Liturgy Alive Saturday 14th Week in Ordinary Time Year 1
Opening Prayer
Dependable God,
you are present with us in all things,
even in our miseries,
and you take care of your own.
Deepen our trust in you
and make us afraid of only one thing:
to become instruments of evil.
Make us instead messengers of the Good News
that evil can be overcome
and that your goodness and justice will prevail.
Give us this faith and trust
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction: God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land.
“Do not be afraid,” said Joseph to his brothers. He forgave them, realizing that his sufferings caused by them were the seed of the future of God’s people.
Gospel Reading Introduction: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body.
“Do not be afraid,” says Jesus to his disciples three times. Even, when persecuted and apparently failing in their mission, like Jesus, their master, they are in God’s hands. God takes care of his own. God’s kingdom cannot be built up without crosses and sacrifices, not without being contested by a world that wants to create its own future.
General Intercessions
– For the Church, that free from all paralyzing fears, it may have the courage born of faith to bear witness to the demands of the Gospel, we pray:
– For presiders in the liturgy, that they may have a deep sense of God’s holiness and of their own limitations and shortcomings, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may not fear those who threaten or ridicule us for our faith, as we live in trust of God who carries us in his hands, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Believable and trustworthy God,
your Son, Jesus Christ, committed himself
to the fight against evil and persecution,
yet he himself was its victim.
As he encounters us here
in these signs of bread and wine,
may he help us to understand better
that the disciple is not above the master,
that we cannot make your kingdom come true
without being torn apart
nor without being contested by the world.
We trust in you through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our holy God,
we have shared the table of your Son;
we are willing to share his life and mission.
Make us unafraid, as he was fearless.
Help us to be convinced
in the deepest of ourselves,
that our life and death are in your hands
and that our crosses bear within themselves
the seeds of joy and happiness.
Give us this faith and strength
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
Do not be afraid of professing your faith or of living it. Trust in God, who stands behind you. May God strengthen and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
