Liturgy Alive 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Greeting
Let us give thanks to the Father
through Christ Jesus our Lord
who is our strength
and who considers us worthy to serve him.
Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners, us first of all.
May his peace and forgiveness be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Sometimes we encounter people who are paralyzed by the past; some have, so to speak, withdrawn from life because they cannot overcome their failures and they have given up. Others want to start afresh, but those around them nail them to their past and do not offer them new chances. God is different. To God, bygones are bygones. He not only forgives but wipes out the past of the sinner who repents. Even the invitation and strength to repent comes from God through Jesus Christ. All he wants is to make a new beginning with people. Let us celebrate in this Eucharist with joy Christ's forgiving and up-building love, get up from our paralyzing fears and go with him new roads of hope and love.
Penitential Act
Let us recognize truthfully and humbly
that we have often failed the Lord
and ask him for forgiveness and strength.
(pause)
Lord, you took our sins upon yourself
to reconcile us with you and one another,
but we often imprison people within their failures.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you are attentive
to every sign of sorrow and conversion,
but we easily condemn and do not forget hurt feelings:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord, you want to go with us
new ways of friendship and hope,
but we refuse to say the liberating word that restores people:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
do not remember our past;
forgive us our sins and go with us the new way
that leads to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to our merciful Father
to forgive and restore us
(pause)
God of love and compassion,
you are slow to anger but rich in mercy.
Who can forgive like you,
wholeheartedly and without regret?
When we repent, you do not remember our sins
but only the good we have done.
In our humiliation and shame we pray you:
touch us with your healing hand,
set us free from our self-made prisons,
and give us the joy and freedom brought us
by Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading Introduction: Not The Past But The Future
God does not want us to live in the past of our failures, but to go with his new ways toward the future.
Second Reading Introduction: Constant, Because Of Christ
Paul asserts that he is firm and constant because of the strength of Christ in him. God makes us firm in Christ whose attitude was the "Yes" of faithfulness.
Gospel Introduction: A Paralytic Can Walk Again
Jesus makes the paralytic walk again. By his power, those paralyzed by sin can again go the way to God.
General Intercessions
With all the trust of the paralytic's friends, let us bring before the Lord the needs and miseries of the Church and of the world. Let us say: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That the Church, aware of its own shortcoming and missed chances, may humbly offer forgiveness and strength to all who err, and become in the world a sign and instrument of reconciliation, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That nations may abandon the senseless race for advanced weapons that allow them to destroy one another; that together they may search for peace and cooperate in projects that benefit all, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That our homes may be places of mutual understanding and reconciliation; that the young may learn from their parents and each other to forget injuries and to accept and love one another in their diversity and individuality, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That we may show special love and care for the handicapped, for children who will never be able to play, for those who will never see God's colorful world, for those who will never hear songs of joy, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• That in all Christian communities we may be less concerned about our rights and our offended pride, but rather, give Christ's love a fair chance to grow among us and to create us anew, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
Father, you are so good that our sins become small in comparison. Help us to say our yes to you and to all that is good, by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
we bring before you the stale bread of our sorrow
and the sour wine of our indifference.
These gifts remind us
of the suffering and death of your Son
that brought us healing and peace.
Let them now become the bread of resurrection
to a new life of hope and commitment
and the wine of joy and brotherhood
by which your Son goes with us
his way of love to our neighbor
and to you, our God for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us give thanks and praise to the Father through Jesus, who died for us so that our sins may be forgiven, and who rose from the dead to give us life and fresh hope.
Introduction to the Lord's Prayer
To our forgiving Father in heaven
we pray with Jesus our Lord: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from our sins
and remember them no more.
Give us the peace of your forgiveness
and reconciliation with those we have hurt.
Set us free from our past
and from our paralyzing fears,
that we may go forward toward your future
with courage and with joyful hope
as we prepare for the full coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord,
the Lamb of God who takes away our sins
and heals all who come to him.
Happy are we to be invited to his supper
of peace and reconciliation. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
in this Eucharist your Son has given us
the space to live and be happy.
For he has assured us of your pardon
and shared with us his table of friendship.
Let him open our eyes
to the good there is in people,
that we may not remain strangers to one another
but people who build through our deserts
roads of understanding and love
that bring us together in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
Dear friends in Christ:
It is rare for us, perhaps impossible,
to forgive one another the way God forgives,
completely, without regrets or second thoughts.
Is it not this perhaps what is meant by the saying,
"To err is human, to forgive divine?"
Let us try with all that is in us
to put back on their feet those paralyzed
by their own limitations and our condemnations
and to accompany them on their journey
to God and to one another.
May Almighty God help and bless us:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.Let us go with one another
the road of reconciliation and service. R/ Thanks be to God.
