Diocese of Richmond Bicentennial Prayer...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

Diocese of Richmond Bicentennial Prayer

1820-2020

Father of lights, the radiance of your Son

has guided the advance of the Gospel

across the Diocese of Richmond for two centuries,

strengthening our Church

from the Eastern Shore to the Cumberland Gap.

Grant that the nearness of your Son

may dispel the darkness of our sins,

so that as our love increases more and more,

we may dare more than ever to fearlessly proclaim the word.

Holding fast to the word of life,

may we shine like stars in the world.

We ask this 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. Amen.

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 11, 2020

Music reprinted for live stream broadcast under license #612145, OneLicense.net

Gathering Song: Come to Jesus (refrain) Josh Blakesley and Sarah Hart

Penitential Rite

Gloria

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to people of goodwill.

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 Begotten 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.

The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Book of the Prophet Isaiah (25:6-10 (142A)

On this mountain the Lord of host will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken. On that day, it will be said: “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has save us!” For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 Stephen Pishner

Second Reading: A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians (4:12-14, 19-20) Brothers and sisters: I know how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. My god will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation: (Ephesians 1:17-18) Kathleen Harmon

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts,

so that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.

Gospel: A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (22:1-14) Glory to you, O Lord

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may

be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the

feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying: ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have come to

the feast.’” Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his

servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and

burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come.

Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets

and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the

guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in

here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands

and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but

few are chosen.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Profession of Faith

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father 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 before 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,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered 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 glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic 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

Thank you for your generous support of St. Mary’s Church through Faith Direct

https://www.stmarysblacksburg.org/online-giving

Preparation of the Gifts: We Belong to You Trevor Thompson

When the Lord appears, we shall be like him,

For we shall see him as he is.

1 John 3:2

The Liturgy of the Eucharist acclamations from the Mass of Renewal by Curtis Stephan

Holy

Mystery of Faith

Amen

Lamb of God

For our live stream viewers...

A Prayer for Spiritual Communion

My Jesus, I believe that you are present

in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love You above all things,

and I desire to receive You into my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment

receive You sacramentally,

come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if you were already there

and I unite myself wholly to You.

Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen

Communion Song: Taste and See Tom Kendzia

Final Blessing

Sending Forth: City of God Dan Schutte

Music reprinted for live stream broadcast under license #612145, OneLicense.net

Discipleship in Action: Alive in the Eucharist

St. Mary’s Catholic Church

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Parties, banquets and feasts are signs of togetherness and joy. We do no not

conceive a banquet or a party or a feast without invited quests.

So, when one decides to throw a birthday party or to have a wedding banquet

one invites one’s family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors etc. to the

celebration.

Guests invited to the festive celebration are usually asked to respond, RSVP to the

event.

All things being equal, grateful for so much love from the host the invited quests

honor the invitation. They attend the event and celebrate with the host.

Sometimes we see that an invitation to a banquet or a party is also an invitation

to a personal relationship. It is an invitation to deepen a friendship with the host.

Today’s Gospel speaks about the parable of the wedding feast and the invited

quests’ response to the invitation to the feast.

In the Gospel we see that when everything was ready the king sent his servants

for the invited quests. But all of them made excuses. Some even treated the

servants shamefully. They were not grateful for so much love from the king, so

they decided not to attend the feast. Their response enraged the king, so he

rejected them.

But since we do not conceive a wedding feast without invited quests, in the place

of the first invited quests he had quests brought in from all corners, bad and good

alike.

It is said that a wedding feast is no place for an improperly dressed person, so

when the king saw one quest who was not wearing a wedding garment, he had

him thrown out.

Jesus summed up the parable by saying, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

We know that the parable was meant for God’s first chosen people, but it is also

meant for us Christians his new chosen people.

The wedding feast represents God’s kingdom. The people of Israel, God’s first

chosen people failed to respond gratefully to so much love from God so they

refused his invitation to enter his kingdom that he sent his son Jesus to come and

preached about. The invitation to enter the kingdom was, therefore, extended to

all people including those considered to be unworthy such as the tax collectors

and outcasts.

But once they were grateful for so much love from God by accepting to enter his

kingdom, God expected them to prove themselves worthy of his great invitation,

he expected them to put on wedding garments. That is, God expected them to

keep their new status and the joy of their calling till the end.

As Christians we are the new chosen people of God. He has invited us to share in

his life and happiness. We are grateful for his love. But he wants us to respond to

his love, to his invitation by keeping our new status, the life in the spirit in us and

the joy of our Christian calling until the day we join him in the eternal banquet in

heaven

We know that we sometimes struggle to keep our new status and the joy of our

Christian calling because we are distracted by many things and we are busy with

all kinds of activities. At times we even lose interest in what the Lord offers us.

But today the Church encourages us to free ourselves from our preoccupations

and give up whatever prevents us from keeping our new status and the joy of our

Christian calling.

St Paul in the second reading tells us that he can accept the ups and downs of life

because the Lord Jesus strengthens him. “I can do all things in him who

strengthens me.”

Indeed, we have strength for our Christian life through Christ who has invited us.

In this Eucharistic feast let us deepen our friendship with the Lord and ask him to

give us the grace to cope with any circumstance so that we may continue to keep

the faith and the joy of our Christian life till the end.