THE GOSPEL
Luke 18:9-14O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Listen, to one man,
who moves from storage bin to apartment.
With no bed and sleeps on the floor.
“What else could I want?”
he prays.
“God is so merciful.”
And to another.
With no ID, he can’t get in a shelter,
… has disease-ravaged toes.
He finds shoes that fit,
and cries to God,
“Oh, I am so blessed.”
Lord,
Have mercy on us.
THE FIRST READING
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Though not unduly partial toward the weak,
yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
Praise ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory
in the Lord,
who will
hear
the cry
of the poor.
Let the lowly hear and be glad:
the Lord listens to
their pleas,
and to hearts broken,
God is near, who will hear the
cry of the poor.
We proclaim your greatness, O God,
with praise ever in our mouth.
Every face brightened
in your light, for
you hear
the cry
of the poor.*
Prayer for the First Reading
taken from The Cry of the Poor*
John Foley, SJ
THE SECOND READING
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
May it not be held against them! Paul said.
Paul was deserted,
poured out like a libation,
because he loved
you.
Jesus,
he
started to
sound like you
and, like you, put
his loving trust in God,
every minute of every day:
when he preached, or when he
struggled with a “thorn in his side.”
Lord, let us love
your Abba well, like Paul.
let us start to look and sound
like you.
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