PRIEST: Today we find strangely harsh words on the lips of Jesus, words that seem to reject a woman who comes to him in her need. Yet her coming leads him to discover the depth of his mission from God his Father and to offer all peoples his saving love. Let us ask forgiveness when we are not prepared to open our minds to new ideas and our hearts to new people…
READER: For whenever we see people as a threat rather than as a gift
LORD HAVE MERCY…
For whenever we are closed to new experiences of God or of our world;
when we hurt rather than heal
CHRIST HAVE MERCY…
For each refusal to welcome someone who is different,
someone we do not understand
every harshness in our words and contempt in our hearts
LORD HAVE MERCY…
PRIEST: May our God absolve us of our sins,
heal us of our wounds,
cast out our every fear,
and open wide our hearts to the gift of every person,
and so bring us and all creation to everlasting life…
AMEN!