Phil
- Jun 20, 2021
- 7 min read

SPIRITUAL MASS O12b

Spiritual Mass for The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.

✠ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Asking forgiveness

Lord God of all Creation we come to you from our storm-tossed lives

to seek your peace; we come to you with our questions and

uncertainties, our worries and anxieties.

In all situations, God is with us; we have nothing to fear,

no matter what. When our trust in God has been lacking,

let us confess our sins.

You were sent to heal the contrite of heart:

Lord, have mercy.

You came to call sinners:

Christ, have mercy.

You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us:

Lord, have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us,

✠ forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

The Collect: Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name,

for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm

on the foundation of your love.

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 - Job 38:1. 8-11

From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer.

He said: Who pent up the sea behind closed doors

when it leapt tumultuous out of the womb,

then I wrapped it in a robe of mist

and made black clouds its swaddling bands;

when I marked the bounds it was not to cross

and made it fast with a bolted gate?

Come thus far, I said, and no farther:

here your proud waves shall break.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 91 (92)

Some sailed to the sea in ships

to trade on the mighty waters.

These men have seen the Lord’s deeds,

the wonders he does in the deep.

O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.

For he spoke; he summoned the gale,

tossing the waves of the sea up to heaven

and back into the deep;

their soul melted away in their distress.

O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

and he rescued them from their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper:

all the waves of the sea were hushed.

O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.

They rejoiced because of the calm

and he led them to the haven they desired.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,

the wonders he does for men.

O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark, chapter 4, verses 35 to 41

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples,

“Let us cross over to the other side.”

And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was,

in the boat; and there were other boats with him.

Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking

into the boat so that it was almost swamped.

But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep.

They woke him and said to him, “Master, do you not care?

We are going down!” And he woke up

and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,

“Quiet now! Be calm!”

And the wind dropped, and all was calm again.

Then he said to them, “Why are you frightened?

How is it that you have no faith?”

They were filled with awe and said to one another,

“Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.”

The Homily - ALL AT SEA

Jesus was a carpenter by trade;

he may well have helped to build boats,

but it was the disciples who were the fishermen,

who understood the tides,

who understood navigation,

and who knew the unnavigable waters to avoid,

who anticipated the storms and could discern

when it was or wasn’t safe to venture on to the waters.

The Disciples knew how to catch fish.

Jesus might have been “only a carpenter”,

but He had a way with words,

and He knew how to catch people, to grab an audience,

a large crowd it was that day.

It was beginning to get dark.

People weren’t in a hurry to go home,

but Jesus was clearly exhausted,

so He suggested getting into the boat,

“Let us cross over to the other side.”

The fishermen felt that it was safe to go, so they did;

they took Jesus on board,

and (not surprisingly) it took Him only minutes

to drop off into a deep sleep.

The Disciples were suddenly out of their depth;

in spite of their collective experience, they were desperate.

… and Jesus slept through it!

Out of helplessness, they woke Him,

even though He wasn’t a boatman, a fisheman;

they needed all hands-on-deck.

What they actually needed was divine intervention.

Perhaps He could pray for safety.

He did better than that.

This short passage from Mark chapter 4 lays out

five ways in which we can make the best of Christ’s presence,

as we allow Jesus to travel with us

in our navigation of both calm waters and storms in life.

1. The Disciples listened to Jesus and acted on His suggestion - Jesus got into the boat, and He suggested that He and the disciples should leave where they were . We should do the same thing every day, we should start the day by listening to Jesus.

2. Even Followers of Jesus Have Problems – Just because we’re followers of Jesus doesn’t mean that we won’t have storms in our lives. On the other hand, following Jesus will give you peace, even in the midst of those storms.

3. Don’t Panic if Jesus seems Silent - Even though Jesus was asleep in the boat, He was very much in control of the situation. If it seems like He has deserted you, don’t worry…He is right beside you!

4. Cry Out For Help – While it is true that the disciples panicked when the storm arose, they had enough faith to do something very productive – they asked Jesus to help them. Worry is always useless, but prayer is always effective. He WANTS you to wake him – he won’t TAKE OVER.

5. Learn To Look Back - After Jesus calmed the storm,

“they marvelled”. Look back at the many times Jesus has helped you,

it is sure to increase your faith

and help you to deal with future problems.

Steer us, Lord, in the journey of today and every day;

give us confidence and courage to face the storms of life

in the knowledge of your presence with us

and your love for us.

Help us always to focus first on love,

for you and for neighbour,

as our goal and guide.

Fr Bill Braviner

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly –

to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery;

where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

We ask you push back the horizons of our hopes,

and to push us in the future with strength, courage, hope and love.

(attributed to Sir Francis Drake; probably based upon a prayer of his)

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.

A Prayer for Peace - John Birch

We are moulded, each one of us, in the image of God, and within our souls there is a fingerprint none can erase.

We pray for those who have no regard for anyone but self, who put no value on human life.

For nations and individuals who abuse and kill. We are not called to be judge or jury, but we are called to be agents of change. Reach into the hearts and souls of those for whom we pray, and reveal to them how precious are those for whom they have no love, and how precious are they who now bring tears to the eyes of God.

A prayer for fathers

and for families

Heavenly Father,

you entrusted your Son Jesus,

the Child of Mary,

to the care of Joseph,

an earthly father.

Bless all fathers

as they care for their families.

Give them strength and wisdom,

tenderness and patience;

support them in the work they do,

protecting those who look to them,

as we look to you for love

and salvation,

through Jesus Christ

our Rock and defender.

We ask Mary to pray with us

to her Son

for peace in our lives,

for peace in our families,

for peace in our community,

for peace in our world:

Hail Mary full of Grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed are 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.

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; Merciful Father, accept our prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

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.

For the kingdom,

the power and the glory are yours

now and for ever.

The Church of which we are members is not defined by the walls of a building but by the Body of Christ of which we are members. In making our communion spiritually,

we are joining with Christians everywhere to be nourished by the one who tells us,

‘I am the Bread of Life’.