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Presider’s Page for 4 October (Ordinary Time 27)

Songs at Mass (Suggestions)
‘Praise to the Holiest’; ‘Holy God We Praise Thy Name’; Prayer of St Francis.
Opening Comment
There are reassuring sentiments for us in God’s Word, with Paul reminding us that there is no need for us to worry. If there is anything we need, we can pray for it and God’s peace will be ours.
• Today is ‘Day for Life’ in Ireland, with the theme: “Choose Life”.
Penitential Rite
Confident in this divine care, we remember our sins in the light of God’s mercy (pause):
Lord Jesus, you have shown us the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you have given us the consolation of the truth: Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, leading us into everlasting life: Lord, have mercy.
Opening Prayer (Alternative, from 1998 ICEL Missal)
Yours, O God, is the vineyard and its harvest,
yours the kingdom of justice and peace.
You call your people to tend its growth.
Bless the work entrusted to our hands,
that we may offer you
an abundance of just works,
a rich harvest of peace.
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
Isaiah 5:1-7 — In the form of a poem, God tells all he has done for his people, and shows sadness and anger at what he got in return.
Philippians 4:6-9 — Peace is promised for all who ask God’s help.
Matthew 21:33-43 — The sadness of the first reading is reflected in the Gospel: this time there is disappointment at how God’s son is treated.
BIDDING PRAYERS
Introduction (by the Presider) Let us bring our prayers into the presence of the Lord of hosts, who promises peace to those who pray.

  1. For all the members of the Church — that we may be thankful for the gift of life (pause and pray quietly). Lord, hear us.
  2. For Pope Francis and all the bishops — that they may teach us to value God’s gifts (pause and pray quietly). Lord, hear us.
  3. For people who worry — that the peace of God may fill them (pause and pray quietly). Lord, hear us.
  4. For Leaving Cert students waiting for results — that they may have justice (pause and pray quietly). Lord, hear us.
  5. For children receiving First Communion and Confirmation (pause and pray quietly). Lord, hear us.
  6. For all who suffer because of COVID-19 — that God may be close to them (pause and pray quietly). Lord, hear us.

The presider prays for the dead: For those who have died (especially N and N), that eternal peace and comfort may be theirs (pause and pray quietly).
[We remember also the children whose lives have been lost by abortion in Ireland, praying that we, as a nation, may always treasure the gift of life.] Lord, hear us.
Conclusion (by the Presider) God of hosts, you turn your face to your people: let your grace fill us according to our needs, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord God,
accept the sacrifice
which we celebrate at your command
and offer as a sign of our faithful service.
Through its power accomplish within us
the holy work of your redemption.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
PREFACE (Sundays in Ordinary Time VIII)
It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
When sin had scattered your children afar,
you chose to gather them back to yourself
through the blood of your Son and the power of the Spirit.
Thus a people made one by the oneness of the Trinity
shines forth as your Church,
the body of Christ and the temple of the Spirit,
to the praise of your manifold wisdom.
And so we join the multitude of angels
in their joyful chorus of praise: Holy, holy, holy…
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER III
Lord, you are holy indeed,
and all creation rightly gives you praise.
All life, all holiness comes from you
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
by the working of the Holy Spirit.
From age to age you gather a people to yourself,
so that from the rising of the sun to its setting
a pure offering may be made
to the glory of your name.
And so, Lord God, we humbly pray:
by the power of your Spirit sanctify these gifts
we have brought before you,
that they may become the body + and blood
of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
at whose command we celebrate this eucharist.
On the night he was handed over to death,
he took bread and gave you thanks and praise;
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.
When supper was ended, he took the cup;
again he gave you thanks and praise,
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…..
Calling to mind, Lord God
the death your Son endured for our salvation,
his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven,
and eagerly awaiting the day of his return,
we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.
Look with favour on your Church’s offering
and see the Victim by whose sacrifice
you were pleased to reconcile us to yourself.
Grant that we who are nourished by the body and blood of your Son
may be filled with his Holy Spirit
and become one body, one spirit in Christ.
Let him make us an everlasting gift to you,
that we may share in the inheritance of your saints,
with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,
with the apostles, the martyrs,
[Saint Francis of Assisi], and all your saints,
on whose constant intercession we rely for help.
Lord, may this sacrifice
which has made our peace with you
advance the peace and salvation of all the world.
Strengthen in faith and love your pilgrim Church on earth:
your servant Pope Francis, our Bishop N.,
all bishops, priests, and deacons,
all ministers of your Church,
and the entire people your Son has gained for you.
Merciful Father,
hear the prayers of the family you have gathered here before you,
and unite to yourself all your children
now scattered over the face of the earth.
Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters
and all who have left this world in your friendship.
We hope to enjoy with them your everlasting glory,
through Christ our Lord,
through whom you give the world everything that is good.
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,
may the bread we have broken
and the cup we have tasted
fill us with life and gladness
and transform us into the Christ we have received,
for he lives and reigns for ever and ever.
SOLEMN BLESSING (Ordinary Time II, drawing on Philippians 4:7)
Bow your heads for God’s blessing.
May the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God
and of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Amen.

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The pope said the enormous amount of work and demands being made on pastoral workers “make us run the risk of becoming frightened and withdrawing in on ourselves out of fear and self-defense.”

“And out of that springs the temptation of self-sufficiency and clericalism, that codifying the faith into rules and instructions, which the scribes, Pharisees and doctors of the law did during the time of Jesus. We will have everything exact and everything just-so, but the faithful and those who are seeking will continue to be hungry and thirsty for God,” Pope Francis explained.
If pastoral ministry uses the same approach the scribes and Pharisees took, “never, never will we be witnesses of being close” to people like Jesus was, he said.

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