Corpus Christi Sunday

The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.

• The gospel for the day
  (a useful commentary on the reading here (you may need to scroll down for the current one)
• Some optional questions for reflection
  
• Prayers of Intercession
  
• Cluster Prayer
• The gospel of the week ahead with questions

Luke 9: 11-17: They all ate as much as they wanted.

Jesus made the crowds welcome

and talked to them about the kingdom of God;

and he cured those who were in need of healing.

It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said,

‘Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms

round about to find lodging and food;

for we are in a lonely place here.’

He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’

But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish,

unless we are to go ourselves

and buy food for all these people.’

For there were about five thousand men.

But he said to his disciples,

‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.’

They did so and made them all sit down.

Then he took the five loaves and the two fish,

raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them;

then he broke them and handed them to his disciples

to distribute among the crowd.

They all ate as much as they wanted,

and when the scraps remaining were collected

they filled twelve baskets.

 
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

On this great feast of Corpus Christi which celebrates bread being made flesh by words from Heaven, we pray;

For our leaders, especially Pope Francis, our bishops, priests and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, that they will never cease to see in this bread of life, the living body that is our food.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For all in our faith communities, may the celebrations of the sacraments, especially Holy Mass fill us with a sense of not only God’s nearness, but also with awe at his greatness and compassion. May the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, that we share, satisfy our needs and bring us the fruits of redemption, namely, reconciliation, love and hope.

 May we walk bravely, rise to any challenge that comes our way, ask for God’s wisdom and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those in the world, deprived of the sacraments, may we be one in love and prayer with those not permitted to practice their faith and who cannot receive their Lord in the Eucharist.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the children in our cluster who are receiving their first Holy Communion this weekend. May they be nourished by Jesus in this sacrament and always be supported in their faith by their families and the cluster community.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We thank our Church leaders and all those working for justice who challenge our current government policy on refugee deportation to Rwanda for their courage in standing firm in the teachings of Christ and the true freedoms that he brings. 

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who are unwell in body, mind or spirit, suffering at home or in hospital and those who have asked for our prayers, we remember especially all those on our Prayer Foundation List and those placed on our hearts.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who have died and whose anniversaries occur at this time, we remember them and bring them before our Heavenly Father.

We remember especially, Ronnie Carruthers, Jean Lowe, Elaine Hepburn, John Lynch and Donald McAleavy.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Prayer to be Missionary Disciples