Gathering Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist

15 April 2015

Prayer Moment One
Opening Song    I Am Yours (Trevor Thomson)
All sing:   Bread of life, wine of hope,
body and blood, soul and divinity.
Consume me completely, I am yours.

Reflection   Pope Francis – Corpus Christi 2013
‘So let us ask ourselves this evening, in adoring Christ who is really present in the Eucharist: do I let myself be transformed by him? Do I let the Lord who gives himself to me, guide me to going out ever more from my little enclosure, in order to give, to share, to love him and others?Let us pray that participation in the Eucharist may always be an incentive:
to follow the Lord every day,
to be instruments of communion
to share what we are with him and with our neighbour.
Our life will then be truly fruitful.’

All sing:   Bread of life, wine of hope,
body and blood, soul and divinity.
Consume me completely, I am yours.

Reading  John 6.35
Jesus said:  “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’

All sing:   Bread of life, wine of hope,
body and blood, soul and divinity.
Consume me completely, I am yours.

Reflection Bread of Life (Joyce Rupp)
You are the sustaining Bread of Life,
a ready provision of daily nutrition
supplying for our spiritual growth.
You are food for generous service,
sustenance for intimate union with you.
You come to us in various forms:
Eucharist and loving relationships,
In little and big touches of caring,
And in those subtle, inner stirrings
that enrich us with a deeper love of you.

All sing:  Bread of life, wine of hope,
body and blood, soul and divinity.
Consume me completely, I am yours.

Prayer  A Íosa Mhilis (Traditional)
All say:   A Íosa, a mhuirnín mhilis,
Ní suíochán duit mo theanga,
Ní lóistín duit mo chroí.
Ach bronn orm do bheannaitheacht
Is go bhfana sí agam choích

Jesus, dearly beloved,
My tongue is no fit seat for you,
My heart is no fit lodging;
But only give me your blessedness
And let it remain with me forever. 

Prayer Moment Two

Song  No Greater Love (Feargal King)
All sing:  No greater love can we have than to lay down our life
and to follow the path of the Lord.

Reading   John 6:11-14
Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted’. So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.

 Reflection   Pope Francis – Corpus Christ 2013
‘Where does the multiplication of the loaves come from? The answer lies in Jesus’ request to the disciples to share. What do the disciples share? The little they have: five loaves and two fish. However it is those very loaves and fish in the Lord’s hands that feed the entire crowd. And it is the disciples themselves, bewildered as they face the insufficiency of their means, the poverty of what they are able to make available, who get the people to sit down and who — trusting in Jesus’ words — distribute the loaves and fish that satisfy the crowd. And this tells us that in the Church, but also in society, a key word of which we must not be frightened is “solidarity”, that is, the ability to make what we have, our humble capacities, available to God, for only in sharing, in giving, will our life be fruitful.

Song  No Greater Love (Feargal King)
All sing:  No greater love can we have than to lay down our life
and to follow the path of the Lord.

Reflection   Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you.
When you look at the sacred host you understand how much.

Song No Greater Love (Feargal King)
All sing: No greater love can we have than to lay down our life
and to follow the path of the Lord.

Prayer Moment Three

Song  Lamb of God (Ian Callanan)
All sing: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

Reading   Psalm 15
All say:   Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: “You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
It is you yourself who are my prize.”

Reflection   My Cup (Joyce Rupp)
You are the container of our love,
the One with endless affection
pouring generously into our lives.
You are the container of hope,
the One who holds our possibilities,
giving us reason to live fully.
You are the container of our faith,
the One who encloses our confidence,
lessening our fears and anxieties.
You, the Cup, contain all we need.

All sing:  Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

Reflection    Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Father, I am hungry; for the love of God give this soul her food, her Lord in the Eucharist.

Prayer
All say: Gabh mo choimirce, a Choirp Íosa,
A abhlann naofa is mó mhaoin.
Saor mo chlí ó chith na bpeacaí.
Ní fán mbith ní deacair daoibh.

Show me your mercy, Body of Christ,
Sacred Host most precious.
Free my breast from the rainfall of sin.
Nothing on earth is beyond your power.

All sing:  Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Grant us peace.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Grant us peace.