Liturgy Alive Friday, October 12, 2012

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
faith is all that matters to save us.
We know it, and yet we seek proofs.
Help us to believe in you
on seeing your works:
your creation, your power,
your goodness that we encounter in people.
Grant us to live in trust
with the uncertain certainty of faith,
believing, hoping, loving,
and trusting that you have set us free
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction
       Abraham, our Father in the faith, was a man who lived according to the Gospel before Jesus proclaimed his Good News. He trusted God; he followed God's call without questioning God and demanding proofs. All he got was a promise to believe in, and of that promise he himself —as God told him—would never see the fulfillment.

Gospel Introduction

       In sharp contrast, with Abraham, the people of the promise in Jesus' time challenged and questioned him, especially the religious leaders. Even the signs of liberation from evil that Jesus gave them did not impress them as signs to believe in. What is our attitude toward the signs of God's care in our lives?

General Intercessions

– That like Abraham, our Father in the faith, Christians may put themselves trustingly into God's hands, we pray:
– That by the grace of God, we may be good people who are a blessing to others, we pray:
– That our hearts may not be divided, but that we try to live sincerely the way of the Gospel, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
our faith reassures us
that Jesus your Son,
already present in this community of faith,
will give himself to us in person
in these signs of bread and wine.
Strengthen our faith,
that we may sow and gather
on the side of your Son
and with him live in your love,
now and for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God, we thank you
for nourishing our hesitant faith
with the Word of your Son
and with his bread of strength.
Engrave his message in our hearts
that it can never be erased
and keep us going without any need
of proofs and signs,
in the certainty that you love us
and that, even in trials and challenges,
you will lead us home to you
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

"Lord, make our faith grow!" That should be our cry from the heart. We ask the Lord for a deep faith that accepts him on his Word and that lets his message and his person guide our lives. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.