Liturgical Leaflet for an Active Participation in the Celebration of the Eucharist

10 November 2019 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

We Believe in the God of Life

A
s we continue praying for all our departed loved ones in
this month of November, today’s theme reminds us of
a basic truth of our faith which is also related to our
prayer for the dead, namely: the resurrection of all human beings
at the end of time. That will be the time when all of us will receive
from the Eternal Judge, even in our bodies, the reward or punish-
ment deserved by the way we have lived.
Such a truth gives meaning to our efforts to lead an honest life.
It also reminds us that our bodies are sacred, and have to be used
for the glory of God and the service of our neighbor. Our faith tells
us that, even after our bodies have suffered the disintegration of
death, God’s creative power will call us back to life in the fullness
of our being, for He is “the God of the Living” and not of the dead.
This is what we proclaim in every Eucharistic celebration and why
we look with hope to the day of our final resurrection.

Entrance Antiphon
(To be recited only when no Entrance
Hymn is sung.)
Let my prayer come into
your presence. Incline your ear
to my cry for help, O Lord.
Greeting
P –The grace of our Lord Je-
sus Christ, the love of God the
Father, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit be with you all!
All – And with your spirit!
Penitential Act
P –As we prepare to celebrate
the Sacred Mysteries this Sun-
day, let us recall our sins and ask
the Lord for pardon and strength.
(Pause)
P – For the times we have for-
gotten our eternal destiny
and sought only the com-
forts of this life, Lord, have
mercy!
All –Lord, have mercy!
P – For the times we have re-
jected our neighbor’s pleas
for help, Christ, have mer-
cy!
All – Christ, have mercy!
P – For the times we have been
a cause of suffering for our
brothers and sisters in our
community, Lord, have
mercy!
All – Lord, have mercy!
P – May almighty God have
mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
All – Amen!
Gloria
All – Glory to God in the high-
est, and on earth peace to people
of good will. We praise you,
we bless you, we adore you, we
glorify you, we give you thanks
for your great glory, Lord God,
heavenly King, O God, almighty
Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Be-
gotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of
God, Son of the Father, you take
away the sins of the world, have
mercy on us; you take away the
sins of the world, receive our
prayer; you are seated at the right
hand of the Father, have mercy
on us. For you alone are the Holy
One, you alone are the Lord, you
alone are the Most High, Jesus
Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen!
Collect (Opening Prayer)
P –Almighty and merciful
God, graciously keep from us
all adversity, so that, unhindered
in mind and body alike, we may
pursue in freedom of heart the
things that are yours.
Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and
reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever.
All – Amen!

