LOST – FOUND – FORGIVEN
INTRODUCTORY RITES
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: Today’s message is one of great joy: God is happy to forgive sinners. He welcomes them and embraces them. He never tires of forgiving us. Let us celebrate with Jesus and with one another the feast of our reconciliation with God and with one another.
Penitential Rite
L: Let us pause a while and “come to our senses”. Let us ask the Lord to forgive us and feel the embrace of his forgiving love.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you did not wait for sinners to come to you
but you went to seek them:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, it is a joy for you and for your Father in heaven
to forgive the repentant sinner:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you ask us
to be merciful as our Father is merciful:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: Undaunted you seek the lost, O God,
exultant you bring home the found.
Touch our hearts with grateful wonder
at the tenderness of your forbearing love.
Grant us delight
in the mercy that has found us
and bring all to rejoice
at the feast of forgiveness.
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.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
Psalm Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
Response I will rise and go to my father.
Reading 2 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Gospel Luke 15:1-32 or 15:1-10
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are with Jesus. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear the Pharisees and scribes complain that Jesus associates with sinners; when you hear the parables about the lost sheep, coin, and son?
Sunday Snippets
An ocean liner was headed to the middle east. Nine hundred miles out to sea, the crew sighted a sail on the horizon. As the liner drew closer, they saw that the boat had run up a distress signal; the small vessel was lost. For nearly an hour the liner circled the little boat and gave its crew its correct position. There was a great deal of interest in the proceeding among the passengers of the liner. A boy of about twelve was on the deck watching all that was happening. He remarked aloud to himself: “It’s a big ocean to be lost in.”
It is a big universe to be lost in, too. And we do get lost! We make mistakes, we break relationships with God, others, self, and creation. We deserve the wrath of God.
That is what the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ time maintained. But what we get is a search and rescue operation, and God’s caring and forgiving love!
Through the three lost-and-found parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son(s)—Jesus emphasizes that God is like shepherd who cares for all his sheep and diligently searches for one lost sheep; like a poor widow who treasures all her coins and relentlessly searches for that one lost coin; and above all, is a Father who cares for his children and yearns to have them close to him but respects their freedom and waits patiently for their return. The point of the parables is that God’s mercy comes after us, finds us, and rejoices when it finds us.
God’s forgiveness is the thrust of the other readings too. In the first reading, though Israel’s sin of worshipping a molten calf calls for God’s wrath, he relents and forgives her. In the second reading, Paul acknowledges that God has mercifully treated him who “was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant” and this mercy is an example of God’s patience.
The readings communicate the good news that no matter how lost we are, God searches for us, waits patiently and eagerly for us to “come to our senses” and return home; he delights when he finds us and forgives us. We are the object of God’s relentless and untiring search; we are the recipients of the gaze of that love which we picture on the face of the father in the parable.
Do I believe that God loves me with an immeasurable love, that I need never despair even when I am hopelessly lost?
When I am lost, will I allow God (and his search party!) to find me? Will I return home trusting in his caring and forgiving love?
May I realise that I will never fall into the “lost forever” category and that the Father never tires me.
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: What does this reading tell you about God’s mercy?
God was faithful to the covenant even though the Israelites were not. How does that relate to me?
Reading 2: Paul goes from foremost sinner to foremost preacher. How does his conversion demonstrate God’s forgiveness and mercy?
In my struggle to live in relationship with God and others am I patient with myself? Why/ why not?
Gospel: In the story of the prodigal son, we hear: “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” Was the father thinking about the son everyday and waiting for him to come home? Was the son thinking “warm bed and food” or sorrow, having hurt his father? Does the father’s forgiveness depend on the son’s repentance? Why would Jesus tell us this parable?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: My sisters and brothers, let us pray to the Lord our God who is patient with sinners and rich in mercy: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may recognize the length and depth of God’s love for us and reach out to all who have become estranged from God or the Christian community, we pray…
R: For the world: that God may turn hearts from violence and terrorism and help people to use their energy to defeat poverty and disease, we pray…
R: For all who are alienated from themselves, from others, or from God: that God’s love may break the walls of separation, warm the coldness of isolation, and lead them to a new beginning, we pray…
R: For all affected by floods, wildfires, or hurricanes: that God may give them strength, heal their wounds and fears, and speed the resources that they need to rebuild their lives, we pray…
R: For preservation of our common home: that God may guide us in purifying the air and cleaning the water so that all may live in healthy environments, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may recognize from whom we have wandered and turn towards the Good Shepherd’s outstretched arms of forgiveness, we pray…
L: God our Father, your Son came to seek and save those who are lost. Help us to accept wholeheartedly those who have failed and to celebrate together the joy of your forgiveness. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Jesus,
when you ate with sinners, tongues wagged,
and you told them about the prodigal son.
Is that what you are––prodigal son,
wasting your life on us, hungry sinners?
Or are you the prodigal father
lavishing kindness on our laggardly selves,
even if we are a long way off;
running to meet us with hugs, kisses,
and fixing of the finest calf, for a feast for us?
Prodigal Son, Prodigal Father and Prodigal Holy Spirit,
we feel awe and wonder at the love that you squander on us.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Lord God,
we thank you for the grace and love
you offer us in Jesus your Son,
which is always greater than our sins.
In gratitude for your forgiving mercy,
may we carry out with joy
the mission of reconciliation,
which you entrust to us.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
No comments:
Post a Comment