Gospel for the day - 26th Sunday B

Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 'Anyone who is not against us is for us. If your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off.'

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.


"Do not try to stop him," Jesus told them, "because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterwards to say evil things about me.


For whoever is not against us is for us. I assure you that anyone who gives you a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive his reward.
"If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied round his neck and be thrown into the sea. So if your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out.


And if your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell. There the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.'


This is the gospel of the Lord. Commentary on the readings.

Having used our prayer resources, you might want simply to reflect yourself on them and how that might flow into your coming week. Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts.
If you are interested  in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word from any of the resources you have watched please email us.         cluster.alpha@outlook.com



Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

"Anyone who is not against us is for us." Many of us grew up believing that only Catholics were saved. Then came Christian Unity and now there is Interfaith dialogue between all kinds of believers. We are slowly coming to see all people the way God sees everyone - all of us as children of the one God.


  1. Share an experience (positive if possible) of your appreciation of other people's faith and traditions.
  2. What are the three most important values motivating your daily decisions?*


 * All second questions © The Pastoral Center


Prayers of Intercession


On this the last weekend in ‘The Season of Creation’, Let us pray for Pope Francis who once stated, “The earth herself burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor”. May all faith communities respond to his prophetic messages and strive for climate and social justice, and so bring about God’s Kingdom of love, mercy and compassion.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For world leaders, that they will come to realise all war is futile and violence just leads to more violence. May they, in their hearts, recognise the dignity and worth of every human being and enter into dialogue to find peaceful solutions.

Lord in you mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on the 29th September, that all those vulnerable people on the move will be strengthened by our prayers. May they be granted perseverance and courage to face the future and be welcomed wherever they land.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For church leaders as they assemble in Rome on the 2nd October for the second Synod Assembly. May they be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to guide their decisions in a world where we are all, at times, perpetrators and victims.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For ourselves, that we will recognise the times when we have said, like the disciples, “They’re not our type”, “They’re a different denomination or faith”, “They don’t even go to church”. May we hear Jesus telling us, that we are not an exclusive group and that, “who is not against me is for me”.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For everyone in our community who is sick, housebound, or in hospital and all on the Prayer Foundation List. May they experience God’s unconditional love through those who care for them.

 Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For all who have died and those whose anniversaries occur at this time and in particular Eddie Ward.

 

May Christ welcome them into His Kingdom of love, joy and peace.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

 

We will now say together the prayer to be missionary disciples.


Cluster prayer

Lord continue to bless our community
in this time of transition.
Help us on our journey
to grow from a maintenance church
to a missionary church.
Give us the courage
to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough
to receive all who need
human love and fellowship;
narrow enough to shut out
all envy, pride and prejudice.
Kindle in us the fire of your love
that all who come here
will find joy, peace and love.
Make this a house of prayer
and a gateway to your kingdom.
AMEN

Preparing for next week -  27th Sunday B

Mark 10:2-16  'What God has united, man must not divide.'

Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. "Tell us," they asked, "does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?"

Jesus answered with a question, "What law did Moses give you?"

Their answer was, "Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away."


Jesus said to them, "Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. But in the beginning, at the time of creation, 'God made them male and female,' as the scripture says. ‘And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.' So they are no longer two, but one. Man must not separate, then, what God has joined together."

When they went back into the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. He said to them, "A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife. In the same way, a woman who divorces her husband and marries another man commits adultery."

Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his discinles, "Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.

.This is the gospel of the Lord.  Commentary on the readings.

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)


Jesus' teaching on marriage poses such a high ideal that few manage to sustain it for life. In contrast, his attitude towards the many times married Samaritan woman at the well reveals quite a different viewpoint. He chooses to open himself up to this woman as if she were already a disciple and indeed she goes on to accept his claim to be the Messiah.

The woman caught in adultery and brought to Jesus is told: "...neither do I condemn you - go and sin no more."


  1. How have you dealt with (or helped another person deal with) the hurt of divorce?*


 * All second questions © The Pastoral Center