Liturgy Alive Monday, 2nd week of Easter

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Monday, April 13, 2015

 

Introduction

Nicodemus, the sincere but cautious intellectual, comes to Jesus at night. He is afraid to show openly that he follows Christ. The apostles and the Christian community are persecuted. They are afraid too, but pray for courage. The Spirit makes them bold in proclaiming Christ and in being signs of Christ's presence in his community. Christians are people who are to be reborn in Christ, reborn in the Spirit. Hence, they are people who should remain eternally young. Is our faith timid or bold? Do we dare stand up for the gospel and live our faith openly?

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
our faith is at times timid and wavering,
for we are afraid
of being contradicted or ridiculed.
Let your Spirit blow in us
and give us a bit of his strength,
that we may stand up boldly
for what we believe
and live our faith consistently.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

 

General Intercessions

- For the newly baptized, that their faith may always remain fresh and young, we pray:
- For all the baptized, that the Spirit may keep them from letting their faith becoming apathetic and passive, we pray:
- For our Christian communities, that they may boldly proclaim their faith by their spirit of service and compassion, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
your Holy Spirit changes our offerings
of bread and wine into Christ.
May he also send down his power
on his Christian community,
to unite and to renew us again and again,
until we dare to proclaim
the message of your Son
by the witnessing of our lives.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you have your own wise ways
to carry out your plans;
when people try to frustrate them,
they cannot be but losers.
God, give us your Spirit of wisdom, 
the Spirit in whom who have been reborn in baptism,
and in him keep us ever young of heart and mind,
that we may keep serving you 
with the enthusiasm of our youth. 
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

We have all been reborn in baptism. Let our minds and hearts not grow old, but stay fresh and active, whatever our age. May God bless you, the Father, and he Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 
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