Level of ceremony: normal

Liturgical color: Purple

Entrance chant

The Lord will come, he will not delay, he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal himself to all peoples.

Collect

God, our Father, prepare our hearts with your divine power so that on the day your Son comes to judge the world, we may be worthy to be admitted to the heavenly banquet and to eat the bread from heaven prepared by you. You are God, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

First Reading: Is 25, 6-10a

“The Lord invites to his banquet and wipes away tears from every face.”

From the book of the prophet Isaiah.

On that day the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples on this mountain a feast of rich food and wine, rich food and choice wines. On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil that covers all peoples, the shroud that covers all nations; he will destroy death forever. God will wipe away tears from all faces; the disgrace of his people he has taken away from the whole earth, for he has spoken. And it will be said on that day: This is our Lord; we have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord, in whom we have trusted; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation, for the Lord will lay his hand on this mountain.

That is the word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 22: 1-3a. 3b-4. 5. 6

Answer: In the house of the Lord I will dwell for a very long time.

Chant: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside resting waters, and he refreshes my soul.

Chant: He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Chant: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Chant: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and in the house of the Lord I shall dwell forever.

Alleluia : Is 33, 32

Alleluia, alleluia! – The Lord is our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King; he will save us. – Alleluia.

Gospel: Mt 15, 29-37

“Jesus healed many people and multiplied the loaves of bread.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew.

At that time, Jesus came near the Sea of ​​Galilee, and he went up on a mountain and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the mute, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed, and many others, and laid them at his feet. And he healed them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear that they may faint on the way.” The disciples answered him, “Where can we get enough bread in the wilderness to feed so many people?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves and the fish, he gave thanks and broke them, and gave them to the disciples, who gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who had eaten was about four thousand, not women or children.

That is the word of the Lord.

Prayer over the offerings

Lord, grant that we may always offer you sacrifices that show our reverence and love. May this sacrifice fully express the will of Christ in instituting the Eucharist, which is to bring eternal salvation to the whole world. We pray…

Preface of Advent I

Communion song

Behold, the Lord will come with power and open the eyes of his servants.

Prayer after communion

Most merciful and compassionate God, we beseech you, that this holy food may cleanse us from all stains of sin, and prepare our hearts for the coming Christmas season. We pray…

Reflection

MUST KNOW HOW TO SHARE

(Mt 15, 29-37)

1. After healing the daughter of the Canaanite woman, Jesus and his disciples went up a mountain on the shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee. There, he welcomed and gathered many people from all over. They brought many sick people to him and he healed them. Seeing the crowd helpless without a shepherd, he felt compassion for them and gave them food to eat.

2. Jesus went up the mountain, people flocked to hear Him preach, and brought many sick people to ask for healing. Jesus healed them all: the mute could speak, the lame could walk, the blind could see… so everyone was very impressed and praised Him.

Seeing the crowd of people helpless like sheep without a shepherd, they were hungry because they had followed Jesus to listen to his teachings for three days without anything to eat. He felt compassion for them and gave them food to feed them by miraculously multiplying seven loaves of bread and a few fish, feeding four thousand people, not counting women and children. When they finished eating, the disciples collected seven baskets of broken bread.

3. Jesus told his disciples to feed them, but how could they feed them in the desert? They felt completely helpless. Yes, the Lord intended to show their helplessness before He performed the miracle. Then, through the miracle, they would see His true nature and faithfully follow Him.

4. Before this miracle, we see two different reactions between the Lord and the disciples:

a) The disciples’ reaction was ” Please send the crowd away so they can…find something to eat” : a logical reaction (the disciples were not responsible for feeding the people), and indifferent (they had voluntarily followed the Lord, so they had to find their own food).

b) Jesus’ reaction was ” You yourselves give them something to eat “, then Jesus multiplied the loaves: a reaction that comes from love, from concern for others, from a generous heart that takes on something that is not one’s responsibility.

5. The Lord asked: ” How many loaves of bread do you have ?” By asking this, the Lord wanted the disciples to offer Him what they had so that He could transform it into life force to care for the people. The Lord wanted the apostles to offer Him what they had, no matter how small or humble, so that He could transform it into spiritual food to nourish the people.

6. The disciples said: ” There are seven loaves and a few small fish” (Mt 15:34).

Every day we see street children, blood sellers, sick and disabled people. All of these things make us ache, and it hurts even more when we think about our own small abilities. We seem completely helpless in the face of such great needs.

Yet with 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish that someone offered, Jesus fed thousands of people. God only needs a small contribution from us to do great things. Are we so poor that we have nothing to share? Are we not given a greeting, a smile, a greeting, a piece of advice… If we are willing to give, all these small abilities, thanks to God, will certainly bring joy, love, and even faith to the poor and unfortunate (A good news every day).

7. The lesson of the miracle of the multiplication of loaves is that: God teaches us to obey Him and practice the commandment of love.  Love is sharing, giving . When we share, give, it is to increase love.

A piece of cake that could feed only a few people can feed thousands of people. Love can do what money and wealth cannot do. People often think that they have to have a lot or have extra before they can give. Love does not wait to have enough or extra before it can give, but is also ready to give what it lacks, and even when it has nothing, it can still give, which is itself: effort, talent, time…

8.  Story : Just need to know how to share

One day a man went to a village woman’s house to beg for food. She refused with the honest words: “Sorry, there is nothing left in my house to eat right now.”

The stranger said: “No problem, just lend me a big soup pot. I have a pebble that can make a very delicious soup, nothing has ever been as delicious as what I cook.”

The hostess agreed. The stranger poured water into the pot, put the pebble in it, and started cooking. Meanwhile, the hostess went to her neighbor’s house and revealed the secret of the wonderful soup. This neighbor told another neighbor. Soon the house was full of people.

When the water began to boil, the stranger scooped up a spoonful and tasted it: “Wow, it’s delicious. But if only there were some potatoes, it would be perfect.” One person hurried home to get potatoes and put them in. A moment later, the stranger tasted it again and said: “It’s even better than before. If only there were some meat, it would be perfect.” Another person hurried home to get meat. And so on, and so on…

Finally the soup was cooked. The guest invited everyone to sit at the table. Each person had a bowl. Everyone praised the soup as being delicious. The stranger picked up his pebble from the bottom of the pot, put it in his pocket, then happily said goodbye to everyone and left.

                                                                   Father Giuse Dinh Lap Liem