Easter 4 A - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting (See Second Reading)
By the wounds of Jesus we have been healed.
We had gone astray like sheep,
but now we have come back
to the shepherd and guardian of our souls.
May Jesus our Good Shepherd
be always with you.

Jesus, the Bread of Life- Prayer -6

As we Battle our Addictions at this time of Isolation

Lord, our God, though we have learned through your servant Augustine “our hearts are made for you and they shall not rest until they rest in you”, your created things whose only being was to serve you held us back from you and the Bread of life that your son is. Even though, Lord, you tried to break through our deafness, flash through our blindness, flavour through our taste buds, breathe through our nostrils and touch us through our bodies, we have remained cold, stubborn, insensitive and unresponsive because those things fed us in the body and gave us pleasure even as we missed your joy which was not of this world. You have made us, Lord, for happiness.

Easter 3rd Week, Saturday, May 2

Acts 9:31-42 / John 6:60-69 

Many people leave Jesus: Peter stayed with Jesus.

A popular poster shows a loaf of bread and a goblet of wine. On the poster are the words, “Jesus of Nazareth requests the honor of your presence at a dinner to be given in his honor.” The poster underscores two important points. First, the Mass is a meal to which Jesus invites us personally: “Do this in memory of me.”

Jesus, the Bread of Life- Prayer -5

This time of isolation and separation, we hunger and thirst for your abundant life

God of healing and transformation, at this time of isolation and separation, we hunger and thirst for your abundant life. We bring you our sorrow and ask for the bread of joy; we bring you our despair and ask for the bread of hope; we bring you our weariness and ask for the bread of inspiration. Meet us, Lord, here in this time and place of frustration. We need the bread of heaven to sustain us as we journey to find our way, that we may be one with you.

May 1st: Feast of St. Joseph, the Worker - Prayer

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labour, obtain for us the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above our many concerns; to work with thankfulness and joy, responsibility and commitment, considering it an honour to employ and develop, by means of labour, the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, prudence and patience, never surrendering too quickly and too long to weariness or difficulties; to work, above all, with purity of intention, and with detachment from self, having always the gift of God before our eyes and the account which we must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, O Patriarch Joseph. Such shall be our motto in life unto death.  

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus, the Bread of Life- Prayer -4

Jesus, the Bread of Life- Prayer -4

Jesus said, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.' This is the promise of God to whom we now pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to be the Bread of Life for the world.  Forgive us for elevating earthly appetites above devotion to you.  Feed us with the knowledge of Christ so that we recognize our sin and gladly repent in his name.

St . Joseph, the Worker, May 1 - Liturgy

SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH     

Patron of the Church     

Introduction     

COVID Prayer - #22

You have Transformed the Face of the Earth

Lord, our God, you have brought us into the middle of a battle: a battle fought with an almost invisible enemy – a virus; a battle fought not by soldiers but by doctors and nurses; a battle not fought by guns and tanks but by simple soaps and medicines; a battle fought not on the battlefield but in our homes and hospitals; a battle fought not as a battalion, but in isolation and self-distancing. You have taught us, Lord, discipline and contentment with little essentials in this battle. You have made us realize, Lord, that the enemy is within and not outside.

Easter 3rd Week, Thursday, Apr 30

Acts 8:26-48 / John 6:44-51 

Jesus talks about the Father: “Only the Son has seen the Father.”

A college student said to his theology professor, “I cannot believe in God any longer.” The professor stunned the student by saying, “Maybe I should congratulate you for no longer believing in God.” “What do you mean by that?” said the student. His professor replied, “Perhaps the idea of God that you have in your mind is so distorted that you should reject it.”

Jesus, the Bread of Life - Prayer -3

The Bread from Sweat, Tears and Blood

Lord, you have designed that for every drop of sweat, a seed is taken and planted, for every drop of tear, the ground is watered and the seed is germinated and for every drop of blood that is shed, the seed of conversion is produced. Wasn’t it your design, Lord, that Stephen’s blood become the seed of Saul’s conversion? Let not, Lord, no drop of sweat, no drop of tear and no drop blood of your people be shed without making your mission in this world accomplished! Without making it your Bread of Life in this hungry, thirsty and starving world.