Prayer intention:

Lord, guide the work of your Church: help it proclaim your name and bring your salvation to peoples everywhere.

Scripture:

Moses said to the people: You are a people consecrated to the Lord your God; it is you that the Lord our God has chosen to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth.

'If the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, it was not because you outnumbered other peoples: you were the least of all peoples. It was for love of you and to keep the oath he swore to your fathers that the Lord brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)

Reflection:

How great is your love for us, your people, Lord. Even today we see the wonder of the miracles you worked long ago. You once saved the people of Israel from slavery, set your heart on them and chose them to be your own people.

Now, through baptism, you offer that salvation to all the peoples of the world. You want all peoples to be partners in a special relationship with you.

We thank you, Lord, because your love is offered without price; it is your wonderful, free gift to us your people. Help us bring your salvation to others.

Intercessions:

God our Father has bound himself to us in an everlasting covenant. In thankfulness and faith we say: Your kingdom come.

--- May your Church be a light to the nations and lead all the peoples of the world to the mystery of your love.

--- Gather into one all who bear the name of Christian, that the world may believe in the Christ you have sent.

--- You have called us to be heralds of the Gospel: help us to enter the depth of its message and make it our own.

*Call to mind the missionaries you know and pray for them.

Our Father …

Continue with other Prayers …

Prayer intention:

Lord, in your kindness give us an effective love for our brothers and sisters who suffer from famine and starvation.

Scripture:

My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God's love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God's love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.(I John 4:7-11)

Reflection:

Father ,in Jesus your S on, you have shown us the depth of your love for us. You are the origin of love: help us experience this love of yours so that we may, after the example of Jesus, share it with everyone without restriction.

Often we are selfish, self-centered, we love only those who love us: today we are challenged by your all-embracing love. We ask your pardon, Lord, for the many times we failed to love as you do, and ask you to give us the grace to love you in those who suffer.

Intercessions:

God's love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we might have life through him. We are able to love God because he loved us first. And so we pray: Lord, help us to love you and to love one another.

--- Teach us to see you present in all people. help us to recognize you most of all in those who suffer, and to respond to you with effective actions.

--- Lord you consoled especially the poor and troubled: look with mercy on those in any kind of need.

--- We commend to your fatherly goodness those who suffer from famine and starvation: comfort and relieve them according to their needs.

*How can I share with the poor the blessings I have received from God?

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord in your love watch over refugees and exiles, those separated from their loved ones and those who have left home.

Scripture:

Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.

'Come to me, all you who labour and are over-burdened, and 1 will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for 1am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light. (from Matthew 11:25-30).

Reflection:

We bless and thank you, Father, for giving us Jesus, your Son. "Come to me, "he says to each one of us, "follow me, be my disciple, learn from me and you'll find rest for your soul".

How close you are to us when we come to recognize and accept our need for you and to cast our care entirely upon you. against all human expectation you sustain us when we need to be sustained, helping us to do what seemed impossible.

Help us respond to your love and to have a heart for others like yours.

Intercessions:

We make our prayers to Christ who is gentle and humble of heart, and we say to him: Lord, have mercy on us.

--- We pray for all who are homeless today, for families searching for a place to live and for refugees: make us aware of their needs.

--- Jesus, you knew what it was to be excluded from your homeland: be mindful of those who must live far from their families and country.

--- Let all exiles know your care for them; may they find their homelands once more and come one day to the Father's house.

*Bring to mind some particular refugees and homeless of whom you have heard and pray for them.

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord in your goodness watch over all children in need; make them experience your love through our prayer and generosity.

Scripture:

Listen to the word of the Lord:
When Israel was a child I loved him, 
and I called my son out of Egypt.
I myself taught Ephraim to walk, 
I took them in my arms;
yet they have not understood that I was the one looking
after them.
I led them with reins of kindness, 
with leading-strings of love.
I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek;
stooping down to him I gave him his food.
(Hosea II:1. 3-4).

Reflection:

Lord, you revealed yourself to your people as a loving, compassionate, faithful Father, always ready to forgive their ingratitude and selfishness. Today we thank you for the many times we too have experienced your faithful love in our lives through your presence in the Sacraments, in your Word, in the people around us and in the events of our life. Help us become mirrors of your love to those we meet, especially to those who suffer.

Intercessions:

God is our loving Father who cares for us and knows all our needs. With confidence we pray: Father, may we find rest in your love.

--- Teach us to see you present in our brothers and sisters; help us to recognize you most of all in those who suffer.

--- You took children in your arms and blessed them: look with mercy on all children in need.

--- We pray especially for peace and love in family life and for those orphaned; comfort them in your love.

*Think of and pray for the millions of children who are abused and exploited in our own country and abroad.

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord, give your Church more priests, religious and missionaries; keep them faithful in their love and service.

Scripture:

I, Paul, who am less than the least of all the saints, have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the inf1nite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed.

Out of his infinite glory, may the Father give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God. (from Ephesians 3: 8-19).

Reflection:

Lord I cannot grasp how much you love us, your people, and how much you love me, personally.

St. Paul tells us that "nothing whatsoever will be able to separate us from the love of God which comes to us in Christ Jesus"(Rom. 8: 39).

Your love, Lord, gives meaning to our life and fills us with great joy.

Call many young people to proclaim to the whole world "the infinite treasure of Christ" so that all peoples may experience the depth of your love for them.

