Liturgy Alive 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Greeting

Glory to him whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to him in the church
and in Christ Jesus.
May the Lord Jesus be with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. Patience: These Are Only Seeds (Option 1)
We live in a time that expects efficiency and immediate results. But a plant or a tree needs time to grow; and human relations cannot be built nor our problems solved overnight. People too need time to grow and change. Fortunately, God is patient with us. But we must become patient with one another and, with God's help, give people and the Church and God's Kingdom of justice, peace, and love the time needed to grow. We can just sow the seed and then wait in hope. If it is a good seed we sow, it will certainly grow. Jesus assures us that it will sprout and bear fruit.

B. While The Farmer Sleeps… (Option 2)
After carefully preparing the soil, what can the farmer do once he has sown the seed? He can do no more than hoe and pull the weeds, and then wait patiently till harvest time. Jesus planted the seeds of love and justice but the results remain poor. Yet we remain patient, as God stays patient, and we do not give up. The kingdom will flourish. In the meantime, each of us is a seed, with the power to grow. I have to become a tree and grow branches in which others can take shelter. With God's help I must become a tree that cleans the suffocating air so that others can breathe and live. With Jesus we give thanks to God for his patience with us, and we ask for patience for ourselves.

Penitential Act

Too often we have been impatient
with ourselves, with one another, with our world.
May the Lord be patient with us and forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you give each of us the time
to become mature in our faith:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, you give your Church the time
to grow in unity and a spirit of service:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you give our world the time
to grow in peace and justice:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Be patient with us, Lord, and forgive us
all the sins we have committed against you
and against one another.
Lead us forward in hope to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray
that we may give the seed time to grow
(pause)
Curb our impatience, Lord,
when we try to impose
your truth and justice and peace
on a Church and a world
not yet disposed to welcome them.
In our helplessness and discouragement
may we learn to accept
that all true growth comes from you.
We can only plant the seed,
and you make it bloom into a mighty tree
that lets us give shelter to all.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Scripture Readings

First Reading Introduction: A Small Shoot Is Enough for God
      From the small remnant of Israel, God will make himself a new people.

Second Reading Introduction: We Trust In The Lord

      In the tensions of a life lived in faith a Christian tries to live close to Christ and to prepare for the definitive encounter of the Lord.

Gospel Introduction: A Tiny Seed Becomes A Big Shrub

      God is active, whatever the appearances. His word will bear fruit. Notwithstanding its humble beginnings, God's kingdom will surpass all expectations.

General Intercessions

The tiny seed needs time to become a plant. It is the Lord who gives it the power to grow. Let us pray to God and say: R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
• That the tiny spark of faith still alive in the hearts of many who abandon the Church may not be extinguished but grow again into a bright light to guide them to God and people, let us pray: R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
• That the timid seed of peace may grow again into a flourishing effort of dialogue and understanding, that our world may see the end of wars and civil strife, let us pray: R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
• That our schools may implant into the hearts of our youth the seeds of faith, of generous and serving love, and that the Lord may bless the educators who help in this tremendous task, let us pray: R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
• That missionaries may keep sowing the seed of the joyful Good News of the Lord in our often indifferent and hostile world, let us pray: R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
• That people inspired by the Spirit of God may not get discouraged in sowing the seed of justice in communities and among nations, let us pray:R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
• That the seeds of sharing and unity may keep growing in our Christian communities, until they become one heart and one mind in the Lord who gathers them at his table, let us pray: R/ Lord, your Kingdom come.
Lord, be patient with us, and give to the seeds which your Son has sown in our hearts the time to grow and to reach to heaven, through Christ Jesus our Lord. 
R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Almighty and patient Father,
we bring before you the fruits
grown from tiny seeds of wheat
and the small shoots of the vine.
By the power of your Spirit
they will become Jesus, your Son among us.
Let the seed of his life and message
bear fruit among us, your people,
and make us the body of Christ to the world,
that trust and hope may grow among us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Let us give thanks to the Father that he has made himself a partner in our human history through his Son Jesus Christ.

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

Let us give thanks to the Father 
that he has made himself a partner 
in our human history 
through his Son Jesus Christ. R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us indeed, Lord, from evil,
particularly the evil of sin,
which makes us less human and less Christian.
Instead, make us your free people,
free to serve and love you unconditionally,
free to commit ourselves to people
and to build up a better world.
In this freedom may we prepare
in hope and joy the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
 R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is Jesus, our Savior,
the seed planted among us
that died but rose again from the dead.
Happy are we to receive him
and to grow through him. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
with a generous hand you have sown
among us here in this Eucharist
the seed of all that is good and true,
your Son Jesus Christ.
However insignificant and disappointing
our faith and love may seem now,
give us the hope and the courage
that he can unite us in a community
where justice, truth, and freedom will prevail
until the crop is ready for reaping.
Grant us this through Christ our Lord. 
R/ Amen.

Blessing

Patience, together with a sense of humble modesty,
is what we need in looking at our efforts
and the work of God among us.
Not that our efforts are useless,
but when we try to do God's work
to make our world more God's world
or his Kingdom, as we call it,
then we must always remember and respect
that God is the first agent in all this:
he plants, he gives growth,
he will do the harvesting.
But he expects us to cooperate with him.
May God bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the peace of the Lord,
and may his hope sustain you. R/ Thanks be to God.

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