1st Reading 2 Mc 7:1-2.9-14
Belief in the resurrection of
the dead was the unconquerable
moral strength which enabled
the seven young Jewish martyrs
and their mother to endure ter-
rible tortures because of their
loyalty to the law of the Lord.
R – A proclamation from the
Second Book of Maccabees
It happened that seven
brothers with their mother
were arrested and tortured
with whips and scourges by
the king, to force them to eat
pork in violation of God’s law.
One of the brothers, speaking
for the others, said: “What do
you expect to achieve by ques-
tioning us? We are ready to die
rather than transgress the laws
of our ancestors.”
At the point of death, he
said: “You accursed fiend! You
are depriving us of this present
life, but the King of the world
will raise us up to live again
forever. It is for his laws that
we are dying.”
After him, the third suf-
fered their cruel sport. He put
out his tongue at once when
told to do so, and bravely held
out his hands, as he spoke these
noble words: “It was from
Heaven that I received these.
For the sake of his laws I dis-
dain them. From him I hope to
receive them again.”
Even the king and his at-
tendants marveled at the young
man’s courage, because he re-
garded his sufferings as nothing.
After he had died, they
tortured and maltreated the
fourth brother in the same way.
When he was near death, he
said, “It is my choice to die at
the hands of men with the hope
God gives of being raised up by
him; but for you, there will be
no resurrection to life.”
The Word of the Lord!
All – Thanks be to God!
Responsorial Psalm Ps 17
R –Lord, when your glory ap-
pears, my joy will be full!
10 November 2019
* Hear, O Lord, a just suit;
attend to my outcry. Hearken
to my prayer from lips without
deceit. R.
* My steps have been stead-
fast in your paths, my feet have
not faltered. I call upon you,
for you will answer me, O God.
Incline your ear to me; hear my
word. R.
* Keep me as the apple of
your eye, hide me in the shad-
ow of your wings. But I in jus-
tice shall behold your face; on
waking I shall be content in
your presence. R.
2nd Reading
2 Thes 2:16-3:5
The few verses of today’s
excerpt from the Second Letter
to the Thessalonians reveal the
apostle Paul’s fatherly concern
for the welfare of those believ-
ers. They also reveal his ardent
desire that the Gospel may en-
lighten many others.
R – A proclamation from the
Second Letter of Paul to the
Thessalonians
Brothers and sisters:
May our Lord Jesus Christ
himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us
everlasting encouragement and
good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and
strengthen them in every good
deed and word.
Finally, brothers and sis-
ters, pray for us, so that the
word of the Lord may speed
forward and be glorified, as
it did among you, and that we
may be delivered from per-
verse and wicked people, for
not all have faith.
But the Lord is faithful. He
will strengthen you and guard
you from the evil one.
We are confident of you in
the Lord that what we instruct
you, you are doing and will
continue to do.
May the Lord direct your
hearts to the love of God and to
the endurance of Christ.
The Word of the Lord!
All – Thanks be to God!
Gospel Acclamation
All – Alleluia! Alleluia!
Jesus Christ is the first-
born of the dead; to him
be glory and power, for-
ever and ever.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Gospel Lk 20:27-38
The Sadducees intended to
embarrass Jesus. Their tricky
question, however, gave him
the opportunity to unmistakably
restate his teaching about the
resurrection of all the dead and
some of the features of the “chil-
dren of the resurrection.”
P –The Lord be with you!
All –And with your spirit!
P – A proclamation from the
holy Gospel according to
Luke
All – Glory to you, O Lord!
Some Sadducees, those
who deny that there is a res-
urrection, came forward and
put this question to Jesus, say-
ing, “Teacher, Moses wrote for
us, ‘If someone’s brother dies
leaving a wife but no child, his
brother must take the wife and
raise up descendants for his
brother.’ Now there were seven
brothers. The first married
a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third
married her, and likewise all
the seven died childless. Finally
the woman also died. Now, at
the resurrection, whose wife
will that woman be? For all
seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “The
children of this age marry and
remarry; but those who are
deemed worthy to attain to
the coming age and to the res-
urrection of the dead neither
marry nor are given in mar-
riage. They can no longer die,
for they are like angels; and
they are the children of God
because they are the ones who
will rise. That the dead will
rise even Moses made known
in the passage about the bush,
when he called the Lord ‘the
God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
He is not God of the dead, but
of the living, for to him all are
alive.”
The Gospel of the Lord!
All – Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ!
Homily
Profession of Faith
(Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed)
All –I believe in one God, the Fa-
ther almighty, maker of heaven
and earth, of all things visible
and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the Only Begotten Son
of God, born of the Father be-
fore all ages. God from God,
Light from Light, true God from
true God, begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were
made. For us men and for our
salvation he came down from
heaven, (bow)* and by the Holy
Spirit was incarnate of the Vir-
gin Mary, and became man.*
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate, he suf-
fered death and was buried, and
rose again on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again in
glory to judge the living and the
dead and his kingdom will have
no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life, who
proceeds from the Father and
the Son, who with the Father
and the Son is adored and glori-
fied, who has spoken through
the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, cath-
olic and apostolic Church. I
confess one Baptism for the
forgiveness of sins and I look
forward to the resurrection of
the dead and the life of the world
to come. Amen!
Prayer of the Faithful
P –Gathered together by our
common faith and hope, let us
address our humble petitions to
the Lord for the living and the
dead. Let our response be:
All – Lord of Life, hear us!
C –For the family of all believ-
ers, scattered throughout the
world: May they constantly give
witness to their faith in the final
resurrection by the way they live.
Let us pray! R.
C –For the Holy Father and all
our spiritual leaders: May they
find in the martyrs of old the
strength to endure all attacks
mounted against them. Let us
pray! R.
C –For those who do not believe
in the resurrection of the dead:
May they realize that our life on
earth has meaning only if we will
receive from God the just reward
for our deeds. Let us pray! R.
C –For all those who work for
justice and peace in our country
