Refrain
O God, send out your Spirit;
renew the face of the earth.
O God, send out your Spirit;
renew the face of the earth.
Verse 1
We bless you, O God, for you are so great.
Your Spirit uncovers hidden beauty and grace.
Though times we deny all the pain and the tears,
your Spirit empowers us and soon we face our fear.
Verse 2
Ev’ry prayer we pray, sacred word, sacred rite,
is for the ones who are left waiting outside.
Ev’ry sermon we preach, ev’ry Spirit-filled tune;
Love says, "Remember why we do the things we do."
Verse 3
Ev’ry time a person reaching out is turned away
by the racist prejudicial attitudes of hate,
we are called to break the silence, sanctioning the shame,
stepping cross the lines of this sometimes unholy game.
Verse 4
Sources of oppression that we haven’t really faced;
human inhumanity upon the human race.
Spirit ever faithful, Spirit ever true,
rain down all around, and ev’ry heart renew.
Leader:
┼ In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Leader:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be God forever.
(The response is: Blessed be God forever.)
All: Blessed be God forever.
Leader:
We gather together as a family
to welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives more fully.
One with all of our sisters and brothers throughout the world,
let us now listen to God's Word and join in prayer.
All: Amen.
Leader:
God has given us new birth by water and the Holy Spirit.
May we stay faithful to Jesus for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Leader: Let us pray
Leader:
Gracious God,
Look upon us with love and fill our hearts with joy
as we seek you and follow the way of your Son.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Reader 1:
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus promises that God will send the Holy Spirit to help them after Jesus is gone.
We now do this action prayer together:
May the Lord be on my mind, ┼
on my lips, ┼
and in my heart ┼
as we hear the Gospel today.
A reading from the holy Gospel of John.
Reader 1:
Jesus said to his disciples:
If you love me, you will do as I command.
Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you.
The Spirit will show you what is true.
The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him.
But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.
I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you.
In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me.
And because I live, you will live. Then you will know that I am one with the Father.
You will know that you are one with me, and I am one with you.
If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you.
I will also love you and show you what I am like.
Reader 1:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Reader 1: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Leader: Now let’s pray together to God for what we need.
Reader 2:
For everyone in our family, or communities, and the whole world
who is sick with the coronavirus or anything else,
that they may feel the Holy Spirit inside of them and know that Jesus hasn’t left them alone,
let us pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Reader 2:
For all the people working to help those with the coronavirus,
from doctors and scientists to government leaders,
that they may be inspired by the Holy Spirit to do what is best for everyone,
let us pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Reader 2:
For all those whose lives are harder now because of the virus,
especially for those who have lost their jobs,
that we and they may remember that God hasn’t left us like orphans.
let us pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Reader 2: For what else and for who else shall we pray?
Leader: Jesus taught us to call God our Father, and so we have the courage to say:
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Leader: Let us now offer each other a sign of peace.
Leader: The response is: Lord, bring us closer to you!
All: Lord, bring us closer to you!
Leader:
Lord our God,
we wish we could gather today with our parish community,
but we gather here out of love and concern for others.
You teach us that when two or three are gathered in your name,
you are there.
Together, we pray:
All: Lord, bring us closer to you!
Leader:
Christ Jesus, you are present in a special way
when bread and wine are turned into your Body and Blood.
Since we cannot receive you in this way today,
We ask that you enter our hearts
so that we may receive you spiritually.
Together, we pray:
All: Lord, bring us closer to you!
Leader:
Lord our God,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
All: Lord, bring us closer to you!
Leader: Christ is risen, alleluia, alleluia!
All: Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia!
The Pastoral Center is a small, family-based ministry and business (pictured: Paul, Madeleine, Ann, and Rachel). This is our full-time job and ministry, and it's the way we pay our bills. We do not receive funding from any parish or diocese, except through resource sales (which are now largely suspended indefinitely). You are under no obligation, but we are very grateful for any contributions!
Take a picture of your family in your worship area and share it on social media (tag it with #WorshipAtHome).
Your parish still has to pay the electric bill and your staff, even when public Masses are cancelled. If you haven't already, sign up for electronic payments or mail in a check today.
How did it go? What would have made it better? Send us an email at resources@pastoralcenter.com to share feedback with us.
Portions excerpted from or adapted from Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest: Leader's Guide © 1993 United States Catholic Conference (USCC), 3211 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194 USA. All rights reserved.
© 2020 The Pastoral Center. All rights reserved.