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Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Year A

That the Christian Church in our land will continue to ‘fling wide open the doors of God’s mercy’, to develop the New Evangelisation and so invite to all to come and find new life in Christ Jesus;  that mission will be our joy and our fulfilment

                       [reader]               LORD WE PRAY…
                       [response]         MAY YOUR GOSPEL BE HEARD…                           

For the people of our city and our nation,  that all will discover that it is never too late hear the call of Christ to the Fulness of Life; and may we build together a future of hope to bring opportunity, meaning and purpose to the lives of our young people

                       [reader]               LORD WE PRAY…
                       [response]         MAY YOUR GOSPEL BE HEARD…                           

For those who place their hope in money and profit rather than the God who creates and loves them;  for those seeking meaning and hope in their lives;  for those struggling to come to Jesus Christ and find in him the key of truth in our modern unbelieving world

                       [reader]               LORD WE PRAY…
                       [response]         MAY YOUR GOSPEL BE HEARD…                           

For our parish family enriched with such diversity, that we will find new ways to bring  the Joy of the Gospel and its New Life to the people of our Inner City; that as a Parish in communion for mission we will bring healing and hope to the most marginalised

                       [reader]               LORD WE PRAY…
                       [response]         MAY YOUR GOSPEL BE HEARD…                           

That we will overcome our fears of sharing the Good News with those around us; for all involved in our Journey of Faith, especially those seeking to know Jesus and find faith;  that it will be our joy to be known in our area as disciples of Jesus;  that such love will be found among us that seekers may find their way to the Christ among us

                       [reader]               LORD WE PRAY…
                       [response]         MAY YOUR GOSPEL BE HEARD…                           

That the sick, and housebound might hear the Good News of healing and hope, and by their loving prayer nourish the Mission of the Church:  we pray especially for …
for those who have died recently…. and  in particular all victims of war and terror throughout the world
for those whose anniversaries are at this time

                       [reader]               LORD WE PRAY…
                       [response]         MAY YOUR GOSPEL BE HEARD…                           

Let us ask Mary, the One who gave Jesus to the world, to pray for us that we too will rejoice to give Jesus to our world…

                                                           HAIL MARY…

Let us pray in a moment of silence…

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Twenty-Third Sunday of the Year A

For the Church … that through the Global Synod we will not be afraid to listen to each other and the modern world in all its struggles and dilemmas, while proclaiming the challenging truth of Christ with both compassion and boldness

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

In this Season of Creation, may all humanity be caring stewards of Creation and bring healing to our wounded ‘Common Home’ as we listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the Poor’

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

All the commandments are summed up in the Law of Love … that our society will not cheapen and degrade the dignity of Love – that in a world of short-lived relationships many will have the courage to make long-term commitments and rebuild our communities and families 

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

‘You shall not kill’ … that men and women of violence of everywhere ‘will listen this day to the voice of the Lord’, and be converted to peace in Ukraine, Sudan, the Middle East, Mali, Cameroon and Niger, and in the many theatres of conflict and war in Africa

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

For our children and teachers who begin a new academic year; for those changing schools and colleges at this time, and those preparing to begin at University … may all grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

For all spiritual directors, guides and counsellors as they seek to accompany another along the Way of Christ – may all speak the truth in love, so that the truth does not wound but liberates and heals

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

We pray for our sick and housebound brothers and sisters that we might joyfully pay ‘the debt of mutual love’ … for
for those who have died recently especially … and the victims of war and conflicts and the ravages of global warming;
and for all whose anniversaries are at this time Queen Elizabeth II …

                      [READER]                LORD WE PRAY…
                      [Response]             Speak Your Truth to us…

Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray with us that all might return to Christ your Son…

                                                             HAIL MARY…

Let us pray for other needs in a moment of silence, especially our children and young people returning to schools and colleges …

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FEAST OF ST NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO

For 175 years, the Eucharist has been the centre of our parish’s life, community and mission: may this celebration of the Breaking of the Bread heal our brokenness, deepen our love for Christ Jesus, bind us together in life-giving community and empower our mission to be Good News to the Poor

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

St Nicholas broke the Bread of the Eucharist at the Table of the Lord; and broke bread with poor of his society: may we and the whole Church rededicate ourselves to translating our love for the Christ we meet in the Eucharist into as deep a love for the Christ we meet in the Poor

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

St Nicholas preached the Gospel and broke the Bread of the Word for the people of Tolentino, drawing many to Christ: having received the Gospel from generations past may we find new ways of passing on the Gift of the Living Word of God to our young people so that they will shape the church moving into the future

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

Throughout these past 175 years our parish has received migrants who have come to our shores and our city: may the whole Church be truly ‘Catholic’ where ‘all are welcome’ – a home to peoples of every race, language and culture, a world-wide community gathering as one all peoples, struggling for justice and equality for the most marginalised and ridding the world of all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

Giving thanks for our past years of mission and looking forward with hope to the years to come, we pray that our Global Synod will bring us a renewed vision for the 21st Century Church of mission and healing, growing in communion with all creation; in this ‘Season of Creation’ may we listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the poor, build healing communities of diverse identities and faiths, caring together for the poor and the excluded near and far

