Leader: Risen Jesus, we thank you for your greeting, ‘Peace be
with you’ – the Shalom of God, deep lasting peace,
peace that brings inner calm – may we share it with each other.
All: Peace be with us all.
Leader: Bound together by that peace let us pray as one.
All: Amen.
Please listen to, or join in with, the hymn:
‘Lord, your love has drawn us near’.
(Take This Moment. Tr12.)
Refrain: Lord, your love has drawn us near,
Perfect love which casts out fear,
Love has sought us, homeward brought us,
Joined us in communion here.
How can I repay the Lord, who feeds us with his word,
with bread and wine?
Sing in homage all your days, a sacrifice of praise
will be our sign.
Refrain.
He who calls us to be here, who calms us in our fear,
will guide our way;
He who gave his very life, who conquered in the strife,
will light our day.
Refrain.
Every creature that God feeds, praise him who fills your needs,
lift up your voice;
Every creature that has breath, praise him who conquered death,
and still rejoice.
Refrain.
The 1st psalm will be read as indicated.
All: Our God will give victory to the anointed one.
Reader: May God answer you in time of distress; the name of
the God of Jacob defend you! May God grant you what
is in your heart & fulfill your every plan.
All: May God answer you in time of distress.
Reader: Now I know that God has given victory to the
anointed, answering him from the holy heaven with
the strength of the victorious right hand.
All: May God answer you in time of distress.
Reader: Some are strong in chariots; some, in horses; but we
are strong in the name of our God. O God grant
victory to the king, & answer us when we call upon you.
All: May God answer you in time of distress.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son & to the Holy
Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever
shall be, world without end, Amen.
All: Our God will give victory to the anointed one.
Please sing the 2nd psalm as indicated.
Cantors: We shall sing
And praise your power.
Side 1: As monarchs of old rejoiced in your strength,
So may we exult in your help.
Side 2: As a sovereign today may trust in your faithfulness,
So do we rely on your steadfastness.
Side 1: You have given us our heart’s desire,
Even the gift of your justice & wisdom.
Side 2: You came to meet us with your godly blessings,
And placed crowns of gold on our heads.
Side 1: We asked you for life & you offer your gift:
Long days of contentment in your presence.
Side 2: You have destined even us for glory,
Clothing us with splendour & honour.
Side 1: You have promised us everlasting felicity,
And made us glad with the joy of your presence.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son
And to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be:
World without end, Amen.
All: We shall sing
And praise your power.
Reading: From Joan Chittister on Saints.
Witnesses to peace & justice, to truth and integrity, spring up everywhere. Nelson Mandella spent years in a South African jail but by his patient leadership brought a people out of apartheid. Four women church workers & six Jesuit priests, by their deaths, shone the light of the kingdom into the swamp of evil inhabited by the paramilitary enforcers of Central American dictatorships, & US foreign policy programmes. Many women have spoken out about the plight of women, in order to free their daughters & granddaughters from sexism & abuse. Such people risked their reputations, their friendships, their support, their jobs – even their very lives – in order to give voice to the voiceless, to empower the people, to halt the machines of domination. They are witnesses, part of a veritable roll call of people coming from the years soon after the Resurrection until today, who were willing to give their lives to follow Jesus.
Short pause for personal reflection.
We will sing the Magnificat as indicated.
Cantors: A fire was enkindled in my soul, I was filled with love
For the prophets & those holy people who are the friends of Christ.
Side 1: My soul glorifies the Lord;
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
Side 2: He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
Henceforward all ages will call me blessed.
Side 1: The Almighty works marvels for me,
Holy his name.
Side 2: His mercy is from age to age,
On those who fear him.
Side 1: He puts forth his arm in strength,
And scatters the proud-hearted.
Side 2: He casts the mighty from their thrones,
And raises the lowly.
Side 1: He fills the starving with good things,
Sends the rich away empty.
Side 2: He protects Israel, his servant,
Remembering his mercy –
Side 1: The mercy promised to our fathers,
To Abraham, Sarah, and their children for ever.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
World without end, Amen.
All: A fire was enkindled in my soul, I was filled with love
For the prophets & those holy people who are the friends of Christ.
Intercessions:
Reader: We thank you, God our strength, for the love you have always shown us, & we ask that those who feel unloved will come to know that love
…… pause …… with trust we pray,
All: May we help make your love known.
Reader: Keep us grateful for all the good done to us by others. May those who don’t feel that others treat them well be more aware of your care for them.
…… pause …… with trust we pray,
All: May we help make your care known.
Reader: We ask your help to become the Church that you are calling us to be: a community that listens, that trusts, that heals, that welcomes
…… pause …… with strength we pray,
All: May we find ways to be witnesses to what the Church could be.
Reader: We pray for people who have died today & for those who will die tonight. We also remember in prayer those whose anniversaries occur tomorrow, remembering especially:
Pause for people to add silently or aloud any further intentions.
Leader begins the Our Father……..
Leader: Lord God, in a wonderful way, through the folly of the cross, you taught your martyr, St Justin, the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ. Heed his prayer for us: dispel every deceiving error & ground us firmly in the faith. Through Christ our Lord,
All: Amen.
All: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, & the love of God, & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.