Resources for Family Mass: July/August

 

Download Resources for a Family Mass.pdf

 

Orla Walsh is a Deputy Principal in

St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk, Co Louth

Email walshorla@icloud.com

 

3 July • Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Theme: Go Tell Everyone!

Sacred Space: Names on pieces of coloured paper/walking shoes/preparing for a journey

Homily: This week’s Gospel is about Jesus preparing his disciples for their journey ahead. Their journey coincides with their mission. This means that they were each invited to share the Good News with as many, far and wide, as they could. Jesus asked them to go in peace and love for God and to tell everyone (without fear) about the Kingdom of God. This was not the easiest of tasks but the disciples, all 72 of them, went with courage and hope for the outcome of their mission. Upon their return, they were joyous and encouraged by the reaction they received. Jesus asked them to dwell in that joy. However, he asked them to identify that joy with the love of God as opposed to giving themselves a big clap on the back for the great job they had done! This helps us to realise that when we carry out a good deed or complete a task that has brought happiness to others, we can be satisfied, not just for ourselves but for our service to God. We will be rewarded, but all in God’s own time.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Lord, help me to spread the Good News, wherever and whenever I can. Grant me the courage and grace to do your will.

2.  Lord God, thank you for the family and friends I have in my life. Bless them with courage and hope to support the mission of the Church.

3.  Lord God, Gracious God, empower me to always be open to and aware of your grace, always present in my life.

* * *

10 July • Luke 10:25-37

Theme: You are my neighbour!

Sacred Space: First Aid box/heart shapes

Homily: We often do not know who our neighbour is. Trust is often broken down and people do not always engage socially with those who live around them. In this parable, Jesus tells us that our neighbour can be anybody we meet, especially a person who is in need of care and support. Our opportunities to give help are plentiful and are presented to us every day. Jesus calls us to begin with love in all of our relationships. We are often too busy to notice another person’s loneliness, needs or pain. Jesus asks us to see with a new lens, to view each person as someone to support and show love to. Whether it is the opportunity to give someone a smile, a glass of water or a friendly chat with a friend who is in a quiet mood, all of these actions are doing what God asks us to do.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Gentle God, forgive me when I ignore others by walking on by. Sometimes selfishness or fear get in my way and I don’t stand up for what is just and right.

2.  Giving God, you love me though my troubles and pain, help me to identify myself in and through your love as I work to help others in my life.

3.  Gracious God, help me to become a good Samaritan in my life, grace me with the courage I need to carry me over the choppy waters of fear or embarrassment when doing the right thing is not always the ‘in’ thing.

* * *

17 July • Luke 10:38-42

Theme: Lost in busyness

Sacred Space: Graphics of busy places/ bus tickets and train tickets/receipts from shops/ baskets of shopping

Homily: When Jesus visits his friend’s house, Mary sat down and chatted with him. She did not bother with trying to clean up the room or make tea. Instead, she sat down and conversed with Jesus. She listened to what he had to say. On the other hand, Martha began to fuss and carried on with the jobs she was doing, she did not stop to enjoy her friend’s company. Also, she gave out about Mary to Jesus and moaned that she was trying to do everything on her own. Jesus explained to Martha that being busy often caused her to miss out on the important things in life. Sometimes we have too much to do and going to Mass to listen to the Word of God is just another thing in the way of our plans and tasks for the weekend. When Jesus calls us, we should make time for his presence in our lives. At Mass, Jesus comes to us in the person of the priest, in the people in the seats, in the readings and Gospel of the day. Finally, Jesus comes to us himself in the Eucharist. Surely we can make time for Jesus when he comes to us in such a loving and complete way.

Prayer of the Faithful:

1.  Jesus, I ask you to slow me down, slow me down to embrace you with my head and my heart. Let me be gracious in your presence and not busy myself with the next task of the day.

2.  Loving Jesus, you open your arms for my embrace, you fill my heart with your unconditional love, I thank you today and always.

3.  Loving Jesus Christ, you are my alpha and my omega, grant me the grace to be a vessel for your presence to peacefully dwell.

* * *

24 July • Luke 11:1-13

Theme: Pray Always

Sacred Space: Praying hands/lit candle/rosary beads/prayer beads

Homily: The disciples saw how much time Jesus spent in prayer. Jesus frequently left the crowd to pray and spend time with God. They saw this and asked Jesus to teach them how to pray in this way. They want to be able to pray like Jesus. The Lord’s Prayer is the model for all prayer, because it contains all that we need for real and relevant prayer. Jesus asks us to pray with our hearts and mind, he asks us to go deep into our prayer, to sit with it and let it take on a more meaningful space in our lives. Jesus reassures us that no matter how in vain or unheard we think our prayer is we need to persevere and God will grant us our needs with love and in abundance.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching us how to pray, just as you pray. Help us always to persevere in prayer and never to lose hope.

2.  Sacred heart of Jesus, we love you and ask you to be with us as we pray to God the Father gently calling us on to a deeper and peaceful relationship with God.

