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SIXTH SUNDAY of EASTER – May 17This guide is offered for your prayer and reflection. The following does not take the place of, nor necessarily follow the structure of the Mass. Please click on the italicized colored links to listen to audio files of music corresponding to this prayer service.
We will also be posting a video recording of Mass at St. Richard at about 5pm on May 16 at www.strichards.com/at-home.
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Jesus reminds his followers of his call to follow his commandment
of love: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Love is at the heart of every relationship, especially our relationship
with God and with our neighbor.
PRELUDE: Shelter Me (Michael Joncas)
1. Shepherd and sheep, my God and I:
to fresh green fields you led my steps in days gone by.
You gave me rest by quiet springs
And filled my soul with peace your loving presence brings.
Refrain: O shelter me, O shelter me: the way ahead is dark and difficult to see.
O shelter me, O shelter me: all will be well if only you will shelter me.
2. Yet now I tread a different way:
Death dogs my path with stealthy steps from day to day.
I cannot find your peaceful place,
but dwell in dreary darkness longing for your face. (Refrain)
3. I will look back in days to come,
and realize your faithfulness has led me home.
Within your house I’ll find my peace,
trusting that in your mercy you have sheltered me. (Refrain)
SIGN OF THE CROSS
SONG: How Can I Keep From Singing
My life flows on in endless song. Above earth’s lamentation. I hear the clear though far-off hymn That hails a new creation.
Refrain: No storm can shake my inmost calm While to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, How can I keep from singing?
Through all the tumult and the strife I hear that music ringing. It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing? (Refrain)
What though my joys and comfort die? The Lord my savior liveth. What though the darkness gather round? Songs in the night he giveth. (Refrain)
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, A fountain ever springing. All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing? (Refrain)
OPENING PRAYER
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true,
grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a
dwelling pleasing to you. Through our lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen
SCRIPTURE
Please note that, due to copyright licensing, scripture texts are not able to be reprinted. Click
on the scripture reference below, which will take you to the USCCB site to read this weekend's scripture.
FIRST READING: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
PSALM 66: Let All the Earth
SECOND READING: 1 Pt 3:15-18
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: Easter Alleluia
GOSPEL READING: John 14: 15-21
MEDITATION: Eye Has Not Seen
Refrain: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard
what God has ready for those who love him;
Spirit of love, come, give us the mind of Jesus,
teach us the wisdom of God.- When pain and sorrow weigh us down, be near to us, O Lord; Forgive the weakness of our faith, and bear us up within your peaceful word. (Refrain)
- Our lives are but a single breath, we flower and we fade, Yet all our days are in your hands, so we return in love what love has made. (Refrain)
- To those who see with eyes of faith, the Lord is ever near, Reflected in the faces of all the poor and lowly of the world. (Refrain)
- We sing a myst’ry from the pas in halls where saints have trod, Yet ever new the music rings to Jesus, Living Song of God. (Refrain)
UNIVERSAL PRAYER- For the holy church of God: May we be living examples of welcome and hope for all people. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For leaders of the world: May they facilitate the sharing of medical and humanitarian resources to foster healing of all who are in anguish of body, mind, or spirit. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For those who suffer from ill health, economic hardship, or from the effects of poverty, anxiety, unemployment or depression. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For the Lord’s peace and strength for all of humanity in these uncertain times. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For members of our families and faith communities who are in need of our prayers. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For perseverance and health for all who work tirelessly on the behalf of others due to the coronavirus. Let us pray to the Lord.
- For those who have died and for those who mourn their loss. 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: How Firm a Foundation
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?
“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.
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 to you your deepest distress.
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!”
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Reprinted with permission under OneLicense.net #A-704119. All rights reserved.
SHELTER ME. Text: Based on Psalm 23, Michael Joncas. Used with permission of the composer and GIA Publications. PSALM 66: LET ALL THE EARTH. Text: Psalm 66: 1-3, 12, 16, Marty Haugen. Music: Marty Haugen, © 1982, GIA Publications, Inc. EASTER ALLELLIA. Text: Marty Haugen, b. 1950. Tune: O FIII ET FILIAE, 10 10 10 with alleluia; adapt. By Marty Haugen, b. 1950 © 1986, GIA Publications, Inc. EYE HAS NOT SEEN. Text: 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10; Marty Haugen, b. 1950. Tune: Marty Haugen, b. 1950, © 1982, GIA Publications, Inc. HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION. Text: 2 Peterv1: 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.
