Opening Song Though We Are Many (Bernard Sexton)
Words of Introduction
Gospel Matthew 14:15-20
‘When evening came, the disciples went to Jesus and said, “This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.” But they answered, “All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.” “Bring them here to me,” he said. He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining, twelve baskets full.’
Opening Prayer
Let us pray.
Lord our God,
you have given us the true bread from heaven.
In the strength of this food
may we always walk with you
may we live always by your life
and rise in glory on the last day.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song O Sacrament Most Holy (Ian Callanan)
Reading Corinthians 11:23-26
This is what I received from the Lord and in turn passed on to you; that on the same night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, “this is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.” In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, “this cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
Response Remain with us, Lord (Patrice O’Connor)
Reflection Communion with Jesus (Spe Salvi – Pope Benedict XVI)
Our relationship with God is established through communion with Jesus – we cannot achieve it alone. The relationship with Jesus, however, is a relationship with one who gave himself as a ransom for all. Being in communion with Jesus Christ draws us into his ‘being for all’; it makes it our own way of being. He commits us to live for others, but only through communion with him does it become possible truly to be there for others, for the whole.
Hymn A Íosa Mhilis (Pat Ahern)
Prayer
Jesus Christ is the same today as he was in days past and he will be forever
Because his love towards us is unchanging we say:
(R) Jesus I believe in you
Jesus, lover of all humankind, (R)
Jesus, Beloved Son of the Father (R)
Jesus, gentle Son of Mary, (R)
Jesus who called us his sisters and brothers (R)
Jesus who showed that God is very near (R)
Jesus, Holy One of God, (R)
Jesus who laid your hands on the sick with compassion (R)
Jesus healer of our souls (R)
Jesus friend of sinners (R)
Jesus, you who desire that we have life and have it to the full (R)
Jesus, you who want our joy to be complete, (R)
Jesus, in your love is true safety, (R)
Jesus, you have the words that bring our souls to life (R)
Reflection – based on a prayer by Br Roger of Taizé
Lord Jesus,
here with us,
Help us to remember
That since our Baptism,
The Holy Spirit,
The breath of your love
is dwelling in us
is praying in us.
You are loving in us.
So no matter how poor our prayer is
We can seek you with confidence,
Because no one,
Yes no one,
Is excluded from your love
Or your forgiveness.
Your love and mercy finds a way
through our hesitations, our fears, our doubts.
Like the small boy in the Gospel with just a few loaves and fish,
We come to you with the little we have
And we entrust it to you.
When we remain in your presence,
Silent and at peace,
That is already a prayer.
You understand everything about us
All that upsets us,
And all our joys,
So much so that even a simple sigh can be a prayer
Our Father – Glory Be
Hymn St. Patrick’s Breastplate (John O’Keefe)
Reading Matthew 26:26-29
Now as they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said: ‘Take it and eat it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them saying: ‘Drink all of you from this, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom of my Father’.
Hymn God’s Holy Gifts (Bernard Sexton)
Reflection Deus Caritas Est – Pope Benedict XVI
We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John’s Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should … have eternal life” (3:16). Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.
Prayer
We pray together, “Open our eyes, Lord” Open our eyes, Lord
To the mystery of your purpose Open our eyes, Lord
To the closeness of your presence… Open our eyes, Lord
To the depth of your wisdom… Open our eyes, Lord
To the wonder of the world we live in… Open our eyes, Lord
To the depth of your word … Open our eyes, Lord
To the life you offer us… Open our eyes, Lord
To your presence in the Eucharist… Open our eyes, Lord
To your presence within us… Open our eyes, Lord
To your presence among us… Open our eyes, Lord
To your presence in our neighbour… Open our eyes, Lord
To your presence in those who need help… Open our eyes, Lord
To your presence in the broken ones… Open our eyes, Lord
To your call to serve… Open our eyes, Lord
Reading John 13:1-15
It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was…
Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing…
When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’
Response May your love be upon us, O Lord (Margaret Daly-Denton)
Reflection At the Service of the Least (Mane Nobiscum Domine – Blessed John Paul II)
I think of the tragedy of hunger which plagues hundreds of millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants. These are evils that are present – albeit – to a different degree – even in areas of immense wealth. We cannot delude ourselves: by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognised as true followers of Christ. This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.
Prayer
We pray together, “Be with them Lord.” Be with them Lord
For those who serve in your name Be with them Lord
For those who care for the needy Be with them Lord
For those who look after the dying Be with them Lord
For those who are carers in the home Be with them Lord
For those who visit the sick Be with them Lord
For those who listen in your name Be with them Lord
For Missionaries throughout the world Be with them Lord
For those who work for justice and peace Be with them Lord
For those who feed the hungry Be with them Lord
For parents and families Be with them Lord
For all who bear witness to your love Be with them Lord
Hymn Jesu Dulcis Memoria (Victoria)
Our Father – Glory Be
Reading Matthew 25: 35-40
Jesus said: “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me; in prison and you came to see me.” Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison. “I tell you solemnly, in as much as you did this to the least of these my brothers and sisters you did it to me.”
