Category: Penitential Rites

PRIEST: Today we gather with Mary and those first disciples, some 120 in number,  as they prayed and waited in the Upper Room of their fears soon to be turned to hopes.  We also like them have heard Jesus entrust his mission to us;  we like them know our own weakness and anxiety;  we like them cry out for the empowering Spirit to come.  Let us invite the Spirit who forgives and heals to enter the dark shadows of our negativity and sin…

READER:      When we are afraid to allow the energy of the Spirit
to burn freely in our lives;
when we are afraid of the Spirit’s mighty wind
                                         blowing through our lives and our communities;

                                                                      LORD HAVE MERCY

When we hurt the Spirit’s unity by our shallow love
and petty selfishness;
                           for every intolerance and dishonesty…

                                                                      CHRIST HAVE MERCY

When we seek the Spirit’s consolation and healing,
but not Spirit’s energy for challenging mission;
                            when we ask for the Spirit’s gifts,
                                         but not that we might become gift to another…

                                                                      LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:          May the God whose breath is love  – give us new life;
                            may the Saviour whose touch is healing  – grant us mercy;
                            may the Spirit whose presence within is fire – burn us with love’s pain;
                            and bring us all to everlasting life…

                                                                         AMEN!

PRIEST:    Today we celebrate our Mission as a Church – for Jesus sends us out to the whole world to be his witnesses. Today we celebrate Jesus enthroned as our King,  as he goes up to his throne with shouts of Joy and in the Cloud of divine Presence.  Today we celebrate the immensity of our human dignity,  as in Jesus our High Priest, our human flesh is taken up into the Holy of Holies of God’s presence,  into the eternal sanctuary with God.  Today is a day of great rejoicing  and Jesus’ great trust in us.  Let us empty our hearts of the sin that limits our joy.

READER:                        For the fears and narrowness of vision
                                             that stop us being a missionary community…

                                                                           LORD HAVE MERCY

When we claim Jesus as our King,
                                              but fail to walk his Royal way of love,
                                              fail to give him first priority in our lives…

                                                                           CHRIST HAVE MERCY

Whenever another human person is abused,
                                              their dignity ignored or diminished;
                                              for leaving our brothers and sisters to starve of food or freedom

                                                                           LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:    May the God who calls us to eternal glory
                             transfigure our every weakness
                      May Jesus our High Priest clothe us
with the mercy he has won for us by his blood;
                      May the Spirit who dwells in every human heart
                              heal each wound that diminishes us;
                      and bring us all to everlasting life…

                                                                           AMEN!

PRIEST Jesus had to go,  had to leave us:  for out of his agony and his Resurrection flowed streams of living water – the life-giving Spirit that would guide the Church to new adventures, a new and radical openness to new peoples. The many gates, always open in the walls of the New Jerusalem is a challenge for the Church to be a place of welcome to all peoples in every kind of diversity. And the Holy Spirit is the power of love within that can build a different world. That Spirit will give us peace when the world says we should be in turmoil. That Spirit will heal divisions when the world says we cannot live as one.  If we make Jesus’ word of love our home,  then the Spirit can do the impossible among us.

READER:           When we do not root our lives in the Word,
                                 when the Word that is love is not our home

                                                              LORD HAVE MERCY

For the times we do not rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us,
                                 to heal us,  to cross boundaries of misunderstanding

                                                              CHRIST HAVE MERCY

When we do not hold each other in reverence and caring,
                                 when we cause needless distress
                                 rather than offer life-giving peace

                                                              LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:       May the God of Peace hold us in the palm of his hand
                                     and bring us forgiveness;
                         may Jesus the living Word of Divine Love
make his home within us by his mercy;
                         may the Spirit,  the Advocate,  plead compassion for us,
                                    and heal all divisions among God’s people;
                         and bring us all to everlasting life…

                                                               AMEN!

