Blessed Robert Grissold Catholic Church

Making a Spiritual Communion *

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
16th May 2021
Mass Intention: Michael Santos (RIP)

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

O Lord, hear my voice,
for I have called to you;
of you my heart has spoken:
Seek his face;
hide not your face from me,
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 1: 15-17, 20-26

Responsorial Psalm:

R. The Lord has set his sway in heaven

My soul, give thanks to the Lord;
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings. R.

For as the heavens are far above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins. R.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word. R.

Second Reading: The First Letter of St John 4: 11-16

Gospel: A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you have given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one who chose to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and while still in the world I say these things to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’

Reflection

The Gospel today invites us to celebrate the mystery at the heart of our salvation: God longs for us to be united with him, and with one another, in love. The readings from John typically rejoice at the Good News that we are truly loved by God - the God who is love. And God’s great love is revealed most powerfully in the life death, resurrection and ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s prayer was ‘that they may be one as we are one’ - praying that the unity between Christians should reflect the unity that exists between the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. This is the loving purpose of God for us and we must not allow anything to draw us away from it. It is Christ’s will that those who belong to him should be united in a community of love, worship and holiness. We see in scriptures how the whole company of believers were united through the power of the Holy Spirit so that there was one body sharing in the one Spirit.

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

Blessed Robert Grissold, pray for us

All holy Guardian Angels watch over, guard and protect 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 Sixth Week of Easter

Mon 17 May John 16: 29-33
Tues 18 John 17: 1-11
Wed 19 John 17: 11-19
Thurs 20 John 17: 20-26
Fri 21 John 21: 15-19
Sat 22 John 21: 20-25
Sun 23 SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST
John 20: 19-23
Guy and Jacqueline Provost