RESOLVING TO LIVE AS GOD’S CHILDREN
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:
The Sign of the Cross
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: We celebrate New Year. We look back at enriching experiences and lost opportunities; we look to the future with anticipation and resolve. We celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Mary constantly heard and pondered over God’s word and lived it in her life. It is this attitude which enabled her to live out God’s plan for her.
God has a plan for each of us: we are his sons and daughters. Let us pray during this Eucharist that we may hear and ponder over his word and resolve to live as his children
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have ignored God’s word and we have not lived as his children during the past year, let us ask him to pardon us.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of Peace:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Christ Jesus, you are Son of God and Son of Mary:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you are Word made flesh and splendour of the Father:
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: Most high God,
you come near to us this Christmas season
in the child born of the Virgin Mary.
In the depths of darkness, she gave birth to light;
in the depths of silence, she brought forth the Word.
Grant that we who ponder these things in our hearts,
may live as your children
and may recognise in her child
our Lord Jesus Christ,
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 Numbers 6:22-27
Psalm Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
Response May God bless us in his mercy.
Reading 2 Galatians 4:4-7
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.
Gospel Luke 2:16-21
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are with the shepherds when they find “Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manger.” What are your thoughts and feelings when you see the holy family and when the shepherds “made known the message that had been told them about this child”?
Sunday Snippets
A video I saw recently has a four-year old say she has “problems with new year resolutions”! Ah! Doesn’t she speak for all of us?
But the wise one says resolutions are problems not because she’s “bad at them” but because “most people think that’s it… it’s the one time to change.” Resolutions are not about that “one big moment” but working through several little ones.
What could be a good new year resolution?
In the second reading, Paul recalls a fundamental truth of our faith: the incarnation has freed us and enabled us to be adopted as sons and daughters of God. A good new year resolution (and one we need to make every year) is to realize more fully this new life as children of God.
How do we do this? The gospel presents Mary as a model of this new life! Mary said “yes” to God. She did not understand the immensity and implications of that “yes” which was not restricted to that “one big moment” but involved several little (and difficult) yeses.
How did Mary live her mission? The gospel tells us after the shepherds narrated what the angels had said, “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” After the boy Jesus was found in the temple, we read again “his mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
Mary treasured the word of God and pondered it to discern his will for her at every stage in her life as his handmaid.
For us, too, life’s choices are rarely clear. We often cannot understand what God wants of us. The example of Mary shows us how to live out our calling as children of God.
Let me today resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure his word and ponder it in my heart. Then shall I be able to realize my new year resolution of a new life in union with God.
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1 : “The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.” The word peace is a translation of the word shalom, which more literally means, “every good thing in good measure.” What does this tell me about God’s love for me?
Reading 2: Why are we no longer slaves but children of God? What did God do for us that made this true? Do I live as a child of God?
Gospel: What kind of sense do I make of the messages from the shepherds and the angels? Did Mary get any final answers from Gabriel or the shepherds? Can I make sense of everything in my life? What do I mull over in my heart? What do I treasure and remember?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Sisters and brothers, with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us call upon the Lord to pour out his blessings on all God’s children and on the world, as we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may be like Mary, treasuring God’s word and deeds in our hearts and drawing wisdom from them for our daily lives, we pray to the Lord …
R: For peace and healing within nations: that leaders and all who hold public office may faithfully fill their duties and work to relieve the suffering of the poor and marginalized, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who are ill: that God may bring healing to the sick, comfort to those in isolation, strength to caregivers, and health to all of us, we pray to the Lord …
R: For all who have died during this past year: that God’s face may shine upon them and give them eternal peace in God’s presence, we pray to the Lord…
R: For our common home, the earth: that God may help us to be good stewards of creation and guide us to wisely use the natural resources for the good of all creation, we pray to the Lord…
R: For ourselves: that God may help us forgive all who have injured us; and that we may hear and treasure the Word of God, and live it in our lives as his children, we pray to the Lord…
L: Lord, let this year be for all of us a year of grace, of peace and joy, that we may face the future with hope and live in your love. Through the 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
Behold the glory of the Lord,
uprooted, homeless;
poor shepherds, a manger, a star.
Lord,
Mary pondered all these things,
tried to make some sense of their meaning,
mulled them over in her heart,
preserving, remembering, treasuring.
There were no final answers, though.
She searched for and found signs of the Spirit’s movements.
And that was enough for her.
O Lord,
make it enough for us.
Send your Spirit upon us
to enable us to live as your children.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Lord God, loving Father,
let your grace this year
be stronger than our weakness and self-will.
Keep blessing us
and enable us to live as your sons and daughters.
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:
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