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| Other Articles by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D. Printer Friendly Version |
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| If You Want to Be Forgiven, Forgive! | ||
Nm 6:22-27 / Gal 4:4-7 / Lk 2:16-21
One of the characteristics of healthy children is a consciousness of the importance of having rules and playing by the rules. One of the most frequent refrains amidst their games is the outraged challenge, It's not fair. You cheated! This focus on rules is an important stage in a child's development, and it provides children with crucial habits for the rest of life. Without it their lives and society as a whole would descend into chaos. But by itself it isn't enough to make a life.
St. Paul learned this through painful experience. In his early days as a devout and sincere Jew, he strove with all his might to observe the whole of the law of Moses with perfection. And constantly he failed -- in two ways. On the one hand, the simple human weakness which is common to us all frustrated his very best efforts to be perfect. He just wasn't and he never would be, and it drove him crazy. On the other hand, his frustration with his own inner imperfections and failures hardened his heart as he judged both himself and others. With ruthless vigor, he set out to catch and to punish everyone who was wandering away from the law as he understood it. And so he found himself killing Christians, presiding at the death of the very first martyr, St. Stephen.
In the end, he discovered that there was a way out of this terrible, bitter trap that he'd built for himself, and the way out was Jesus, the compassionate one, Jesus the forgiver. He is the only way out, the only salvation, for any of us fragile, fault-ridden human beings. His forgiveness and His compassion can be ours for the asking. All we need do in return is to pass it on and share it with our brothers and sisters.
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 121 (122) |
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| Jerusalem, the holy city |
| They filled me with joy when they said, “We will go to the house of the Lord”. Now our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city, whole and self-contained: there the tribes have gone up, the tribes of the Lord – the witness of Israel, to praise the Lord’s name. For there are the thrones of justice, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “Safety for those who care for you, peace inside your walls, security within your ramparts!” For my brethren and those near to me I will say “Peace be upon you”. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will call blessings upon you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 126 (127) |
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| Without the Lord, we labour in vain |
| If the Lord does not build the house, its builders labour in vain. If the Lord does not watch over a city, its workmen guard it in vain. It is vain for you to rise before the dawn and go late to your rest, eating the bread of toil – to those he loves, the Lord gives sleep. The Lord bestows sons as an heirloom, the fruit of the womb as a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior – so are the sons of one’s youth. Happy the man who fills his quiver thus: when he disputes with his enemies at the gate, he will not be the loser. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Ephesians 1 |
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| God the Saviour | |
| Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in heaven. In love, he chose us before the creation of the world, to be holy and spotless in his sight. He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, simply because it pleased him to do so. This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace, of his free gift of us to his Beloved, in whose blood we have gained redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins. This he did according to the riches of his grace, which he gave us in abundance, with all wisdom and discernment, revealing to us the mysteries of his will, because it pleased him to do so. In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time, to bring all things together in Christ, from the heavens and from the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Short reading | Galatians 4:4 - 5 © |
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| When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. | |
| Canticle | Magnificat |
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| My soul rejoices in the Lord | |
| My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour – me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed, because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy, his mercy lasts for generation after generation for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength: he has scattered the proud and conceited, torn princes from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| God, it was by means of blessed Mary, virgin and mother, that you gave the human race the gift of eternal salvation. Grant that we may feel the effects of her intercession for us, for it is through her that we have received your Son, the source of life. He lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |