Category: Penitential Rites

PRIEST: Fifty days ago we celebrated Jesus’ Resurrection – now we celebrate the Power of Resurrection set free to transform the world! Today is not only the birthday of the Church in a ferment of Praise and Mission, it is also the beginnings of a New World, a New Creation, for through the Church and beyond it, the Spirit is recreating the face of the earth!  On this Pentecost day, this day of the Spirit bringing the Church to a new beginning, let us welcome, through the Global Synod we are all engaged in, the Spirit’s mighty wind and love’s fire into our lives and our community so that through forgiveness we will ever grow in holiness.

READER:       The Holy Spirit comes as a mighty wind!
For our fears and timidity, our lack of courage,
                            in witnessing to Jesus and speaking out Gospel Justice! 

                                           LORD HAVE MERCY…

The Holy Spirit comes as flames of fire, fire of Love!
For every denial of love that starves the world of hope;
For every division between Christians that hides the face of Christ 

                                           CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

                                The Holy Spirit gives us a new language of faith and praise!
                               That we might ever speak the language of mercy and forgiveness
Healing and hope to our broken but beautiful world 

                                           LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:    May the Father set us free to be Children of God;
                      may Jesus enthroned in Glory pour out upon us the Spirit of Love and Mercy;
                     may the Holy Spirit rush through our lives to lead us to new beginnings
                      and bring all the world to everlasting life

                                              AMEN!

PRIEST:      A few days ago we celebrated our mission as a Church to proclaim the Good News to all;  in a few days time we shall celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit with the power needed to fulfil our Christ-commissioned task.  Today,  on this World Communication Sunday, we pray for wisdom and courage in using Internet Technology, Social Media and the communications revolution to proclaim the Gospel and to build justice and unity in our world. As we cry out for the Spirit to come and empower us to communicate the Gospel to our generation, let us recognise our need for forgiveness and healing so as to set us free to speak God’s Word with authenticity and integrity to our world…

READER:       For every disunity that wounds Christ’s Body
and damages our witness to his love…

 LORD HAVE MERCY…

                             For every abuse and misuse of the media and the internet,
                             for not caring enough about the newspapers, TV programmes
                           and computer images that are seen and heard in our homes…

 CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

                            For every barrier to the Spirit’s coming
                            that we place in our lives and our community;
                             when we refuse to risk for the Gospel…

 LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:      May the God of immense love take our failures and sins
                     in his merciful hands
                    and kindle with them a fire of love
                    that will bring healing & peace,  reconciliation
                    and new beginnings to us to our world,
                   leading us all to everlasting life…

                                                AMEN!

PRIEST:    Today the Word of God begins to point us towards the coming Feast of Pentecost,  speaking as it does of the Spirit, the other Advocate who will stand with us and speak up for us.  Today we mark as a parish the Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse caused in any setting, and especially that within the Church. Too often leaders of the Church have not been advocates, speaking up for those who have been abused by clergy and religious, have not been bearers of the Spirit of Truth! As we approach the great Feast of the Spirit’s Power and Love and as we journey with our young people towards the Sacrament of Confirmation, let us all seek a deeper openness to the Spirit speaking through each other, especially through the wounded and alienated. Let us ask forgiveness for every way that we and the Church resist the Holy Spirit whom seeks to lead us into a ‘New Way of being Church’…

READER:       The Spirit is wisdom …
                            When we are unable to see or listen
                            to the wounded and hurting among us,
and so do not listen to the voice of the Spirit…

                                             LORD HAVE MERCY…

The Spirit is unity …
                             for the times we have served division rather than unity;
                             when we have not tried to reach out to those hurt by the Church
when we too quickly turned away from having
                             the difficult conversations that might have helped.

                                             CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

The Spirit is love …
                              when we have not welcomed gently cared compassionately,
                              or defended courageously those abused, in whatever way,
                               in our communities…

                                             LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:             May our God who is all love
                               speak his Word of Mercy,
                               breath his Spirit of forgiveness,
                               and send us to be reconciliation and healing
                               for one another and for our world,
                               to bring all to everlasting life…

                                                 AMEN!

PRIEST:  On this Octave Day of Easter we hear in the Gospel a story of doubt that becomes magnificent faith;  a story of wounds that breath peace and healing;  a story of frightened empty disciples 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 communities.  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 and Risen One
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 and healing  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 and all creation to everlasting life…
                                              AMEN!