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

That all our children and young people will grow up to care for the poorest, respecting people of all races, cultures and sexual orientation and valuing our multi-ethnic society; that opposing all racial violence and every form of prejudice, our schools and colleges will rejoice in the diversity of our one Human Race

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

St Nicholas was called and gifted by God to bring healing to the sick and the poor: for all wounded in mind and heart by abuse, injustice and poverty; we pray also for ….
St Nicholas prayed deeply for the dead: we pray for those who have died recently … because of war, and conflict, the refugee journey and climate change;
we pray also for all the faithful departed of our parish in its 175 years history and for … whose anniversaries are at this time 

          [Reader]                LORD HEAL OUR  WORLD…
          [Response]          RENEW YOUR PEOPLE  IN LOVE…

 Mary, Mother of all the abandoned ones, help us to recognise Jesus in every person….                                                             

                                              HAIL MARY…

We pray in silence for God’s empowerment of our parish family in service and mission…

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Synodality/Climate Change/Nuclear Weapons

On ‘Synodality’
“Breakthrough comes about as a gift of dialogue, when people trust each other and humbly seek the good together, and are willing to learn from each another in a mutual exchange of gifts. This is an ‘overflow’ of love, breaking the banks that confined our thinking and causes to pour forth answers that formerly we could not see. As Pope I want to encourage such ‘overflows’ by reinvigorating the ancient practice of ‘Synod’. The term comes from Greek and means ‘walking together’ and its goal is to recognise, honour, and reconcile differences on a higher plane where the best of each can be retained: differences are expressed and polished until you reach, if not consensus, a harmony that holds all together. Therein lies its beauty: the harmony that results can be complex, rich and unexpected. In the Church the One who brings about harmony is the Holy Spirit.”

CALLING US TO PRAYER AND SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP
‘The Bible says that whoever finds a friend has found a treasure. I would like to invite everyone to go beyond their groups of friends and build social friendship, which is so necessary for living together well.
We especially need to have a renewed encounter with the most impoverished and vulnerable, those on the peripheries. And we need to distance ourselves from populisms that exploit the anguish of the people without providing solutions, proposing a mystique that solves nothing.
We must flee from social enmity which only destroys, and leave “polarization” behind.
And this isn’t always easy, especially today when part of our politics, society and media are bent on creating enemies so as to defeat them in a game of power.
Dialogue is the path to seeing reality in a new way, so we can live with passion the challenges we face in constructing the common good.
Let us pray that, in social, economic, and political situations of conflict, we may be courageous and passionate architects of dialogue and friendship, men and women who always hold out a helping hand, and may no spaces of enmity and war remain.’ 

ON HEALING THE PLANET
‘Laudato si, o’ mi Signore’ (Praise be to you, my Lord). In the words of this beautiful canticle, St Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us : ‘Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruits with coloured flowers and herbs’.
This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of all with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she ‘groans in travail’

ON NUCLER WEAPONS
Pope Francis has stated : ‘Now is the time to affirm not only the immorality of the use of nuclear weapons, but the immorality of their possession…  genuinely concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian effects of any employment of nuclear devices and the risk of accidental detonation as a result of any kind of error, the threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned. They exist in the service of a mentality of fear.’

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TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A

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!

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TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A

For the whole Church that we might all share in the Universal Love of God for all peoples and nations and, becoming truly Catholic, serve the world’s peace; that God will give wisdom, compassion and prophetic courage to our Universal Pastor, Pope Francis as he enables the Church’s Global Synod

                            [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                            [Response]         Share Your love with us…

As the Church is challenged to be a House of Prayer for all Peoples, may it be the servant and instrument of God’s struggle for peace, for justice and for integrity for our conflict-torn world: we pray peace for all the peoples of Ukraine, Sudan, the Middle East, Yemen, Niger and Ecuador

                          [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                          [Response]         Share Your love with us…

As our young people received exam results this week, we pray for them as they shape their future and make far-reaching decisions – may they rejoice to use their skills and gifts to create a better and more just world, and value themselves and others not by exam results but by the ‘wonder of their being’

                          [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                          [Response]         Share Your love with us…

We pray for our LGBTQ+ friends throughout the world, especially those threatened by laws that victimise them and Christian leaders who uphold their condemnation – may the Holy Spirit of God’s Universal Love lead them and us ‘into all truth’

                          [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                          [Response]         Share Your love with us…

We pray for our parish community that we will always seek to be ‘God’s Field Hospital’, a place of healing and welcome to all without exception; may our nation have a new heart of compassion and acceptance for our refugee and asylum community

                          [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                          [Response]         Share Your love with us…

We pray for all who serve the safety of our communities in the Police Force, for all who administer the Justice system of our land – may they be supported as they deal with the most shocking of crimes while seeking always True Justice for all our people

                          [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                          [Response]         Share Your love with us…

