Greetings
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A. Experience God with the Heart
At this celebration of the Blessed Trinity, perhaps we ask
ourselves how we can understand this one God with three faces, the Trinity. Our
human mind is too small to grasp this mystery. But the Bible, already in the
Old Testament, shows us that wisdom is not mere knowledge but the art of life,
understanding with the heart as we reflect on our experience. And that
experience tells us: God is love, and comes to us in many ways, with fatherly
and motherly concern and care, with forgiveness and life brought us by Jesus,
with courage and joy, hope and light poured out on us by the Holy Spirit. May
we grow in this experience in this Eucharist.
B. Our Relationship with God
Theologians try to deepen our understanding of God. That is
their task, and God blesses them for it. Our concern is probably much more what
God means for our Christian living. What, or better, who is God for me? What is
my relationship to God? We are constantly told that God loves us and that he
forgives us. How do I recognize this love? How do I respond to it? How does it
affect my relations with people? Let God enlighten us on this feast of the Trinity
and bring us closer to him.
Penitential Act
God generously shares his life with us.
How have we responded to his offer? Let us examine ourselves
before the Lord. (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you have made known to us a
Father who loves us more tenderly than a mother, who never
withdraws his mercy and trust. All praise through you to the
Father! Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you became one of us to
seek out what was lost and you gave up your life for us:
All praise to you for your kindness! Christ, have
mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you pour out on us the
inventive, creative, refreshing Spirit. All praise to you
for the Spirit! Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have
mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, forgive us our
sins and accept our thanks for all the goodness you let us
experience. Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let the Holy Spirit pray in our hearts to
our living and loving God (PAUSE)
Our One God, you wanted to be a communion of three persons
so that you could share your one love; you made yourself one of us in Jesus,
your Son, so that you could draw us into that love. Give us
the grace to respond to your goodness through the Spirit
poured out into our hearts. Fill us with joy and wonder for
you and inspire us to love our brothers and sisters, to
share with them, and to be one with them, because you have loved us first in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction: God's Creative Wisdom
In the Old Testament, God lets his word of wisdom speak as a
person who carries out God's plan. God's living word becomes human in Jesus
Christ: he will help people to live according to God's wise plan.
Second Reading Introduction:
The Blessed Trinity In The Life Of Christians
Jesus, God's wisdom, has brought us into the Father's world
of forgiveness and grace. The Holy Spirit of love gives us the power to love.
Our Christian life is thus rooted in the Blessed Trinity.
Gospel Introduction:
The Spirit Will Reveal To Us The Father And The Son
The Holy Spirit brings us the full, living truth about God;
that is, the Spirit helps us to live in the love of the Father and to follow
Jesus.
General Intercessions
Filled with the love of our Father, let the Holy Spirit cry
out in our hearts and say: R/ Our holy and mighty God, hear us.
- Father of all love, put in our hearts the will to seek
unity and peace for all. And so we pray:
R/ Our holy and mighty God, hear us.
- Father of all humanity, keep alive and strengthen in every
believer the hope to be near to you as you are close to us. And so we pray: R/
Our holy and mighty God, hear us.
- Our creative and saving Father, unite all Christians in
the unity of one faith and of one way of life in Jesus your Son. And so we
pray: R/ Our holy and mighty God, hear us.
- Father, friend of
people, lift up those in distress and pain; give them courage and a hope that
does not delude them. And so we pray: R/ Our holy and mighty God, hear us.
- Father whose children we are, let all Christian
communities bear witness to your faithful care, your freedom, your justice and
your joy. And so we pray: R/ Our holy and mighty God, hear us.
Loving Father, hear our prayer, for it expresses our communion
with you and with our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father, accept these gifts of bread and wine and
through your Holy Spirit change them into your creative word among us, your Son
Jesus Christ. Let our eating and drinking of his body and blood strengthen us
in the covenant of love with you and with our brothers and sisters, that we may
reflect your eternal love until we live in full communion with you, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, our God for ever and ever. R/ Amen. Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With and through Jesus we offer to the Father in heaven this
eucharist made holy by the Spirit. We now express our joy and gratitude.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
Through the Holy
Spirit of love poured out into our hearts,
let us pray to God our Father the prayer of Jesus our Lord:
R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and give to our times the
peace promised by your Son. Show yourself our generous Father and forgive us all our sins. Guide us by the strength of
your Spirit to grow as a community of love and to prepare in patient, joyful hope for the coming in
glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
R/ For the kingdom..
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord, who has
reconciled us with the Father and who guides us by his
Spirit of love. Happy are we to be invited to become one with him and to share his life as God's sons
and daughters. R/ Lord, I am not worthy... Prayer after Communion
God, our Father, our whole life is placed under the sign of you and your Son and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for committing
yourself to us. Help us to commit ourselves to our brothers and sisters in need and to be among them your sign of unity, love and hope, that we may truly live in
the name of you, Father, of Jesus, your Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and
forever. R/ Amen.
Blessing Let us go home in joy with the blessing of the Father who loves us, of the Son who brought us
forgiveness and life, and of the Spirit who lives in our hearts. R/ Amen. Let the whole of our lives
give praise to God.
R. Thanks be to God.
