Liturgical Leaflet for an Active Participation in the Celebration of the Eucharist

24 September 2023 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS & REFUGEES

GOD’S SURPRISING GENEROSITY
e know that God is tremendously generous, but sometimes His

W generosity bewilders us as we realize that His priorities may

be so different from ours. Such is the warning that comes to
us from today’s First Reading and the Gospel.
God has, indeed, His own way of evaluating our performance and
of rewarding it. If sometimes He seems to show a special attention for
“the last and the least,” it is not for us to question His behavior. We
should, rather, learn from Him to show a special love for the weak,
“the losers,” and “the lousy.” God’s generosity toward them should
be our inspiration rather than the cause of our envy.
Let this Eucharist encourage us to count our blessings. Let us not
be devoured by jealousy at the sight of the blessings bestowed on oth-
ers. The good that we receive from the Lord is always much more than what we deserve.
Today is World Day of Migrants & Refugees Sunday, we are also reminded to pray for the
million Filipinos whose lives are affected, in one way or another, by the phenomenon of migra-
tion. Let us offer this Eucharist for this intention.

Penitential Act Lord, have mercy!

All – Lord, have mercy!
P –As we are about to start
the Eucharistic Sacrifice, let us P –May almighty God have
pause briefly to examine our mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
Entrance Antiphon and bring us to everlasting life.
(To be recited only when no conscience and realize how
Entrance Hymn is sung.) much we need God’s forgiveness All – Amen!
and strength. (Pause)
I am the salvation of the Gloria
people, says the Lord. Should P –For the times we have al-
they cry to me in any distress, lowed our envy of the suc- All – Glory to God in the highest,
I will hear them, and I will be cess of others to poison our and on earth peace to people of
their Lord for ever. hearts and minds, Lord, good will. We praise you, we bless
have mercy! you, we adore you, we glorify
Greeting All – Lord, have mercy! you, we give you thanks for your
P – In the name of the Father, P –For the times we have al- great glory, Lord God, heavenly
and of the Son, and of the Holy lowed our jealousy to King, O God, almighty Father.
Spirit! tarnish the reputation of Lord Jesus Christ, Only Be-
All – Amen! people who are more suc- gotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of
P –All praise and honor to the cessful than us, Christ, God, Son of the Father, you take
Blessed Trinity who calls us to have mercy! away the sins of the world, have
work in the vineyard of the King- All –Christ, have mercy! mercy on us; you take away the
dom. May His grace and peace P –For the times we have dared sins of the world, receive our
be with you all! to accuse you of playing prayer; you are seated at the right
All – And with your spirit! favorites and being unfair, hand of the Father, have mercy

