HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM
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: God cares for us with a deep and tender love. He is particularly close to those who need him most: the weak, those who suffer, those who count for nothing. That is the love he showed us in Jesus; that is the love he invites us to have for each other: deep, tender, lasting. We pray that we may have such a compassionate and committed love.
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 your apostles and wanted them to go away to a lonely place:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you had compassion on the people for they were like sheep without a shepherd:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd leading us to everlasting life:
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: Compassionate God,
you gather your Church into one.
Safeguard the unity of your flock
through the teaching of the Shepherd,
that all your scattered children
may find in him
the guidance and nourishment they seek.
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 Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
Response The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Reading 2 Ephesians 2:13-18
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
Gospel Mark 6:30-34
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are with the Twelve in the boat going to “a deserted place” to “rest a while”. What are your thoughts and feelings when you see the “vast crowd” has arrived at that place before you?
Sunday Snippets
The oncologist walked through the parking lot with just one thought: the dire diagnosis he had handed Jim. Advanced pancreatic cancer. He noticed an elderly gentleman handing tools to someone under his stalled car. That someone was Jim! Doc yelled: “Jim, what are you doing?” Jim crawled out, dusted off his pants, and said: Doc, my cancer didn’t tell me to stop helping others.” He waved at the man to start the car. The engine roared to life. The man thanked Jim and drove off. Jim got into his car and took off as well.
His pain did not stop Jim from seeing another’s predicament and reaching out to help.
We have heard about similar stories of compassion. Perhaps we have experienced such compassion.
The greatest story of compassion is about God’s compassionate love for his people, of his constant and caring presence with his people through shepherd judges and kings.
However, as the first reading portrays, some shepherds showed no concern for the needs of their people. God’s response is swift: he will be their shepherd and raise new shepherds for them.
The model of these new shepherds is Jesus, who is filled with compassion for people. In today’s Gospel text, Jesus manifests his compassion twice.
He has compassion on his disciples, who return weary after their missionary travels, but are interrupted by the “many who were coming and going” so that “they had no time to eat”. Jesus takes them to a lonely place. But there is no “lonely place”! The people see where the boat was headed and get there first!
These are the “poor of the land” considered ignorant, labelled sinners, and treated as outcasts by the pharisees and scribes. Jesus has compassion on them. His tiredness does not stop him from seeing and responding to the people’s need. and he tends the flock by teaching them. By not sending the people away, Jesus gives his disciples a profound teaching and an illustration of the tender love of God for his people.
The Lord invites us to have this caring and compassionate love.
To whom and how am I going to be caring and compassionate in the week ahead? How do I handle “interruptions” to my moments of rest/ leisure/ work?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: What can I do about the fear people experience all over the world due to injustice? Can I do anything to remedy any of the injustice? Is there anything I can do about unfair situations in my locale? How can I be a “shepherd” to the people I encounter?
Reading 2: Are there dividing walls today that seem impenetrable? Using this reading from Ephesians as a guide, how might people resolve their differences? Or in other words break down walls that divide them? What can I do to break down divisive walls?
Gospel: What does Jesus do in this Gospel pericope that is an example of good shepherding?
How do I show compassion for the people in my life?
Do I strike a balance between action and contemplation, between work and rest? What measures do (or should) I take to avoid burn out?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Let us pray to our patient, merciful God that compassion may never disappear from our world: Make us compassionate, Lord.
R: For the Church: that she be a compassionate Church that is lenient and patient with those who err, a Church that gives them the time and the help to repent, we pray…
R: For the Pope and all bishops: that they be compassionate shepherds who imitate the Lord’s patience and mercy, we pray…
R: For leaders in governments: that they care for the needy, do away with unjust structures and bring justice to all without any discrimination, we pray…
R: For the sick and the aged, widows and orphans, the discouraged and the dying: that they feel the Lord’s compassion through compassionate people, we pray…
R: For those overwhelmed by activity: that God may help them to slow down and be aware of the gifts and blessings that are in their life each day, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we put on the garments of mercy, compassion, and generosity; bring joy to the needy; and lighten the burdens of those who suffer, we pray…
L: You are a God attentive to the needs and the happiness of people. Let your Spirit give us hearts full of compassion, like the shepherd’s heart of Jesus, your Son, who lives with you for ever.
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,
your heart was moved with pity for the vast crowd,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Putting aside your need for rest and food,
you began to teach them many things.
Lord,
the question for me
is not whether I should go without rest and food
and become a workaholic for the sake of others.
It is whether my heart is ever moved with pity
for the scattered and fear-filled sheep of my time.
Can I love them as you do?
Can I imitate God’s good shepherd?
Lord, let me care like you do.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Our loving God,
your Son Jesus has revealed you to us
as tender, warm, and compassionate.
Be near to all who are wounded in life,
care for all the little people trampled upon.
Make us care for one another
as you care for us through Jesus,
our 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:
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