A reading from the Book of the prophet Amos 8:4-7
Against those who ‘buy up the poor for money.
Listen to this, you who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor people of the country, you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over so that we can sell our corn, and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel, by swindling and tampering with the scales, we can buy up the poor for money, and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.’
The Lord swears it by the pride of Jacob,
‘Never will I forget a single thing you have done’
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 112
Response Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.
1. Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore! Response
2. High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth? Response
3. From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to Timothy 2:1-8
There should be prayers offered for everyone to God who wants everyone to be saved.
My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone –
petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in
authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace
and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone
to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God,
and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man,
Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence
of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and
apostle of it and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher of the faith and
the truth to the pagans.
In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer,
with no anger or argument.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or 2 Cor 8: 9
Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 16:1-13
You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward
denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man
and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your
stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the
steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me,
what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too
ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from
office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”
Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much
do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The
steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty”. To
another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred
measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and
write eighty”.
‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of
this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of
light.’
‘And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus
make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity.
The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who
is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted
with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you
cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very
own?
‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love
the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot
be the slave both of God and of money.’
The Gospel of the Lord
Shorter form
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 16:10-13
You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
Jesus said to his disciples, “The man who can be trusted in little things can be
trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great.
If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you
with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will
give you what is your very own?
‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love
the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot
be the slave both of God and of money.’
The Gospel of the Lord
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