A. An Inexhaustibly Great God With joy and gratitude we celebrate today the
solemnity of the Blessed Trinity. When we think of the mystery we honor today,
the question is not so much: who is God, but, as Scripture itself puts it: who
is God for us? And the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, answers, in a
variety of ways: God is a mystery of love. God loves us. With Psalm 8 we say:
what are human beings that you spare a thought for them? Thank you, Lord, thank
you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All praise to you through Jesus!
B. Love Is God's Name On today's feast of the Blessed Trinity what can we
really say about God? If we try to define God, to say who God really is, we can
do no more than stammer and use images. We begin to understand God much more
easily if we reflect on what he has done for us and for all God's people. And
then we discover that, above all, God has loved us and keeps loving us as a
forgiving, merciful God, a Father who cares and is tender as a mother, as the
Son who became one of us and made us free at the cost of his life, as a Sprit
of love and unity and strength who keeps guiding and inspiring us and who prays
with us and in us here in this Eucharist.
Penitential Act
-Lord Jesus, face of the Father, in you we see God's
love reflected:
-Jesus Christ, peace from the Father to us, you bring
reconciliation to the whole world: Christ, have mercy. -Lord Jesus, our life and unity through the Spirit poured out on us: Lord, have mercy.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, we are too small to understand you, but
we know that you care for us and have linked our destiny to yours. Thank you
for loving us and standing by our side in our sorrows and joys. Thank you for
giving us Jesus to take away our sins and to bring us life and happiness and
trust. Thank you for letting your Spirit lead us. Warm our hearts and unite us,
dispose us to accept all your love and to respond to it by entrusting ourselves
to you with all that you have made us and given us. We ask this through Christ
our Lord. R/ Amen.
General Intercessions
Priest: God is our creator and Father, made himself visible
to us in his Son. Through his Spirit he loves us and wants to make Jesus known
and loved. Let us pray: R/ Lord our God, hear our prayer.
- Father, creator of heaven and earth, help us to
respect your creation, to develop this world and to make this earth fruitful
for the benefit of all people, we pray: R/
- Father, you have made your love of people visible in
your beloved Son Jesus Christ, one of us, human like us, and our Savior. Help
us to grow more like him and to continue on earth his task of bringing
salvation and freedom to all, we pray: R/ - Father, you pour out your life and love through your Holy Spirit in the hearts of people. Help us through him to heal what is wounded, to soften what is hard and to warm what is cold, we pray: R/
- Father, Son and Holy Spirit, let this community and your whole Church become a living sign to this world of your own community of love, we pray: R/
Priest: Lord our God, be the foundation and the meaning of
our Christian lives and lead your pilgrim people to the fullness of your life
and love in the unity of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father, we bring this bread and wine
before you as the fruits of your kindness and of our toil. Let your Holy Spirit
fill them with his power, to make your Son Jesus Christ present here among us, that
we may share in Jesus' offering and that through Christ and with him and in him
we may give you all honor and praise now and for ever . R/ Amen.
Prayer of Peace and Unity
(The sign of
peace is stressed on account of the invitation to the kiss of peace in the
second reading.) Father, you promised us your peace through
your Son Jesus Christ. Let there be peace in your Church and peace in the
world. Give peace to us, your community here. Let the sign of peace which we
are about to give to one another be expressive of unity and friendship and
commit us more deeply to live in your love as brothers and sisters in Christ
our Lord. R/ Amen. The peace of the Lord be always with you. R/ And also
with you.
Prayer to the Blessed Trinity
The following
prayer is read slowly by the leader, or by all the people if they have the
text. The celebrant concludes with the Prayer after Communion. Lord God, our
Father you are my God. Let your wisdom direct me, your grace keep me, your love
rejoice me, your truth protect me, your power guard me. Jesus Christ, God's
Son, my brother and my Savior. That you became man is my joy. I want to go your
way; your suffering be my victory, your disgrace my honor, your death my life, your
resurrection my comfort. Holy Spirit, God, you are my comfort, convert me, for
I am a sinful person. Bring me back to life, for I am dead. Awaken me, for I am
sleeping. Make me ready for eternal life. Give light to my mind, sanctify my
will, give strength to my weak powers. Be with me, live in me, stay with me, Trinity
worthy of all praise. (Caspar Neumann,
about 1700)
Prayer after Communion
God our Father, we praise and thank you through Jesus
Christ your Son whom you have given us in this Eucharist as our food and drink.
Keep us united in your Holy Spirit and let the life of each of us and of the
whole Christian community be a response of love and adoration to the love you
have shown us. Help each and all of us to be the reflection and sign to all
people of your tender and faithful love, that all may praise you for ever and
ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharist we have reflected and prayed and
especially given adoration and thanks to God for what he is:
May the God who is great, holy, mighty, so high above
our comprehension, and yet so near to us bless us with his tender love. Amen
May he bless us, that all of our lives become an act
of thanksgiving and praise. AmenMay almighty God bless you all: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
(Courtesy: Claretian Liturgy)
