Greeting
The patience of God our Father, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and the strength of the Holy Spirit be always with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A. There Must Be Time To Heal
We all wish to see a world without evil, a Church without
faults. To see that the real Church and the real world are not sinless and not
perfect makes us impatient. Jesus reminds us today: be patient, for God is
patient with the Church and with the world, and also with us. Let’s not forget
this. He gives us the time to change. Let us ask Jesus in this Eucharist that
we may begin the change of the world and of the Church with the change of
ourselves.
B. Patience With The Weeds
You feel happily surprised when after a mistake or an
offense on your part the person you have hurt is patient with you and gives you
new chances. That is God’s way with us. He keeps believing in us. That is also
the way God wants us to treat one another. Like him, we should be fully aware
that people are neither entirely good nor completely bad, and that therefore we
should be patient, forgiving, trusting and give time to heal. Let us thank our
Lord for his patience and ask him to make us a bit like himself.
Penitential Act
We now ask the Lord to forgive us that we have not
used the chances he gave us to be and to do better. (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, give us the courage to change what can be
changed. Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ give us the patience to accept what cannot yet
be changed. Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, give us the wisdom of your own kind patience. Lord,
have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us the evil we have
done. Make us patient with ourselves and others and lead us to everlasting
life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to our loving God who is patient and full of
compassion (PAUSE)
Merciful and patient God, you let your sun rise on both bad
and good and let the rain fall on the just and the wicked alike. Thank you for
your patience and your confidence. Change our hearts, give us the time to grow
and mature as disciples of Jesus your Son, and dispose us to accept everyone with
your own untiring love and trust. Make this the way your kingdom grows among
us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word First Reading Introduction: God Is
Patient
God’s power does not crush or oppress, not even the sinner.
He shows his strength by his patience and mercy. As he gives us time to change
and be converted, we must be tolerant with one another.
Second Reading Introduction: The Holy Spirit Helps
Us In Our Weakness
Our Christian living is imperfect, but God knows what is in
our hearts; he will give us the Holy Spirit to pray in us and give us strength
and hope.
Gospel Introduction: Leave It To God To Separate The
Good From The Bad
The parable of the wheat and the weeds illustrates how God
is patient with an imperfect Church and weak people. Not all in the Church are
seeking God’s kingdom. But God gives us the opportunity to be converted and to
grow.
General Intercessions
We do not know how to pray properly. Let the Holy Spirit
express our plea for the good of the Church and of everyone. Let us say:
R/ Lord, keep us in your love.
• We do not know how to be patient
properly. That the Holy Spirit keep us from judging harshly people who have
done wrong, even those who have hurt us, let us pray: R/ Lord, keep us in your
love.
• We do not know how to forgive properly.
That the Holy Spirit may give us the strength to take the first step in seeking
reconciliation, let us pray: R/ Lord, keep us in your love.
• We do not know how to hope properly. May
the Holy Spirit fill us with confidence in the future of the Church and of our
country, let us pray: R/ Lord, keep us in your love.
• We do not know how to bring justice properly.
Let the Holy Spirit make us aware of the rights of people and dispose us to
give all their due and more, let us pray: R/ Lord, keep us in your love.
• We do not know how to love properly.
That the Holy Spirit give to our communities a sense of unity, acceptance and
belonging, let us pray: R/ Lord, keep us in your love.
Father, let your Holy Spirit prepare us in joy for the day
when you will harvest the seeds you have sown among us, through Jesus Christ
our Lord. R/ Amen..
Prayer Over the Gifts
Lord our God, merciful Father, your Son Jesus Christ invites
to his table the weak with the strong, the proud with the humble. By
encountering him, may the weak become stronger and the good better, and may all
of us become mild, forgiving and tolerant with each other, as you have been
patient with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Through Jesus and with him we offer this Eucharist to our
patient and loving Father and we thank him for his mercy.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit
helps us to pray well to our Father in heaven in the words of Jesus
himself.
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil, most of all from sin, the
greatest of all evils. Keep us free from judging and condemning, for who are we
to pass judgment on others since we ourselves have to ask you to be patient and
lenient with us. Help us to accept and appreciate each other and to prepare
together in joy and hope the full coming among us of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord, who sows in our hearts the good seed
of his message. He himself is the message: let us receive him well and listen
to him.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, you reveal your strength by being lenient with
the weak. We have received your Son Jesus Christ in this Eucharistic
celebration. Fill us with the power of his Spirit, that we may encourage rather
than condemn, be constructive rather than hostile, accept one another rather
than reject, work together rather than criticize. In this way may we become
more your people among whom Jesus lives, our Lord for ever and ever. R/
Amen.
Blessing
We have heard Jesus, the Word of God, and listened to him. The Lord now entrusts to you his Word and his body. Go now, speak his Word and be his body to the world. That you may be a blessing to all, may the Lord bless you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen. Go in the peace of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.