Presider’s Page for 13 September (Ordinary Time 24)
SONGS FOR TODAY’S MASS
‘Blest be the Lord’; ‘Grant to us O Lord’; ‘Love is His Word’; ‘Make me a channel of your peace’.
Opening Comment
Forgiveness is one of the great qualities of Christianity. We are challenged to forgive each other as readily as God forgives us. We celebrate God’s mercy, and ask for the grace to pass it on to those who hurt us.
Penitential Rite
Remembering that God’s mercy is the source of all forgiveness, let us call to mind our need of it (pause): Lord Jesus, you came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father… Lord Jesus, you heal the wounds of sin and division… Lord Jesus, you intercede for us with your Father….
Alternative Opening Prayer (from the 1998 ICEL Missal)
O God most high,
you are slow to anger and rich in compassion.
Keep alive in us the memory of your mercy,
that our angers may be calmed
and our resentments dispelled.
May we discover the forgiveness
promised to those who forgive
and become a people rich in mercy.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Introduction to the Scripture Readings
Ecclesiasticus 27:30 to 28:7 — Both the first reading and Gospel invite us to be merciful and forgiving to each other, as God is towards us. If we nurse anger, how can we expect compassion?
Romans 14:7-9 — Paul tells us the good news that whether alive or dead, we belong to the Lord.
Matthew 18:21-35 — The Gospel has a sting in the tail: if we fail in forgiveness, we risk being judged according to our own standards.
BIDDING PRAYERS
Introduction (by the Presider) The Lord is compassion and love, so we present our prayers with confidence:
- For forgiveness among Christians —that we may be kind to each other (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
- For an end to hatred — that we may be more tolerant (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
- For the homeless people on the streets of Ireland (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
- For everyone anxious about COVID-19 (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
- For young people trying to decide their path in life (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
- For better weather for a good harvest (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
The presider prays for the dead: For our friends who have died (N & N) that they may share in the eternal redemption won by Christ (pause to reflect and pray). Lord, hear us.
Conclusion (by the Presider) God of mercy and compassion, you heal every one of our ills: help us, we pray you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Be attentive to our prayers, O Lord,
and receive with favour these gifts of your servants,
that what each of us has offered to the glory of your name
may advance the salvation of us all.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation II, with Preface (picking up the themes in the readings)
Merciful God and Father,
it is truly right to give you thanks
through Christ our Lord
for the working of your grace in the world.
In the midst of human conflict
you turn our minds to thoughts of peace.
Your Spirit stirs our hearts,
so that enemies speak again to each other,
adversaries join hands in friendship,
and nations seek to live in harmony.
Through your healing power
the love of peace quells violence,
mercy conquers hatred,
and vengeance yields to forgiveness.
For this we praise you without end
and join with the choirs of heaven
as they sing the hymn of your glory: Holy, holy, holy…
Lord of power and might,
we bless you through Jesus Christ, your Son,
who comes in your name.
He is the word that brings salvation,
the hand you stretch out to sinners,
the way that leads to your peace.
God our Father,
when we had wandered far from you,
you called us back through your Son.
You gave him over to death,
that we might turn to you again
and find our way to one another.
We now celebrate the reconciliation
gained for us by Christ.
We ask you to sanctify these gifts
by the coming of your Spirit,
as we fulfil your Son’s + command.
Before he laid down his life for our deliverance,
he took bread in his hands and gave you thanks;
he broke the bread,
gave it to his disciples, and said:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT IT:
THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.
So too, on that last evening,
he took into his hands the cup of blessing;
he praised your mercy,
gave the cup to his disciples, and said:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT:
THIS IS THE CUP OF MY BLOOD,
THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT.
IT WILL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR ALL,
SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN.
DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
The mystery of faith…
Lord our God,
your Son has left us this pledge of his love.
We celebrate, therefore, the memorial of his death and resurrection,
offering you the very gift you have given us,
the sacrifice of perfect reconciliation.
Father most holy,
accept us together with your own beloved Son,
and, through our partaking of this banquet,
fill us with his Spirit,
who heals every wound and division.
May that Holy Spirit preserve us in unity,
together with Francis our Pope, N. our Bishop,
all the bishops and your entire people.
Make your Church throughout the world
a sign of unity and an instrument of peace.
Lord,
as you have welcomed us here to the table of your Son
in fellowship with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,
and all the saints,
so gather at the one eternal banquet
people of every race, nation, and tongue,
in that new world
where the fullness of peace will reign
through Jesus Christ the Lord.
Through him, with him, In him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father,
for ever and ever.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Almighty God,
let the power of this sacrament
take hold of us, body and soul,
that our lives may be ruled
not by our own will
but by the working of your grace within us.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People (In Time of Pandemic)
O God, protector of all who hope in you,
bless your people, keep them safe,
defend them, prepare them,
that, free from sin and safe from the enemy,
they may persevere always in your love.
Through Christ our Lord.