Sixteenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Celebrant: Confident in God's
love and endless compassion for all people, we place our needs before him in
faith.
Deacon/Lector:
That the Church may be
faithful to its call to preach repentance and the Good News of Jesus Christ to
all people, we pray to the Lord...
That all ministers in the
Church may fearlessly proclaim and teach God's love for all people, we pray to
the Lord...
For those who govern us, that
they may have the heart and mind of a good shepherd, and keep the protection of
human life as their first priority, we pray to the Lord...
That those who suffer because
of injustice, discrimination or hardship because of race or religion may deepen
their faith in God and experience his protection, we pray to the Lord...
That men and women may
generously open their hearts to God's invitation to serve his people through the
priesthood and religious life, we pray to the Lord...
That all who have died may
experience the peace and life of Christ in the heavenly kingdom, we pray to the
Lord...
Celebrant: Gracious God, hear our
prayers. Give us the grace to do your will each day, and to find the true peace
which comes only from you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Bulletin Insert
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insert in Spanish
A Consistent
Ethic of Life
"A wide spectrum of issues touches on the
protection of human life and the promotion of human dignity. As Pope John
Paul II has reminded us: "Where life is involved, the service of charity
must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and
discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and
in every situation; it is an indivisible good" (The Gospel of Life, no. 87).
"Among important issues involving the dignity of human life with which the
Church is concerned, abortion necessarily plays a central role. Abortion,
the direct killing of an innocent human being, is always gravely
immoral (The Gospel of Life, no. 57); its victims are the most vulnerable
and defenseless members of the human family. It is imperative that those who
are called to serve the least among us give urgent attention and priority to
this issue of justice” (2001: US Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-life
Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life).
Homily Suggestions on Pro-life Themes
Jer 23:1-6
Eph 2:13-18
Mk 6:30-34
The first reading and the Gospel passage echo the theme of God as our
Shepherd. It is in the Second Reading that we see exactly how Christ
shepherds us – through the reconciliation achieved in his blood. He
shepherds us not simply by teaching us, but by destroying the very power of
death.
The Church’s pro-life efforts are to be seen and presented in this context,
that is, as an aspect of the reconciliation of the world with God in Christ.
The “enmity” of which St. Paul speaks has many dimensions, and in its widest
spiritual sense includes the enmity that all sin places between us and God,
and between us and one another.
The exaltation of individual “choice” above our responsibilities to the
lives of others, especially our children, creates a destructive enmity. The
peace that Christ gives is not something to be received only in an internal,
spiritual way, but is a reality that transforms relationships, cultures, and
nations. That peace demands respect for life and a rejection of the enmity
that constitutes the culture of death.
Liturgical Resources