PRIEST: Today we rejoice:  it is ‘Laetare Sunday’ – a day to celebrate that the call to Lenten conversion is a call to a deeper joy. We hear the Gospel of the healing of the blind man at the pool of Siloam. Our deepest joy is to grow into Christ; to reflect his light onto our tragically war-torn and poverty-stricken world; to embrace His world with a love that will heal humanity’s blindness to injustice and oppression.  That today is also ‘Mothering Sunday’ gives us added reason to rejoice as we thank God for the gift of the mothers who have given us life and love. But let us not forget the millions of mothers and children fleeing the bombing and missiles in Ukraine and in other theatres of war. Today we need to ask ourselves – What and who are we blind to? Let us ask forgiveness for so many refusals to recognise the presence of God in ourselves and in every human person…

READER:     When we refuse to see the evil of war
                           when we will not see the suffering or joy of those around us;
when we have closed our eyes and hearts to another’s need
                            for friendship and caring …

                                            LORD HAVE MERCY …

For ignoring the injustices in our world or in our own hearts;
when we take for granted the love of our mothers and families
and fail to give thanks –
                           when we do not tell those to whom we are close that we love them …

                                            CHRIST HAVE MERCY …

When we will not see and trust in God’s deep love for us;
When we will not recognise the dignity of each human person
                            when pain or crisis makes us blind to the God who holds us,
to friends who care for us …

                                            LORD HAVE MERCY …

PRIEST:      May the God of joy set us free with loving mercy;
                         may Jesus our brother heal us of wilful blindness to love;
                        may the Holy Spirit wash us clean in the pool of God’s compassion and forgiveness;
                        and bring us all to everlasting life…

                                            AMEN!

PRIEST:     In today’s celebration, 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. We also have the joy of welcoming and anointing our Catechumen preparing for baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, the Sacraments we need so that we may be fully alive in Christ! But Transfiguration is only complete 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. Transfiguration means healing our planet, challenging modern slavery and raising up the poor. Such a transformation will demand we truly listen to Him – God’s Word made flesh – and act! Like Abraham did when God called him to leave his security and risk a new future. What will we risk for God? Let us now turn in confidence to God that he may be merciful to us.

READER:       For the times when God challenges us to profound faith
                            as he challenged Abraham,
                           and we refuse to follow him, to obey him, to trust him

                                          LORD HAVE MERCY …

For the times when the demands of our faith seem too much
                            and we avoid the hardships of deeper commitment;
for the times we do not trust that God is on our side,
full of mercy towards us

                                          CHRIST HAVE MERCY …

For the times we have not reverenced
                          or believed in ourselves or each other,
                          and we have failed to transfigure our world
                          in the power of His love within us

                                          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!

PRIEST:      We have begun our journey of these 40 days of Lent – like Jesus we enter into the desert to face the demons of our own hearts – demons of selfishness and of comfort,  demons of greed and exploitation, demons of ambition and power.  Whatever our demons are, Lent is the appointed time, the season of grace, to confront and defeat them in the power of Jesus’ love. Today also, we rejoice to celebrate with our children another step on their Journey of Faith – as they prepare to embrace the mercy and unconditional love of our Father, given them through Christ in His Church in judi online terpercaya the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They and their families have begun the journey, deepening their experience of forgiveness in the home. They come to us seeking our help in this journey of preparation and growth towards the healing love of Jesus.  Let us enter upon the sacred and life-giving task…

READER:        Stones to Bread! The temptation to be popular with the crowd
                             rather faithful to His Father:
                             when we conform to others’ wisdom and prejudices
                             rather than live by the challenging values of the Gospel

                                              LORD HAVE MERCY…

The spectacular leap from the Temple –
                             the Temptation to take the quick and easy road to success,
                             rather than the hard road to the Cross:
                             when we opt for our own comfort,
                             when we do not want to be disturbed or to disturb

                                              CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

Gain all the world and its power and riches!
                             The Temptation to use His power for his own gain,
rather than to enrich others with life:
                             when we use our power to hurt others, to feed our greed,
to exploit and abuse our Earth and its poor,
                             or to satisfy our own desires, rather than to serve others

                                              LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:       May the God who calls us to the desert of his love – embrace us with mercy;
                         may the Redeemer who walks our path of temptation forgive us
                                        and heal our sin;
                         may the Spirit change our hearts and give us the joy of repentance;
                        and bring us and the world to everlasting life

                                                AMEN!

