Blessed Robert Grissold Catholic Church

Making a Spiritual Communion *

SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST
31st May 2020

Mass Intention: In thanksgiving to the Parish for all the love, kindness and prayers shown to Maureen Carroll

Create a prayerful setting through the placing of a crucifix, Bible, statues, icons, etc Then follow this order of service:

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen


Read the Entrance Antiphon

The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world
and that which contains all things
understands what is said, alleluia.


In silent prayer call to mind your sins then make the following penitential act:

You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord have mercy
You came to call sinners: Christ have mercy
You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us:
Lord have mercy

Gloria

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.


Pray the Collect (the Opening Prayer of the Mass of the day)

Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord,
so that we, who believe that
the Saviour of the human race is with you in glory,
may experience, as he promised,
until the end of the world,
his abiding presence among us.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen

First Reading: From the Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 1-11

Responsorial Psalm:

R. Send forth your Spirit, O Lord,
and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are.
How many are your works, O Lord!
The earth is full of your riches. R.

You take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth. R
May the glory of the Lord last forever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I find my joy in the Lord. R.

Second Reading: The First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 12,
verses: 3-7 and 12-13

Gospel: A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection

It is important for Jesus that we believe that we believe that the Father sent him into the world to save us. You will remember in last week’s Gospel Jesus says of his disciples: “Now at last they know that all you have given me comes from you… and they have accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me.” The penny had dropped with the disciples - Jesus was no ordinary man with a plan and on a mission. Jesus was sent by the Eternal and living God to reveal and carry out His purposes in the world. Jesus does nothing of himself - he only does what the Father gives him to do. All of Jesus’ words and actions have a Divine origin and have eternal significance and the Church, which he founds on his chosen Apostles, continues His mission in the world. It is not our mission - it is Christ’s mission - the one he received from his Father, that we are called to share in. That’s why Jesus says in the Gospel today: ‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ From this we see that the Church is built on a supernatural foundation. It is not a human enterprise. It’s not about our ideas of what is good for people and the world. The Church and what it is about is rooted in God and revealed to us by God. It is for us to receive that revelation, preserved in the Church, and to be faithful and obedient to it. And to enable to be faithful to this calling we are given the Holy Spirit - given a share in God’s own life - in order that we can imitate Christ, the One sent by the Father to do his will. That is why Jesus says to his disciples: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit… As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’

The Church is the work of God, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is supernatural - beyond human strength and understanding. We have to be open therefore to God in prayer in order to receive from him the grace to go forward in the way he sends us. Through his Church he helps us to face in the right direction - to fix our eyes on the Kingdom of Heaven first and above all else - and then we are sent out to cooperate in that mission, revealed in Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And this is where the divinely instituted Mass gets it’s name - from the final bidding of the Mass in Latin: ‘Ite missa est’ - ‘Go forth the Mass is ended.’ Through the Mass we are gathered into the mystery of God, the Most Holy Trinity. We are then sent out into the world, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to share in the mission of Christ to a fallen world.

May Almighty God bless you through the Easter mysteries
and, in his compassion, guard, guide and protect you,
through Christ, Our Risen Lord. Amen.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us

Immaculate Heart of Mary, have mercy on us

Saints Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, pray for us

All holy Guardian Angels watch over, guard and protect us.

Blessed Robert Grissold, pray for us

Pray the Creed

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen

Offer up Prayers of Intercession for the Church, for the world, for our community, for the sick and for those who have died - and offer up your own intentions.

A Prayer in time of sickness and disease:

All powerful and merciful God,
our refuge and our shield,
bring healing to all those suffering as a result of sickness and disease.
Guard and protect us from all harm
and assist those whose skill and art can put an end to this affliction.
Through Christ our Lord.

Ask for Our Lady’s prayers, saying the Hail Mary…

Pray the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father…

Pray the Agnus Dei:

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.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Make a Spiritual Communion* - asking Our Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and feed you with heavenly grace so that you might be one with Him. You can use the following prayer of St Alphonsus Liguori:

My Jesus, I believe that You are truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as being already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Ask for God’s blessing and protection:

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Make the sign of the Cross saying:

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Finish with the Prayer to St Michael:

Holy Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defence against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust down into hell Satan and all other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen

+++

* A Spiritual Communion can be made if one has a deep desire to receive Our Lord and to be one with him - even if one cannot, for whatever reason, receive him sacramentally. Spiritual Communion is an act of love and desire to be united with Christ and is a means of drawing on the life of the Holy Spirit dwelling within our souls.

The Church teaches us that we can receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in spiritual communion if we have a great desire to receive him and to feed on him, the spiritual heavenly bread, through our longing for the Blessed Sacrament. In spiritual communion we invite Our Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts.

In this way we can receive the graces and blessings of the Blessed Sacrament even in those circumstances where we are unable to receive Christ in Holy Communion. And the good news is that we can make a spiritual communion several times a day. Indeed, St Maximillian Kolbe endeavoured to make a spiritual communion - asking Our Eucharistic Lord - to come to him every fifteen minutes - every time his clock chimed.

St Teresa said: “Spiritual Communion is very profitable, therefore do not omit it for by it the Lord learns how much you love him.”

I will post the Sunday Collects, and Readings week by week on the parish website.

I hope this has proved helpful. Please don’t feel bound by these suggestions
- if you have your own better way of staying in prayerful and close spiritual communion with Our Lord then, of course, follow it.

Be assured of my prayers - please keep me in yours. Remember that the Rosary is a most powerful means of prayer.

With all good wishes and every blessing

Fr Frank

***

Weekday Spiritual Communion

You can use the format for Sunday’s Spiritual Communion for daily worship and prayer. The Sunday Collect and scripture readings can be used throughout the week but if you prefer you might like to use the Gospel of the day - I will supply the scripture references for these. Also, please don’t forget the supreme value of praying the Rosary daily.

Gospel readings for the Second Week of Easter

Mon 1st June Mary, Mother of the Church
John chapter 19, verses: 25-34
Tues 2 Ss Marcellinus and Peter
Mark chapter 12, verses 13-17
Wed 3 Ss Charles Lwanga and Companions
Mark chapter 12, verses 18-27
Thurs 4 Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest
Matthew chapter 26, verses 36-42
Fri 5 St Boniface
Mark chapter 12, verses 35-37
Sat 6 Votive Mass of The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mark chapter 12, verses 38-44