17th Sunday C

The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.

  • The gospel for the day
    (a useful commentary on the reading         here)
  • Some optional questions for reflection
  • Prayers of Intercession
  • Cluster Prayer
  • The gospel of the week ahead with questions

Luke 11: 1-13  Ask, and it will be given to you.


Once Jesus was in a certain place praying,

and when he had finished one of his disciples said,

‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’
He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:

‘“Father, may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”’

He also said to them:
‘Suppose one of you has a friend

and goes to him in the middle of the night to say,

“My friend, lend me three loaves,

because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house

and I have nothing to offer him”;

and the man answers from inside the house,

“Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed;

I cannot get up to give it you.”

I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake,

persistence will be enough to make him get up

and give his friend all he wants.

‘So I say to you:

Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find;

knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For the one who asks always receives;

the one who searches always finds;

the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.

What father among you would hand his son a stone

when he asked for bread?

Or hand him a snake instead of a fish?

Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good,

how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit

to those who ask him!’

 
This is the gospel of the Lord

Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). All rights reserved.

Having used our prayer resources, you might want simply to reflect yourself on them and how that might flow into your coming week. Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts.
If you are interested  in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word from any of the resources you have watched please email us.         cluster.alpha@outlook.com

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

If we are truly daughters and sons of God then God is most certainly our parent.

All words describing God are metaphors (Father, King etc) because they fall short of who God really is...

"Ask, seek, knock..." says Jesus and you will find a most loving Parent in your presence...

  1. How have your personal prayers to God changed over the years?
    Has your image of God changed since your youth?
  2. Have your most recent prayers been prayers of praise, petition, or sorrow?
    Which kind of prayer do you need to practise more often?

Prayers of Intercession


For Pope Francis, as he continues to promote a listening Church

where everyone’s voice can be heard

and decisions are taken on a communal basis.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.


For world leaders, that they will show integrity and common sense

in dealing with global issues such as climate change, nuclear weapons, human trafficking and immigration policies.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.


Reflecting on their own synod report,

the Catholic bishops of England and Wales comment that:

”the more we are formed in the love of Christ

the better equipped we are to be the love of Christ to and for others”.


We pray that more parishioners will seek to deepen their personal relationship with Jesus through opportunities for prayer, faith formation and acts of charity.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.


The cost of living crisis poses a clear challenge to our desire to be missionary disciples. We pray that our faith communities will respond with great kindness and generosity

when asked to help those who will be struggling in the coming months.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.


We remember all those who are suffering in body, mind or spirit

and those in our Prayer Foundation List.

We thank God for all those who tirelessly care for them.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.


We call to mind those who have died recently: Marciana Sebastian, Sr. May Lewis, Inge Downie and Stephen Clarke;

those who have no one to pray for them as well as those we remember with love.

We ask our merciful Father to hold them close.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Prayer to be Missionary Disciples

Picture of Jesus at door

Lord continue to bless our community
in this time of transition.
Help us on our journey
to grow from a maintenance church
to a missionary church.
Give us the courage
to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough
to receive all who need
human love and fellowship;
narrow enough to shut out
all envy, pride and prejudice.
Kindle in us the fire of your love
that all who come here
will find joy, peace and love.
Make this a house of prayer
and a gateway to your kingdom.
AMEN

Preparing for next week -  18th Sunday of the Year C

Luke 12: 13-21 This hoard of yours, whose will it be?

A man in the crowd said to Jesus,

‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’

‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge,

or the arbitrator of your claims?’

Then he said to them,

‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind,

for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns,

even when he has more than he needs.’


Then he told them a parable:

‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land,

thought to himself,

“What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.”

Then he said, “This is what I will do:

I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones,

and store all my grain and my goods in them,

and I will say to my soul:

My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come;

take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.”

But God said to him,

“Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul;

and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?”

So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself

in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). All rights reserved

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

Our world, our homes are full of stuff - some stuff we need, a lot we never use...

One area - clothes... Look out the stuff you've never worn for years; bag it and give it to a charity shop.

One idea - "one in, one out"... if you're replacing anything over £100,

make sure the old one leaves the house, preferably recycled in some way.

  1. Have you ever "fallen out" with family/friends over possessions? What have you learned from it?
  2. When have you felt that possessions were becoming too important in your life?