Opening Prayer:

RECONCILIATION RITE:        LITANY OF THE SORROWFUL MOTHER

    (to be prayed is sections, led by different members of the community)

    Lord, have mercy on us.

    Christ, have mercy on us.

    Lord, have mercy on us.

    Christ, hear us.

    Christ, graciously hear us.

    God the Father of Heaven,   R/ Have mercy on us

    God the Son,     R/ Have mercy on us.

    Redeemer of the world,     R/ Have mercy on us.

    God the Holy Ghost,    R/ Have mercy on us.

    Holy Trinity, One God,    R/ Have mercy on us.

    Holy Mary,     R/ Pray for us.

    Holy Mother of God,    R/ Pray for us.

    Mother of Christ, R/ Pray for us.    

    Mother of Our Saviour Crucified, R/ Pray for us.

    Mother most Sorrowful,  R/ Pray for us.

    Mother most afflicted,  R/ Pray for us.

    Mother most desolate,  R/ Pray for us.

    Mother pierced by the sword of sorrow,  R/ Pray for us.

    Queen of martyrs,  R/ Pray for us.

    Comfort of the sorrowful,  R/ Pray for us.

    Help of the needy,  R/ Pray for us.

    Health of the sick,  R/ Pray for us.

    Hope of the troubled,  R/ Pray for us.

    Mother of mercy,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through your sorrow at the prophecy of Simeon,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through your escape into Egypt,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through your anxiety when seeking your lost Child,   R/ Pray for us.

    Through your grief when seeing your son persecuted,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through they pain caused by the treason of Judas,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through the sad meeting with Jesus on the way of the Cross,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through your agony at the death of Jesus,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through your tears over the dead body of your son lying on your bosom,  R/ Pray for us.

    Through the sense of desolation after the burial of Jesus, R/ Pray for us.

    Through your resignation to the will of God in all your sufferings,  R/ Pray for us.

    O Queen of peace,  R/ Pray for us.

    In all our tribulations,  R/ Pray for us.

    In our illnesses and pains,  R/ Pray for us.

    In our sorrows and afflictions,  R/ Pray for us.

    In our need and destitution,  R/ Pray for us.

    In our fears and dangers,  R/ Pray for us.

    In the hour of our death,  R/ Pray for us.

    On the Day of Judgment,  R/ Pray for us.

    Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

    Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

    Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

    Pray for us, O Sorrowful Virgin,

We beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus, let your Mother, Blessed Mary, whose holy soul was pierced by swords of sorrow during your life, implore for us your mercy, both now and at the hour of our death, world without end. Amen.

READING 1     Luke 2

In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes I've seen your salvation; it's now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel.

Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

"This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, a figure misunderstood and contradicted – the pain of a sword thrust through you – but the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are.

Jesus' mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.

+ Sorrowful Mother Mary, we honour the poverty and the difficulties you faced in bringing Jesus into the world. Help those who face similar difficulties in bringing new life to our world, we pray...

+ Sorrowful Mother Mary, we honour your sorrow at the hatred of Herod which caused your difficult flight to Egypt. Help us to overcome the slaughtering of innocent children in our world, we pray ...

+ Sorrowful Mother Mary, we honour your distress at the loss of Jesus for three days in the temple of Jerusalem. Help all those who have lost the Presence of God in their lives, we pray ...

+ Sorrowful Mother Mary, we honour your sufferings during the passion of your son. Help all those mothers who must watch and suffer the lose of their children through illness, terrorism or war, we pray ...

Other intentions ...

Closing Prayer

Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering. (Lam 1:12)

COMMUNION SERVICE

L Loving God, we gather together and give you thanks for all the wonders of your love.

ALL We marvel at how you continue to lavish your gifts upon us, life, health, family and friends, when you constantly meet with ingratitude. You truly deserve the name "Faithful One" for your love is everlasting.

L We thank you for all the signs of your love in our lives which are more numerous than the grains of sandy beaches. And for the gift of Mary as our Mother, who understood so clearly the sufferings we sometimes have endured.

ALL We thank you especially for speaking your word, Jesus the Christ to us. You showed no greater love than by sharing what you treasured most, your only Son, your Word of love.

L We thank you for speaking your word despite our deafness, for putting your word in our sometimes stubborn hearts.

ALL Your word is life in many ways, a forgiving word, a reassuring smile, friends who walk mysteriously into our lives and awaken good in us we never knew existed.

L Your word is hope, creativity, imagination, and new beginnings, when we somehow start out again from the ashes of defeat or disappointment. Our model is Mary who lived through the many sorrows she experienced in living faith in your Word.

ALL Your word is Jesus Christ: Yesterday! Today! and Forever!

L We thank you for Jesus’ life and all he taught us, all he said and did, we particularly thank you for the meal he shared.

When he was at supper with friends he took the bread, blessed you, Loving Creator, and broke the bread, saying:

This is my body broken for you.

Then he took the cup of wine, blessed you again, and passed it among them saying:

Take and drink, all of you.

ALL And so, heavenly Lord, we thank you for your Son. By his life he has shown us the way from isolation into community. By his death he has shown us the way from selfishness to love. And by his resurrection he has spoken the word of hope for a new and fuller life. Like Mary, the faithful one, we stand beside this sign of eucharist awaiting a newer life.

L Send us your Spirit, loving Creator, the Spirit of truth, to open our eyes and ears: to see you where we are afraid to look, to hear you in voices that offend our sensitive ears.

ALL We seek you in the spectacular and extraordinary, and you come to the us poor, hungry, thirsty, naked, diseased, in prison, alone, and as the least of our sisters and brothers. Teach us to see you, hear you, touch you, know you, where you really are, and not where we would like you to be.

L All this we ask through Jesus Christ the Lord of life.

        Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,

         in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

         all glory and honour is yours,

        almighty God, for ever and ever. Amen.