20th Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C
The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.
- The gospel for the day
- Some optional questions for reflection
- Prayers of Intercession
- Cluster Prayer
- The gospel of the week ahead with questions for reflection
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)
No reflection this week due to the summer break
* All second questions
© The Pastoral Center
Prayers of Intercession
For Pope Leo and all Church leaders, may their lives and teachings give witness to a God who is compassionate and just.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
May the Church be granted the courage and unshakeable strength of Jeremiah, that it may speak your truth and guide your people with faithfulness even in the face of opposition.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
May those in the world, who are being persecuted because of their Christian beliefs, be strengthened in their resolve and stand firm in their beliefs.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
For the staff and volunteers of humanitarian agencies, that this week’s United Nations observance of World Humanitarian Day on 19th August, encourage them in their compassionate service of victims of violence, poverty, and social upheaval.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
As we reflect on the theme of today’s Gospel, help us to recognize and use your ‘Divine Flame’ to purify and transform our lives and kindle our hearts with hope and love.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
Guide and strengthen our Cluster Council and faith Communities on our journey to be Missionary Disciples. May they be purified by Jesus, driven by zeal for him, and may they experience the peace and hope he promised.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
For teachers and pupils returning to school this week. May God grant them, patience and understanding of each other, and may they both find ways to support teaching and learning in new classroom environments.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
For those suffering in body, mind or spirit, and all those on the prayer foundation list, we pray that the Holy Spirit will be with them and their families and that they will receive the loving touch of Christ in their lives.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
For those who have recently died, for those who are grieving, and for those whose anniversaries occur at this time. We remember especially Jonathan (Jon) Savage, Kate Selby, Janet Cuthill, Michael Morgan, Michael Rodgers. May they be welcomed into the eternal kingdom and be rewarded for their faithful service.
Lord, in your mercy ... Hear our prayer
We will now say together the prayer to be missionary disciples.
Cluster prayer
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
Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)
Taken at face value, the question posed to Jesus, as well as his reply, must strike us as rather harsh and out of line with his usual message of love and inclusiveness. As so often, it is useful to consider the wider context. Against the backdrop of the commonly held belief of the Jews as God's chosen people, it is likely that the questioner is curious to know if non-Jews, or Jews who don't stringently follow the rules, are excluded from salvation.
In response, Jesus uncompromisingly nips in the bud any notion that simply belonging to a particular group will gain us any merit. It is by our actions, by entering through the narrow gate, that we will be judged. If people "from the east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God", we, too, would do well to look out for goodness beyond church-going Catholics, Christians, or indeed, institutionalised religion. Are we prepared to find God in unexpected places?
* All second questions
© The Pastoral Center
Gospel for the day - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Luke 12:49-53 - ‘I have not come to give peace but division.’
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided: three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
This is the gospel of the Lord. Commentary on the readings.