HELP PEOPLE… HELP THEMSELVES
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: Jesus teaches us to reach out with compassion to people in need and then to go away so that others learn to rely on themselves and their strengths and resources. We pray that we may learn to be compassionate like Jesus.
Penitential Rite
L: We have not always been compassionate and loving. We ask the Lord to forgive us for those moments.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you had compassion on the people and healed them:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you had compassion on the people and fed them:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you had compassion on the people and so you withdrew to the mountain alone:
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: O God,
you open wide your hand,
giving us food in due season.
Out of your never-failing abundance,
satisfy the hungers of body and soul
and lead all peoples of the earth
to the feast of the world to come.
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 2 Kings 4:42-44
Psalm Psalm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
Response The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Reading 2 Ephesians 4:1-6
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has risen in our midst.
God has visited his people.
Gospel John 6:1-15
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are one of the crowd that followed Jesus. Why are you following him? You witness “the sign he had done”: feeding the multitude with “five barley loaves and two fish”. What are you thoughts and feelings after you witness this sign and when you see that Jesus “withdrew again to the mountain alone”?
Sunday Snippets
We have many and conflicting requests for help. For instance, we are working on a critical task and someone needs help. You return after a hard day at work and your child has a project/ needs a drop/ wants something bought/ is unwell.
Jesus experienced something similar.
Today’s gospel opens with him going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He withdrew after John’s beheading to avoid danger or to grieve over his loss. He cannot be by himself: the crowds follow him; he is faced with an unexpected demand, an intrusion on his privacy.
We usually counter such situations in one of two ways. One: ignore these calls because these conflict with my plans/ needs. Two (if I’m someone who cannot say “no”): always put aside my plans and respond even when I cannot and/ or do not want to respond. Neither response is appropriate; neither is the one that Jesus made.
Jesus had compassion on the people and satisfied their hunger. But it is important to recall two points.
First, Jesus did not wave a magic wand to produce food. He asked the disciples to provide food for the crowds and worked with the “five barley loaves and two fish” which they gave him. He drew on their resources!
Second, he “withdrew again to the mountain alone” because he did not want to make the people dependent.
Sometimes compassion is helping people by giving them resources and oneself. More often, compassion is helping people find their own resources and themselves.
An anecdote to end! A girl was watching chicks hatch. A dozen chicks were huddled under the mother hen; one egg was unhatched. She could see a little yellow body pulsing and struggling through the cracks in the shell. The kid picked up the egg and peeled the shell. The chick gasped and stopped breathing.
The little girl ran to her mum with tears in her eyes and told her what had happened. Her mum explained that each chick must struggle to break through its shell; it becomes strong through that struggle. She concluded: “There are some things that you cannot do for others; they have to do these themselves.”
Will I, sometimes, reach out to meet people’s needs, and at other moments “withdraw” so that they become independent? Will I discern when to help people and when to help them help themselves?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: Both Elisha and the man from Baal-shalishah had faith that a miracle would happen. Do I consider miracles only “something that breaks the laws of nature”? Can I recognize some everyday miracles in my life?
Reading 2: Paul reminds the brothers and sisters to “preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.” What do I do to preserve unity when it seems that such unity is going away?
Gospel: What do I think God is more likely to do: miraculously drop food where it is needed, or inspire people to help their neighbours solve their problems? If the latter, how can I help in my neighbourhood, parish, city?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Let us pray to God, from whom all good things come, that all may have in abundance what they need to live as his sons and daughters: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may be open to God’s generous love and be filled with gratitude for the ways God has provided for us, we pray…
R: For agencies of international aid, for the United Nations, and governments: that they may use all human potential and all the resources of science and nature to feed the hungry and to develop the earth, we pray…
R: For all who endure hunger each day, particularly orphans, refugees, and the marginalized: that God may open avenues for food to reach them and help our hearts to be more sensitive to their needs and more aware of our abundance, we pray…
R: For all who bring food to our table each day: that God may bless abundantly those who farm, transport, stock the shelves, and cook the food we eat and provide for them and their families, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may be open to opportunities to meet the needs of others and to generously respond to them even if our gifts or time seem too limited, we pray…
L: Lord our God, make us open and receptive to all your gifts and available to the needs of all people. 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,
the large crowd was coming to you:
hungry for your word and to get some food.
There was a boy
with five loaves and two fish.
They ate
more than their fill,
and so much was left over.
Lord,
in your mysterious and plentiful power,
you use what we have.
Lord,
take the gifts of my life,
bless them, grow them, make them holy.
Let me use them
to care for the needy in this world.
But let me also learn from you
to know when to withdraw
and let people care for themselves
lest I make them dependent on me.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Generous Lord,
we give you thanks
for giving us Jesus, your Son.
Give us the will and the creativity
to bring to a hungry world food
and a fair share in the riches of the earth.
Help us also to break
the bread of dignity and hope for all.
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:
