Our Sunday Supplication

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Twenty-Second 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 breathe on me, O Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the things you love
And do what you would do.

O breath on me, O Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure;
Until my will is one with yours,
To do and to endure.

O breathe on me, O Breath of God,
My will to yours incline,
Until this selfish part of me
Glows with your fire divine.

O breathe on me, O Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with you the perfect life
Of your eternity.

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: God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,
you may nurture in us what is good
and, by your watchful care,
keep safe what you have nurtured.
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 Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:7–9)

You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message; the word of the LORD has brought me derision and reproach all the day.

I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.

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

Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 63:2, 3–4, 5–6, 8–9)

Reader: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Together: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reader: O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
Together: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reader: Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
Together: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reader: Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
Together: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reader: You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Together: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 12:1–2)

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

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

Gospel Verse (Matthew 11:29)

Reader: Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord,
Together: and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 11:25-30)

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

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

For Reflection:

As Christian disciples, we are called to be all in – to embrace suffering and the cross. However, like Peter, we may be tempted to think “not as God does, but as human beings do.”

1. • What areas of your life have you surrendered completely to God? What crosses have you accepted and embraced on your path of discipleship?
2. • Are there any areas of your life, big or small, that are guided more by the values of the world than by the Gospel and the teachings of the Church? What is God calling you to do in these areas in order to share more fully in His life?

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.