Greeting (see Second Reading)
As God’s beloved children,
follow Christ by loving as he loved you,
giving himself up
as a sacrifice to God.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you.
follow Christ by loving as he loved you,
giving himself up
as a sacrifice to God.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
What keeps people alive and growing and healthy? For their body, it is food and drink. Yet even for their body not only food and drink is needed but also the nourishment of love and security. What do we need to keep us going as Christians? It is our trusting faith in God. That faith is kept alive and growing in us through our close relationship with Christ. He nourishes this faith and love in us with the food and drink of his word and with the strength he brings us through the Eucharist; this is our “viaticum,” our food and drink for the road of life. It gives us the courage to stand up for what is right and good. Let the Lord Jesus give us in this Eucharist the food and drink of his word and his body.
Penitential Act
Too often we have not listened to Christ’s word
and have not eaten enough his bread of life.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you give us the food of your word
and tell us to get up and walk:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you give us the food of your body
and tell us to walk by its strength:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you give us the food of your love
and tell us to go and meet our neighbor:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and take all our sins away.
Give us yourself as our food for the road
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that Jesus’ bread of life
may sustain us on our journey
(PAUSE)
God, Father of life,
your Son Jesus is our living bread
come down from you to give life
to us and to our world.
Let him restore our strength and courage
as we journey with him through life,
and give us the will and love
to share our bread with those who need it,
for in them Jesus cries out his hunger.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Intercessions
Let us pray to Jesus Christ who said, “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never thirst.” He is bread for the road to all who seek him. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those who leave the Church because they do not like the renewal and for those who say farewell to the Church because changes are slow in coming, that they may learn to accept the human dimensions of the Church, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those who are down with discouragement, for those wounded in life, for those who seek God but cannot find him, that we may become to them the humble way to Christ, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those deserted by the people they trusted, for those struggling to remain loyal to their commitment in marriage or their mission in life, that the faithful Christ may be to them the bread of fidelity and strength, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For the poor and the handicapped, for the loners and misfits in life, that they may encounter real Christians who inspire and encourage them to believe in the love of God and people, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, when confronted with our own miseries and those of the people around us we feel small and powerless. Be to all of us the bread of strength, that our hearts may be compassionate, our love warm and deep, and our service faithful and self-effacing, for you are our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Let us pray to Jesus Christ who said, “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never thirst.” He is bread for the road to all who seek him. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those who leave the Church because they do not like the renewal and for those who say farewell to the Church because changes are slow in coming, that they may learn to accept the human dimensions of the Church, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those who are down with discouragement, for those wounded in life, for those who seek God but cannot find him, that we may become to them the humble way to Christ, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those deserted by the people they trusted, for those struggling to remain loyal to their commitment in marriage or their mission in life, that the faithful Christ may be to them the bread of fidelity and strength, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For the poor and the handicapped, for the loners and misfits in life, that they may encounter real Christians who inspire and encourage them to believe in the love of God and people, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, when confronted with our own miseries and those of the people around us we feel small and powerless. Be to all of us the bread of strength, that our hearts may be compassionate, our love warm and deep, and our service faithful and self-effacing, for you are our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you draw us to yourself through Jesus,
whom you sent to us as the bread of life.
Make us become what we are about to eat,
the living body of Christ,
united, bearing witness to him,
and bringing his life to the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With joy let us raise our hearts and voices to thank our Father for his goodness. He is the power that saves us, the strength that keeps us going, through Jesus, given us in the Eucharist.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
In the words of Jesus, God’s faithful Son,
let us pray to the Father of all
for strength and life: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord from every evil
and keep us from discouragement.
When we run out of resources
and our strength crumbles,
help us to accept our limitations
and give us the bread of strength of your Son
to keep us going in joyful hope
until the coming in glory
of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Breaking of Bread (A. Schilling)
More than for food on the table,
people ask for love
and we need understanding and acceptance.
Let us implement Jesus’ words
and break bread for one another.
He has the power to change our lives.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, our Lord,
the living bread
which has come down from heaven,
to be the life of the world.
Those who eat this bread
will live for ever.
Happy are we that the Lord invites us
to eat this bread of life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God, our Father who cares for us,
in this Eucharist you let your Son tell us:
Get up and eat and walk.
Let Jesus sustain us on our journey,
keep us from discouragement,
give us the courage to make him visible
in our words and deeds.
Let him lead us to the mountain
where you live as our God for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
The bread of life that we have eaten
commits us to one another.
If we are one with the Lord,
we must also be one with each other.
If he committed himself to us
at the cost of his life,
we must live for one another
and see to it that among us
no person is trampled underfoot.
We can carry out this assignment in life
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go with the strength of Christ
and sustain one another.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said, “take my life....” Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. Anyone reading that story (the first reading of today’s Mass) will know that it is not just a story about one man or a particular day; it is a story of dejection with life, a world-weariness that afflicts us all at times. An angel touched Elijah and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you!” Strengthened by that food he travelled for forty days and forty nights until he reached the mountain of God. This ancient story is recalled in today’s Liturgy because it reminds us of the Eucharist. The spiritual food that the commercial world gives you for the journey will not sustain you, it will not take you to the mountain of God. The world sees you as a sedentary consumer, a kind of earthworm really. It cares for your money, it cares for you not at all. In its eyes you are going nowhere.
