12th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

LITURGY OF THE WORD

JEREMIAH 20:10-13

PSALM 68(69) In your great love, answer me O Lord.

ROMANS 5:12-15

GOSPEL: MATTHEW 10:26-33

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Invitation to Prayer

Jesus tells us: Do not be afraid.

At this time when many are full of worry, let us turn in confident prayer to our

Father Who loves and cares for us:

Intentions

We pray for the Church in our world: that all followers of Jesus may have the

courage to bear witness to him and to his Gospel .

Lord hear us

We pray for the leaders of nations that they may work together for true justice

and peace for all the peoples of our world and especially for all who are

suffering from war, violence and starvation.

Lord hear us

We pray for all who are discriminated against because of their race, colour or

religion: that we may work together to build a society in which all are

recognised as our sisters and brothers, children of the one God.

Lord hear us

We pray for all suffering from Covid-19 and all who are caring for them in the

hospitals and care homes and at home. We pray for the dying and those who

have died that the Lord Jesus may be with them and with their families.

Lord hear us

We pray for the sick and housebound of our parish, that they may receive new

hope from the God of love and compassion. We pray for all who care for them,

bringing them God’s love and compassion.

Lord hear us

We pray for all who have died that they may know the fullness of the joy of

God’s kingdom and live with God for all eternity. We pray especially for:

Lord hear us

We pray for our parish: that we may place our trust in God our Father who loves

and cares for us at all times.

Lord hear us

Let us ask Mary, mother of the Lord Jesus, to pray for us now as we say: HAIL

MARY…………..

Let us pray together for a while in the silence of our hearts

Concluding Prayer

God of love, be with us in these times of trouble and give us the courage not to

be afraid that we may follow Jesus showing his love to one another and helping

us to bear witness to him in our world.

We ask this through the same Christ our Lord

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_ ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,

come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You were already there

and unite myself to You.

Never permit me to be separated from You.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Our first reading today and the Gospel remind us that it will not always

be easy to be a follower of Jesus. In the first reading we hear how

Jeremiah is attacked by those who used to be his friends. But Jeremiah

has confidence – the Lord is at my side.

In the Gospel Jesus tells his followers – Do not be afraid of those who kill the

body and cannot kill the soul. He reminds us: So if anyone declares himself for

me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my

Father in heaven.

These words must have given strength to Thomas More and John Fisher

whose feast we keep on Monday. For those of us who were used to

think of More as the man for all seasons depicted in the play and film by

Robert Bolt, it came as a shock to see him portrayed in Hilary Mantel’s

“Wolf Hall” as a devious villain, not averse to using torture. Of course

we were seeing him through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell who hated

him for not supporting Henry VIII. Ironically, Cromwell would suffer

the same fate.

In Thomas More we see a devoted family man who educated his

beloved daughter, Margaret; who was loved and respected by many

across Europe. Fisher was a devout man who, like More, could not agree

to the king’s divorce and who was prepared to die for his faith. Both

were prepared to declare themselves for Christ and his Church even to

their cruel death.

THE WEEK AHEAD

MONDAY 22 JUNE SAINT JOHN FISHER (BISHOP) AND SAINT

THOMAS MORE MARTYRS (FEAST)

John Fisher was born in Beverley in 1469 and was martyred in London

in 1535. After a distinguished academic career at Cambridge he was

appointed chancellor there and bishop of Rochester in the same year. He

combined a diligent pastoral ministry with writing, especially in defence

of doctrine.

Thomas More was born in London in 1478 and was martyred there in

1535. He was an Oxford scholar, a noted humanist and apologist, and

an incorruptible judge and parliamentarian who served as speaker of the

House of Commons and Lord Chancellor. He is known as a ‘man for all

seasons’.

Both men were drawn into conflict with Henry VIII over his divorce of

Catherine of Aragon and papal supremacy. Both were imprisoned and

beheaded for treason.

WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE : THE NATIVITY OF ST JOHN THE

BAPTIST (FEAST)

John is one of the few saints to have two celebrations – one in June

celebrates his birth, the other in August, his death. Jesus himself

describes John as the greatest of the sons of men.

PRAYERS OF MEDITATION FOR THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

Hail, true body

Born of the Virigin Mary,

Which truly suffered, sacrificed

On the Cross for humankind,

Whose pierced side overflowed

With water and blood.

Be for us a foretaste of salvation

In the hour of death. Amen

(Ave Verum Corpus – 14 Century)

To Christ in the Blessed Sacrament

A PRAYER FOR GRACE

I kneel, O Lord, before your sacrament which proclaims your death. Kindle

and leave burning in my heart the light of faith and the fire of your love. Give

me the grace of perseverance. This is what you give, when you give me the

grace of unwavering trust in your mercy, when you give me the grace to believe

that you are greater than our hearts, when you give me the grace of prayer and

love. You give me the grace of perseverance, in giving me the grace to forget my

own wilfulness in the holy missions which you have entrusted in me, in the holy

destiny which you have called me. You give it to me in the grace to love and

honour your Sacred Heart. I kneel, O Lord, before you.

