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This guide is offered for your prayer and reflection.
”The Seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” (from Psalm 3 for the 15th Sunday).
Where has the Word of God taken root in me, around me? May the soil of our hearts be receptive to the Word and carry it out through the presence of the Spirit.
+SIGN OF THE CROSS
OPENING SONG: How Firm a Foundation
Verse 1: How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in Christ Jesus, the Word!
What more can God say than to you has been said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Verse 2: “Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
Verse 3: When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of woe shall not you overflow;
For I will be with you, your troubles to bless,
And sanctify you to your deepest distress.
Verse 4: The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”
OPENING PRAYER
O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
(Please note that, due to copyright licensing, scripture texts cannot be reprinted here. Click
on the scripture reference below, which will take you to the USCCB site.)
FIRST READING: Isaiah 55: 10-11
PSALM 165: The Seed That Falls on Good Ground
Antiphon: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have visited the land and watered it; greatly have you enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled; you have prepared the grain. Antiphon
Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, Softening it with showers, blessing its yield. Antiphon
You have crowned the year with your bounty, and your paths overflow with a rich harvest; The untilled meadows overflow with it, and rejoicing clothes the hills. Antiphon
The fields are garmented with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy. Antiphon
SECOND READING: Romans 8: 18-23
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
GOSPEL READING: Matthew 13: 1-23
MEDITATION: Song of St. Patrick
Refrain: May the Spirit of Christ be our hope through the day, be our guard through the night, our companion on the way.
Vs. 1: Christ be ever before us, Christ be ever behind us, Christ be ever within.
Refrain
Vs. 2: Christ upon our left hand watching, At our right hand guiding,
Christ above, beneath us guarding, Near to us abiding.
Refrain
Vs. 3: Christ be in each holy silence, Christ be in our speaking,
Christ in every work we offer, Ever in our seeking.
Refrain
Vs. 4: Let us be God’s light in the darkness, Let us be God’s kindness;
Let us be God’s justice and mercy, Hands and feet of Christ.
Refrain
Vs. 5: God Creator, bless and keep us, Christ, be ever near us;
Spirit be the light before us, Gentle be our pathway.
Refrain
UNIVERSAL PRAYER
That the church, like the sower in the parable, not judge the soil or measure the seed, but trust God to insure a bountiful yield. Let us pray to the Lord.That leaders of nations and communities will sow seeds of justice and mercy,
That life-giving rains and temperate weather will nurture the fields, giving seed to the farmer and bread to those who hunger. Let us pray to the Lord.
hope and fulfillment. Let us pray to the Lord.
That those who hunger for food, dignity, education, or human dignity, will find from us the support and aid they require. Let us pray to the Lord.
That those who continue to give their time and talent to fighting the coronavirus will be lifted up in spirit and receive the aid they need. Let us pray to the Lord.
That the Word of God will take deep root within each of us, transforming our hearts and our lives. Let us pray to the Lord.
That all who have died may know the fullness of heaven’s reward. We remember [your intention]. Let us pray to the Lord.
LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER FOR PEACE
Loving God, please grant me peace of mind and calm my troubled heart. Give me
the strength and clarity of mind to find my purpose and walk the path You have laid out for me. I trust your love God, and know that you will heal this stress. Just as the sun rises each day against the dark of night may hope rise against anxiety and worry. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
BLESSING
May God bless our days and our deeds with peace, in the name of the Father,
+ and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
SONG: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
Holy God, we praise thy name; Lord of all, we bow before thee!
All on earth thy scepter ‘claim, All in heav’n above adore thee;
Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.
Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.
Hark! The loud celestial hymn Angel choirs above are raising!
Cherubim and Seraphim, In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord: “Holy, holy, holy Lord!”
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord: “Holy, holy, holy Lord!”
Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, Three we name thee;
While in essence only One, Undivided God we claim thee;
And adoring bend the knee, While we own the mystery.
And adoring bend the knee, While we own the mystery.
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Reprinted with permission under OneLicense.net #A-704119. All rights reserved.
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION. Text: 2 Peter 1:4; “K” in John Rippon’s A Selection of Hymns, 1787, alt. Tune: FOUNDATION, 11 11 11 11; Funk’s Compilation of Genuine Church Music, 1832; harm. By Richard Proulx, 1937-2010, © 1975, GIA Publications, Inc. PSALM 65: Text: Psalm 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14; Michel Guimont, © 1998, GIA Publications, Inc. Music: Michel Guimont, © 1998, GIA Publications, Inc. SONG OF ST. PATRICK. Text: Based on St. Patrick’s Breastplate; Marty Haugen, b. 1950. Tune: Marty Haugen, b. 1950, © 1986, GIA Publications, Inc. HOLY GOD, WE PRAISE THY NAME. Text: Grosser, wir loben dich; ascr. To Ignaz Franz, 1719-1790; tr. Clarence Walworth, 1820-1900. Tune: GROSSER GOTT, 7 8 7 8 77; Katholisches Gesangbuch, Vienna, c. 1774.