3.  Loving God, we will make time each day to pray the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught us to.

* * *

31 July • Luke 12: 13-21

Theme: Calm my ego Lord

Sacred Space: L’Oreal advertisement graphic/shiny new goods

Homily: Jesus is asked to settle an inheritance case. He is not impressed and reminds all who are present that storing up goods for one’s future is fine but it is not what real life is for. Of course we need to be wise with our earnings and goods but if our whole story revolves around minding ourselves, and making sure we are comfortable at all times, what is the real point of it? Here, Jesus is gently asking us to focus on an authentic life, focus on the important ‘goods’ that ought to be stored up. Of course, this is about being kind and loving others in the world. A life that is not always revolving around and dedicated to ourselves, which can very often be called greed. Jesus taught us to ask God for what we need today, ‘give us today our daily bread’, not what I for the next 20 years! It is good to plan ahead, but it is more important to plan for our life in the Kingdom of God. An authentic life cannot be measured in terms of material possessions.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Jesus, we seek more and more. We look with envy on what others seem to have – better homes, better jobs, better ways of living. Help us to be grateful for your endless love.

2.  Loving God, help me keep my ego under control and realise that just because I say ‘I’m worth it’ does not always mean I should acquire more.

3.  Gracious God, I bless all of those in my family who for one reason or another have not been able to provide for their daily bread. Help me to help them with an open heart.

* * *

7 August • Luke 12:32-48

Theme: Real wealth

Sacred Space: Good deeds/Shoes on a mat

Homily: Today’s Gospel is linked to last week’s Gospel. Jesus reminds us again that when we meet God will we bring with us a list of all the ‘stuff’ we have acquired or a list of all the ‘good things we have done? God is not impressed with our barns filled to the rafters, he is not impressed with our healthy bank balances. God is willing us through Jesus, to love one another. Jesus requests that we are ready to talk to God. Today, Jesus asks us to be ready to meet God. Jesus is telling us that God is interested in the quality of our lives and not the quantity of our possessions. Life is a pilgrimage. It keeps moving. A life lived in and through a love of God and each other is what is requested. This is how we build up real wealth not only for ourselves but for others as well.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Gracious God, help me to quench my thirst for all that glitters and is gold. Help me have the courage to live according to the Lord ’s Prayer.

2.  Gentle God, forgive me for my greed and lack of humility.

3.  Loving God, I thank you for sharing your love with me and for always loving me.

* * *

14 August • Luke 12: 49-53

Theme: Fire and Division

Sacred Space: Fire of love burning candle/Globe

Homily: In this week’s Gospel, Jesus describes the love of God as a fire ablaze. Jesus wants to help us understand the passion and immediacy of God’s love for us. Having received God’s burning love we will be changed forever. If we truly accept and embrace God’s unconditional love for us we cannot be but changed and see life with a different perspective. The Hebrew word for peace, is Shalom. It is a rich word, abundant with meaning. It focuses on integrity, well-being, harmony and unity. When we wish people ‘Shalom’ we ask for them a whole way of living at peace with God and with themselves. Sometimes we need to be shaken out of our complacency, sometimes we need to be made aware of the immediate need to start afresh and start loving God truly, wholly and deeply.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  God of love, thank you for loving me and sending the Holy Spirit to guide me when I lose my way.

2.  God of hope, forgive me for being hopeless at times. I will work to embrace your hope in my heart and share it with others.

3.  God of faith, help me set my heart ablaze with my belief in you. Bless those who shared the gift of faith with me and encouraged me to let it grow.

* * *

21 August • Luke 13: 22-30

Theme: Always working for God

Sacred Space: Lists of tasks/Good deeds/climbing boots

Homily: A newspaper headline once read ‘Alpine Guide Dies Climbing’. When his family and friends marked the place where this man died, they left a stone there. Engraved on the stone was his name and written beside it the words; ‘He died climbing’. Today Jesus asks us to die climbing! Every small deed, every small task and every time we act for the good of others is a small climb. This kind of climb is in the direction of the Kingdom of God and a life of peace and rest in God.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Lord God, may I never be complacent and unaware of the opportunities presented to me that allow me to work for the Kingdom of God.

2.  Saviour God, journey with me as I seek out ways to climb towards greatness in your eyes.

3.  Gentle God, Forgive my failures and allow me to begin anew every day.

* * *

28 August • Luke 14:1, 7-14

Theme: Invited by God

Sacred Space: Banquet items/Guest list

Homily: Today’s Gospel is about people eating together. The Kingdom of God, which is the most perfect community and the goal of the Christian message, is often represented as a banquet. This is a meal for everyone, we are all invited to feast at the table of God. This is something to celebrate and be joyous about as all of our names are on the list of invitees, no one is excluded. The celebration of the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives. The most beautiful banquet we can ever attend here on earth.

Unfortunately when Jesus attended the meal at the Pharisee’s house a sinister atmosphere was established. It should have been an occasion of companionship. Instead, we are told that, ‘they watched him closely.’ Jesus was being watched in case he made a mistake or broke a rule on the Sabbath.

Today, Jesus tells us that no such rules can be broken at God’s table, we are invited for ourselves, and not for what we may or may not do. God asks us to love those who we know may never be able to love us in return. We are asked to love as God loves, unconditionally.

Prayer of the Faithful

1.  Lord God, thank you for calling us to God’s table guided by your love.

2.  Saving God, help me to continuously seek others to love and serve without looking for a reward.

3.  God of peace, bless all who have invited me to their table in love and in peace.

* * *