Sunday September 2, TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B.

Sunday September 2,
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR        
Vestment: Green
Today’s Rosary: Glorious Mystery

Theme of the Sunday: The Law of God and the Traditions of the Ancients. There are people who consider themselves good Christians because they practise certain rites and perform certain devotions. Are these what determine who is a true disciple of Christ? The readings of today provide a reply to this question and put us on our guard against the danger of placing on the same level the commandment of God and human traditions. The first reading praises the law of God and declares that it must not be interfered with. It may be rejected, but not modified. The gospel tells us that the teachers in Israel had distorted the commandment of God with their traditions and put external cleanliness among the strictest observances of the law. Jesus draws our attention instead to the need for purity of heart. The second reading contains a call to practise true religion that does not stop at futile practices, but is committed to helping the orphan and the widow.

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The Gloria     
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

FIRST READING      
“You shall not add to the word which I commanded you,..keep the commandments of the Lord.”
A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 4:1-2.6-8)
Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Now, O  Israel,  give heed  to the statutes and the ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you  may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. “Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?”

The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Psalm 15:2-3a.3bc-4ab.5 (R. la)
R.  O Lord, who may abide in your tent?

Whoever walks without fault;
who does what is just,
and speaks the truth from his heart.
Who does not slander with his tongue. R.

Who does no wrong to a neighbour,
who casts no slur on a friend,
who looks with scorn on the wicked,
but honours those who fear the Lord. R.

Who lends no money at interest,
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a one shall never be shaken. R.

SECOND READING  
“Be doers of the word.”
A reading from the Letter of Saint James (James 1:I 7-18.2 lb-22.27)
My dearest brethren: Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

The word of the Lord.

ALLELUIA  James 1 : 15
Alleluia. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his. Alleluia.

GOSPEL      
“You leave the commandment of God, and holdfast the tradition of men.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 7:1-8.14-15.21-23)
At that time: When the Pharisees gathered together to Jesus, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. ’You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.” And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Creed (I Believe)
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Obey the commandments of God.

PRIEST: My brothers and sisters, Jesus told us that if we love him we are to keep his commandments. We pray to the Lord for all the graces we need in order to keep his laws.

READER: FOR THE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH, pause may they, by their prayers and good works, encourage all Christians to keep God’s laws, and show forth his loving care to the world. pause Lord, hear us; help us to do your will we pray Oh Lord.

FOR THE LEGISLATORS IN OUR COUNTRY, pause may their decisions reflect God’s law, by which they uphold Christian principles, protecting the dignity of the individual, and the sanctity of family life. pause Lord, hear us; help us to do your will we pray Oh Lord.

FOR THOSE WHO STRUGGLE WITH THEIR CONSCIENCES, pause may the light of Christ’s love for his Church enable them to see themselves, not in isolation, but in the context of the Church and society. pause Lord, hear us; help us to do your will we pray Oh Lord.

FOR A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF THE INNER  MEANING OF GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, pausemay Christians not see them as mere external observances, but as a call by Christ to love with our minds and hearts God our Father, and our neighbour as ourselves. pause Lord, hear us; help us to do your will we pray Oh Lord.

We pray in silence for our own petition to God our Father, who loves us.

PRIEST:  Father, we trust that you will answer our prayers, which we make to you as we seek to love and obey you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.