Lector: Our first reading is from the Book of Ecclesiastes. 

 

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, [Ko-hel-eth] vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night, his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.

 

Lector: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
People Respond: Thanks be to God.

 

 

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Responsorial Psalm

 

Lector: Our response is - If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.
People Repeat: If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.

 

You turn back humankind back into dust and say: “Go back, creatures of the earth!” For in your sight, a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night.
People Repeat: If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.

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You sweep us away like a dream, fleeting as the grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning, it sprouts and springs up. But, by evening, it has withered and died.
People Repeat: If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.

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So, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Relent, O God! How long before you have compassion on your faithful ones?
People Repeat: If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.

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Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let your favor be upon us. Grant success to the work of our hands, Success to the work of our hands!

People Repeat: If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.

 

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Lector: Our second reading is from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. 

 

Since you were raised in Christ at your baptism, focus on the values of heaven, where Christ is seated, at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not the popular things found on earth, for you have died to those values. Now, your life is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ - who is your life now - is revealed in the end, you too will be revealed with Christ in glory.

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So, put to death everything in you that belongs to your old nature and that is found on the earth: promiscuity, impurity, guilty passions, evil desires, and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping false idols.

 

Don’t lie to one another. What you have done is put aside your old self, before you were baptized, with its past deeds. Now, do everything that comes from God, and put on a new self, one that grows in knowledge as it is formed anew in the image of the Creator. And in that image, understand that you are like a new person, and you are becoming more like him. And in that image, there is no Greek or Jew, male or female, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free. There is only Christ, who is all in all.
 

 

Lector: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
People Respond: Thanks be to God.

 

 

Gospel Acclamation

 

Celebrant chants: Alleluia
People Respond (with chant): Alleluia.
Celebrant: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
People Respond (with chant): Alleluia.

 

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Gospel

 

Celebrant: Our God is with you.
People Respond: And also, with you.
Celebrant: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.
People Respond: † Praise to you, Jesus the Christ.

 

Someone from the crowd said to HIM, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of our inheritance!” Jesus replied, “Friend, who appointed me judge or arbitrator over you?” Then he told the crowd, “Avoid greed in all of its forms, for your life is not measured according to what you own and the abundance that comes from possessions.”

 

Jesus then told them a parable in these words: “There was a rich farmer who had a good harvest. ‘What will I do?’ the farmer said to himself, ‘since I do not have a place to store my crops? I know; I will do this! I will tear down my grain bins and build bigger ones! All of my grain and possessions will be gathered together there. Then, I will say to myself: Self, you have many possessions in reserve for many years to come. Relax! Eat! Drink and be merry!’”

 

But God said to the farmer, “You fool! This night your life will be required of you! What you have prepared; to whom will your accumulated wealth go?’”

 

Jesus said: “And so it is with the ones saving up treasure for themselves, but are not rich in God.”
 

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Celebrant: My friends, the Gospel of the Lord.
People Respond: Praise to you, Jesus the Christ.

 

 

 

Prayers of the People

 

Celebrant: My friends, let us present our needs to God, who knows and understands our needs:

Lector: Our response is, “Creator God, hear our prayer.”

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In thanksgiving for the strength and witness of those of all genders who have been apostles, priests, ministers, and servant leaders, from the time of the early Church, across the ages, to our own time and place; for this, we pray:
People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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For peace and stability in the Middle East, Central Asia, North Korea, for people in every suffering land, and most especially, for the people of Ukraine to hold onto hope, believing that God hears their cries; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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As we gather here, among nature, we offer humble thanks to our Creator for all that He provides: food, shelter, clean water, fresh air, animals, plants, gentle breezes, the sky, sun, moon, and stars. May God transform our hearts to care for his creation with gentleness and love; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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Following Mary Magdalene’s call to discipleship, may we re-dedicate ourselves to the radical love and inclusiveness of the Gospel, which calls all of us to become fully human, and made in the image of God; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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For God’s grace to surrender our lives in service, that we may have the courage and strength to place our dependence and trust in Him; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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That we will see Jesus in the unsheltered and disenfranchised, in the immigrant and refugee; in the imprisoned and abused; in those who mourn, and in those who have lost their faith; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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We pause to remember and speak the names of those who suffer with illness, that they may be blessed with comfort, hope, and healing [Lector, please count to 6]; for this, we pray:
People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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We pause to remember and speak the names of our deceased loved ones and friends who have died; that God will meet them face to face on their journey, and welcome them into eternal life. [Lector, please count to 6]; for this, we pray:
People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

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For those who have asked for our prayers, for prayers left unspoken, and for prayers, we hold, deep within the silence of our hearts, for this, we pray:
People Respond: Creator God, hear our prayer.

 

Celebrant: Creator God, we thank you for the many good gifts that come from you. As part of your Creation, teach us to treasure and respect all things that come from you, and help us to willingly share your gifts today and always. Through Jesus the Christ. Amen.

All: Amen.