Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you call us away from the certainties
of the familiar present
on a pilgrimage with your Son
toward a future of hope and joy
even though we do not see it now.
Do not allow us to remain installed
in our own mediocrity.
Let our farewell to the present
not be marked with sadness.
Fill us with trust in him who guides us to you,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction
Creation itself, says St. Paul, is to be liberated and redeemed together with the people living in it. As they become freer, people will use God’s creation and technical progress not to destroy but to build up and to serve, to liberate more and more everyone and everything.

Gospel Introduction

The kingdom of God must grow among us, like a seed growing into a tree, like flour transformed into bread by the yeast. But growth means change and going ahead, marching forward, and this cannot happen without change and saying goodbye to the past and even to the present, to walk forward in hope toward the future. This brings the pain of separation, of giving up something familiar, but also the joy of knowing that we are on the way with the Lord.

General Intercessions

– That the tiny spark of faith still alive in the hearts of many who abandon the Church may not be extinguished but grow again into a bright light to guide them to God and people, we pray:

– That parents and our schools may implant into the hearts of our youth the seeds of faith and of generous, serving love, we pray:

– That missionaries may lavishly keep sowing the seed of the joyful Good News of the Lord in our often indifferent and hostile world, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, you offer us your own future
in your Son Jesus Christ.
Let him give us the courage
to march toward that future in hope,
without looking back, without regrets or hesitation.
Give us the bread of life
that sustains us on our journey,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, to you who are all our hope
we pray with the fullest trust.
Let your Son here in our midst
wake us up from our self-contentment,
and open us to change and growth,
however painful the process.
Kindle in us the fire of his Spirit,
that what you have sowed and planted in us
may yield a rich harvest
of goodness and light and lasting love.
Grant this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Blessing

Let us also think of our faith as a small seed that must grow.
We have received it as a gift to be developed. As we grow in age and, hopefully, also in wisdom, our faith and love of God and people should become wider and deeper. Ask God for this grace and may he bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.