PRIEST:     We are called to be witnesses of the Resurrection – the love we bear one another will be the greatest witness.  This is the love that will create a new heaven and a new earth, this is the love that will put fresh heart into despairing people.  In the end nothing else matters, because nothing else is as divine as love.  Let us repent of every lack of love…

READER:       When we have not loved by listening, supporting, encouraging,
and sharing another’s pain… 

                                                               LORD HAVE MERCY …

When we have not loved by struggling for justice, caring for the earth,
                             standing with the poor and the excluded, suffering for the kingdom

                                                               CHRIST HAVE MERCY …

When we have not loved by praying, speaking the name of Jesus,
                             sharing our faith, telling the Good News

                                                               LORD HAVE MERCY …

PRIEST:            May the God of endless love embrace us with mercy;
                              may our Saviour and Brother touch our wounds
                                                with compassion and forgiveness;
                              may the Spirit of divine fire enflame our cold apathy,
                                                 and bring us all to everlasting life

                                                                 AMEN!

PRIEST:  Jesus our shepherd calls each of us by name, to follow Him, and to discover with him our own particular vocation.  He knows us – loves us. And He calls every single one of us to share His Life with the our world. We all share the vocation to live for others, to be life-bearers, to be witnesses to the glorious truth of Christ. We now pause to examine how well we have answered our special vocation.

READER:      For not making space in our busy lives and noisy hearts
                           to listen to the voice of the Shepherd

                                             LORD HAVE MERCY

                            For listening to the voices of ambition and selfishness,
the voices of security and safe-options,
                            and not following the Shepherd where he leads us

                                             CHRIST HAVE MERCY

                             For every abuse of a child or vulnerable person
by those called to be  gentle shepherds of the flock of Christ
When we do not serve or play our part in building the Kingdom –
for not being a  shepherd to each other

                                             LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:     May the God who calls us into life, forgive us;
                       May our Redeemer and Shepherd, Jesus, free us with his mercy;
                       May the Holy Spirit empower us to give of ourselves with generosity
                       and so find everlasting life…  

                                                AMEN!

PRIEST:  There are many ways of meeting the Risen Christ:  one of the most life-giving encounters is to touch the world in mission.  Today,  we hear how Jesus re-affirms the apostles in their mission, after their experience of failure around the Calvary event.  Strengthened and healed,  we then hear how they find new courage in obeying God’s voice rather than human voices in bearing witness to Jesus. He challenges us with his repeated question to Peter:  ‘do you love me…?’  Do we love him enough to give ourselves to his world and its needs in the mission of the Resurrection?

READER:       When we put obedience to human voices
                            before obedience to God;
                            when we want human acceptance and respect
more than Gospel integrity…

                                        LORD HAVE MERCY

When we do not accept one another’s failures;
                             when we do not give each other a second chance;
                             when we do not affirm each other in our ministries

                                        CHRIST HAVE MERCY

When our love for the Lord is not enough
to give us new priorities;
                             not strong enough to change the way
                             we use our time and energy to serve his world

                                        LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:      May the Lord of mercy bring us to new beginnings;
                        may our Redeeming Jesus heal our every failure;
                        may the Spirit of divine love empower us
to be moments of Resurrection for our world
                        so that God might bring us all to everlasting life…

                                          AMEN!

PRIEST:  In today’s Gospel we hear a story of doubt that becomes magnificent faith;  a story of wounds that breath peace and healing;  a story of frightened empty men who become courageous in the Holy Spirit;  a story of a community witnessing the Risen Christ.  It is the story not only of the apostles, but also of each one of us;  not only the early Church,  but the Church of every age and land – the story of our own parish.  Let us welcome the Risen Jesus among us to transform us and our community – that we might be life-givers.

READER:   We give thanks for God’s mercy, flowing from the Father’s love
for He has brought us from doubt to deeper faith

                                                 LORD HAVE MERCY

                        We give thanks for God’s mercy, made flesh in Jesus the Crucified
for his wounds are our peace

                                                 CHRIST HAVE MERCY

                        We give thanks for God’s mercy, breathed into us by the Holy Spirit
for he has filled our emptiness
                        and sent us as bearers of reconciling love

                                                 LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:  May God our creator give us the peace of his forgiveness;
                    may the Risen Jesus heal our wounds and transform our weak love;
                    may the Spirit breathe new courage and deeper faith
                    reconciling us to everlasting life…

                                               AMEN!