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on us. For you alone are the Holy pensation for those who work
One, you alone are the Lord, you in God’s Kingdom. Rather, it
alone are the Most High, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom is
Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the open to all and what matters is
glory of God the Father. Amen! not to enter first or last but to do
* Every day will I bless you, our duty the best way we can.
Collect (Opening Prayer) and I will praise your name P –The Lord be with you!
forever and ever. Great is the All –And with your spirit!
P –O God, who founded all Lord and highly to be praised;
the commands of your sacred P –A proclamation from the
his greatness is unsearchable. holy Gospel according to
Law upon love of you and of our R.
neighbor, grant that, by keeping Matthew
your precepts, we may merit to * The Lord is gracious and All – Glory to you, O Lord!
attain eternal life. merciful, slow to anger and of
great kindness. The Lord is Jesus told his disciples
Through our Lord Jesus this parable: “The kingdom
Christ, your Son, who lives and good to all and compassionate
toward all his works. R. of heaven is like a landowner
reigns with you in the unity of who went out at dawn to hire
the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and * The Lord is just in all his laborers for his vineyard. Af-
ever. ways and holy in all his works. ter agreeing with them for the
All – Amen! The Lord is near to all who call usual daily wage, he sent them
upon him, to all who call upon into his vineyard.
him in truth. R. Going out about nine
o’clock, the landowner saw oth-
2nd Reading Phil 1:20-24.27 ers standing idle in the mar-
Facing the prospect that he ketplace, and he said to them,
1st Reading Is 55:6-9 may be sentenced to death, the ‘You too go into my vineyard,
Human beings are often apostle Paul states that what and I will give you what is just.’
tempted to fashion a God in their matters most to him is not what So they went off. And he went
own image and likeness. Today he would prefer but what Christ out again around noon, and
we are reminded that God is im- wants for the greater good of the around three o’clock, and did
mensely different from us and Church.
likewise. Going out about five
all that we have to do is seek His R – A proclamation from the o’clock, the landowner found
mercy for our shortcomings. Letter of Paul to the Philip- others standing around, and
R – A proclamation from the pians said to them, ‘Why do you
Book of the Prophet Isaiah Brothers and sisters: stand here idle all day?’ They
Seek the Lord while he Christ will be magnified in answered, ‘Because no one has
may be found, call him while my body, whether by life or by hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You
he is near. Let the scoundrel death. For to me life is Christ, too go into my vineyard.’
forsake his way, and the wicked and death is gain. If I go on When it was evening the
his thoughts. Let him turn to living in the flesh, that means owner of the vineyard said to
fruitful labor for me. And I do his foreman, ‘Summon the la-
the Lord for mercy; to our God,
not know which I shall choose. borers and give them their pay,
who is generous in forgiving.
I am caught between the two. beginning with the last and
“For my thoughts are not ending with the first.’ When
your thoughts, nor are your I long to depart this life and
be with Christ, for that is far those who had started about
ways my ways,” says the Lord. five o’clock came, each received
“As high as the heavens are better. Yet that I remain in the
flesh is more necessary for your the usual daily wage. So when
above the earth, so high are my the first came, they thought
ways above your ways and my benefit. Only, conduct your-
selves in a way worthy of the that they would receive more,
thoughts above your thoughts.” but each of them also got the
gospel of Christ.
The Word of the Lord! usual wage. And on receiving
The Word of the Lord! it they grumbled against the
All – Thanks be to God! All – Thanks be to God! landowner, saying, ‘These last
Responsorial Psalm Ps 145 ones worked only one hour, and
Gospel Acclamation you have made them equal to
R –The Lord is near to all who All – Alleluia! Alleluia! us, who bore the day’s burden
call upon him! Open our hearts, O Lord, and the heat.’ He said to one
to listen to the words of of them in reply, ‘My friend, I
your Son. am not cheating you. Did you
Alleluia! Alleluia! not agree with me for the usual
daily wage? Take what is yours
Gospel Mt 20:1-16 and go. What if I wish to give
Today’s parable is not meant this last one the same as you?
to settle the issue of a fair com- Or am I not free to do as I wish
24 September 2023
with my own money? Are you C –That all Christians may gen- people, that what they profess
envious because I am gener- erously work in the vineyard of with devotion and faith may be
ous?’ the Kingdom without expect- theirs through these heavenly
Thus, the last will be first, ing material rewards, and with- mysteries.
and the first will be last.” out envy for those who achieve Through Christ our Lord.
The Gospel of the Lord! more, let us pray! R. All – Amen!
All – Praise to you, Lord Jesus C –That our religious leaders
may solicit and welcome the ac- Preface III
Christ!
tive involvement of all Catholics P –The Lord be with you!
Homily in the apostolic initiatives of the All –And with your spirit!
Profession of Faith Church, let us pray! R. P –Lift up your hearts!
(Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed) C –That our civil authorities All – We lift them up to the Lord!
may take to heart the welfare of P –Let us give thanks to the
All –I believe in one God, the Fa-
all citizens, and especially the Lord our God!
ther almighty, maker of heaven
and earth, of all things visible marginalized, the homeless, the All –It is right and just!
and invisible. jobless and the sick, let us pray! P –It is truly right and just, our
I believe in one Lord Jesus R. duty and our salvation, always
Christ, the Only Begotten Son C –For our Filipino migrants and everywhere to give you
of God, born of the Father be- and all migrants all over the thanks, Lord, holy Father, al-
fore all ages. God from God, world: May they remain faith- mighty and eternal God.
Light from Light, true God from ful to their moral principles and For we know it belongs to
true God, begotten, not made, their Catholic faith, in spite of your boundless glory, that you
consubstantial with the Father; their being deprived of the sup- came to the aid of mortal be-
through him all things were port they used to enjoy in their ings with your divinity and even
made. For us men and for our country of origin, let us pray! R. fashioned for us a remedy out of
salvation he came down from mortality itself, that the cause of
heaven, (bow)* and by the Holy C –For the families of the emi- our downfall might become the
Spirit was incarnate of the Vir- grants: May they endure the dif- means of our salvation, through
gin Mary, and became man.* ficulties caused by the physical Christ our Lord.
For our sake he was crucified separation in a spirit of faith and Through him the host of An-
under Pontius Pilate, he suf- hope, always looking forward gels adores your majesty and re-
fered death and was buried, and to the day when they will be re- joices in your presence for ever.
rose again on the third day in united with their loved ones, let May our voices, we pray, join
accordance with the Scriptures. us pray! R. with theirs in one chorus of ex-
He ascended into heaven and is C –Let us pray in silence for our ultant praise, as we acclaim:
seated at the right hand of the personal intentions. (Pause) All –Holy, holy, holy Lord, God
Father. He will come again in Let us pray! R. of hosts. Heaven and earth are
glory to judge the living and the P –Lord God, we thank You for full of your glory. Hosanna in
dead and his kingdom will have giving us the privilege to work the highest!
no end. in Your vineyard. Make us mag- Blessed is he who comes in
I believe in the Holy Spirit, nanimous toward our fellow the name of the Lord. Hosanna
the Lord, the giver of life, who workers that we may rejoice with in the highest!
proceeds from the Father and them when all of us receive our
the Son, who with the Father final reward in the Kingdom of Memorial Acclamation
and the Son is adored and glori- heaven where You live and reign P –The mystery of faith!
fied, who has spoken through for ever and ever. All –Save us, Savior of the
the prophets. All – Amen! world, for by your Cross
I believe in one, holy, cath- and Resurrection you
olic and apostolic Church. I have set us free.
confess one Baptism for the
forgiveness of sins and I look
forward to the resurrection of
the dead and the life of the world Preparation of the Gifts
to come. Amen! P –Pray, brethren . . .
All – May the Lord accept the All – Our Father . . .
Prayer of the Faithful sacrifice at your hands, for the P –Deliver us, Lord . . .
P –Today we are challenged by praise and glory of his name, All –For the kingdom, the pow-
the Gospel to learn from God to for our good and the good of all er, and the glory are yours, now
be generous to all. Let us extend his holy Church. and forever.
our concern to the needs of all
Prayer over the Offerings Sign of Peace
mankind and present them to the
Lord as we say: P –Receive with favor, O Lord, Breaking of the Bread
All – Lord, hear our prayer! we pray, the offerings of your All – Lamb of God, you take

