Third Sunday in Ordinary Time A

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

Matthew 4:12-23
He went and settled in Capernaum: in this way the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled 

Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee,

and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum,

a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.

In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:

‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.’

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message,

‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers,

Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew;

they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen.

And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’

And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers,

James son of Zebedee and his brother John;

they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets,

and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues,

proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom

and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.

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

Prayers of Intercession

For Pope Francis, that he will be blessed with the strength and health he needs to continue as a prophetic voice for our times. May the light of Christ guide his way.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For the church, that the good news of Jesus Christ, as the light of the world, will be proclaimed through actions of compassion and mercy, rather than words, by everyone who follows His example.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For the peoples of Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Russia and all areas where there is conflict. May they be led by their leaders beyond long-standing hostilities to a new era of mutual recognition and peace.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For Mother Earth, that all of humanity will waken up to the urgency of her cries and respond through prayer and action, remembering that our material consumption is a major driver of the climate crisis. May God bless the work of all those people at the forefront trying to find solutions.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For our local churches, as we come to the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, that the Spirit will enable us to recognise our oneness in Christ and give us a vision of how we can together help eradicate poverty and care for our planet.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For ourselves, that we will remember that the first people Jesus invited to follow Him were ordinary fishermen. May we courageously respond to His call remembering that He will use whatever unique skills we have and will strengthen us to do what is ours to do.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For all who are struggling during this cold winter to keep warm. May the spirit of kindness, generosity and hope spread throughout our neighbourhoods to those who are vulnerable.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For everyone in our cluster parishes who is sick, housebound or in hospital, and those on the Prayer Foundation list, that they will experience the comforting love and healing power of Christ through all who care for them.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For those in our parishes who have died, that Christ will welcome them into the light of His Kingdom. In particular......

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

We will now say our prayer to be Missionary Disciples.

Prayer to be Missionary Disciples