For the sick and housebound and all who care for them in hospital, hospice or home: for all who are terminally ill and are journeying towards the eternal heart of God;
for those who have died recently: those who died in the Wildfires especially in Hawaii and all those who have drowned in the refugee boats;
and for all whose anniversaries are at this time:

                          [READER]            LORD WE PRAY…
                          [Response]         Share Your love with us…

Mary, Queen of peace amd Mother of all Peoples, pray with us for our children baptised today…

                                                             HAIL MARY…

Let us pray in a moment’s stillness …

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NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A

PRIEST: We have powerful images presented to us this morning: the prophet meeting God on the mountain; Paul willing to loose salvation if only his Jewish people would embrace His Lord;  and Peter walking towards Jesus on the storm tossed sea.  Powerful images that speak to us of the power of faith and prayer.  We have come to meet the living God in this Eucharist:  let us like Peter be aware of our weakness and bring that weakness before God with a repentant heart.

READER:               For not making space in our busy lives to listen
                                    to the whispering voice of God deep within us;
                                    for too often not having the faith really to pray…

                                                                                LORD HAVE MERCY …

For the times we lack the faith to trust in the God who calls us;
                                      When we do not have the courage
                                      to ‘launch out over the deep’, risking for God…

                                                                                CHRIST HAVE MERCY …

For the weakness of our faith when the storms overwhelm us;
                                       for the ways we no longer gaze upon the Lord who holds us
                                       in the darkest hour and most fearful turmoil

                                                                                LORD HAVE MERCY …

PRIEST:          May the God of Compassion come to us in every storm of guilt,
                                             and bring us peace;
                             may the Risen Lord draw close to us in our weakness
                                             and heal our fears with his mercy;
                             may the Holy Spirit whisper deep within our hearts the forgiveness
                                             that brings us peace beyond all understanding;
                              and may God raise us all to everlasting life…

                                                                                     AMEN!

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NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A

That the Church of God will teach us how to pray, to go up the Mountain of God’s Presence and listen to the whispering voice of God deep in the heart and at the centre of the storm: may the renewal of the Church be energised by a renewal of prayer and faith

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

In the midst of the storm Jesus calls out to the world – ‘Courage, it is I! … Come!’ : in the midst of the many crises facing our world at this time, may many search for the the reality of God, taste of the riches of prayer to be found in the Christian tradition, and have the courage to walk towards the Christ of today’s world

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

Like St Paul and St Edith Stein, we too pray for the Jewish People all over the world, that in fidelity to the Covenant with the God of Abraham, the God of Moses, they might discover in Jesus not an enemy but a fulfilment, and in Christians not foes but friends and companions along the Ways of God … we pray also for peace between Israel and Palestine and for the stricken peoples of Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen and for the freedom of the Uiga Muslims of China  

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

For those communities around the world who have suffered from the effects of Global Warming: floods, wildfires, storms and heatwaves; may all humanity and the leaders of nations and multi-national companies listen to the cries of the Earth and act decisively and quickly to save and heal our planet for future generations

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

On this Sea Sunday, we pray for all who serve us on the seas, for all seafarers who are exploited by their employers; and for the Church’s Mission to Seafarers and their families

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

We pray for all who live the contemplative life, in monasteries and convents, in hermitages and shanty towns, in ordinary homes and families … may they stand faithfully before the Presence of God with hearts open to listen and love, and encourage us all to the prayer of silent loving and waiting stillness 

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

May the sick and housebound embrace with love their ministry of prayer and intercession, as we now pray for them: for …;
for those who have died recently: especially … and those killed in the wildfires in Hawaii, war and conflict in Sudan and Ukraine
and for all whose anniversaries are at this time:

                                                      [READER]                       LORD TEACH US TO PRAY…
                                                      [Response]                     Speak to our hearts…

Mary, Woman of Prayer, Prophet of Justice and Queen of Peace, pray with us, pray for us ..
Hail Mary…

Let us pray in a moment’s stillness …

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FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

PRIEST: As we celebrate today the beautiful Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we behold the Glory of God, the glory that each of us carries deep within our being. For we are all created in God’s image and likeness. And the Glory of God is humanity fully alive.  Transfiguration is only complete, however, when we have transformed our world from war and injustice into the glory of equality, justice and peace among all the peoples of the earth. Sadly today is also the anniversary of the dropping of first Atom Bomb – upon the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Its dark cloud of death and destruction has overshadowed the world ever since! To transform a world addicted to weapons of mass destruction will demand we truly listen to Him – God’s Word made flesh – and act! Let us now bring our world of war to the God of Peace and limitless Mercy.

READER:     For the human addiction to war and destruction
that it be transfigured to peace and healing

                                            LORD HAVE MERCY…

For the mountains of injustice and inequality
                           that diminishes all human beings, both rich and poor alike

                                            CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

For the transformation of our inhumanity that wounds
into the divine Humanity that is fully alive and life-giving

                                            LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:    May God our Father speak his words of forgiveness and mercy to our hearts;
                      May the Transfigured Christ transform the darkness of our sin into the glory of His love;
                      May the Holy Spirit be the light of justice, healing and compassion in our hearts,
                     and bring us to everlasting life…

                                             AMEN!