PRIEST:         As we draw nearer to Holy Week,  the conflict looms larger:  the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities of his time;  the conflict between life and death,  light and darkness,  condemnation and forgiveness.  We hear in today’s Gospel how Jesus heals and forgives the women taken in adultery,  brings her and us new life,  and will not condemn and judge.  He expects us his church and disciples to do the same – fling wide open the Gates of God’s Mercy.  Or are we no better than the Pharisees he challenged?

READER:            For the ways we seek to shift guilt and responsibility
                                           from ourselves onto others;
                                 for the ways we judge and condemn, not looking into our own hearts
                                                       LORD HAVE MERCY…

For inequalities between men and women in society,  in the Church,
                                in our own community,  in our hearts;
                                for prejudices of every kind

                                                        CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

Because our God is radical acceptance, limitless love, endless mercy;
                               that we might learn how to accept and forgive,
                               live with compassion and understanding

                                                        LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:       May Father of all compassion embrace us with love without limit;
                         may Jesus our Saviour accept us with a mercy that knows no end;
                         may the Life-giving Spirit enter our hearts,
                        renew in us mercy and forgiveness to offer the world;
                        and bring us all to everlasting life…

                                                        AMEN!

PRIEST:     In just two weeks time we shall celebrate the incomparable joy of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus foreshadows his own resurrection by bringing his friend Lazarus from the tomb into life. He reveals to all that he is victorious over death itself.  But the greatest victory Jesus wins is over the death that is sin, which distorts and wounds our world with its oppressive structures.  Let us repent, and invite Jesus to rise victorious over sin and oppression within us, unbinding us and setting us free.

READER:              For not setting free those trapped in the tombs
of war and violence, poverty and oppression;
                                    for not loving enough to free people from loneliness & depression

                                                   LORD HAVE MERCY

When we bind each other by our criticism and condemnation;
                                    for entombing others in our un-forgiveness and harshness

                                                   CHRIST HAVE MERCY

Because you call our name and draw us out of death and sin
                                     into life, freedom, wholeness and holiness

                                                   LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:           You are a God of Life, not of death:
                              may your mercy unbind us and heal us,
                              your word call us into life and reconciliation,
                              and your forgiveness lead us to perfect freedom,
                              drawing us to everlasting life…

                                                        AMEN!

PRIEST:      Today a touch of joy lightens the austerity of our Lenten journey:  for we fast and repent only to create more space for Christ’s joy.  And what is our joy?   On this ‘Mothering Sunday’ we recognise that our deepest joy is to give life to others by our love and our faith.  Our joy is to be welcomed home by our Father Who is prodigal in His Love, His Mercy, His Faithfulness to us for us,  His acceptance of us:  let us not be afraid to return home to His forgiveness…

READER:          Sometimes we are afraid to be honest with ourselves;
afraid to face the shadows we find within us
                                       and our need for forgiveness:
                                that we might trust God’s generous mercy…

                                                            LORD HAVE MERCY

Often we can be like the elder brother,
                                 refusing to forgive,  to welcome the sinner home;
                                 that our mercy may be like our Father’s…

                                                            CHRIST HAVE MERCY

Christ’s forgiveness makes us a New Creation,
                                 summoning us to be ambassadors for Reconciliation:
                                 when as a parish we do not express mutual forgiveness
                                 and fail to offer the healing that flows from divine mercy…

                                                            LORD HAVE MERCY

PRIEST:             May the Father’s love call us back to ourselves;
                                may Jesus our redeeming elder brother rejoice
                                             to heal our wanderings;
                                may the Spirit lighten our hearts with the joy of divine mercy;
                                and bring us all to everlasting life…

                                                              AMEN!