BEAR FRUIT WITH GOD’S GRACE AND IN HIS TIME
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather together as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
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: Lent is a time for conversion and spiritual growth. The deepest reason for conversion is not the evil we see in the world and in us but God. God’s fidelity to us and his love in giving us his Son are the most profound motives to repent and to respond to his patient love by bearing fruit.
We pray that we may constantly change and bear fruit as God’s chosen and beloved.
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have put off our conversion and have not responded to God’s love and grace, we ask him to forgive us.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you had compassion on the people
because they were like sheep without a shepherd:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you had patience with your disciples when they did not understand you:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you invite us to bear fruit by abiding in you:
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.
Opening Prayer
L: God of salvation,
your name is glorified
and your mercy revealed
wherever your deeds are remembered.
Turn us from rash and shallow judgements
to seek the ways of repentance,
and to bear fruit with your grace.
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 3:1-8a, 13-15
Psalm Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11
Response The Lord is kind and merciful.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
Repent, says the Lord;
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Gospel Luke 13:1-9
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are present when people tell Jesus “about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.” What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear Jesus’ reply about the necessity of repentance and his parable about the barren fig tree?
Sunday Snippets
Somerset Maugham, in his autobiography, writes: “I knew that I had no lyrical quality, a small vocabulary, little gift of metaphor; the original and striking simile never occurred to me; poetic flights... were beyond my powers. On the other hand, I had an acute power of observation, and it seemed to me that I could see a great many things that other people missed. I could put down in clear terms what I saw... I knew that I should never write as well as I could wish, but I thought, with pains, that I could arrive at writing as well as my natural defects allowed.”
The secret to happiness/ contentment: becoming what life calls us to become (not striving to become what we cannot!).
The fig tree – of the gospel parable – was only required to produce figs... and only figs. The owner gave it soil (at a premium in Israel), time (it took three years for a fig tree to bear fruit) and nutrients; the owner expected it to yield fruit or yield up the space it was occupying. But the fig tree remained barren.
God gave Israel strategically positioned choice land, gifts, and grace to be a light to the nations. Israel remained barren, symbolised by the fig tree.
Paul (second reading) reminds the Corinthians of the failure of the Israelites to respond to grace and urges them to be more responsive.
God has a project for each of us; he gives us the gifts, aptitude, time, and help we need to accomplish this project. We need to use these to become what we are called to become and to bear “fruit” before God calls time!
To what is God calling me? What are the gifts and aptitude he has given me? Am I on the way to realising his project/plan for me or am I like the fig tree of the gospel?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: God told Moses he was standing on holy ground. What is “holy ground” and what is the “burning bush” for me? Can I look at the earth, our common home, as “holy ground”? What can I do to protect it?
Reading 2: What are the opportunities for deeper conversion (turning more toward God) and productivity that I have and could use during this Lent?
Gospel: “And I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it.” The cultivation and fertilization could be grace in my life. Do I always cooperate with such grace? What keeps me from cooperating? How could I cooperate to a greater degree?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: God is aware of our miseries and is patient with us. Let us ask him to help us on the way of conversion and renewal, and pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that the Holy Spirit may nurture and renew us so that we may bear the abundant fruits of virtue and vibrant discipleship, we pray…
R: For the leaders of nations: that God may help them hear the cries of the suffering and guide them to address the needs of their people, we pray…
R: For an end to war and violence: that God may inspire those using violence to find new opportunities for dialogue, we pray…
R: For all who are ill: that the Spirit may renew the gift of life in them, give them strength to recover quickly, and guide their healthcare providers in making accurate diagnoses, we pray…
R: For better stewardship of creation: that we may fulfil God’s commission to care for his creation, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may revere the holy ground on which we stand, be thankful for the many blessings we have received, be converted from misdirected desires, and be fruitful, we pray…
L: Loving God, you clothed your Son Jesus in transfigured glory. Listen to our prayers that we may grow in the awareness of our identity as your daughters and sons, and may one day share in that same glory. 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,
kind and patient gardener of souls:
when we are barren like your fig tree
– with indifference, discrimination, racial bias, wars,
destruction of our common home –
you do not give up on us.
Chance upon chance you give us,
grace upon grace.
And then you gently stand by,
awaiting our words: “Here I am!”
Lord,
soak our roots.
Make them heavy with your love,
and continue to pour your grace upon us
like water on parched and arid land
until we bear fruit.
Help us to taste your saving love
and come running to you on this holy ground.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Patient God,
we are reluctant and slow
to make the change of heart we need.
Give us the time to understand
the extent of your mercy and your love.
Raise us up, change us,
that we may proclaim your persistent love.
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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