Liturgy Alive Thursday, April 7, 2022
THEME
FAITH IN GOD’S WORD, COVENANT
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Gen 17:3–9; Jn 8:51–59
COMMENTARY
Bible Diary ♦ Diario Bíblico
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Introduction
Our communion with God, our salvation, depends on faith. God makes his offer of a covenant; we have to trust the word of God. Abraham believed in God’s word and his faith changed the destiny of himself (hence the new name) and of his people. Many Jews did not believe and cut themselves off from their ancestors and from God’s new people. God speaks to us through his Word, who is a person: Jesus Christ. If we believe in him, we become the new people of the new covenant by baptism, and the Promised Land will be ours.
Opening Prayer
Lord God,
in your Son, Jesus Christ,
you have given us a new name,
the name of your Son himself.
May we live up to our new destiny,
to be people-for-others
who serve and commit ourselves
together with Jesus,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
General Intercessions
– Jesus, we pray for those who cannot believe in you. Let them be people who follow their conscience, we pray:
– Jesus, give us the grace to believe in your word and also to keep it in our daily living, we pray:
– Jesus, we pray that the Jewish people may come closer to us through their fidelity to the covenant you made with Abraham, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
you speak with your living Word in our midst,
your Son, Jesus Christ.
Give us faith, a strong faith,
that we may believe
in his presence among us
and that we may be his presence
in the world of today.
Give us a bit of his Spirit
that people may accept him in us,
for he is our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, our God,
in days when life looks drab
and when we get impatient with ourselves,
we have a hard time to realize
that your Son is present in our midst.
Give us a trusting faith,
that he is here for us and with us,
to lift us above ourselves
and to give us hope in your future.
Make us deeply aware,
that you have bound yourself to us
and share our destiny
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
May we keep the Lord’s Word not only in our minds but also in our deeds, that we may enjoy eternal life, with the blessing of the Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
