory.
The lesson is clear. We have been immensely favored. Death has been overcome. We now live in the Spirit.
Points to Ponder
The tragedy of Adam
The victory in Christ
Christian alertness.