Greeting
Be holy, for I, the Lord, am holy. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. God turns those whom sin has made his enemies into his friends through forgiveness. May the Lord Jesus, who brought us God’s friendship be always with you.
A. Your Enemy Is Your Neighbor
On seeing so much evil in the world, especially when that evil affects us deeply, is our reaction not anger and perhaps revenge The message of today is this: do not let evil force you to fight it with its own weapons of evil. Fight it with the weapons of God himself: mercy, forgiveness, even love of the evildoer and prayer for the ones who have hurt you. Let us ask that in this we may follow Jesus; then we will surely be his disciples. (or)
B. Break The Spiral Of Evil
Rivalry, revenge, hatred, making people pay back any hurt done to us, these are the usual ways of our world. Today’s message tells us how to apply the Sermon on the Mount: how we should be makers and sowers of peace by forgiving and forgetting hurt, and so breaking the vicious circle of evil. Didn't Jesus come to bring reconciliation with God and people. This is how he was the image of the Father. This is how we have to bring into our world something of the goodness of the Father.
Penitential Act
It is difficult not to take revenge against those who have hurt us. Let us ask the Lord to forgive us for having enemies. (pause)
Lord Jesus, how can we learn from you to forgive those who have harmed us Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, how can we learn from you to be good to those who have wounded us Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, how can we learn from you to pray for those who have pained and injured us, Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, forgive us that we have a hard time to forget and forgive as you ask us. Make us great-hearted like you and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer Let us pray God our Father to make us more perfect by his love (pause)
God our Father, in your Son Jesus Christ you have shown us your tenderness and accepted us, sinful people, as your sons and daughters. Share your heart with us, make us merciful and understanding people, that we may learn from the way you have treated us to accept everyone without conditions, to forgive and forget all hurts, so that we become more like you. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading Introduction:
Love, Not Hatred Even in the Old Testament, God’s people is asked not to hate others but to love people. The basis of this love is God’s own love for his people.
Second Reading Introduction: We Are God’s Temple By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Christian community is God’s dwelling place.
Gospel Introduction: Love Your Enemies Christ asks of us to have hearts large enough to be open even to enemies. We must overcome evil with good.
General Intercessions Let us pray to God who is kind and merciful who heals us and pardons all our sins. Let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• For the Church, God's people, that it may not be divided into factions: that it may preach and practice forgiveness, healing and rehabilitation, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• For the Churches separated from one another by centuries of misunderstanding and disputes, that they may approach one another in Christ in mutual forgiveness, cooperation, and love, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• For all of us, that we may forgive one another from the heart, seek no revenge, bear no grudges, learn to see others as people loved by the same Father in heaven, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• For our families, that we may not be discouraged by one another’s shortcomings but be attentive to the goodness that is in each and seek peace and happiness together, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people, Lord.
• For our Christian communities, that they may be places of reconciliation, of mercy and compassion, let us pray: R/ Have mercy on your people,
Lord. God our Father, help us to look at one another with your own eyes, that we may accept one another and build up one another in the love of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts God our Father, these are the gifts of peace we bring before you to celebrate the feast of love of your Son. Help us with him to discover the best that is in each of us and to create one another anew with the same liberating and forgiving love which you have shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
We are now celebrating the sacrifice which brought forgiveness and life to all. Let us give thanks to the Father with Jesus here in our midst. Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer With Jesus we pray to our Father that he may not only forgive us our sins but help us forgive those who sin against us:
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from the difficulty of accepting people with their faults and forgetting the hurt of injuries. Keep us free from sin and from the urge to retaliate. Lead us forward together in joy and hope toward the full coming among us of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Invitation to Communion This is Jesus the Lord, whose body was broken for our sins. He brought us healing and life. Happy are we to receive him.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father, we have celebrated with your Son the sacrifice that has brought us peace. By his words and his life he has taught us to forgive one another wholeheartedly. Let his Spirit dwell in us, that our pardon may be without regret and that we may go with one another much farther than we are asked on the way to each other and to you, our holy God, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing We have been taught a hard lesson today. We are not pagans, and so we must learn to love like God with the love he showed us in Christ. For us there can be no enemies, only people like us, with their faults, their problems, their animosities.
Who will take the first step to make up
Who will repay evil with good
Let us ask God’s blessing and strength.
May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go with one another the extra mile in Christ’s peace.
R/ Thanks be to God.
