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

 

The night of the Passover was known beforehand to our ancestors, so that they were given the courage to trust your promises. Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of our oppressors. For when you punished our adversaries, in this, you lifted us up when we heard your call. For in secret, the holy children of an upright people were offering sacrifices, and with one accord, agreed among each other to keep the Law of God, sharing together in the same things, the blessings, and the dangers, while singing ancestral songs of praise in the night.

 

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 - Blessed the people Yahweh has chosen to be his own.
People Repeat: Blessed the people Yahweh has chosen to be his own.

 

Sing out your joy to Yahweh, you who love justice - Praise is fitting for loyal hearts. Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh! Blessed are the people you chose as your own inheritance.
People Repeat: Blessed the people Yahweh has chosen to be his own.

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The eyes of Yahweh look on those who stand in reverence, on those who hope in God’s love, to rescue them from death, or to keep them during famine.
People Repeat: Blessed the people Yahweh has chosen to be his own.

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Our soul waits for Yahweh, our help, and our shield. For in you our hearts find joy; Because we have trusted in your holy name. May your loving kindness be upon us, YHWH, as we place all of our hope in you.

People Repeat: Blessed the people Yahweh has chosen to be his own.

 

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Lector: Our second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews. 

 

Sisters and Brothers:

Faith is the realization of all that is hoped for; Faith is the proof of all that is unseen Because of faith, our ancestors were approved by God.

 

By faith, Sarah and Abraham obeyed when they were called to go out to a place that they were to receive as an inheritance. They went forth, not knowing where they were going.

 

By faith Sarah and Abraham lived in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with their children, Isaac and Jacob, who were co-inheritors of the same promise. They were looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.

 

By faith, Sarah, who was sterile and beyond childbearing age, received the power to conceive, for she thought that the One who had made the promise was worthy of trust. And so it was that there came forth from a woman and a man, themselves as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

 

All of them died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised, but saw it and greeted it from afar. By acknowledging themselves to be strangers and exiles on earth, they showed that they were seeking a homeland of their own. If they had been thinking of the country from which they had come, they would have been able to return to it. But they desired a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed of them, or ashamed to be called their God. That is why God has prepared a city for them.

 

By faith, Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. Abraham, who had received the promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, of whom it was said: “Through Isaac, your descendants shall bear your name.” He reasoned that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, and so he received Isaac back as a symbol.

 

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: Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day that Jesus will come.
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.

 

Jesus said to the disciples:

 

“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for it has pleased your Abba to give you the kingdom. Sell what you own and give alms to the poor. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out—hold treasures that won’t fail you in heaven, that neither thieves can steal, nor moths destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

 

“Be dressed and ready, and keep your lamps lit. Be like servants awaiting their master’s return from a wedding, so that when the master arrives and knocks, you’ll open the door without delay. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds wide awake upon returning. Amen, I say to you, the owner will put on an apron, seat them at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should the master happen to come in the second or third watch and find them prepared, it will go well for them.

 

Understand this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let the thief break in. Be on guard, for the Son of Man will come when you least expect.

 

Then Peter said, “Teacher, do you intend for this parable to be meant for us, or do you mean for everyone?” And Jesus replied, “It is the faithful and farsighted steward whom the master leaves in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time. Blessed is the servant whom the master, upon returning, finds busy. Truly, I say to you, the master will place the servant in charge of all his property. But, let’s say the servant thinks, ‘The master is slow in returning,’ and begins to abuse the other servants and maidservants, eating and drinking and getting drunk. When the servant’s master returns unexpectedly, at an unknown hour, the servant will be punished severely and ranked among those undeserving of trust.

 

That servant who knew his master’s wishes but did not make preparations to fulfill them will receive a severe punishment; whereas, the one who did not know them, while deserving of severe punishment, will get off with a milder correction. From those who have been given much, much will be required; from those who have been entrusted with much, still more will be asked.”

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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: Confident of the power of Christ to transform our lives, let us raise our voices in prayer to him:

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

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For the universal church: that God will renew and deepen our faith so that we may be confident in his presence and walks with us each step of our journey; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

For farmers and others who work hard to harvest food for our tables: that they may be blessed with good weather and bountiful crops; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

For all who are affected by summer weather and storms: that God will strengthen all who have suffered damage and loss to hurricanes and storms, tornados, flooding, and fire, and we pray that he will sustain them as they rebuild their lives while opening the hearts of many to assist them; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

For a deeper appreciation of life: that we may celebrate each day as a gift from God to live to its fullest alongside our families, loved ones, and friends, for this we pray:

People Respond: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

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: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

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: Loving God, hear our prayer.

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We pause to remember, and we invite you to 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: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

For those who have asked for our prayers and for our unspoken prayers, held deep within the silence of our hearts; for this, we pray:

People Respond: Loving God, hear our prayer.

 

Celebrant: God our Creator, guardian of our lives, and source of all blessings, you delight in your people. Fulfill the needs of all your people and the entire world, and hear the prayers we offer you, those spoken aloud and those held deep within the silence of our hearts. We ask all this through your Son who lives and reigns with you. Amen.

 

All: Amen.