Reflection: A Holy Hour with the Poor (Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
The Holy Hour before the Eucharist should lead us to a “holy hour” with the poor, with those who will never be a human success and whose only consolation is Jesus. Our Eucharist is incomplete if it does not make us love and serve the poor. In receiving the communion of the poor, we discover our own poverty.
Prayer
We pray together, “Be with them Lord.” Be with them Lord
For all who have lost hope Be with them, Lord
For all who suffer Be with them, Lord
For all who are sick and in pain Be with them, Lord
For all who are struggling Be with them, Lord
For all who have been badly hurt in life Be with them, Lord
For all who are grieving Be with them, Lord
For all who are depressed Be with them, Lord
For all who feel rejected Be with them, Lord
For all who feel unloved Be with them, Lord
For all who are oppressed Be with them, Lord
For all who are anxious Be with them, Lord
Hymn Soul Of My Saviour (Arr. Colin Mawby)
Reading Luke 4:16-21
Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.
He rolled up the scroll and said, “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.”
Our Father – Glory be
Reflection Some definite service (Blessed John Henry Newman)
“God knows me and calls me by name …
God has created me to do him some definite service.
He has committed some work to me
which he has not committed to another.
I have my mission –
I may never know it in this life,
but I shall be told it in the next.
Somehow I am necessary for his purposes…
I have a part in this great work;
I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for nothing.
I shall do good; I shall do his work.
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth
In my own place, while not intending it,
if I do but keep his commandments
and serve him in my calling.”
Prayer
We say together, “Praise to you, Lord Jesus” Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the bread of life Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the bread of salvation Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the Blood that redeemed us Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the source of our joy Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the bread that feeds us Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the Blood that quenches our thirst Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the Bread that comforts us Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the Bread that gives us strength Praise to you, Lord Jesus
You are the Bread that heals us in body and mind. Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Hymn Ave Verum (Camille Saint-Saens)
Our Father – Glory be
Reading Matthew 4: 18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Instrumental Bí ‘a Íosa im Chroíse (Traditional)
Reflection You asked for my hands (Prayer from South Africa)
You asked for my hands
That you might use them for your purposes.
I gave them for a moment; then withdrew them for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice.
I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them for I did not want to see.
You asked me for my life that you might work through me.
I gave you a small part that I might not get “too involved”
Lord, forgive me for calculated efforts to serve you
Only when it is convenient for me to do so,
Only in those places where it is safe to do so, and
Only with those who make it easy to do so.
Father, forgive me, renew me,
Send me out as a usable instrument,
That I make take seriously the meaning of your Cross
And of your call to “Come follow me.”
Hymn Sweet Sacrament Divine (Traditional)
Prayer
Jesus Christ is the same today as he was in days past and he will be forever
Because his love towards us is unchanging we say: Jesus I believe in you (R)
Jesus who helped the married couple at Cana (R)
Jesus who calmed the storm, (R)
Jesus who fed the hungry, (R)
Jesus who transformed lives with forgiveness (R)
Jesus, Bread of Life (R)
Jesus who loved us and gave yourself for us on the cross (R)
Jesus who gave Mary to be our mother (R)
Jesus who descended to hell (R)
Jesus who put an end to death (R)
Jesus whose love has overcome all things (R)
Jesus who walked with the sad disciples on the road to Emmaus (R)
Jesus who gave them new hope (R)
Jesus who showed yourself in the breaking of bread (R)
Jesus who breathed peace upon your disciples, (R)
Jesus, Risen Lord, bearing your glorious wounds for all eternity (R)
Jesus present with us now (R)
Our Father – Glory be
Hymn Come Adore This Wondrous Presence (Ronan McDonagh)
Song Tantum Ergo (Plainchant)
All sing: Tantum ergo sacramentum
veneremur cernui
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui
Genitori, genitoque
laus et jubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio
procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio. Amen.
The Divine Praises
Blessed be God.
Blessed be his holy name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be his most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be his most precious blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the most holy sacrament of the altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception.
Blessed be her glorious assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints.
Benediction Prayer Oremus
Deus qui nobis sub Sacramento mirabilis,
passionis tuae memoriam reliquisti; tribue, quaesumus,
ita nos Corporis et Sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari,
ut redemptionis tuae fructum in nobis iugiter sentiamus.
Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. R. Amen
Blessing of the people with Blessed Sacrament