PRIEST: As we gather to celebrate today’s Eucharist, Jesus reveals the essence of God’s love – to forgive without limit! So He challenges us to be a people of reconciliation, a community of peacemakers, to live in God’s endless and unconditional forgiveness.  Called to refuse to allow bitterness to arise from our wounds,  we seek to understand a God who is at once strong in demanding justice and gentle in forgiving!  And God is foolish enough to expect us to share the strength of his struggle and the gentleness of his forgiveness.  How often we fail!

READER:            When we judge rather than seek to understand,
                                  condemn rather than forgive

                                                    LORD HAVE MERCY…

                                   When we close our hearts to those who have hurt us,
                                  loving only those who love us;
                                  when we close our minds and hearts to the challenge
to be peacemakers and reconcilers

                                                    CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

                                   When we are only too ready to seek and expect forgiveness,
but slow to offer that same forgiveness;
quick to expect support with our problems,
                                    and slow to reach out to others in theirs

                                                    LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:      May the God of all mercy give us a new heart  of compassion,
clothe us in forgiveness
                         and send us to our world as bearers of his reconciling love,
                         bringing us all to everlasting life…

                                                   AMEN!

PRIEST: We gather to celebrate the World Day of the Sick associated with yesterday’s Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.  The Gospel speaks to us of a Jesus who overflows with healing and life for the broken and the outcasts. Mary as the servant of God’s healing in Lourdes challenges us to work for that equality and justice that will bring health-care and hope to the poorest of the earth. Our mission is to witness to the Gospel of Life and the tenderness of God especially for the excluded, wounded and vulnerable of our world. Do we seek to be signs of hope and healing?

READER:       For the ways our words have wounded,  not healed;
                            our hearts have hardened against another,
                             not opened in caring and compassion, offering hope

                                                LORD HAVE MERCY…

For the ways we have not valued and supported
those whose work is medicine, research or caring;
when we could have shared the burden and did not

                                                CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

For the times we have been too preoccupied with self
                               to reach out and listen to another’s pain;
                               slow to respect every person, not bearers of the Gospel of Life

                                                LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:    O God of love without limit,
                       make us compassionate as you are compassionate;
                       Jesus,  come to bring us Life in all fullness
                       makes us whole and holy;
                       Holy Spirit, breath of love and great Comforter,
                       bind us together in unbreakable bonds of a love that give hope
                       and so bring us all to everlasting life…

                                                 AMEN!

PRIEST:    As we come to this last Sunday of our Liturgical Year, we celebrate Jesus Christ, King of all Creation. We celebrate the One who came with a dream for the world, for the Universe – a dream of creation alive with divine love, drawn together in the deepest Unity in Christ. We celebrate our Shepherd-King who identifies Himself with the poor and excluded of our world and who laid down His life on the Cross to make this Dream a reality. On this great Feast, which is also National Youth Sunday, we rejoice in the gift of  our young people who are called to make the Dream of God a reality for the world. So we ask ourselves:  does Jesus reign in our hearts and in our lives? Do we share His Dream with our young people and draw them joyfully to serve His Kingdom? Does the quality of our loving reveal the Servant and Shepherd King to our wounded world? Do we serve each other and our suffering planet in the name of our King?

READER:            Father, your Spirit prays within us ‘Your Kingdom Come…’,
                                  When we do not seek and serve first the Coming of Your Kingdom
A Kingdom Justice, Love and Peace

                                                       LORD HAVE MERCY…

                                   Jesus, our Servant-King, from your heart flowed living water,
                                    well-spring of our love and healing for our wounds:
                                    wash us clean of our compromises,
                                    that we may live your Gospel and build your Kingdom…

                                                       CHRIST HAVE MERCY…

                                       Holy Spirit, come and refresh our wearied hearts and tired bodies,
                                       that we may once more live the challenge of the Kingdom,
becoming each day your New Creation
listening always to the cry of the Earth, the cries of the Poor,…

                                                       LORD HAVE MERCY…

PRIEST:        Lord God, Trinity of Love and source of Life,
                         touch us with the mercy of Your Kingdom,
                         work in our hearts, renewing our lives,
                         and lead us in the ways of the Beatitudes:
                         heal our blindness that we may see,
                         cleanse our hearts that we may love,
                         and renew our dedication
                         that we may work for the coming of Your Kingdom upon the earth
                         bringing us and all the world to everlasting life…

                                                         AMEN!