Intercessions:

We give thanks to Christ and praise him because he calls us to share his own life and bring it to others: Lord, bless your people.

--- Send workers into the harvest and bring the world to the knowledge and love of you.

--- Inspire many young people to follow in the footsteps of your missionaries and spend their lives spreading the Good News.

--- Be with the priests, religious and missionaries of your Church; what they preach to others may they practice in their lives.

*Thank the Lord for the priests, religious and missionaries you know and pray for them and for our young people.

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord, stretch out your healing hand on the sick, both at home and overseas.

Scripture:

The soldiers came and broke the legs or the first man who had been crucified with Jesus and then or the other. When they came to Jesus, they round he was already dead, and so instead or breaking his legs one or the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence or one who saw it and he gives it so that you may believe as well.

Because all this happened to fulfill the words or scripture:

Not one or his bones will be broken: and again, in another place scripture says:

They will look on the one whom they have pierced. (John 19: 32-37)

Reflection:

Father, the death of Jesus on the cross is the climax or the revelation of your love for us. The crucified Christ is the sign of salvation for the whole or humanity: the pierced Heart pours out life and love in signs of water and blood.

Christ. you have come so that we may have lire and have it to the full (Jn 10: I0): in the sacraments you give yourself to us so that we may live your own life.

Help our sick brothers and sisters all over the world to experience that their sufferings too bring life to others.

Intercessions:

We make our prayers to Christ, whose heart was pierced by the lance, and we say to him: Lord, have mercy on us.

--- Help the sick to share their sufferings with Christ, may they know in him the fullness or life and love.

--- Help us to bring your compassion to the poor, the sick, the lonely, the unloved; lead us to find you in them.

--- Jesus, you suffered and died for 'the Church: be with all Christians who are suffering today.

*Call to mind the sick people you know and pray for them, and for those who look after them.

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord, look with love on your Church, help catechists to be effective witnesses of your Gospel.

Scripture:

The Lord God says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view.

I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness.

I shall feed them in good pasturage; the high moun-tains of Israel will be their grazing ground. There they will rest in good grazing ground; they will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep,

I myself will show them where to rest - it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them. (from Ezekiel 34: 11-16)

Reflection:

The image of the shepherd is one of those images which has lost some of its force in our own time and place. This image symbolizes the care, the attentive love, the personal relation-ship and mutual knowledge which exists between the shepherd and the sheep.

The prophet Ezekiel told us how God, the true shepherd, is actively involved in our daily life; and yet we often take God's activity for granted. We forget that "He, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock"(Psalm 99). Lord, we give you thanks for the marvellous things you do for us day after day.

Intercessions:

The will of God is for all people to be saved. Let us pray that
his will may be done: Show us your loving kindness.

--- Show your care for all who dedicate their lives to the
service of others, especially the catechists: may your
grace inspire their actions and sustain them to the end.

--- We give you thanks for all whose work proclaims your
love; help us to serve in the communities in whose life we
share.

*Bring to mind the lay people who have helped you grow in
your faith and pray for them and for the catechists who
play a very important role in the missionary work of the
Church.

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord in your goodness rescue those unjustly deprived of liberty, the oppressed and those who suffer because of apartheid.

Scripture:

The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man -though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die -but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still Sinners.

And so we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation. (from Romans 5: 5-11).

Reflection:

Lord, we rejoice in your saving love manifested in the death and resurrection of Jesus. When we were lost and could not find our way to you, you loved us more than ever. You sent your Son Jesus who gave his life for us and who came to save us.

This message is "good news": we are loved even in our sins. As we experience the depth of your love and forgiveness in Jesus we become aware of the seriousness of our offences. Your love and salvation are a pure gift, they cannot be merited, they are "given".

Help us thank you for all this by lives of service to others.

Intercessions:

Father, we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ: through the Holy Spirit he offered himself in sacrifice to you: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

--- Guide the steps of those who are oppressed, those persecuted for race, colour or religion: let their dignity be respected and their rights upheld.

--- We pray for our country: may it promote justice and brotherhood in the world.

--- Help us create a community where justice and peace may flourish: be with us lest we labour in vain.

*Am I aware of the situations of injustice and oppression in the world? What can I do to create a better world?

Our Father.

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Prayer intention:

Lord, in your loving kindness, watch over your missionaries.

Scripture:

Jesus spoke this parable to the scribes and Pharisees: 'What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? "Rejoice with me," he would say, "I have found my sheep that was lost." In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance." (Luke 15: 3-7)

Reflection:

Lord, you are out there looking for us. Your concern for each and everyone of us is an expression of the Father's love: many a time we have been comforted by the image of the shepherd seeking out the lost sheep and carrying it home on his shoulders. But your concern extends also to those who are not of your flock: through each one of us, and especially through your missionaries, you reach out to those who are far from you and your Church.

As we thank you for the many times you have carried us home on your shoulders, we ask you to help us bring your love to others.

Intercessions:

Christ is the shepherd of his flock: he loves and cares for his people. We turn to him in trust and say: Lord we need your care.

--- Saviour and light of all peoples, keep missionaries in your special care: may the light of your Spirit burn strongly in them.

--- You sent your disciples to preach the Gospel to every nation: bless those men and women who devote their lives to the preaching of the Gospel today.

*Call to mind the missionaries you know and pray for them.

Our Father.

Continue with other Prayers …