Liturgy Alive The Transfiguration of the Lord

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Thursday, August 6, 2015

Greeting

Today God our Father tells us:
This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him.
May the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ
resound in your hearts and in your lives.
May the Lord be with you always.

Introduction by the Celebrant

According to St. Luke, when Jesus is about to depart for Jerusalem to make his “exodus” for his passion and death, the light of his resurrection is already projected on him at his transfiguration. It comes as an encouraging foretaste of his glory to strengthen him on the road to suffering. Shortly before the Passion, when the faith of the apostles will be sorely tested, Jesus shows them his true face transfigured by God’s light. Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, also bear witness to him. This is God’s beloved Son: listen to him, look beyond appearances. This vision and message is also given to us in the Eucharist of today.

Penitential Act

Do we too try to understand Jesus better
and see his presence in our life as real and strong?
Do we listen to him? Let us examine ourselves.
        (PAUSE)
Lord, you showed your glorious face
to strengthen the faith of the apostles.
Show yourself to us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you were strengthened
on your way to suffering and death.
Be with us when we suffer,
and inspire us to stand by the side of those who suffer:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, your Father told us to listen to you.
Open our ears and hearts to your message:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us more aware of your nearness
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God
who has made us his sons and daughters
in Jesus, his beloved Son
        (PAUSE)
Lord our God,
at the transfiguration of Jesus
you gave eyes of faith to the apostles
to see beyond appearances
and to recognize Jesus as your beloved Son.
Strengthen our faith too
in the person and message of your Son.
Help us to recognize something of his face
in our brothers and sisters
and to encounter him in one another,
that we may journey with him
and share in his glory for ever.

Liturgy of the Word  

First Reading Introduction: The Son Of Man
          At a time of persecution, the prophet sees a vi-sion of a transfigured world. The son of man—symbolizing God’s people, perhaps the Messiah—will no longer suffer but be honored and share in God’s glory.

Second Reading Introduction: Like A Lamp Lighting The Way
          The apostles present at the transfiguration did not fully realize what was going on. Later they under-stood and testified that Jesus is not a myth but the foundation of faith and life.

Gospel Introduction: The True Face Of Jesus
        After Jesus had spoken to his apostles about his coming suffering, Jesus and the apostles—and we—are given a vision of the glory and resurecion that will come.

General Intercessions

Let us pray to God in all confidence, for he as accepted us as his sons and daughters in his beloved Son Jesus Christ. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, let us live in your light.
•    That the face of the Church may always reflect the light of the glorious Christ; that her glory may be not wealth or power but the quiet glow of the living Gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in your light.
•    That the spirituality of the Orthodox Churches, which is marked by the Transfiguration, may also inspire the Catholic Church more and bring us closer to unity, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in your light.
•    That artists may keep revealing to us the splendors of God’s creation; that scientists may discover the secrets of the universe and use them to develop people and their world, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in your light.
•    That we may brighten the faces of those who suffer with words of encouragement and hope; that we may learn from Christ to encounter one another without masks or screens and seek together the light of truth and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in your light.
•    That we may be men and women liberated in Christ, committed to transfigure this world with justice and freedom for all, and learning to love one another the way God loves us in Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in your light.
God, your glory brightened the face of Jesus, your Son. Let his light dawn on us like a new sunrise full of promise. Create us and the world anew in Jesus Christ our Lord.   R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
all we see before us
is a piece of bread
and a cup with wine.
Yet we believe that soon they will be
your Son living among us.
Let him come alive in us
and guide us by his Holy Spirit,
that with him we may hear your call
and go through the hardships and joys of life
with faces brightened by hope
and by the certainty
that you have prepared for us
glory and happiness
that will last for ever.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

With Jesus our Lord, God’s own beloved Son, we give now thanks and praise to the Father, sure that the Father will accept our offering.

Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray to our Father in heaven
who told us to listen to his beloved Son.
We have listened, and with Jesus
we pray the prayer of the children of God. 

Deliver Us

Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
Keep us from indifference and anxiety
and help us see beyond the events of life
the deeper reality of things and persons,
your guiding hand, your love and your call,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Invitation to Communion

This is the body of Jesus Christ,
the beloved Son of the Father in heaven.
His glory is hidden to us,
yet he is light in our darkness
and the transfiguration of our lives.
Happy are we who have not seen his glory,
yet believe that he is our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
by the power of Jesus, our transfigured Lord,
you call us to transform this world
in the image of Jesus, your Son.
Rip off our masks,
that we may meet and accept one another
as we are and together try to be
what you have called us to be.
Commit us to justice and love,
that we may change this harsh and cold world
into a sign and token
that you are with us
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Blessing

In his transfiguration
Jesus revealed his deepest self.
May we believe in him
as the source of all transfiguration
of ourselves, of our mentality,
of this earth.
And may Christ be our strength
to work this transfiguration,
with the blessing of Almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace
and let the radiance of Christ’s light
shine in you.. R/ Thanks be to God.

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