FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT - SPIRITUAL COMMUNION.
✠In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus understands our human condition from his own experience,
and can sympathise with us in our difficulties and fears.
“He was tempted as we are, but without sin”.
Let us call to mind our thoughts, words and deeds,
and confess any which were not worthy of God….
I confess to almighty God
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
THE COLLECT FOR THE DAY
By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God,
may we walk eagerly in that same charity with which,
out of love for the world, your Son handed himself over to death.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
FIRST READING - HEBREWS 5:7-8.
During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty,
aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of
death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.
Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering;
but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him
the source of eternal salvation
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalm 50 (51)
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Whoever serves me must follow me, says the Lord;
wherever I am, my servant will be there too
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John chapter 12 (vv.20-33)
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and put this request to him, “Sir, we should like to see Jesus.”
Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.
Jesus replied to them: “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man
to be glorified. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls
on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
Now my soul is troubled.
What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour?
But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!”
A voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder;
others said, “It was an angel speaking to him.”
Jesus answered, “It was not for my sake that this voice came,
but for yours. “Now sentence is being passed on this world;
now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all men to myself.”
By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
HOMILY -Fr Frank Schuster,"Thinking about our mortality is uncomfortable........
.... I find it interesting, to discover from our Gospel reading today that Jesus wasn’t always comfortable thinking about his death either. “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? Father, save me from this hour?” Jesus answers his own question with the courageous statement, “But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour, to glorify your name”.
And in this, I believe, Jesus is giving us an insight as to how we should approach our own mortality. Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.” What does Jesus mean here? I think Jesus is simply warning us not to define life by how comfortable we can be. If we are comfortable all the time, this can become a spiritual problem. Some of the greatest moments of spiritual growth happen in times when we are not comfortable, during times of trial. We don’t learn as much about ourselves during the good times as we do with how we carry ourselves during the bad.
We began our first day of Lent with ashes, remembering that we are dust and to dust we shall return. It was a reminder of our mortality. We all know that being born into this world carries with it the guarantee that we will one day die. From a faith point of view, however, this recognition is not morbid at all. Quite the contrary, remembering our mortality invites us to live our lives to the fullest and avoid wasting the precious time we have so we can focus on what really matters in this life. The fact that our days are numbered encourages us to love and love intensely in a way we could not otherwise.
And so, for this week of Lent leading up to Palm Sunday, it may be helpful for all of us to begin meditating on how God incarnate became the grain of wheat, indeed has become food and drink for us, leading us to an eternal harvest. We are invited this week to reflect again on the words we heard on Ash Wednesday, remember you are dust and to dust you shall return. And then ask ourselves, how can I be like that grain of wheat? What are the weeds in my garden that I need to pull? How can I invest myself more into what really matters in this life? Who is that person in my life I need to stop taking for granted and love the way I am called to do? What are the ways that I can grow closer to the Lord as I make my pilgrimage to Holy Week?
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Let us pray.
From around the world we hear many children crying, O God;
crying for food and drink and someone to enfold them in loving arms.
Hear their prayers, dear Lord,
and make us instruments of your peace.
We see the desolate eyes of refugees, O God;
plodding along war devastated roads,
or looking from transit camps, and from behind barbed wire,
for glimmers of hope.
Hear their prayers, dear Lord,
and make us the instruments of your peace.
We read about the abused sisters and brothers, O God;
cringing from family violence,
or suffering in paddy-wagons and jails,
or assaulted in their own homes by strangers.
Hear their prayers, dear Lord,
and make us the instruments of your peace.
We know about the disasters that afflict others, O God;
the bodies destroyed in road accidents;
those devastated by pandemic or war,
and the minds that have cracked under pressure.
Hear their prayers, dear Lord,
and make us the instruments of your peace.
We read about your church, O God;
in some places overcrowding its buildings,
in others battling to maintain services,
or in some countries meeting secretly behind locked doors.
Hear their prayers, dear Lord,
and make us the instruments of your peace.
We hear the sobbing of the broken hearted, O God;
betrayed by spouse or lover, deserted by parents,
watching at the bed of the dying,
or following a hearse to the cemetery.
Hear their prayers, dear Lord,
and make us the instruments of your peace.
As the Blessed Virgin Mary stood by the cross
and watched her son die,
we pray for those we have loved but no longer see.
✠ Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord,
and let light perpetual shine upon them.
May they rest in peace, and rise in glory.
We ask Mary to pray with us,
as we with her bring our care
for our world in the grip of this pandemic;
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
O God, you come to us in unexpected places;
In isolation, behind closed doors;
On dusty roads, as we go from place to place;
In video chats and telephone conversations with loved ones.
You come bringing us peace, where there is no peace;
You come bringing us hope when everything seems hopeless;
You come bringing us courage when we are afraid.
Come and be among us now, in every place where we are.
Open our eyes to see you, open our hearts to know you.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us lift up our hearts.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For through the saving Passion of your Son
the whole world has received a heart
to confess the infinite power of your majesty,
since by the wondrous power of the Cross
your judgment on the world is now revealed
and the authority of Christ crucified.
And so, Lord, with all the Angels and Saints,
we, too, give you thanks, as in exultation we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
grant us peace.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
In union, blessed Jesus,
with the faithful gathered at every altar of your Church
where your blessed Body and Blood are offered this day,
and remembering particularly my own parish
and those who are worshipping there today.
I long to offer you praise and thanksgiving,
for creation and all the blessings of this life,
for the redemption won for us by your life, death, and resurrection,
for the means of grace and the hope of glory.
And particularly for the blessings given me….
I believe that you are truly present in the Holy Sacrament,
and, since I cannot at this time receive communion,
I pray you to come into my heart.
I unite myself with you
and embrace you with all my heart, my soul, and my mind.
Let nothing separate me from you;
let me serve you in this life until, by your grace,
I come to your glorious kingdom and unending peace. Amen
Sit for a moment in silence
Come Lord Jesus,
and dwell in my heart in the fullness of your strength;
be my wisdom and guide me in right pathways;
conform my life and actions to the image of your holiness;
and, in the power of your gracious might,
overrule everything that threatens or disturbs the growth of your kingdom,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,
one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Silence
ASKING GOD’S BLESSING
Bless, O Lord, your people, who long for the gift of your mercy,
and grant that what, at your prompting, they desire
they may receive by your generous gift;
and the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, ✠
and the Holy Spirit, come down upon us
and remain with us for ever. Amen.
THE ANGELUS
The angel of the Lord brought tidings unto Mary. And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
And the Word was made flesh. And dwelt amongst us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts,
that as we have known the Incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ
by the message of an angel, so by his Cross and Passion
we may be brought unto the glory of his Resurrection;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God
