Liturgical Information
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Themes & Motives: courage, healing, salvation, community, comfort, strength

Introit:
Lord, you are just, and the judgments you make are right. Show mercy when you judge me, your servant. (Psalm 119:137,124)

Opening Prayer:
God our Father
you redeem us
and make us your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance you promised.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

• Isaiah 35:4-7a [The ears of the deaf will be unstopped. And the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy. /v.5-6]
• Psalm 146:7 / 8-9 / 9-10 [R. Praise the Lord, my soul. /v.1b]
• James 2:1-5 [Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. /v.5]
• Gospel Verse: see Mt 4:23 [Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom and cured every disease among the people]
• Mark 7:31-37 [He makes even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. /v.37]

Prayer over the Gifts:
God of peace and love,
may our offering bring you true worship
and make us one with you.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Preface for Sundays in Ordinary Time VI: [The pledge of an eternal Easter]
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.

In you we live and move and have our being.
Each day you show us a Father's love;
your Holy Spirit, dwelling within us,
gives us on earth the hope of unending joy.

Your gift of the Spirit,
who raised Jesus from the dead,
is the foretaste and promise
of the paschal feast of heaven.

With thankful praise,
in company with the angels,
we glorify the wonders of your power:

  Holy, holy, holy Lord...

Communion Antiphon:
Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for the living God. (Psalm 42:2-3)

Prayer after Communion:
Lord,
your word and your sacrament
give us food and life.
May this gift of your Son
lead us share his life for ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The English translation of the Introit, Opening Prayer, Psalm Refrain, Gospel Verse, Prayer over the Gifts, Preface, Communion Antiphon and Prayer after Communion from The Roman Missal, © Copyright 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the First Reading, Second Reading and Gospel are taken from the New American Standard Bible ® © Copyright 1973 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.