Liturgy Alive Wednesday, September 26, 2012
September
Introduction
We commemorate today St. Vincent de Paul (1581–1660), a man with a heart. All his life, he was a friend of the poor and the suffering. To evangelize rural areas, he founded the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists and for the benefit of the proletarian masses the Daughters of Charity, to whom he gave as their convents the streets of the city, the houses of the poor and the rooms of hospitals. He did also much for improving the education of future priests in the seminaries. The Church of France owes very much to this man of vision for its revival in the 17th century. He is the patron saint of works for the poor.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in a man of vision, St. Vincent de Paul,
we see your deep concern for the poor
and for the needs of the Church of his time.
Make us too, poor and free,
let us weep with those who mourn,
hunger and thirst with those
who seek what is right and just,
that we may understand deeply
the needs of those who are in need.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
here are bread and wine,
simple food and the drink of joy.
By this gesture of offering,
we assume our responsibility for the poor.
With your Son, let us never remain indifferent
to the human and spiritual misery
of our brothers and sisters in need.
Accept the poverty of our hearts
and be our lasting riches,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, Father of the poor,
your Son has been here among us
and he has knocked at the doors of our hearts.
We have welcomed him,
but it was he who gave us to eat.
May we keep receiving him
and making him feel comfortable
every time someone begs for help
or when in need, is too timid
to express where it hurts.
We ask you for this sensitivity
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
