SPIRITUAL COMMUNION FOR SUNDAY 6th SEPTEMBER,
THE TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.
✠ In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus, I come to you in sorrow for my failings,
and confess to you my weakness and unbelief.
A brief pause for silence follows
I confess to almighty God
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
and all the Angels and Saints,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
THE GLORIA Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you, we adore you,
we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE COLLECT: O God, by whom we are redeemed
and receive adoption, look graciously
upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
FIRST READING: Romans 13:8-10 Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 94
O that today you would listen to his voice; harden not your hearts.
Come, ring out our joy to the LORD; hail the Rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks; with songs let us hail the Lord.
O that today you would listen to his voice; harden not your hearts.
Come in, let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice; harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would listen to his voice: "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the desert, When your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me ,though they saw my work."
O that today you would listen to his voice; harden not your hearts.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: John 17:17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord,
consecrate us in the truth
Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Matthew chapter 18: 15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
REFLECTION – from Fr John Foley, Jesuit Priest,
Forgiveness What happens when someone misbehaves and hurts you? What should you do, punch them? No. Jesus lays out a detailed plan in the Gospel about how to help a person, especially in the Christian community, who has done you harm. This strategy applies whatever the damage was: saying unfair things behind your back, embarrassing you in public, stealing, unfaithfulness, you name it.
It is not a matter of who broke the rules. First, go to the person and let her or him know that you believe you have been hurt by what they did or said. This is not an opportunity to “let my anger out,” to get my rights, or worse, to hurt them in return. It is an attempt to repair the relationship, no matter whose fault it was. It is an effort to help, not hurt. Of course, in Sunday’s story, Jesus is presuming that there is a basis of love between you and the other person. Another way to say it is that you are both members of the church.
What if going to the person does not succeed? Jesus says you should next take two or three witnesses along. They will back you up if your interpretation of the problem is correct. If the person still does not listen, keep trying, he says. Tell the church. Continue to work on it until the matter is smoothed out. Let truth and forgiveness rule.
A personal story. I had a terrible disagreement with a colleague/friend a number of years ago. We were working together on a musical event and it seemed to each of us that the other had done something unforgivable, hurtful and unprofessional. Believe me, I do not know who was right and who was wrong. But we spoke about it one-on-one and gradually came back into each other’s good graces. We remained very good friends.
The same thing happened a number of summers later. I was the one who “blew up” because of the wrongs I absolutely knew were being done to me. I even sent a peeved email. My friend sent a scorcher in return!
Then we worked together to create the event! We knew instinctively what had happened. “We were both tired and quite stressed out, weren’t we,” my friend said. “So we each did our stressed-out thing. But we were both trying to help the performance be wonderful.” As you can guess, we remain great friends.
I think this is how it can work when Christians are “all too human” and hurt each other. It is not a matter of who broke the rules. All the rules are summed up in a single saying. “You shall love your neighbour as yourself’” How good is that?
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
He ascended into heaven,
He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
And he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS
For the Church: that we may be a community that continues Christ’s mission of reconciliation amongst those who are estranged. For the grace of “tough love”: that we may speak the truth lovingly and honestly to those who are injuring themselves or others, and be willing to hear the truth spoken to us.
For the gift of listening: that the Spirit will open our minds and hearts to hear what others say and to be attentive to the word of God spoken deep within our hearts
For reconciliation amongst nations: that God will guide world leaders to speak the truth to one another and find ways to resolve differences through dialogue. For the healing of racial injustice: that Christians may work to restore relationships in communities, promote the dignity of each individual, and advocate for the truth about the consequences of structures and policies.
For Christian Unity: that all who follow Christ may form a bond of dedication as we work to bring hope and healing to the world.
For those who experience injustice in their workplace: that God will free them from abuse, end de-humanising practices, and help them unveil the unjust activities.
For teachers and educational leaders: that God will give them wisdom and insight in providing safe and productive environments for students and staff.
For greater care for the earth: that God will help us to respect and be responsible stewards of the creation that God has entrusted to our care
For an end to the coronavirus pandemic: that the Spirit will bring healing to those who are ill, protection for those who are vulnerable, and inspiration to those working on a cure or a vaccine
We ask Mary to pray with us, as we with her
bring our care and concern for the situation
in which we find ourselves
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Today and all days embrace us in a love that knows no end. Today and all days fill us with a power that overcomes. Today and all days encourage us with a word that nourishes. Today and all days inspire us with a hope that sustains. Today and all days comfort us with a peace that endures. Today and all days bring wholeness of body, mind and spirit Today and all days. Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God;
for it is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord. For through his Paschal Mystery, he accomplished the marvellous deed, by which he has freed us from the yoke of sin and death, summoning us to the glory of being now called a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for your own possession, to proclaim everywhere your mighty works, for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light. And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
✠ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
Time to sit quietly to receive the Lord’s Presence
spiritually.
“My Jesus, I believe that You are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart …
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You,”
THE PRAYER OF SURRENDER
Father, I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures—
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
Charles de Foucauld.
THE BLESSING for ourselves, and all for whom we pray:
Let us go into the world with no debt but love, Let us go into the world with no law but love, Let us go into the world with no prayer but love, and the Father will be with us;
Christ will be in us; and the Holy Spirit will be around us;
And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father,
the Son, ✠ and the Holy Spirit, come down upon us
all, and remain with us for ever. Amen.
THE ANGELUS
The angel of the Lord brought tidings unto Mary. And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
And the Word was made flesh. And dwelt amongst us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts,
that as we have known the Incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his Cross and Passion
we may be brought unto the glory of his Resurrection;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
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