OVERWHELMED BY GRACE
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather 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: Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. They are the two pillars on whom our Lord built his Church. Peter denied Christ and Paul persecuted Christ. But through grace, they dedicated their whole life to the spread of the Gospel despite hardships.
We pray that we may open ourselves to God’s grace and proclaim his love and mercy to all people
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have not proclaimed the gospel and have allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by troubles, we ask the Lord for pardon.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, we are alive because you live in us:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you draw all things together in yourself:
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: Lord,
you crowned the faith of Peter
and the tireless preaching of Paul
with a share in Christ’s triumphant death.
Renew our faith through their intercession
and, by the example of their lives,
rekindle our zeal for proclaiming the gospel.
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 Acts 12:1-11
Psalm Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Response The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Reading 2 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
Gospel Matthew 16:13-19
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear Peter’s reply to Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I am” and Jesus’ affirmation of Peter?
Sunday Snippets
Allen Gardiner was a British naval officer and a missionary to South Africa, Chile, and Patagonia. Despite the many hardships he experienced as a missionary, he said: “While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.” He died, aged 57, of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island. His diary, found near his body, bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entries written with a trembling hand read: “I am, by his abounding grace, kept in perfect peace, refreshed with a sense of my saviour’s love… I am overwhelmed by the grace of God.”
Peter and Paul, like Gardiner, could write/ talk about the abounding grace of God in their lives!
The first reading recounts God’s dramatic rescue of Peter from prison: four squads of four soldiers each guard Peter, who is secured by double chains; an angel leads a dazed Peter past the guards and past the closed iron gates. The whole episode indicates that Peter’s escape is through God’s grace.
In the gospel, Jesus tells Peter that it is God’s grace alone that has revealed to him that Jesus is the Christ.
Paul’s words to Timothy—“I was rescued from the lion’s mouth”—attest to God’s grace, which has preserved him “from every threat.” Because of God’s abounding grace, Paul could write “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Through the hardships and difficulties of our lives—nothing compared with the hardships that Peter and Paul (and Gardiner) underwent—can you and I feel God’s abounding and overwhelming grace?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: In Peter’s rescue from prison, how important was “prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God on his behalf”? What is Luke telling us about praying for each other?
Reading 2: Paul writes: “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength.” Have I experienced the Lord’s presence and strength in my life? If so, when and what was the outcome of experiencing his presence?
Gospel: How do I respond to Jesus’ question: “Who do you say that I am”?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: In company with Sts Peter and Paul, who prayed for all the churches of God, let us confidently turn to the Father with our prayers: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we, like Peter and Paul, may allow God to transform us more and more into the image of Christ, we pray…
R: For Pope Leo XIV, Peter’s successor: that he may be our rock of faith and the sign of unity in the Church, we pray…
R: For the world: that God may bring an end to violence and deepen the desire for peace in the hearts of all people, we pray…
R: For all missionaries and educators of the faith: that they may experience Christ standing by them and guiding their teaching, we pray…
R: For all who are persecuted for their faith, especially those who are facing torture or death: that they may experience Christ with them in their suffering and remain faithful witnesses of God, we pray…
R: For all of us: that God may draw us into a deeper relationship with him and greater trust on him who loves us without limit, we pray…
L: God of saints and sinners, by the power of the Holy Spirit Peter and Paul bore courageous witness to the death and resurrection of your Son. Hear our prayer for your blessings, that we may be more faithful witnesses to the truth of the Gospel. 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,
your angel rescued Peter,
secured by double chains and sleeping between two soldiers.
Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan,
immigrants, the starving, the unhoused,
those suffering from discrimination and violence
need to be rescued by your angels.
Lord, rescue them.
And help us remember
that you are our constant companion
and always give us the strength
we need to finish the mission you entrust to us.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Gracious God,
through Saints Peter and Paul
you spread faith in Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Continue to strengthen our faith.
May our lives be a living Gospel for all to hear.
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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