AD SENSE

Sat After Ash Wed - Liturgy

Introduction
Jesus came to call sinners. It is they who need him, not so much the just or the righteous. It is the sinners who need healing. We are among them, and so we need healing. The Pharisees considered themselves just, but there was little mercy in them; their hearts were dried-up. It is mercy that Jesus wants, not sacrifices. Jesus comes to encounter Levi-Matthew. Just a call from Jesus and Matthew leaves everything behind: his desk, his past. He is a new man, created anew by Christ. He lives now for the future. His converted heart will turn to others too, as he becomes an apostle. In this Eucharist, Jesus comes to call us and to change us; he sits at  table with us, as he did with Levi-Matthew.


Opening Prayer
Lord, our God, merciful Father,
when you call us to repentance,
you want us to turn to people
and to build up peace and justice among us all.
According to your promise,
let us become, with your strength,
lights for those in darkness,
water for those who thirst,
rebuilders of hope and happiness for all.
May we thus, become living signs
of your love and loyalty,
for you are our God for ever.

General Intercessions
–    That Christians may experience the joy of receiving forgiveness from God and from forgiving one another, we pray:
–    That people entangled in sin and who don’t know how to get out, may encounter Jesus, who came as a healer of hearts, we pray:
–    That we may all learn that it is a part of our conversion to turn to people and to bring them justice and love, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts
Merciful God,
you have sent your Son among us
to eat and drink with us sinners.
May Jesus also look at us intently
and call us to genuine repentance,
and may we be so humble as to recognize
that we are in need of conversion.
Give us the strength to follow Jesus,
who is our Lord for ever.

Prayer after Communion
Lord God, merciful Father,
your Son, Jesus Christ, has touched our hearts
and we are willing to follow him.
But we are weak and frail,
and so we pray you:
May the bread of life and the wine of strength,
which we have taken at the table of your Son,
sustain us on the road to you,
our God for ever.

Blessing
Through Jesus, God creates people anew by forgiving them. He makes an apostle out of a typical sinner, Matthew, the tax collector. As forgiven people, we help God to restore people by our goodness, by helping others. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.