and the rest of the world: May
they persevere in the good work
even when they do not receive
the expected support. Let us
pray! R.
C –For those who are in agony
and are about to leave this world:
May they put all their trust in the
Lord’s infinite mercy, as they
look forward to their own resur-
rection in the life to come. Let us
pray! R.
C – Let us pray in silence for our
personal intentions. (Pause)
Let us pray! R.
P –Lord God, may our life be
consistent with our faith in the
resurrection and the life to come.
May we live for ever with You.
We ask this through Christ, our
Lord.
All –Amen!
Preparation of the Gifts
P – Pray, brethren . . .
All – May the Lord accept the
sacrifice at your hands, for the
praise and glory of his name,
for our good and the good of all
his holy Church.
Prayer over the Offerings
P –Look with favor, we pray, O
Lord, upon the sacrificial gifts
offered here, that, celebrating
in mystery the Passion of your
Son, we may honor it with loving
devotion.
Through Christ our Lord.
All – Amen!
Preface VI
P –The Lord be with you!
All –And with your spirit!
P –Lift up your hearts!
All – We lift them up to the Lord!
P –Let us give thanks to the
Lord our God!
All –It is right and just!
P – It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation, al-
ways and everywhere to give
you thanks, Lord, holy Father,
almighty and eternal God.
For in you we live and move
and have our being, and while in
this body we not only experience
the daily effects of your care, but
even now possess the pledge of
life eternal.
For, having received the
first fruits of the Spirit, through
whom you raised up Jesus from
the dead, we hope for an ever-
lasting share in the Paschal Mys-
tery.
And so, with all the Angels,
we praise you, as in joyful cel-
ebration, we acclaim:
All –Holy, holy, holy . . .
Memorial Acclamation
P –The mystery of faith!
All –We proclaim your Death,
O Lord, and profess your
Resurrection until you
come again!
All – Our Father . . .
P –Deliver us, Lord . . .
All –For the kingdom, the
power, and the glory are
yours, now and for ever.
Sign of Peace
Breaking of the Bread
All – Lamb of God . . .
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
 Communion
P –Behold the Lamb of God, be-
hold him who takes away the sins
of the world. Blessed are those
called to the Supper of the Lamb.
All –Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under
my roof, but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.
Communion Antiphon
(To be recited only when no
Communion Hymn is sung.)
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pas-
tures where he gives me repose,
near restful waters he leads me.
Prayer after Communion
P –Nourished by this sacred
gift, O Lord, we give you thanks
and beseech your mercy, that, by
the pouring forth of your Spirit,
the grace of integrity may endure
in those your heavenly power has
entered.
Through Christ our Lord.
All – Amen!
P –The Lord be with you.
All – And with your spirit!
P –Bow your heads and pray
for God’s blessing. (Pause)
–May the Lord strengthen
your faith in eternal life.
All –Amen!
P –May He enable you to live in
a way that leads to perfect
happiness in heaven.
All – Amen!
P –May He console you in all
your afflictions and make
you instruments of His
preferential love for the
weak and the sick.
All – Amen!
P – May almighty God bless
you: the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All – Amen!
P –Go in peace, glorifying the
Lord by your life!
All – Thanks be to God!
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We Believe in the Resurrection of the Dead
by Jess P. Balon
Tily trip him up by presenting the case of the woman who had mar-
he Sadducees who approached Jesus thought that they could eas-
ried seven brothers, one after another. Their intention was to prove that
they were right in rejecting that there is a “resurrection of the dead.”
What they achieved, however, was only to show how wrong their con-
cept of “resurrection” and of the “afterlife” was. Jesus said this to their fac-
es, to the delight of the scribes who heard his answer. (See Mk 12:24 and
Lk 20:39.)
The human mind, left to itself, either does not reach any certitude about
the fact of the resurrection of the dead, or conceives life after death as
something gloomy and depressing, as we gather from the Greek and Latin
mythologies and literatures. It is only divine revelation which assures us
that there is life beyond death and that the dead will rise again.
But the life of the “resurrected” will not be a sort of “life on earth,
part II.” As Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel passage, (see Lk 20:35-36). St.
Paul underlines the same truth in his First Letter to the Christians of Corinth
and of Philippi. (See 1 Cor 15:42.44 and Phil 3:21.)
The life of the “children of the resurrection,” then, will be essen-
tially different from our present life. Yet, it will also be related to it be-
cause it will be conditioned by the way we behave during our earthly
life. Hence, there is “newness” but also “relatedness.”
Such “relatedness” answers the difficulty of the “Sadducees” of our
times who reject belief in an “afterlife” and in the resurrection of the dead,
on the grounds that it prevents us from valuing this life and this world.
As a matter of fact, it is those who reject belief in the “afterlife,” who
make this life valueless, and any commitment meaningless. For, if death
were to mark the total end of what a person has done and has been, then
our earthly life or human history would be like a train inevitably heading
for a bottomless cliff – a horrible prospect which would nullify all that has
preceded it, and cast on it a dark shadow of sadness and hopelessness.
On the other hand, a person who believes in an “afterlife” that will
depend on how we behave now has to take this life and this world
very seriously, for they are the only means by which one can acquire the
“credits” that will determine the quality of the endless life to come. Such is
the teaching of Vatican II.
In the “faith-vision” of the believers, the whole life of each individual, as
well as the vicissitudes of all mankind, have a “direction” and a meaning.
Such a “faith-vision” has the power to confer a value even to the defeats
and losses of this life. It has given the martyrs of all ages the strength to
endure tortures and even death with a serenity and hope unknown to those
who do not believe in the “afterlife.” (See today’s First Reading.)
But, we have also to say that, while we take this life seriously, we
do not absolutize it. We simply view it for what it is: a temporary gift
from God, meant to prepare us for an even greater gift: the eternal life
which will reach its fullness when our souls will be reunited with our
transformed bodies. (See 2 Mc 7:9 and 1 Cor 15.)
Such is the inspiring vision which our Christian faith offers – a vision which is
not a human invention but is based on the Word of God, especially the preaching
of Jesus Christ, and is guaranteed by his Resurrection. (See 1 Cor 15:12-23.)