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

away the sins of the world: have ing your statutes. that role with generosity and
mercy on us. (2x) a sense of responsibility.
Lamb of God, you take Prayer after Communion All –Amen!
away the sins of the world:
grant us peace. P –Graciously raise up, O Lord, P –May He guide you in sowing
those you renew with this Sac- the seeds of the Kingdom in
Communion rament, that we may come to our society and make them
possess your redemption both in bear fruits of justice, peace
P –Behold the Lamb of God, mystery and in the manner of our and solidarity.
behold him who takes away the life. All–Amen!
sins of the world. Blessed are Through Christ our Lord.
those called to the Supper of the All – Amen! P –May He protect you from
Lamb. all dangers and guide you
All –Lord, I am not worthy into the way of peace and
that you should enter under prosperity.
my roof, but only say the word All–Amen!
and my soul shall be healed. P –The Lord be with you. P – May almighty God bless
All – And with your spirit! you: the Father, and the
Communion Antiphon Son, and the Holy Spirit.
(To be recited only when no P –Bow your heads and pray All – Amen!
Communion Hymn is sung.) for God’s blessing. (Pause)
– May the Lord give you a P –Go in peace to work gener-
You have laid down your greater awareness of the im- ously in the vineyard of the
precepts to be carefully kept; portance of your role in the Lord.
may my ways be firm in keep- Church and the grace to play All – Thanks be to God!

