Synod of Bishops

 Synod Of Bishops

    This weekend we are asked to gather in prayer as the body of Christ and pray for The Synod of Bishops that is coming up. Below you will find the letter, prayer and prayer of the faithful. I ask that we all consider doing this each and everyday until the Synod ends. Offer up sacrifices. Say the Rosary. Whatever you feel that you can offer. We are at a critical time where the faith is taken and twisted by the media and we have to make sure it is the Spirit that works in us and through us and not allow the media to twist our Teachings and Doctrine. For more information click here to be taken to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let us gather in prayer. 

Day of Prayer for the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
Sunday, 28 September 2014

Sunday, 28 September is to be set aside as a Day of Prayer for the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled to take place from 5 to 19 October to treat the topic: The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.

Particular churches, parish communities, institutes of consecrated life, associations and movements are invited to pray for this intention during Mass and at other liturgical celebrations, in the days leading to the synod and during the synod itself. In Rome, in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, prayers will be recited each day in the chapel of the icon, Salus Populi Romani. The faithful, individually but above all in families, are invited to join in these prayers.

The suggested prayers include the Prayer to the Holy Family for the Synod, composed by Pope Francis, and the following proposed intentions during the Prayers of the Faithful which can be adapted at Sunday Mass on 28 September and during the synod. These intentions can also be included in the petitions at Lauds and Vespers. The recitation of the Holy Rosary is also recommended for the duration of the synodal assembly.

I - Prayer to the Holy Family for the Synod

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendor of true love, to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division: may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may the approaching Synod of Bishops

make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer.

Amen.

II - Prayer of the Faithful

Brothers and Sisters,
gathered together as God’s family and inspired by our faith, we raise our minds and hearts to the Father, that our families, sustained by the grace of Christ, might become true domestic churches where all live and bear witness to God’s love.

Together we pray:

Lord, bless and sanctify our families.

For Pope Francis: the Lord has called him to preside over the Church in charity; sustain him in his ministry of service to the communion of the episcopal college and the entire People of God, we pray:

For the synod fathers and the other participants at the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: may the Spirit of the Lord enlighten their minds so that the Church might respond, in faithfulness to God’s plan, to the challenges facing the family, we pray:

For those who have the responsibility of governing nations: that the Holy Spirit might inspire programs which acknowledge the value of the family as the
basic unit of society in God’s plan and which offer support to families in difficulty, we pray:

For Christian families: may the Lord who has sealed the union of husband and wife with his presence, make our families cenacles of prayer and ardent communities of life and love, after the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth, we pray:

For couples undergoing difficulties: may the Lord, rich in mercy, be present to them through the Church’s motherly care and concern in showing understanding and patience in their journey towards pardon and reconciliation, we pray:

For families who, for the sake of the Gospel, are forced leave their fatherland: may the Lord who endured exile with Mary and Joseph, comfort them with his grace and open for them paths of fraternal charity and human solidarity, we pray:

For grandparents: may the Lord who was received in the Temple by the elders Simeon and Anna, make them wise collaborators with parents in transmitting the faith and the raising their children, we pray:

For children: may the Lord of life, who in his ministry welcomed them and made them a model for entering the Kingdom of heaven, inspire a respect for life in the womb and programs in raising children which conform to the Christian outlook towards life, we pray:

For young people: may the Lord, who made holy the Wedding at Cana, lead them to discover the beauty of the sacredness and inviolability of the family in God’s plan and sustain engaged couples as they prepare for marriage, we pray:

O God, you never forsake the work of your hands, hear our prayer; send the Spirit of your Son to enlighten the Church as the synodal journey begins, so that contemplating the splendor of true love which shines forth in the Holy Family of Nazareth, she might learn the freedom and obedience to respond with boldness and mercy to the challenges of today’s world. Through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
Lectionary: 454

Reading 1

ECCL 11:9-12:8

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young 

and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.

Follow the ways of your heart,

the vision of your eyes;

Yet understand that as regards all this

God will bring you to judgment.

Ward off grief from your heart

and put away trouble from your presence,

though the dawn of youth is fleeting.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

before the evil days come

And the years approach of which you will say,

I have no pleasure in them;

Before the sun is darkened,

and the light, and the moon, and the stars,

while the clouds return after the rain;

When the guardians of the house tremble,

and the strong men are bent,

And the grinders are idle because they are few,

and they who look through the windows grow blind;

When the doors to the street are shut,

and the sound of the mill is low;

When one waits for the chirp of a bird,

but all the daughters of song are suppressed;

And one fears heights,

and perils in the street;

When the almond tree blooms,

and the locust grows sluggish

and the caper berry is without effect,

Because man goes to his lasting home,

and mourners go about the streets;

Before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is broken,

And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the broken pulley falls into the well,

And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,

and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,

all things are vanity!

Responsorial Psalm

PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

You turn man back to dust,

saying, “Return, O children of men.”

For a thousand years in your sight 

are as yesterday, now that it is past,

or as a watch of the night.

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

You make an end of them in their sleep;

the next morning they are like the changing grass,

Which at dawn springs up anew,

but by evening wilts and fades.

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Return, O LORD! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,

that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.

And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours;

prosper the work of our hands for us!

Prosper the work of our hands!

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Gospel

LK 9:43B-45

While they were all amazed at his every deed,

Jesus said to his disciples,

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.

The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 

But they did not understand this saying;

its meaning was hidden from them

so that they should not understand it,

and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.