GENEROSITY FROM THE HEART

PRAYER BEFORE HOLY MASS  Act of Love before Mass 

32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

O my God, I love Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with no other desire than to be inseparably united to Thee. It is through Thy Divine Son that this union is about to be realized within me. In Holy Communion I long to identify myself with Him, that it will no longer be myself, but Him, who lives in me; and when I have received Jesus within myself, then I shall love and be loved by Thee in that same measure, in which I am united to Him. Hasten then, to give me Thy Divine Son, at the hands of Thy priest, that through Jesus, I may unite myself forever to Thee, O God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Readings Lectures Reflection

FIRST READING 1 KING 7:10-16

'Jar of meal shall not be spent, jug of oil shall not be emptied'

Elijah the Prophet went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a vessel for me to drink.’ She was setting off to bring it when he called after her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’ But Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:

“Jar of meal shall not be spent,

jug of oil shall not be emptied,

before the day when the Lord sends

rain on the face of the earth.”’

The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.

 

RESPONSORIAL PSAM

My soul, give praise to the Lord

 

SECOND READING HEBREWS 9:24-28

Christ, our high priest, has done away with sin by sacrificing himself

It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, alleluia!

How happy are the poor in spirit:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia! Mt5:3

GOSPEL MARK 12:38-44

This poor widow has put in more than all

In his teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’ 

He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’

My Father in heaven forgive me for many times I have failed in my actions as a result of pride, selfish interest and arrogance.  Forgive me Father for many times I have displayed my generosity to be praised and acknowledged by people. Forgive me Father for times I have been disrespectful to those in my view are poor. Forgive me for many times I have been inconsiderate towards those in my view are insignificant in our society. My Father in heaven my God I am very sorry. Be merciful to me Father.

God my Father, you are Father to all your creatures.  Those I may consider poor and insignificant are precious in your eyes, because they are spiritually rich, while I am spiritually poor. 

Make me humble in spirit.  Give me a generous heart loving Father. Heavenly Father my request through Jesus Christ my Lord your Son. Lord Jesus Christ I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My guardian angel pray for me. Protect me, guide and guard me. God's angels pray for me.              Pray the Holy Rosary: The Glorious Mystery.