Feast of Ss Peter and Paul

PRIEST:       We celebrate today the two great founding Apostles, Peter and Paul. In celebrating them we celebrate also who we are as Church, for they more than any others have shaped for all time the Body of Christ. In Peter we have the uniting Shepherd who knows his own weakness only too well and so gathers us gently as one: a Rock of Faith who is not hard! In Paul we have the fearless Prophet, the adventurer for Christ who breaks new ground and reshapes the Church to be truly Universal. Together they teach us to be at once a gentle Pastor and a fearless Prophet. Let us embrace the mercy of God so that we might be such a Church …

READER:       Peter is the Rock of Faith who affirms us in faith
                            when our weakness overwhelms us:
For the times we do not affirm, heal and encourage each other …

                                                      LORD HAVE MERCY …

                             Paul is the bold Pioneer of the Gospel,
                             ever open to the the new challenges of the Spirit:
when cling to the things of the past and make the Church a museum
rather than the creator of a new future

                                                      CHRIST HAVE MERCY …

                              Peter and Paul together gather the One People of God
                              into a unity rich with diversity:
when we do not value each other’s differences and gifts
when we do not strive for unity in Christ

                                                      LORD HAVE MERCY …

PRIEST:         May the God who calls fill us with mercy;
                           may the Lord who sends heal our every wound with His forgiveness,
                           may the Spirit who empowers encourage us in our weakness;
                           and bring us all with the Saints to everlasting life

                                                        AMEN!

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