WHY USE A BULLETIN FOR WEEKEND MASSES? From the moment parishioners pick up a copy of the St Pauls Sunday bulletin (The Saving Word and/or Our Sunday Celebration) before Mass begins they can reflect on God’s message. Also they can refer to it again at home after Mass. The Saving Word bulletin is a support to full conscious and active participation in the Mass. Meeting the service needs of parishes around Australia, St Pauls Publications is now publishing The Saving Word in both A3 and A4 sizes in full colour; and Our Sunday Celebration in A3 also in full colour. Both bulletins will have the same content: • An artistic drawing illustrating the Gospel Reading of the day • First and Second Reading • Responsorial Psalm • Gospel Reading • Reflection ST PAULS SUNDAY BULLETINS THE SAVING WORD & OUR SUNDAY CELEBRATION ADVANTAGES IN PROVIDING ST PAULS SUNDAY BULLETINS THE SAVING WORD & OUR SUNDAY CELEBRATION • Parishioners can follow and participate in the Liturgy of the Word • It is an excellent tool for the hearing-impaired and catechumens • Reflection on the reading are from local and international authors who are respected • St Pauls has been publishing The Saving Word and Our Sunday Celebration for over 40 years; the service delivery and content of their bulletins can be trusted • For busy, time-poor parishes the bulletin is a great tool • The Saving Word & Our Sunday Celebration is ideal for Bible discussion, RCIA, and prayer • Parish notices can be printed on the reverse side of the sheet Fr Michael Goonan SSP SEEKING GOD Psalm 23:1-6 The author of today's responsorial psalm praises those who seek the face of God. On this earth we cannot see God's face as such but if we seek with pure hearts we will see the manifold signs of God's presence among us. We will recognise the presence of God in wondrous events, sometimes unexpected, like the birth of a child. This was the sign given to King Ahaz of Judah to assure him that God-is-with-us. The wonders of creation also point to the presence of the creator. As the first stanza of today's psalm notes, the earth and all its fullness, and the world and all its peoples, are the work of God's hand. As we reflect on the immense varieties of nature and of peoples, we touch something of the abundant creativity of God. Today's Gospel reminds us that dreams can also be moments when God touches our lives. Sometimes it is only when we are asleep, when all our defences are at rest, that God's light can break through to us. We are surrounded by the signs of God's presence. We will recognise them if we have clean hands and a pure heart, if we desire not worthless things. The pure of heart seek God alone; those with clean hands do not accept bribes but act with compassion and justice. Such a person was Joseph, the man of honour to whom Mary was betrothed. Today, we pray for clean hands and a pure heart that we, like Joseph, may recognise Emmanuel, God-with-us, in Mary's child. A SERVICE OF THE SOCIETY OF ST PAUL Reproduction of this bulletin in any form prohibited. Published with ecclesiastical approval by ST PAULS PUBLICATIONS, PO Box 906, Strathfield NSW 2135. Tel 9394 3400 Fax 02 9746 1140. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible, published and © 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. are used by permission of the publishers. Psalm text from The Psalms, A New Translation, © 1963, The Grail (England), HarperCollins. New translation of the Order of Mass from The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. Artwork by Sr Dorothy Woodward rsj. Layout, commentaries and illustrations ©St Pauls Publications, 2013. No 1485. Website: www.stpauls.com.au Fourth Sunday in Advent / A 22 December 2013 The Saving Word FIRST READING Isa 7:10 –14 The virgin will conceive. The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’ Then Isaiah said: ‘Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of God, too? The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us”.’ The word of the Lord. RESP PSALM Ps 23:1– 6. R. cf. vv. 7. 10 R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory. 1. The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm. R. 2. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. R. 3. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob. R. SECOND READING Rom 1:1– 7 A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, is the Son of God. From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures. This news is about the Son of God, who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by his call belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace. The word of the Lord. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Mt 1:23 Alleluia, alleluia! / The virgin will give birth to a son; / his name will be Emmanuel: God- is-with-us. / Alleluia! GOSPEL Mt 1:18 – 24 A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew Jesus was born of Mary, the betrothed of Joseph, a son of David. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’. When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home. The Gospel of the Lord. Visit our website at www.stpauls.com.au/sunday-bulletin A SERVICE OF THE SOCIETY OF ST PAUL Reproduction of this bulletin in any form prohibited. Published with ecclesiastical approval by ST PAULS PUBLICATIONS, PO Box 906, Strathfield NSW 2135. Tel 9394 3400 Fax 02 9746 1140. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible, published and © 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. are used by permission of the publishers. Psalm text from The Psalms, A New Translation, © 1963, The Grail (England), HarperCollins. New translation of the Order of Mass from The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. Artwork by Sr Dorothy Woodward rsj. Layout, commentaries and illustrations ©St Pauls Publications, 2014. No 1493. Website: www.stpauls.com.au Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time / A 9 February 2014 The Saving Word FIRST READING Isa 58:7-10 A reading from the prophet Isaiah Your light will shine like the dawn. Thus says the Lord: Share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor; clothe the man you see to be naked and turn not from your own kin. Then your light will shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’ If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word, if you give your bread to the hungry, and relief to the oppressed, your light will rise in the darkness, and your shadows become like noon. The word of the Lord. RESPONSORIAL PS Ps 111:4-9. R. v. 4 R. A light rises in the darkness for the upright. (or Alleluia!) 1. He is light in the darkness for the upright: / he is generous, merciful and just. / The good man takes pity and lends, / he conducts his affairs with honour. R. 2. The just man will never waver: / he will be remembered for ever. / He has no fear of evil news; / with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord. R. 3. With a steadfast heart he will not fear; / open-handed, he gives to the poor; / his justice stands firm for ever. / His head will be raised in glory. R. SECOND READING 1 Cor 2:1-5 A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians I came to you to proclaim Christ crucified. When I came to you, brothers, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ. Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great ‘fear and trembling’ and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God. The word of the Lord. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Jn 8:12 Alleluia, alleluia! / I am the light of the world, says the Lord; / the man who follows me / will have the light of life. / Alleluia! GOSPEL Mt 5:13-16 A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew. You are the light of the world. Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’ The Gospel of the Lord. IN GOD’S IMAGE Psalm 111: 4-9 It is not immediately apparent if today’s responsorial psalm is referring to God or a human being. Who is this light in the darkness for the upright who is generous, merciful and just? It becomes clear quickly enough that the psalmist is referring to a human being. The confusion comes from the fact that the words used to describe this person - generous, merciful and just - are the very words used to describe God in other parts of the Bible. (See, for instance, Exodus 34:6-7, and many of the psalms). The psalmist is reminding us of an important biblical truth: that we are created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:27). It is, in fact, through our actions that the generosity, mercy and justice of God are communicated to others. In particular this psalm praises the generous person, the one who gives to the poor with open hands and lends to those in need. When, with tight fists, we hang on to what we have, worried about what tomorrow might bring, we become sad. When, with open hands, we freely give to those in need, we are filled with joy. Trusting in the generosity of God, we do not live in fear of evil news. We experience the peace of mind and heart that comes from a clear conscience. When we generously share of our gifts with others our light shines for all to see. We reveal that we are created in the image of Christ who calls us ‘the light of the world’, the very phrase used in John’s Gospel to describe Christ (John 1:9). Fr Michael Goonan SSP