MISSION SUNDAY
Introduction by the Celebrant
Today’s
celebration of Mission Sunday deeply concerns all of us, for mission is the
task given to all. The whole Church is mission. We want Christ to be brought to
all peoples, that all may be united with him and through him praise the Father
of all. The Church will enrich the nations by giving them Christ and his Good
News and they will enrich us with the gifts of their culture which they had
received from the Lord. Then together we can praise the Lord with one symphony
of many voices.
Penitential Act
-Lord
Jesus, you prompt us to go to the whole world and to teach all peoples how much
you love them:
-Jesus
Christ, you have made us a light to shine on all nations:
-Lord
Jesus, the Good News of the love of the Father and of your death and
resurrection is destined to be known by all:
Opening Prayer
God,
you love all nations and people, for they are your creation, your sons and
daughters.
Let
all come to know Christ and his message that they may become aware of how much
you love them and what they are called to become by growing toward the
adulthood of your Son.
May
the day come when all peoples praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer Over the Gifts
Lord our God, what riches we
discover in the various cultures and peoples of this earth! As we bring before
you these humble gifts of bread and wine we pray you that all the nations may
offer to you the treasures of their talents and lifestyle made holy by the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
Preface:
It
is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to
give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For,
when your children were scattered afar by sin, through the Blood of your Son
and the power of the Spirit, you gathered them again to yourself, that a
people, formed as one by the unity of the Trinity, made the body of Christ and
the temple of the Holy Spirit, might, to the praise of your manifold wisdom, be
manifest as the Church.
And
so, in company with the choirs of Angels, we praise you, and with joy we
proclaim:
All:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts…
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
keep us from the urge to seek positions of honor or power at the expense of
others. Help us to pay with our service the cost of peace and love, as we wait
in joyful hope for the coming among us of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For
the kingdom...
Prayer for Peace
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your
apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Make all peoples aware that
they belong together as your brothers and sisters, under the one Father of all.
May they know then that they are called to live in the peace and unity of the
kingdom of justice and peace and love where you live with us for ever and ever.
R/ Amen.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father, we have sat at the
table of Jesus your Son, we have listened to his challenging word and have
eaten his bread of life and strength. We pray you to hasten the day when people
from all nations and cultures may sit with us at the same table and be one with
us in your Son and sing together to you with our many voices one harmonious
symphony of praise. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Homily Prayer:
O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have been revealed in your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
Saint Paul says emphatically that where people accept the risen Lord Jesus, there is no more pagan or Jew, no more slave or free person, male or female, for the same Spirit is alive in all and we are all one in Christ, with one Father for all. But that day is not yet with us. Let us pray for that day and contribute to it by the way we live. May almighty God bless you all: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
PRAYER
OF THE FAITHFUL
Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, it is a human tendency to crave for power and position. The disciples of Jesus were also not free from such tendencies. Jesus corrected such attitudes when he said that a life based on service was the true sign of greatness. Jesus presented himself as the one who serves. Let us pray that we may not try to dominate and control others but humbly serve them.
Response: Lord, grant us your peace.
1.For
our Pope, bishops, priests and lay-leaders, that following the example shown by
Jesus our high priest they may be compassionate towards the weak and the
suffering under their pastoral care, we pray... R/
2.
Evangelization is an ongoing process. Let us pray that a new missionary
reawakening may take root in the Church and that the values of the Kingdom may
spread far and wide, we pray... R/
3.Christian
families should encourage priestly and religious vocations. Let us pray that
youngsters who have an inkling for priestly vocation may be identified and
supported to mature into a life of service and mission, we pray... R/
4.Priests
and religious also undergo times of trials and tribulations. Let us pray that
prayers and supplications may be offered to God by the people of God so that
the pastors of the Church may overcome difficulties and become authentic
ministers, we pray... R/
5.That Christians all over the world may become catalysts for change in a multi-cultural, ethnic and linguistic world that no discrimination based on these factors may ever be entertained by Christians, we pray... R/
(Pause to pray for local and personal needs)
Cel: God our Father, on this mission Sunday we place before you all our aspirations for a Church that is truly missionary in her approach, faith and vision. Instill a new missionary spirit in us so that empowered by the Spirit of God we may disseminate the life-giving message of the Gospel. We make this prayer…
