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THE
FRIEND COMES
Opening Hymn:
"Spirit Come, Transform Us"
(Weston Priory - As One Voice, Vol
1, # 96)
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Opening
Prayer: (prayed by leader with responses in bold
print by community)
Give thanks
to the Lord, for he is good,
And his mercy endures forever.
They cried
to the Lord in their trouble,
And he delivered them from their distress.
He sent
forth his Word and healed them,
And saved them from the grave.
The Lord is
righteous in all his ways,
And loving in all his works.
The Lord
upholds all who fall;
He lifts up those who are bowed down.
The Lord
sustains them on their sickbed.
And ministers to them in their illness.
The Lord is
my strength and my song,
And he has become my salvation.
Give thanks
to the Lord, for he is good,
And his mercy endures forever.
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Prayer of Reconciliation (each
paragraph is prayed separately)
Life teaches us
that although we try to change others,
realistically we can only attempt
to change ourselves;
yet, so often reconciliation is viewed
in terms of changing other people.
And so I say that
for each of us,
reconciliation must take place
first in our own hearts
wherein each of us
confesses and acknowledges
that we have made our own contribution
to any disunity and separation
that to some degree exists among us.
It is my fervent
hope and prayer
that we shall receive the gift of healing
and reconciliation and true unity
which is only the Lord’s to give,
and comes simply from our willingness
to open ourselves to receive it.
Laying of Hands
(ritual seeking
reconciliation within the community; each person prays over the person
to his left by placing his hands over the person and reciting the
following prayer ...)
Father in heaven,
for Jesus' sake, send your Holy Spirit upon your servant, N.____; drive
away all evil; make whole that which is broken; deliver him from the
power of evil; and preserve him in true faith, to share in the power of
Christ's resurrection and to serve you with all the saints now and
evermore.
R:
Amen
Our Communal
Penance
(after pausing to
complete the laying on of hands of all, a communal penance is offered;
in this case, reciting the Apostles Creed.)
Leader: God has
made us his people through our Baptism into Christ. Living together in
trust and hope, we confess our faith.
We believe in God,
the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
We
believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by
the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified died, and was buried. He descended
into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and
is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.
We believe in the
Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen
Scripture Readings Promises of Jesus
(The readings below are what
author Jack McArdle calls the promises of Jesus about the Spirit. "
Once again we have a simple, plain statement that is easily understood.
I read it once for my head, to learn what it says. I read it again for
my heart, to get a feeling about what it is saying. As in so many of
his promises, Jesus speaks of what it is saying. As in so many of his
promises, Jesus speaks of what he will do, and what will happen. He
doesn't speak of what he might do, or of what may happen. His promises
are firm, uncomplicated, and unambiguous." Jesus Said It ... And I
Believe It, page 33, The Columba Press, Dublin, 2004)
Pause
after each passage is read before going on to the next
John 16:7
So let me say it
again, this truth: It's better for you that I leave. If I don't leave,
the Friend won't come. But if I go, I'll send him to you.
Luke 24:49
What comes next is very important: I am
sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until
he arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high.
John 14:16
I will talk to the Father, and he'll
provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with
you.
John 15:26
When the Friend I plan to send you from the
Father comes--the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father--he will
confirm everything about me.
John 16:13
But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the
Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth
there is. He won't draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of
what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and
said.
John 16:8
When he comes, he'll expose the error of the
godless world's view of sin, righteousness, and judgment
John 14:26
The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father
will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will
remind you of all the things I have told you.
John 15:26
When the Friend I plan to send you from the
Father comes--the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father--he will
confirm everything about me.
Luke 24:49
What comes next is very important: I am
sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until
he arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high.
Acts 1:8
What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when
the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.
Reflection and Sharing .... after some quiet time, share about one of
the passages and something that it is helping you to understand
INTENTIONS
Let us pray for
those making decisions.
O Lord our God, send
your Holy Spirit to guide us, that we may make our decisions with love,
mercy, and reverence for your gift of life; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen
Praise to you,
almighty God and Father. You sent your Son to live among us and to bring
us salvation.
Blessed be God.
Praise to you, Lord
Jesus Christ, incomparable son of the Father. You humbled yourself to
share in our humanity, and you came to heal all our illnesses.
Blessed be God.
Praise to you, Holy
Spirit, our defender and consoler. You heal our sickness with your
mighty and life-giving power.
Blessed be God.
Holy and blessed
Trinity, sustain your servants who are gathered here with your presence;
drive away their sickness of body and spirit; and give them that victory
of life and peace which will enable them to serve you now and evermore.
Amen
COMMUNION
In the name of the
FATHER whose fingers formed the
universe and whose love brought me into being, who sculpted me in my
mother's womb and calls me tenderly by my name.
In the name of the
SON - fully God yet also fully one
of us - Jesus of Nazareth and of everywhere, risen from the dead:
calling me his friend, inviting me to follow him, laying his hands of
healing upon me.
And in the name of
the HOLY SPIRIT, who hovered over
the waters as creative breath of life, the living bond of love, the
giver of vision, inspiring, enabling and transforming.
There in the
wilderness the angel of the Lord touched Elijah and said: "Get up and
eat well, or the journey will be too much for you. Elijah looked around,
and there beside him he found bread baked on hot stones and a jar of
water. Strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty
nights until he reached Mount Horeb. This was Sinai, the mountain where
Moses had seen the burning bush and encountered God: the place of the
Ten Commandments and God's Covenant with his people.
On the night before
he died, Jesus took bread and blessed you, God. He gave it to his
friends with these words: Here is
food for the journey.
Later he took a cup
of wine. Again he blessed you and gave it to his friends with these
words: Here is drink for the journey. Take
this and share it.
PAUSE
And so loving God,
we thank you for the words and example of your Jesus. By his life he
teaches us to believe in you and life’s journey. By his death he show
us the meaning of hope when we lose everything and opens us up to a
longing for your Spirit.
PAUSE
We thank you for the
Spirit you breathe into us, a wandering Spirit, for eyes that guide us,
for feet that plod the paths, for occasional signposts when we have lost
our way.
So let us proclaim
the mystery of our faith: Dying you destroyed
our death, Rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.
CLOSING HYMN:
"Send Us Your Spirit" (David Haas - As
One Voice, Vol. 1, # 97) |
