22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

Opening sentence and Prayer:

Praise God: You sustain us all year round. We ask for help with new undertakings and perseverance with continuing projects, knowing that nothing will work well without God’s grace.
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Father of light, giver of every good and perfect gift, bring to fruition the word of truth sown in our hearts by Your Son, that we may rightly understand Your commandments, live Your law of love, and so offer You worship that is pure and undefiled. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
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Hymn: Come Christians Join to Sing

Come, Christians, join to sing, Loud praise to Christ our King;
Let all, with heart and voice, Before His throne rejoice;
Alleluia! Amen! Alleluia! Amen!

Come, lift your hearts on high, Let praises fill the sky;
He is our Guide and Friend; To us He’ll condescend;
Alleluia! Amen! Alleluia! Amen!

Praise yet our Christ again, Life shall not end the strain;
On heaven’s blissful shore, His goodness we’ll adore,
Alleluia! Amen! Alleluia! Amen!
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A Reading from the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 (NLT)
[Moses tells the people of Israel to keep faithful to God’s law.]

“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.”
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“Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 15:2-5 (NLT)

Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.

Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.

Such people will stand firm forever.
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“Who may ascend to the Hill of the Lord”

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A Reading from the Letters: James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 (NLT)
[Living by faith is explained in a simple, down-to-earth way.

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
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Humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
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Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NLT)
[Jesus reminds the religious leaders that what’s on the inside of people is more important than externals.]

One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to — such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)

So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”
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Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
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For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
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Father of Lights

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Intercessions:

Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence. Lord, hear the deep longings of our hearts.

+ For those in leadership positions in the Church – that they may avoid the condemnations heaped by Jesus on the religious leaders of his day…. Lord, hear us.
+ For all who are part of the Christian family – that they may show their faith by coming to the aid of the poor…. Lord, hear us.
+ For those who lack food, clothing and shelter, at home and abroad – that the help they receive may always respect their human dignity…. Lord, hear us.
+ For our Christian communities, as parish activities resume after the summer break – that God’s Word and Spirit may guide us, as we make a new start together…. Lord, hear us.
+ For the faithful departed, especially those who died in Christ through violence and warfare – that the dead may live in the presence of the Lord…. Lord, hear us.

God our creator, Your love for Your people has no end: hear our prayers and give us Your supporting grace, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn: Be Thou My Vision

Benediction:

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)

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