Our Sunday Supplication

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Eighteenth 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

R You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat;
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.

V As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when you call your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. R

V The myst’ry of your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. R

V You give yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in your name
In truth and charity. R

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: Draw near to your servants, O Lord,
and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness,
that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide,
you may restore what you have created
and keep safe what you have restored.
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 55:1-3)

Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.

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

Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18)

Reader: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Together: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reader: The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
Together: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reader: The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Together: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reader: The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
Together: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

Brothers and sisters: What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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

Gospel Verse (cf. Matthew 4:4b)

Reader: One does not live on bread alone,
Together: but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 14:13-21)

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

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

For Reflection:

1. In the First Reading from the Book of Isaiah, an important question is asked: “Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?” Reflect upon the many ways you spend your time or use your treasure and talents. What do your habits reveal about your desires? Are you satisfied? Why or why not?
2. In the Second Reading, St. Paul proclaims that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Are there any fears or anxieties that are weighing heavily upon your heart? What steps can you take to begin to find relief from these burdens?
3. After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus sought refuge and retreat. And yet, when the crowds followed him, “his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick” and miraculously fed the crowd of five thousand. As a Eucharistic people, we are called to imitate Christ as members of his Body. Who in your life – whether individuals or groups of people – may God be calling you to reach out to in love and compassion? How might God be calling you to serve others in the name of Christ this week?

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.