Presider’s Page for 8 September (Ordinary Time 23)
God’s healing power was seen in the ministry of Jesus, and continues in the sacraments, in advances in medicine and in the work of the caring professions. Today we pray for strength, trusting that God will continue to show compassion to the whole world.
Penitential Rite
At the start of Mass, we call to mind the areas in which we need God’s healing, and praise God’s mercy as we repent….. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick: Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners: Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
Alternative Opening Prayer (from 1998 ICEL Missal)
God of power and compassion,
in Christ you reveal your will
to heal and to save.
Open our ears to your redeeming word
and move our hearts by the strength of your love,
so that our every word and work
may proclaim as Messiah
Jesus the Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Introduction to the Scripture Readings
Isaiah 35:4-7 — Isaiah promises that when the Messiah comes, the deaf will hear and the dumb will speak.
James 2:1-5 — Saint James complains of class distinction at religious services.
Mark 7:31-37 — Through Jesus’ healing ministry, the deaf hear and the dumb speak.
BIDDING PRAYERS
Introduction (by the Presider) The Lord raises up those who are bowed down, so we bring forward our prayers with confidence.
- For our church — that all may feel welcome here, without distinction (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
- For Christians — that they may work to end discrimination (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
- For people with difficulties in speech — that patient friends may encourage them (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
- For those who cannot hear well — that we may be sensitive to their needs (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
- For Pope Francis — that God may be with him in East Timor and Singapore this week (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
- For an end to the war in the Middle East and Ukraine (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
The presider prays for the dead: For our friends who have died (especially N and N), that the Lord may raise up all the faithful departed (pause for reflection). Lord, hear us.
Conclusion (by the Presider) Healing God, you pour out your love on those who cry to you for help; raise us up by your grace and support us in our needs, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer over the gifts
Lord God,
wellspring of peace and true worship,
let our offering come before you
as fitting homage to your glory,
and let our partaking of these sacred mysteries
unite our hearts in faith.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
PREFACE: Sundays in Ordinary Time I
It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through the mystery of his cross and resurrection
he freed us from the yoke of sin and death
and called us to the glory that has made us
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people set apart to proclaim your mighty works,
for you have called us out of darkness
into your own wonderful light.
And so, with angels and archangels,
with all the heavenly host,
we proclaim your glory
and join their unending chorus of praise: Holy, holy, holy…
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER II (with interpolation for Sunday mornings)
Lord, you are holy indeed,
you are the fountain of all holiness.
[In communion with the whole Church,
we have assembled on this day which you have made holy,
and, rejoicing that you have made us a new creation in your risen Son,
we pray]
Send down your Spirit upon these gifts to make them holy,
that they may become for us
the body + and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Before he was given up to death,
a death he freely accepted,
he took bread 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.
When supper was ended, he took the cup;
again he gave you thanks,
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…..
Remembering therefore his death and resurrection,
we offer you, Lord God,
this life-giving bread, this saving cup.
We thank you for counting us worthy
to stand in your presence and serve you.
We pray that all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ
may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.
Lord, remember your Church throughout the world:
perfect us in love
together with Francis our Pope and N. our Bishop,
with all bishops, priests, and deacons,
and all who minister to your people.
Remember our brothers and sisters
who have gone to their rest
in the sure hope of rising again;
bring them and all who have died in your mercy
into the light of your presence.
Have mercy on us all:
make us worthy to share eternal life,
with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,
with the apostles and with all the saints,
who have found favour with you throughout the ages;
in union with them
may we praise you and give you glory
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
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
Lord,
at the table of your word and sacrament
you nourish your faithful and give them life.
Grant that through these gifts of your Son
we may advance in holiness
and be worthy to share his life for ever.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
SONGS AT MASS (Suggestions): ‘Be Thou My Vision’; Lay Your Hands Gently Upon Us ; ‘Take and Eat’; ‘Now Thank We All Our God
When I was a child, together with my 8 other siblings, often we would forget our mother’s birthday. But towards the end of the day, 7 May, she would announce “The Lusitania was sunk today in 1915” – in that way reminding us that it was also the exact day and year of her birth in a village near Fermoy. A hurried whip-around would then be made among the 9 of us for pennies to send one of us to town (secretly) to get a card with a packet of ‘fags’ or a bag of sweets for her present.
On the afternoon of 7 May, a German U-boat torpedoed RMS Lusitania 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale on the southern coast of Ireland. Of the 1,960 passengers and crew aboard RMS Lusitania at the time of the sinking, 1,197 lost their lives including many women, mothers, infants and children. All victims of war – our own days witnessing the continuing toll of innocent lives in mindless conflicts everywhere. On one occasion, very near the place of the sinking, I was on board a newly launched bulk-carrier vessel as she underwent sea-trials before commissioning after her launch at Verolme Cork Dockyard in the 1970’s.
Although the 8th September falls on a Sunday and therefore will not be ‘liturgically’ celebrated this year let us not forget (again!) – it is our Mother’s Birthday – and we can still rejoice as we listen to how St Maximos the Confessor recalls the event in his ‘The Life Of The Virgin’ (translated with an introduction and notes by Stephen J. Shoemaker, Yale University Press, 2012):
‘The gracious and abundantly generous king looked upon the prayer of the righteous, and he sent forth the good news to both of them. First he informed Joachim while he was standing in prayer in the Temple. He heard a voice from on high that said, “You will receive a child who will be a glory not only for you but for the whole world.” He made Joachim’s good news known to the blessed Anna, but she did not cease from her prayer to God with ardent tears. The news came to her from God in the garden where she was offering prayers and supplications to God. The angel of God came to her and said, “God has heard your prayer and you will give birth to the cause of joy, and you will name her Mary, through whom the salvation of the entire world will come into being.” And with the annunciation the conception began, and from the barren Anna was born Mary the illuminator of all, for so her name Mary is translated as “illuminator.” Then the honorable parents of the blessed and holy child had great joy, and Joachim prepared a great feast, and he invited all his relatives, the learned and the unlearned, and they all glorified God, who had brought them a wonderful miracle, so that the reproach of Anna turned into the greatest glory.’
Impart to your servants, we pray, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace that the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin may bring deeper peace to those for whom the birth of her Son was the dawning of salvation.