SPIRITUAL COMMUNION FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 2021
✠In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Where our love of neighbour and of God
has been less than it should,
let us call to mind our sins
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, and 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.
THE COLLECT FOR THE DAY
Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions
according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
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.
FIRST READING - Jonah 3:1-5. 10
The word of the Lord was addressed to Jonah:
“Up!” he said “Go to Nineveh, the great city,
and preach to them as I told you to.”
Jonah set out and went to Nineveh
in obedience to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare:
it took three days to cross it. Jonah went on into the city,
making a day’s journey. He preached in these words,
“Only forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.”
And the people of Nineveh believed in God;
they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth,
from the greatest to the least.
God saw their efforts to renounce their evil behaviour.
And God relented:
he did not inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalm 24
Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.
Lord, make me know your ways.
Remember your mercy, Lord,
and the love you have shown from of old.
In your love remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
Lord, make me know your ways.
The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray.
He guides the humble in the right path;
he teaches his way to the poor.
Lord, make me know your ways.
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand;
repent, and believe the Good News. Alleluia!
Gospel of Mark chapter 1:14-20.
After John had been arrested,
Jesus went into Galilee.
There he proclaimed the Good News from God. “The time has come” he said “and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.” As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the Lake,
for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.”
And at once they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
HOMILY The Ordinary
There’s something very ordinary for a fisherman about washing nets.
Daily work, done with some drudgery, but knowing that it is essential
for a good catch of fish which would feed the family at this time
Jesus called his first apostles.
There is something sacred about the ordinary.
About bathing a child,
loving a spouse,
daily employment,
family time
and all that goes to make up our days.
In the middle of all this God can surprise us
and call us into his service.
Our expectation is sometimes different,
Our expectation is sometimes different -
that we need long times of prayer to find God,
or read about him,
or do big things for him.
just as the smallest things are done out of human love,
God is found in the ordinary.
We forget all too easily that one of the big lessons of the Incarnation
is that God is found in the ordinary.
You wish to see God? Look at the face of the man next to you.
You want to hear him? Listen to the cry of a baby,
the loud laughter at a party, the wind rustling in the trees.
You want to feel him? Stretch your hand out and hold someone.
Or touch the chair you are sitting on
or this piece that you are reading.
Or just quieten yourself,
become aware of the sensations in your body,
sense his almighty power at work in you
and feel how near he is to you.
Emmanuel, God-with-us."
Maybe the disciples remember in difficult times
the way they were called in their ordinary work,
and found their ongoing call to follow the Lord
in the ordinary of their lives for the rest of their lives.
God entered our world quietly, a seemingly ordinary baby
born in the most humble of circumstances.
And Jesus lived his life on earth in the same way,
meeting his disciples in the ordinary everyday of their lives.
Jesus still desires to meet us today
in this same quiet, ordinary manner,
in the midst of our everyday lives.
Peter and Andrew first encountered Jesus in the midst of an ordinary, normal day of fishing.
Jesus meets us in our daily work,
in the office, the classroom, the home.
The Samaritan woman met Jesus while drawing water at the well, a task she must have done thousands of times….
Peter’s mother-in-law encountered the Lord as she lay stricken with a deadly fever. Jesus can touch our hearts in the midst of our illnesses and everyday sufferings, both big and small.
The Lord is always knocking on the ordinary doors of our lives, but we need to be alert to hear him…
Through a little child,
through an annoying co-worker,
through a complete stranger.
Through an unexpected compliment,
through a beautiful sunset.
Nothing is too ordinary, too “normal”
through which God can reach us.
After all, how else can God reach us, if not through the ordinary? The Lord is knocking. Will we open up the door?
Donal Neary S, Anthony de Mello and PHNC
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
For greater authenticity in our lives:
that in our ordinary activities and duties,
we may manifest the values and virtues of Christian discipleship.
For Christian Unity: that God will heal the wounds
and misunderstandings of the past,
lead all the baptized to offer a more united witness to the Gospel,
and offer greater service to our suffering and vulnerable neighbours.
For all who are ill, particularly for those with the Coronavirus:
that the sick will be healed, protect the vulnerable from the virus,
strengthen healthcare workers, and make the vaccines effective.
For greater care for the earth and its resources:
that God will guide us in being good stewards of the earth
and protecting its resources for future generations
For the new Administration in the United States:
that God will inspire their understanding of the current issues
and guide them in addressing the economic, healthcare,
and safety issues of that society.
For all who have died. Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord,
and let light perpetual shine upon them.
We ask Mary to pray with us, as we with her bring our care for the situation in which we find ourselves;
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.
Almighty God, by whose grace alone we are accepted and called to your service: strengthen us by your Holy Spirit and make us worthy of our calling;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 to give you thanks
and raise to you a hymn of glory and praise,
O Lord, Father of infinite goodness.
For by the word of your Son’s Gospel
you have brought together one Church
from every people, tongue, and nation,
and, having filled her with life by the power of your Spirit,
you never cease through her to gather the whole human race into one. Manifesting the covenant of your love,
she dispenses without ceasing the blessed hope of your Kingdom
and shines bright as the sign of your faithfulness,
which in Christ Jesus our Lord you promised would last for eternity.
And so, with all the Powers of heaven,
we worship you constantly on earth, while,
with all the Church, as one voice 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.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
I come to your holy place:
I bow in adoration in your presence.
Let me be still and close to you:
quieting myself before your love.
Awaken in me your glory,
that I may rejoice in your grace.
Awaken my heart to your love,
that I may know your care.
Lord, I seek to do your will;
to meet you and serve you.
I come to you with people in my heart.
May I find everywhere is hallowed ground. David Adam
Sit for a moment in silence
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Silence
O God, whose holiness is not limited
to grand cathedrals or saintly persons,
spectacular mountains or mountain-moving leaders; plant Your holiness in this place, in us now. Grow us in our time with you, that we might flower, here where we are, with the beauty of Your holiness.
Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our minds. Give us a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that we may always and in all things act according to God’s Holy Will and may the blessing of almighty God, the Father,
and the Son, ✠ and the Holy Spirit,
come down upon us and remain with us for ever.
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.
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.