Adapted from Karl Rahner, Prayers for a Lifetime

WOULD YOU HONOUR THE BODY OF CHRIST?

Would you honour the body of Christ? Do not despise his nakedness; do not honour him here in church clothed in silk vestments and then pass him by unclothed and frozen outside. Remember that he who said, ‘This is my Body’, and made good his words, also said, ‘You saw me hungry and gave me no food’, and, ‘in so far as you did it not to one of these, you did it not to me’. In the first sense the body of Christ does not need clothing but worship from a pure heart. In the second sense it does need clothing and all the care we can give it. We must learn to be discerning Christians and to honour Christ in the way in which he wants to be honoured. It is only right that honour given to anyone should take the form most acceptable to the recipient not to the giver. Peter thought he was honouring the Lord when he tried to stop him washing his feet, but this was far from being genuine homage. So give God the honour he asks for, that is give your money generously to the poor. God has no need of golden vessels but of golden hearts. I am not saying you should not give golden altar vessels and so on, but I am insisting that nothing can take the place of almsgiving. The Lord will not refuse to accept the first kind of gift but he prefers the second, and quite naturally, because in the first case only the donor benefits, in the second case the poor gets the benefit. The gift of a chalice may be ostentatious; almsgiving is pure benevolence.

What is the use of loading Christ’s table with gold cups while he himself is starving? Feed the hungry and then if you have any money left over, spend it on the altar table. Will you make a cup of gold and without a cup of water? What use is it to adorn the altar with cloth of gold hangings and deny Christ a coat for his back! What would that profit you? Tell me: if you saw someone starving and refused to give him any food but instead spent your money on adorning the altar with gold, would he thank you? Would he not rather be outraged? Or if you saw someone in rags and stiff with cold and then did not give him clothing but set up golden columns in his honor, would he not say that he was being made a fool of and insulted?

Consider that Christ is that tramp who comes in need of a night’s lodging. You turn him away and then start laying rugs on the floor, draping the walls, hanging lamps on silver chains on the columns. Meanwhile the tramp is locked up in prison and you never give him a glance. Well again I am not condemning munificence in these matters. Make your house beautiful by all means but also look after the poor, or rather look after the poor first. No one was ever condemned for not adorning his house, but those who neglect the poor were threatened with hellfire for all eternity and a life of torment with devils. Adorn your house if you will, but do not forget your brother in distress. He is a temple of infinitely greater value.

St John Chrysostom

A Eucharistic Litany

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Revive us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Sanctify us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Console us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Enlighten us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Satisfy our hunger

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Quench our thirst

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Speak to us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Help us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Unite us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Show us the Father

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Send us your Spirit

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Give us your love

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Bestow your peace on us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Share your glory with us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Reinforce our faith

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Teach us to pray

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Walk with us

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Renew your Church

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Mould us to be your witnesses

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Entrust us to your Mother

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Grant us your compassion

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Strengthen us to serve the poor

Lord, Jesus living in the Eucharist – Make us radiant with your presence

Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world - Forgive

us, O Lord Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world - Hear us, O Lord

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world - Have mercy on us, O Lord

Lord Jesus, Our Lord and Our God – May we love and serve you always, Amen

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Prayer Resource for June: month of the Sacred Heart

Prayer: taken from the Roman Missal

O God, who in the Heart of your Son, wounded by our sins, bestow on us in mercy the boundless treasures of your love, grant, we pray, that, in paying him the homage of our devotion we may also offer worthy reparation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

An Act of Spiritual Communion My Jesus, I believe that you are

present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.

Almighty God and Father, we glory in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, your beloved Son, as we call to mind the great things his love has done for us. Fill us with the grace that flows in abundance from the Heart of Jesus, the source of heaven’s gifts. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Taken from the Divine Office

more prayer resources are

available here:

www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org

Short Litany of the Sacred Heart Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

The response is: have mercy on us.

God the Father of Heaven, God the Son, Redeemer of the world, God the Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, one God, Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb, Heart of Jesus, substantially one with the eternal Word. Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty. Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God. Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High. Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven. Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity. Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love. Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love. Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise. Heart of Jesus, King and centre of all hearts. Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.

Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased. Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy. Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness. Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death. Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance. Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation. Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection. Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation. Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins. Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in You. Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints.

Father, we rejoice in the gifts of love we have received from the heart of Jesus your Son. Open our hearts to share his life and continue to bless us with his love. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord