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Our Sunday Supplication

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Fifteenth 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 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. 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.

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

O God beyond all praising, we worship you today
And sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay;
For we can only wonder at every gift you send,
At blessings without number and mercies without end.
We lift our hearts before you and wait upon your word;
We honor and adore you, our great and mighty Lord.

The flow’r of earthly splendor in time must surely die,
Its fragile bloom surrender to you, the Lord most high;
But hidden from all nature the eternal seed is sown,
Though small in mortal stature to heaven’s garden grown.
For Christ, the man from heaven, from death has set us free,
And we through him are given the final victory!

Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring,
That we who know your favor may serve you as our King;
And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,
We’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still,
To marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways,
And make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.

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 show the light of your truth
to those who go astray,
so that they may return to the right path,
give all who for the faith they profess
are accounted Christians
the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ
and to strive after all that does it honor.
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 Isaiah (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

The Word of the Lord.
―Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14)

Reader: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Together: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

Reader: You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.
Together: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

Reader: Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
Together: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

Reader: You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.
Together: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

Reader: The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.
Together: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 8:18-23)

Brothers and sisters: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

The word of the Lord.
―Thanks be to God.

Gospel Verse

Reader: The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
Together: All who come to him will have life forever.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 13:1-23)

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
―Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

For Reflection:

  1. In what areas of your life has God’s Word taken root and flourished? Can you list or name specific beliefs, moral teachings, acts of charity, or spiritual practices that were challenging at first but are beginning to bear fruit as you have committed to making them a part of your life of discipleship?
  2. Are there any areas of your life where the soil is rocky, thorny, or well-worn by the ways of the world? How can you till the soil of your heart so that God’s Word may grow deep and lasting roots?
  3. What aspects of Christian discipleship are challenging for you? Are there any beliefs, moral teachings, acts of charity, or spiritual practices that you have struggled to accept or make a part of your life of discipleship?

Response to the Word

Leader: Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.
Response: Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.

Leader: You are seated at the right hand of the Father,
Response: have mercy on us.

Leader: Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Response: Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.

Prayer of the Faithful

Leader: Father, you sent the Holy Spirit to enlighten the hearts of men; hear us as we pray:
Response: Enlighten your people, Lord.

Leader: Blessed are you, O God, our light, you have given us a new day resplendent with your glory.
Response: Enlighten your people, Lord.

Leader: You enlightened the world through the resurrection of your Son, through your Church shed this light on all men.
Response: Enlighten your people, Lord.

Leader: You gave the disciples of your only-begotten Son the Spirit’s gift of understanding, through the same Spirit keep the Church faithful to you.
Response: Enlighten your people, Lord.

Leader: Light of nations, remember those who remain in darkness, open their eyes and let them recognize you, the only true God.
Response: Enlighten your people, Lord.

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: Enlighten your people, Lord.

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.

O God beyond All Praising & Responsorial Psalm reprinted with permission granted by OneLicense.net license #A-705112.

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC; excerpts from The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL; excerpts from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1994, ICEL; used with permission granted by the USCCB until November 22 during the COVID-19 pandemic. All rights reserved. No portion of these texts may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright

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Patrick Callahan


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Our Sunday Supplication

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