Our Sunday Supplication
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Holy Mass is at the very core of our worship as a Catholic community. Nothing can ever be substituted for the celebration of the Eucharist. But in this exceptional time of difficulty for our communities, our nation, and even the whole world, this order of prayer can be offered by individuals and families and engages us in our Sunday celebration of the Word of God. We can pray this prayer in our homes—the “domestic churches” which help build up the Body of Christ on earth—and thus be connected to the entire Church at prayer.
During this time of prayer, we include the opportunity to make a Spiritual Communion, since we are presently unable to receive Holy Communion. Making a Spiritual Communion is a worthy practice, recommended by innumerable saints throughout the ages, which unites our whole selves to God and his Church. For, despite not being able to celebrate Mass together, this is certainly not a time to abandon the praise and supplication of almighty God, for he never abandons us! Now is the time to love and serve the Lord as best we can in our limited capacities.
Order of Prayer
Taken from the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours
Introduction
Leader: God, ✠ come to my assistance.
Response: Lord, make haste to help me.
Leader: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Response: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hymn
Joyful, joyful, we adore you,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before you,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day.
All your works with joy surround you,
Earth and heav’n reflect your rays,
Stars and angels sing around you,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird, and flowing fountain
Sound their praise eternally!
You are giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
God our Father, Christ our brother,
Let your light upon us shine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
Act of Contrition
Leader: Let us acknowledge our sins, and seek the Lord’s pardon and peace.
Together: I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
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,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Leader: O God, who in the abasement of your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill your faithful with holy joy,
for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin
you bestow eternal gladness.
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.
Together: Amen.
The Sunday Readings
A reading from the book of the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9-10)
Thus says the LORD: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; the warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The Word of the Lord.
―Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14)
Reader: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Together: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Reader: I will extol you, my God and king,
and bless your name forever and ever.
I will bless you day after day,
and praise your name forever and ever.
Together: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Reader: The LORD is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
How good is the LORD to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
Together: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Reader: All your works shall thank you, O LORD,
and all your faithful ones bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign,
and declare your mighty deeds.
Together: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Reader: The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and holy in all his deeds.
The LORD supports all who fall,
and raises up those who are bowed down.
Together: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 8:9, 11-13)
Brothers and sisters: You are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. Consequently, brothers and sisters, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
The word of the Lord.
―Thanks be to God.
Gospel Verse (Cf. Matthew 11:25)
Reader: Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
Together: you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 11:25-30)
At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
―Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
For Reflection:
- In today’s Psalm, we hear that “the Lord supports all who fall, and raises up those who are bowed down.” Can you recall a time in your life when you had fallen – experiencing failure, disappointment, illness, struggle, or stress? How did the Lord raise you up? Are you still waiting for divine assistance for present challenges?
- Jesus asks us to take up his yoke and “learn from me.” What burdens are you bearing right now? What is it that we must learn from Jesus in order to find rest and relief from our burdens?
- How can giving God praise – as Christ does in the Gospel and as the Psalmist does in today’s Psalm – help us to be among the “little ones” who are granted revelation of the mysteries of God’s kingdom? What can get in our way of remaining “little,” “meek,” or “humble of heart?”
Response to the Word
Leader: We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.
Response: We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.
Leader: We cry aloud how marvelous you are,
Response: as we call upon your name.
Leader: Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Response: We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.
Prayer of the Faithful
Leader: Let us give thanks to our Savior who came into this world as God’s presence
among us. Let us call upon him:
Response: Christ, King of Glory, be our light and our joy.
Leader: Lord Jesus, you are the rising Sun, the firstfruits of the future resurrection,
grant that we may not sit in the shadow of death but walk in the light of life.
Response: Christ, King of Glory, be our light and our joy.
Leader: Show us your goodness, present in every creature, that we may contemplate
your glory everywhere.
Response: Christ, King of Glory, be our light and our joy.
Leader: Do not allow us to be overcome by evil today, but grant that we may
overcome evil through the power of good.
Response: Christ, King of Glory, be our light and our joy.
Leader: You were baptized in the Jordan and anointed by the Holy Spirit, grant that
we may this day give thanks to your Holy Spirit.
Response: Christ, King of Glory, be our light and our joy.
Leader: In your mercy, continue to sanctify all who are afflicted from the present pandemic, and draw us all closer to you, and to one another, in this time of suffering.
Response: Christ, King of Glory, be our light and our joy.
The Lord's Prayer
Leader: Let us pray together as Jesus taught us:
Together: Our Father, who art in heaven …
Spiritual Communion
Leader: You have given us bread from heaven, alleluia, alleluia.
Response: Containing in itself all delight, alleluia, alleluia.
Together: My Jesus,
I believe that you are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
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,
my Lord and my God!
Amen.
Canticle of Praise
Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79)
Together: ✠ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.
Conclusion
Leader: ✠ May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Together: Amen.
