Liturgy Alive Friday, February 17, 2023

Opening Prayer

God of power and love,
in your mercy, you sent us your Son
to liberate us by his cross
from our selfishness
and from fear and sin and death.
Make us grow in the mentality of Jesus
and fill us with the strength of his Spirit,
that we may bear life’s burdens with him
and with him also take the pains
to live for others and to bring them hope and joy.
May we thus, go the way of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

First Reading Introduction: Let us go down and there confuse their language.
          Our first reading expresses the desire for mutual understanding, respect and tolerance: ”If we could only speak all the same language!” The author uses the occasion to ridicule the proud Babylon that destroyed nations and cultures. “Babal” means “to confuse” in Assyrian. Babylonians deserved a monument for confusing people.

Gospel Introduction: Those who lose their lives for my sake and that of the Gospel, will save them.
        Being a disciple of Jesus implies journeying with Jesus on the way of the cross. Christians, followers of Christ, are people marked with the cross. We make the sign of the cross not merely symbolically when we pray but also in real life, whether we like it or not. We have to learn to accept the cross with Jesus.

General Intercessions
–    For the People of God, the Church, that Christ may become more visible in its commitment to serve God and people, in its loving concern for the poor and its continuous conversion to the Gospel, we pray:
–    For all Christians, who claim to follow Christ, that they may live up without fear to the demands of the Gospel and bear witness to the crucified Lord, we pray:
–    For those who suffer in their bodies and their hearts, that they may realize that they are one with the Lord in his passion and death, we pray:
 

Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, our God,
we bring these humble gifts before you.
In these sign of bread and wine,
Jesus, your Son will give himself to us.
May he give us the strength
to go with courage on our journey through life,
also when it becomes a way of the cross,
that we may follow him all the way
to you, our loving God for ever.

Prayer after Communion
Father,
we have been one with Jesus at his table;
may we also be united with him
on his way to you and to people.
May we follow him wherever he leads us,
in dark days as well as in days of joy
and send us wherever people need us,
to bring them your liberating word
and your helping hand,
also when it costs us pain and effort.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.

Blessing
We should not ask for crosses. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked that the cross be taken away from him. But we have to accept it when our faith and love and the circumstances of life demand it. May God strengthen you and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.