Fatima Not Just a Devotion But Our Mission (Part 4)

 Glady V. Ramos
Importance of the Family
In the October 13, 1917 appari on, the the Holy Spirit.” So consecra ng our families
Holy Family also appeared in Fa ma. In his talk to her would bring about a new Pentecost for
during the Na onal Marian Congress, Dr. Peter families, a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit –
Howard said that this is significant because, something that our world needs right now in
as Mary had also revealed to Lucia, the Final order to bring about a New Evangeliza on.
Ba le would be a acks against Marriage and Thus, we should make FaƟma not just
the Family. And we are experiencing that a devoƟon but our very own mission. Only
right now with the culture of death (abor on, then can we see the fulfillment of Mary’s
euthanasia), divorce, and homosexual promise: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart
marriages. will triumph.”
That’s why, he said, it is important to
consecrate our families to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. If we would like to rebuild our Prepare yourself
world, we need to consecrate our families for your Marian
to Mary. He explained that wherever Mama Consecra on with
Mary appears, “we see the power of the Holy
Spirit like never before.” (Fr. Michael Gaitley, a 33-Day Do-It-
MIC also affirmed this in his talk, saying that Yourself Retreat.
in Mary’s appari on in Guadalupe, Mexico, a
country where pagans offered human infant
sacrifices, there were 10 million conversions 33 Days to
in the short span of 10 years.) And this is
because Mary is the “Inseparable Spouse of Morning Glory

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 Migration: Lights, Shadows and Hopes
• Jess P. Balon

A ll of us are aware that migra-

tion has always been one of the
characteristics not only of human his-
social groups, whose languages and
cultures may be very different from
the country in which they were born
grants,” such as Mother Frances
Xavier Cabrini and Bishop John
Baptist Scalabrini, our bishops have
tory but even of pre-history. Migration and raised. The emotional torture of offered a systematic support to our
exists even among animal and birds. prolong separation, humiliations and OCWs by establishing the Episcopal
The causes and purposes of human failure has often gnawed at many of Commission on Migrants by promo-
migrations have been varied: from the them, especially at the start of their life ting and coordinating the pastoral care
search for food, to the need to escape “away from home.” of the Filipino expats, especially the
dangers/violence or persecutions, to Despite all this, most of them have OCWs. Since then, scores of chap-
the eagerness to just start a new life in persevered, supported by their deter- lains were fielded in countries where
more favorable situations and places. mination to offer their loved ones a the Filipino emigrants were more nu-
The history of migration is, to a great more comfortable present and an even merous or found themselves in not
extent, the saga of man’s struggle for better future. Through their remittanc- favorable conditions for their faith.
survival and improvement. Volumes es, they have enabled their families to Various religious orders and con-
have been written, even films have pay their debts, live in more comfort- gregations, of both male and female
been made about this universal phe- able houses, and give their children members, have made and are still
nomenon, and still will be. the good education that opens for making a very significant contribution
But as we observe Migrants’ Sun- them doors to a better future. Through to the pastoral care of the OCWs by
day, it is appropriate for us to focus their remittances, they have also con- sending to them missionary chaplains
on the Filipino migrants, for this is very tributed to the financial stability of their and assistants.
much the story of our people today – own country. A great help has also been given
a story of poverty and struggle, suc- This is what makes our OCWs real by several charismatic communi-
cesses and defeats, discouragement, heroes and heroines. Because of this, ties like “El Shaddai” and “Couples
resilience and hopes. we pay homage to them. for Christ,” and others by establishing
This is a fact: while in the era of col- Our governments have done and do local centers of their respective or-
onization (after the discovery of “new their share in offering legal assistance ganizations to strengthen the faith of
worlds”), people left their homeland in and protection to their citizens (and the OCWs and offer them moral and
the quest for riches, power and domi- benefactors) working in foreign coun- logistic support especially at the start
nance, the Filipinos of today migrate tries. Much has been done in this area, of their permanence abroad.
simply because they can’t find in their but much more and better interven- All these chaplains, as well as the
own country the means and opportuni- tions are still to be carried out. leadership of the charismatic groups
ties they have been looking for to sat- Long before our governments did abroad are the other heroes and hero-
isfy the needs of their families. something for our OCWs, the Church ines who guide and assist the millions
In order to attain this result, they are was, and continues to be, in the fore- of Filipino migrants. This should be for
ready to make immense sacrifices, in- front of offering very practical pastoral all of us a source of REJOICING and
cluding leaving their loved ones, ven- care for them. Following the example HOPE for an even better pastoral ser-
turing into countries, continents and of the great “Missionaries to the Mi- vice to our OCWs in the future.

“LIGHT FROM PINOYs

ON THE MOVE”
by Fr. Remo P. Bati, SDB*
(*CMMA Winner of Special Citation for Short Story)

BE INSPIRED
by real-life stories of faith,
hope, and love
from Filipino migrants
all over the world.
Available from