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 listen to God's Word and let it inspire us.
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:
As we prepare to hear a story from our faith,
let us remember that God uses us and our gifts to make the world a better place.
Lord Jesus, you know that we are not perfect like you and don't always act out of love:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Leader:
Lord Jesus, you help us to grow closer to you and to each other:
Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
Leader:
Lord Jesus, you guide us as to become better followers, walking in your footsteps:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Let us pray
Leader:
God of Love,
you have created us to live in love
and given us graces we can never earn.
May we be grateful, not taking our gifts for granted,
willing to share what we have,
especially with those who have less than we do.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Reader 1:
In today’s reading, Jesus has a challenging message for us.
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 Matthew.
Reader 1:
From then on, Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him.
He said, “I must go to Jerusalem.
There the nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make me suffer terribly.
I will be killed, but three days later I will rise to life.”
Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that.
He said, “God would never let this happen to you, Lord!”
Jesus turned to Peter and said,
“Satan, get away from me! You’re in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples:
"If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself.
You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it.
But if you give up your life for me, you will find it.
What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself?
What would you give to get back your soul?
"The Son of Man will soon come in the glory of his Father
and with his angels to reward all people for what they have done."
Reader 1:
Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”
Reader 1: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Here's an eight minute video for kids that compares the sacrifices that athletes make to practice to what Jesus asks us to do as Christians.
Here's a thought-provoking and challenging song for adults and older children by our friend Bryan Sirchio. (You may want to come back and watch it after the service is done.) He points out that Jesus invites us to follow him 87 times in the Gospels, and asks why we focus so much on believing in Jesus and so little on following him, as he asked us to in today's reading and so many others.
Leader: Now let’s pray together to God for what we need.
Reader 2:
For all students, teachers, and others who work in education
as the school year begins,
that they may remain safe and be able to learn well this year,
let us pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Reader 2:
We pray for all of those who are struggling during this pandemic time,
with health, finances, loneliness, or other challenges,
let us pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Reader 2:
That we may have courage
to do what is right and what is most loving
during this challenging time,
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: Go in the peace of Christ.
All: Thanks be to God.
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!
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.