Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

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General Intercessions: [English PDF]
	Celebrant: With a firm desire to grow in the grace of God, we present to him our needs. Deacon/Lector: That the Church may ever more effectively proclaim the true and lasting riches found for all people in Jesus Christ, we pray to the Lord... That all who serve in and seek public office may grow in their commitment to securing fundamental human rights, which come from God rather than from government, we pray to the Lord... That professionals in every walk of life may "grow rich in the sight of God" by dedicating their skills to building a Culture of Life that protects every human being from conception to natural death, we pray to the Lord… That our leisure time this summer may help us grow in the grace of God and build up our relationships with one another, we pray to the Lord... That all who are ill may be healed as God wills, and that all who have died may be welcomed to the banquet of eternal life, we pray to the Lord... Celebrant: Father, Hear our prayers and grant us mercy. May we see You as our only lasting possession And enjoy life forever with You in Your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bulletin Insert:
	Jane Roe – Pro-life Conversion Norma McCorvey was the “Jane Roe” of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973. Years after winning that case, she had a conversion and became completely pro-life. Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, confirmed Norma as she entered the Church in 1998. For the rest of her life, she worked to overturn the very decision she won, and to end abortion. She died in 2017. Norma said, “I thought that I wanted to have an abortion with the baby that I was carrying, but I had no idea that it would lead up to such a controversial issue. I didn't know that there was two sides to the abortion issue. I didn't attend any of the court proceedings. In fact that's why I used the name Jane Roe because I didn't want my own personal name to be involved in it. Since August 8, 1995, I have been pro-life clear across the board. Abortion is totally wrong. I was the Jane Roe of Roe vs. Wade, but Jane Roe has been laid to rest.”
Homily Suggestions:
	Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23 Col 3:1-5, 9-11 Lk 12:13-21 Watch a video with homily hints “Thus it will be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.” And what is it that matters to God? Today’s second reading answers the question that arises from today’s Gospel. What matters to God is that we become like him, that we “put on the new self, which is being renewed …in the image of its Creator.” What matters is that we do what he does, that is, that we give ourselves away in love. The opening prayers of today’s mass call God our “origin” and declare, “Our life is your gift.” What we have received as a gift, we must give as a gift, and through our God-like generosity, be the origin of life in others. The dynamic traced in today’s Gospel, whereby we see fulfillment in earthly possessions and fail to see the lesson of the first reading that all earthly things pass away, is what contributes so powerfully to the Culture of Death. So many are tempted to take life, through abortion and euthanasia, precisely because they think the things of earth will slip away if they are generous. Yet what matters to God is that we are giving ourselves away at every moment, to the unborn as well as to the born, and to the weak as well as to the strong. As the Gospel indicates, judgment can come at any moment; our opportunity to give life to others can cease at any moment. “To whom will all this piled-up wealth of yours go?” In the Culture of Life, we are secure at every moment in knowing that we simply seek to give ourselves away, that others may live.

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