The 7th Sunday of Easter

O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you;
of you my heart has spoken: Seek his face;
hide not your face from me, alleluia.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Christ is risen, alleluia.
He is risen indeed, alleluia.

Dear friends,
this water will be sprinkled on us
as a memorial of our Baptism.
May the Lord our God help us by his grace
to remain faithful to the Spirit we have received.

I saw water flowing from the Temple,
from its right-hand side, alleluia:
and all to whom this water came
were saved and shall say: alleluia, alleluia.

May almighty God cleanse us of our sins,
and through the celebration of this Eucharist
make us worthy to share at the table of his Kingdom.

Amen.

Let us pray.

O God, whose Son, Jesus, prayed for his disciples,
and sent them into the world to proclaim the coming of your kingdom:
by your Holy Spirit, hold the Church in unity,
and keep it faithful to your word,
so that, breaking bread together,
we may be one with Christ in faith and love and service,
now and for ever. Amen.

1    Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered;
let them also that hate him flee before him.
2 Like as the smoke vanisheth, so shalt thou drive them away;
and like as wax melteth at the fire, * so let the ungodly perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad, and rejoice before God;
let them also be merry and joyful.
4 O sing unto God, and sing praises unto his Name; * magnify him that rideth upon the heavens;
praise him in his Name JAH, and rejoice before him.
5 He is a Father of the fatherless, and defendeth the cause of the widows;
even God in his holy habitation.
6 He is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in an house, and bringeth the prisoners out of captivity;
but letteth the runagates continue in scarceness.
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before the people;
when thou wentest through the wilderness,
8 The earth shook, and the heavens dropped at the presence of God;
even as Sinai also was moved at the presence of God, who is the God of Israel.
9 Thou, O God, sentest a gracious rain upon thine inheritance,
and refreshedst it when it was weary.
10 Thy congregation shall dwell therein;
for thou, O God, hast of thy goodness prepared for the poor.

32 Sing unto God, O ye kingdoms of the earth;
O sing praises unto the Lord;
33 Who sitteth in the heavens over all, from the beginning:
lo, he doth send out his voice; yea, and that a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe ye the power to God over Israel;
his worship and strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, wonderful art thou in thy holy places:
even the God of Israel, he will give strength and power unto his people. Blessèd be God.

A reading from the first letter of Peter.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

For the word of the Lord,
thanks be to God.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.’

For the Gospel of the Lord,
praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Today has been designated as a day of prayer in the catholic church for the
care of our common home.

So in the spirit of unity -
with our catholic brothers and sisters,
but also with all human brothers and sisters from every country, faith and race
and also our brothers and sisters that Saint Francis would have pointed us to as the creatures of the lands, seas, skies, the rocks and earth the plants, waters and the air -

in unity with all these I’d invite you to take a few moments to connect with our
common home...To lift it and it’s desperate need for care, to the Creator -
the one who imagined it and us into being.

Let us pray.

I’d invite you to begin by being in touch with something of our common home... notice your feet on the ground or the grass, look out of a window at the sky or simply breathe in the air. As you touch base with your common home recognise how we as humans, charged with its care, have failed it.

Creator of all that is;
help each one of us, from politician to scientist from rich person to poor, from those aware to those who need to come to realise, all of us
help all of us to resolve that we shall act to change the despoiling of our common home.

Help us to find ways in our individual lives, in our communities, at political levels and globally to act to change the way that we are treating our common home.

Lord hear our prayer

Now for a moment consider our fellow inhabitants of our common home... the animals, birds, fish, insects, all of the amazing creatures of the earth;
the plants, trees and the flowers, the water and the air so necessary for life - hold each one of those for a moment in your mind, in your heart, let them be in your souls.

Creator of all that is;
we hold as you hold the amazing gifts of this planet, of this earth, of our common home. We ask you to help us to look after each of these gifts, we ask for wise people in every part of the world to join together to protect our brothers and sisters of the planet so we may all thrive.

Lord hear our prayer

And finally take a moment to remember our human brothers and sisters who do not share our common home equally either because of race or war or economics, ecause of poverty, famine, occupation or simply the place where they were born.

Remember today especially those suffering in the world because of the ramifications of the way we have not cared for our common home - for those living through a natural disaster, those who are sick, those who are unemployed,...

Creator of all that is;
help us to treat each of our human brothers and sisters - those whom we come in contact with daily and those who live far away from us - help us to treat them all as you have treated us: with love and compassion with justice and with truth. Grant that every human being can live in our common home experiencing all its beauty wonder and provision.

In the name of the one who came to show us your common home.

Amen

Source of all joy,
receive our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
Keep us in the love of Christ
and bring us to the vision of his glory;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

God of majesty,
Lord of life,
Jesus Christ our Lord has ascended to heaven,
uniting us in the destiny we share.

Today we sing a song for all nations,
a new song, the equal music
that you promise in your kingdom.

Today we preach the good news,
inspired and inspiring, boldly declared,
a living witness to our Redeemer.

Today we dance with joy and thanksgiving,
a way we find, through neither speech nor language,
to realise the Spirit’s power.

And so we follow Christ our Light,
advancing with all the host of heaven
beyond the height of the heavenly powers,
and joined by ranks of angels,
as we celebrate the wonder of your power:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Lord, you are holy indeed;
you enlighten our path with the light of Christ,
who has scattered the darkness of heart and mind.

Send your Spirit of truth,
the Advocate who pleads our cause,
that these gifts, which earth has given
and human hands have made,
may become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ,
truly human, truly risen,
our companion on the road.

On the night he was betrayed,
Jesus took a loaf of bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
“This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way he took the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

And so, God of loving-kindness,
we gather together,
sharing in your passion and resurrection,
clothed with the power promised us from on high,
our eyes opened in the breaking of the bread.

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

God of earth and all creation,
Breath of life and Fire of love,
increase your gifts of grace within us
that we may imitate your compassion
and build up the body of Christ.

Give us a constant faith and a firm hope,
that we may walk with the disciples
as heralds and witnesses
of justice and peace,
enlightened with the flame of faith
and inspired by the life you give to the world.

Call us in hope to the glory of heaven,
where, with all who praise your name
whose records bear witness,
and whose art is their prayer,
we praise you,
many members,
one body,
in Jesus Christ our Lord;
through whom, and with whom, and in whom,
O God, almighty Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
all glory and honour is yours
for ever and ever. Amen.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We who are many are one body,

for we all share in the one bread.

While the bread is broken Agnus Dei is sung –

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Eternal God,
may we who share Christ’s banquet
be one with him as he is one with you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
the risen and ascended Lord. Amen.

The head that once was crowned with thorns
is crowned with glory now;
a royal diadem adorns
the mighty Victor's brow.

The highest place that heaven affords
is his, is his by right,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
and heaven's eternal Light:

The joy of all who dwell above,
the joy of all below,
to whom he manifests his love,
and grants his name to know.

To them the cross, with all its shame,
with all its grace, is given;
their name an everlasting name,
their joy the joy of heaven.

They suffer with the Lord below,
they reign with him above;
their profit and their joy to know
the mystery of his love.

The cross he bore is life and health,
though shame and death to him;
his people's hope, his people's wealth,
their everlasting theme.