REVERSAL!
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:
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: There are times in our lives when we feel lifeless and listless. Sickness, pain, troubles—maybe even this summer heat—sap our energy. We want to give up.
Today’s readings give us hope that what “seems” lifeless will receive life. They assure us that while it may seem like Friday, Sunday is coming… and with it comes the Lord of Life! We pray that the Lord may breathe life into our listless lives.
Penitential Rite
L: For the moments we have remain listless and not allowed God’s reviving power to work in us, we ask the Lord for his forgiveness.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you raise the dead to life in the Spirit: Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you bring light to those in darkness: Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us: 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: Merciful God,
you showed your glory to our fallen race
by sending your Son
to confound the powers of death.
Call us forth from sin’s dark tomb.
Break the bonds which hold us,
that we may believe and proclaim Christ,
the cause of our freedom
and the source of life,
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 Ezekiel 37:12-14
Psalm Psalm 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Response With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Reading 2 Romans 8:8-11
Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.
Gospel John 11:1-45 or John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Put yourself in the stead of one of the characters of the story of the raising of Lazarus. Reflect on your thoughts and feelings. What does the Lord tell you?
Sunday Snippets
I was in Grade 5 when the school showed us a film. It was a thrill to see the shades drawn in the school library and a 16 mm projector set up facing a blank wall. After the film, a few students were hanging around; the art teacher, rather than rewind the film, showed it in reverse. We laughed at the strange images: disintegrated objects were reconstituted, buildings crumbled by earthquakes took shape, people who had been knocked cold came back to life. It was fascinating!
Today’s readings are a vivid description of God’s power to run the film of life in reverse and to revive the lifeless.
Ezekiel (first reading) tells the exiles—dead in heart and spirit—that God will open their graves, raise them, and put his life-giving spirit in them.
Paul (second reading) writes to the Romans that God’s spirit gives life to our mortal bodies.
The story of the raising of Lazarus (gospel) shows us the kind of God we have: our God
- does not intervene every time to remove pain/suffering and death;
- is with us amid our suffering; he is one with us, compassionate and empathetic;
- gives us life.
The recurring narrative today is one of fear and death. We can easily get overwhelmed and bury ourselves in a tomb of fear.
Jesus tells us what he told Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life” and asks us the same question: “Do you believe this?”
The liturgy challenges me to
- make an act of faith that God feels my pain and is one with me.
- spread the hope that God will revive our lifeless and listless world.
- be a life-giver through empathy with people who are suffering.
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: The reading from Ezekiel comes at the end of the vision of the valley of the dry bones. The people have been saying: “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
At this moment of my life, do I feel like this? Will I believe God’s promise that he will make me rise from my present situation?
Reading 2: Paul affirms that we are in the spirit. In what ways do I manifest the presence of the Spirit of God? How does the Spirit lead you when you feel “the body is dead”?
Gospel: Have I ever felt that God seemed to have disregarded me entirely in my time of need? Have I thought, like both sisters did, “If only you had been here…”? How did I handle that thought?
Compare Jesus’ statement, “Untie him and let him go,” with Moses’ statement to the Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Sisters and brothers, through the death and Resurrection of his Son, God our Father has shown his immense love for us, and so with confidence we turn to the Lord and pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that God may transform our fears into hope, selfishness into love, and deaths into new life, we pray to the Lord…
R: For leaders of nations: that they may recognize the dignity of all human life, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who are ill: that God’s healing love may relieve their pain, restore their health, and deepen their appreciation of life, we pray to the Lord…
R: For those with a terminal illness and those on death row: that they may surrender their life into God’s embrace and come to know Jesus who is the resurrection and the life, we pray to the Lord…
R: For those who are mourning the death of a loved one: that they may know Christ’s loving and sustaining presence with them in their time of loss, we pray to the Lord…
R: For ourselves: that as we share in Christ’s gift of himself, we will live the new life of the resurrection, we pray to the Lord…
L: Lord God, make us come out of our graves of sin, mediocrity, and fear. Revive us in our uncertainties and trials and make our hope contagious for others. 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
Lord,
open up our graves
and breathe your Spirit into our dry bones.
You promised
that we will come to life in you.
Lord,
you wept.
You had cried:
“Lazarus, come out of there!”
Lazarus did.
Lord,
weep with us and for us
trapped in burial cloths with our hands tied.
Your passion says:
“Untie them. Let them go free.”
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God of all consolation and compassion,
your Son comforted the grieving sisters, Martha and Mary;
your breath alone brings life
to dry bones and weary souls.
Pour out your Spirit upon us,
that we may face despair and death
with the hope of resurrection
and faith in the One
who called Lazarus forth from the grave,
and who is Lord for ever and ever.
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:
