Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence and prayer:

Lord Jesus, come to us today.
_____

Christ is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, and the first to be born from the dead. All things are to be reconciled through Him because He made peace by His death on the cross.

+ We have been baptized into Your death- may I be cleansed of greed and envy, and clothed in the strength and gentleness of Your love.
+ We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given to us – confirm me in Your service, and help me to bear witness to You in the society in which I live.
+ Before You suffered, You longed to eat the passover with your disciples – as I take part in Your eucharist, may I share in Your resurrection.
+ You continue to work in Your faithful people – create through us a new world where injustice and destruction will give way to growth, freedom and hope.

Lord God, bestow a full measure of Your grace on me, as You work within me to keep me in the path of Your commandments, may I receive consolation in this present life and eternal joys in the next. Through my Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

A Reading from the Letters: Galatians 2:19-20 (NLT)

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law — I stopped trying to meet all its requirements — so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
__________

I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord. (John 15:16)
__________

A Reading from the Gospels: Mark 11:11-26 (NLT)

So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because he people were so amazed at his teaching.

That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city

The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

__________

__________

Canticle

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing:

May the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen