Resources for Family Mass: November

Download Resources for a Family Mass.pdf

Orla Walsh is a Deputy Principal in

St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk, Co Louth

6 November • Luke 20: 27-38

Theme: Each of us, a child of God

Sacred Space: Unique human identity, yet shared identity in God’s eyes/handprints on sheets/pictures of people from many different countries and cultures

Homily: This Sunday’s Gospel can be a little difficult to understand. However, the message is actually quite clear. The Sadducees did not favour rising from the dead. Jesus works to explain how they are trapped in human concepts. ‘He is God not of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive.’ We are part of that which transcends space and time, and embraces each ancestor from the beginning of time. Jesus explains that it does not matter who is who on earth, in the Kingdom of God we are all loved equally and unconditionally. We are different on earth and our brothers and sisters are often a different race, have different nationalities, have different cultures and traditions and ethnic backgrounds and so on, but we are equal in God’s eyes, each valued as the most precious jewel and as unique as our own thumbprints! In the resurrection we will share the eternal ‘Now’ of God.

Prayer of the Faithful

1. God our father, thank you for showing us the way to holiness. You sent Jesus who walks with us every day calling us brother and sister.

2. Holy Spirt, empower us with your wisdom and right judgement as we work for justice and equality in our world.

3. Gracious God, enable us to give our love, our hope and our faith to our neighbours.

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13 November • Luke 21:5-19

Theme: Good will always triumph

Sacred Space: Symbols of strength/Symbols of patience

Homily: This Sunday’s Gospel calls us to be patient and strong. The road to the Kingdom of God is not always an easy one. Jesus explains that there will be difficult times ahead, that the pursuit of life in God can cause us to be mocked, jeered and afraid. God asks us to be strong, to be aware of the world and its ways and to practice patience. It is said that the Bible displays the phrase ‘Do not be afraid’ or ‘Do not fear’, 365 times. This would mean that every day God asks us to be fearless! Whether the Bible holds this exact number of the phrase or not, there are plenty of times that God asks us not to be afraid of professing our faith, hope and love as Christians. Today, we are being asked to stay strong and stay patient, good will triumph over evil and not a hair on our heads will perish.

Prayer of the Faithful

1. Loving God, we ask for blessings on those who do not show love in our world, those who through malice or ignorance mock our choice to live in God’s unconditional love.

2. Gentle God, we thank you for the strength you give us to carry life’s struggles and worries. Help us to stay strong when under pressure and not give in to the superficial world of our ego.

3. Merciful God, we give thanks and praise for your boundless mercy, shown to us every hour. Empower us to be merciful with others and spread the Good News.

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20 November • Luke 23: 35-43

Theme: Stay True

Sacred Space: Scales/ Love symbols

Homily: This Sunday’s Gospel is about staying true to God. This means that we need to give each day our best shot. Trying every day to be a decent, loving and non-judgemental person is of huge importance. The first characteristics above i.e. decent and loving, are easy to understand, but the third one mentioned is ‘non-judgemental’. It is very easy to get involved in a group chat or on Instagram when someone else is being posted about in a negative way.

On the cross, having suffered an incredible ordeal of pain and humiliation, Jesus still found the time to listen and really hear what the criminal beside him was saying. Jesus did not judge the man saying, ‘you are getting what you deserve’, no, he listened to the man who said he was sorry and had spoken up for Jesus. Jesus heard him and showed him love and forgiveness, in other words Jesus was non-judgemental.

Prayer of the Faithful

1. Sacred God, help me to love you each and every moment of every day. Help me to respond daily to your grace.

2. Loving God, thank you for sending Jesus to show us the way, the truth and the life.

3. Gentle Spirit, heal us with your love and allow us to heal others with our prayers in love.

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27 November • Matthew 24:37-44

Theme: I’ll Wait for You

Sacred Space: Advent wreath.

Homily: This Sunday’s Gospel is about waiting. The season of Advent is about waiting for Jesus to be with us. However, we are not just celebrating the birth of Christ, we are also waiting for a great peace to reside in everyone’s heart and God’s Kingdom here on earth. This Gospel is asking us to wake up and to not fall asleep. Often we get distracted and do not take our connection with God that seriously. Today’s Gospel is reminding us to focus always on our truth and on trying to live an authentic life. This means that we do not give endless hours to ‘fake’ identities, to the selfie culture or to the world of social media. Look to a family member, how can I help and show love right here, right now? Presents and decorations are a joy, but real joys are the moments of spiritual connections we have through prayer, fun times, chats with people we care about and waiting to celebrate the incarnation of God in Jesus.

Prayer of the Faithful

1. Merciful Father, we pray for the homeless during the run up to Christmas. Empower us to do what we can and resist the urge to look for more than we need.

2. Loving God, we look forward to the birth of Jesus with real love in our hearts, help us to sustain that love.

3. Gentle Jesus, we pray for the Pope’s intentions during Advent time. We ask for blessings on him and that he may know how much he is loved by all.

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