Reading/Gospel Suggestions

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Hi all-

I am helping to plan for a men’s retreat this weekend and am looking for some suggestions for our Saturday morning mass - specifically a Gospel reading that pertains to our men’s group ministry. Do you have any suggestions for me? A suggestion has been one where the Apostles are chosen.

Thanks so much for any and all advice!
 
bchips said:
Hi all-

I am helping to plan for a men’s retreat this weekend and am looking for some suggestions for our Saturday morning mass - specifically a Gospel reading that pertains to our men’s group ministry. Do you have any suggestions for me? A suggestion has been one where the Apostles are chosen.

Thanks so much for any and all advice!
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Did your priest ask you to pick the Mass readings? Generally speaking, we are to use the readings for the day. There can be some flexibility (especially on Saturday mornings) in offering votive Masses for particular things, but in these cases, too, the readings are already chosen.
 
Yes, he wanted me to pick one, then he’d work on his homily based on the theme. The readings for the day don’t really feel appropriate.
 
Let’s look at the GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal)

Here’s a quote from #358
…In Masses for special groups, the Priest shall be allowed to choose texts more particularly suited to the particular celebration, provided they are taken from the texts of an approved Lectionary.
usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-7.cfm

Assuming the priest has said that he chooses to exercise this option, keep in mind that the readings cannot be just “anything” from Sacred Scripture. They have to be readings from the Lectionary.

There are several “Masses for Various Needs and Occasions” (a type of Votive Mass).

If you give readers here some idea of the overall theme of the weekend (beyond just that it’s a mens’ gathering), we might be able to offer some suggestions.

Here are just a few of those “various occasions” that might apply
For vocations
For unity of Christians
Pastoral or spiritual meetings
Blessing of Man’s Labor
After the Harvest
In Thanksgiving
Forgiveness of Sins

There are a lot more…

Again, if you tell us the overall theme or direction of the gathering that will help a great deal.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Sorry for sounding so vague. We are part of the weekend team that is organizing the men’s Cornerstone retreat for our parish in February. This is a mini-retreat where we have a trial run of the weekend. The theme for the mass is up to us, so I feel something about the gathering of Apostles seems appropriate. Obviously, I’d love any suggestions you have to offer.
 
bchips said:
Thank you all for your replies. Sorry for sounding so vague. We are part of the weekend team that is organizing the men’s Cornerstone retreat for our parish in February. This is a mini-retreat where we have a trial run of the weekend. The theme for the mass is up to us, so I feel something about the gathering of Apostles seems appropriate. Obviously, I’d love any suggestions you have to offer.
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Making progress…

Matthew 4 or Mark 1:16 (fishers of men)
Luke 5 (caught a great number of fish)

Do you have an actual Lectionary book handy? The reason I ask is that there’s a chart in the back (probably available online but I don’t have a link) that allows one to start with a scripture passage and locate what day that passage appears in the Lectionary. For the most part, you’ll find every Gospel event in the Lectionary (only a few of the “transitional” passages are absent).

The more specific you can be about the rest of the weekend, the easier it will be to find a Gospel (and for that matter other readings) that will fit. Even location matters. If you’re outdoors by a lake, you might want to use Luke 5 for example.

What are the topics for the other sessions? What’s the overall theme? Here’s what I mean: is the theme more of “turn away from your sin” or is it more of “go out and tell all nations”?

Based on what you’ve said so far, I’m inclined to lean toward “come and I will make you fishers of men…” Mark 1:16

The parable of the sower also works. Matthew 13. Something along the lines of “this weekend, we’re sowing seeds…what kind of soil will they find?”

Lots of possibilities here.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Sorry for sounding so vague. We are part of the weekend team that is organizing the men’s Cornerstone retreat for our parish in February. This is a mini-retreat where we have a trial run of the weekend. The theme for the mass is up to us, so I feel something about the gathering of Apostles seems appropriate. Obviously, I’d love any suggestions you have to offer.

I suggest that, whenever you take the passage where Jesus makes the choice of the apostles, names them presenting them to the people, you should not lose the opportunity to link it with the sacrament of confirmation. The Apostles had to endorse their very high responsibility to make Jesus known, listened to and obeyed. They made the choice to witness at the highest level, the WORDS coming from the mouth of the SENT from heaven.🤷

I suppose that they really knew the value of their call.😊
 
Hi everyone-

Thank you all so much for your help and advice. The retreat was an enormous success and I thought I’d share with you the readings I chose (Monsignor thought they were the perfect readings for the weekend).

Thanks again!

FIRST READING

Ephesians 2:14-22

For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.

He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.

Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

GOSPEL

Matthew 6: 25-34

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?

Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
 
I am happy to give you some references where this reading of Matthew 6:25-34 leads to.
check the following

Genitals section of the wooden cross = Genitals section in Jesus body
They are Partners
  1. ch 6: 16 Fasting program = ch 24: 29-31 Coming of the Son of Man
  2. ch 6: 17-18 Fasting appearances = ch 24: 25-35 Lesson of the fig tree
  3. ch 6: 19-21 Riches stored in heaven = ch 24: 36-44 Necessity of watchfulness
  4. ch 6: 22-23 The eye is the light = ch 24: 45-51 Faithful or unfaithful slave
  5. ch 6: 24 Two masters = ch 25: 1-13 The ten bridesmaids
  6. ch 6: 25-32 Goods for life = ch 25: 14-30 Parable of the talents
  7. ch 6: 33-34 Tomorrow weariness = ch 25: 31-46 Judgment of the nations
We have found in the listed items above, at the left, each line pointing out an essential program to adopt at crucial moments of our life. The right hand list helps to color the plate offered at the other hand; it sharpen our interest in working to produce the best results in our expectations. Remember that, if he heals the body, Jesus wants us to praise his Father and he gives us hope of eternal glory. Jesus turns our hearts to holiness.

Our passage today is on line 6 trying to orient the ‘pure hearts’ or 6th beatitude peoples in their search of the will of their master. Worries for holiness are always expected.
 
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