CAFOD PRAYERS for Tuesday 2nd July 2019

Opening Meditation

Do not try to save

the whole world

or do anything grandiose.

Instead, create

a clearing

in the dense forest

of your life,

and wait there

patiently,

until the song

that is your life

falls into your own cupped hands

and you recognize and greet it.

Only then will you know

how to give yourself

to this world,

so worthy of rescue.

(Martha Postlethwaite)

 

Scripture

Matthew 8:23-27

²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. ²⁷ They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

 

John 20:24-29

²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Intercessions

Let us pray for our global family, in solidarity and hope.

 

Concluding Prayer

“His state was divine,

yet he did not cling to his equality with God

but emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave,

and became as we are,

and, being as we all are,

he was humbler yet,

even to accepting death,

death on a cross.

 

But God raised him high

and gave him the name

which is above all other names,

so that all beings –

in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld –

should bend the knee

at the name of Jesus,

and that every tongue

should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.”  (Phil 2:6-11)

 

Glory be the Father…..

CAFOD Prayer – June 2019

CAFOD PRAYERS for Tuesday 4^TH June 2019

“(Paul) was hurrying to be in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost.” (Acts 20:16)

 

Opening Prayer

Hidden God, you reveal yourself

in and through your creation.

Every creature is a sacrament.

All creation reveals your power.

Open our eyes, hidden God,

that we may see you

in your world,

in all peoples,

in every creature.

Let us know you love all;

that we, and all things,

abide in you,

in your care,

in your love,

in your presence,

now and evermore.

Amen.

 

(From “The Open Gate” by David Adam)

 

Scripture    Acts 20:17-27

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. ¹⁸ When they came to him, he said to them:

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, ²¹ as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus. ²² And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. ²⁴ But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.

²⁵ “And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. ²⁶ Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, ²⁷ for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

 

Gospel:       John 17:1-11

17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

⁶ “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸ for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

 

Note

Chapters 14:1 to 17:26 constitute the Last Discourse of Jesus. Here John has combined Last Supper sayings of Jesus with material scattered through his public life to compose these speeches.

The first 12 chapters were largely written for unbelievers, but now the Fourth Gospel turns our attention to Jesus’s message for believers, gathering all such material into one place. This Joannine synthesis is the most sublime sermon ever composed. Jesus speaks both as still in the world and as having left it, giving this discourse its abiding value.

Today we have part 3 of this discourse beginning the “Priestly Prayer”. Here, more than ever, we cross the threshold of eternity. We are now in the context of John’s “hour”.

(From “The Gospel of St john” by Raymond E. Brown SS)

Intercessions

We bring before you Lord,

the troubles and dangers of peoples and nations;

the sighing of prisoners,

the sorrows of the bereaved,

the necessities of strangers,

the dependency of the weary,

the failing powers of the aged.

Lord, draw near to each

for the sake of Jesus Christ.

(St Augustine of Hippo, 354-430)

Concluding Prayer

Come Spirit of love, compassion and trust.

Come Spirit of truth, hope and justice.

Come Spirit of friendship and joy.

Come Spirit of companionship and peace and unity.

Come breath of our Creator God –

breathe in us, make us live renewed and strong

in communion with the Father and the Son,

forever and ever. Amen.

Memorial Sponsored Walk for Deceased CAFOD Supporters

For over 35 years, the three churches of East Burnley have generously supported the work of CAFOD in the developing world.  St John’s has had a CAFOD group who have met regularly over all those years, and of course as time has passed many group members and supporters have gone to the Lord.

Last year we were deeply saddened by the loss of our chairperson and stalwart campaigner for justice – Monica Atherton.  We decided at our last meeting to mark the passing of all these wonderful people by having a “Memorial Sponsored Walk”.  It will be a short walk of 4 miles along the canal tow path. Perhaps, in memory of a family member who has been involved in or supported our work, you may like to “Buy a Bee” £4, “Buy a Tree” £8 or just sponsor the walk with a small donation.  We will pray on the route and remember our departed friends, and would welcome the opportunity to speak their names in prayer as we walk. You are very welcome to join us or leave their name on the sponsor sheet or memorial envelopes at the back of church during the weekend of 15th/16th June, when we hope to collect sponsors. The walk will take place on Saturday 29^th June at 11am from the towpath at Barden Lane, Burnley, walking to the B&Q store at Brierfield and back.

Please feel free to download the poster, by clicking below, to display in your parish communities:

CAFOD Memorial Sponsored Walk Poster