A PENITENTIAL SERVICE FOR THE YEAR OF MERCY Theme: Be Merciful as the Father is Merciful. INTRODUCTORY RITES ENTRANCE HYMN: Create A New a Heart (Gather Australia 438) In the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. As we come to this time of prayer, we are aware of God s presence. Let us pray for a few moments in silence, trusting in the God s mercy. Stand OPENING PRAYER: Gracious God, you are Father of us all. You created the human family to dwell forever with you and to praise your glory. Open our ears to hear your voice so that we may return to you with sincere repentance for our sins. Teach us to come to you as our loving Father, full of mercy and compassion for all who call for your help. We ask this through Christ our Lord. LITURGY OF THE WORD READING: 11 Corinthians: 5 17 21 Sit Lector: A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians. For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us this work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding our faults against us, and He has entrusted to us the news that we are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is though God was appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: To you O Lord I lift my soul; to you I lift my soul. (Sung) GOSPEL: Luke 15:11 32 Stand Leader: A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke Jesus told this parable: A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me. So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. When he had spent it all that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, How many of my father s paid servants have more food than they want and here I am dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants. So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved to pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life, he was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate. Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling pone of the servants he asked what it was all about. Your brother has come. replied the servant, and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound. He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me as much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property he and his women you kill the calf we had been fattening. The father said, My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. HOMILY (sample attached) Sit 2
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE All pray: Is my heart set on God, so that I really love him above all things and am I faithful to his commandments? (pause) Have I prayed daily and have I really raised my heart and mind to God? (pause) Have I a genuine love of my neighbours? Or do I use them for my own ends? (pause) Do I share my possessions with the less fortunate? Do I do my best to help the victims of oppression, misfortune and poverty? In my family life, have I contributed to the well being and happiness of the rest of the family? (pause) What use have I made of time, health and strength, of the gifts God has given me? Have I been lazy and given too much time to leisure? Have I been patient in accepting the sorrows and disappointments of life? (pause) Do I use the earth s resources wisely? Or do I purchase a lot of material goods that I do not really need? Let us join together in prayer. O my God, I am very sorry that I have sinned against you, in choosing to do wrong and failing to do good. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance and sin no more. Our Saviour Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy. INDIVIDUAL CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Reflective music played quietly Let us pray. Father, we need to be aware of your mercy and kindness. We have asked for your forgiveness, with a sincere and contrite heart and a spirit of love to go forth in your peace. Let us now pray to God our merciful Father in the words Christ gave us. Our Father.. SIGN OF PEACE 3
CONCLUDING RITE DISMISSAL The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. Bow your heads and pray for God s blessing. May the Lord guide your hearts in the way of his love and fill you with Christ like mercy. May God give you strength to walk in newness of life and to please him in all things. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son + and the Holy Spirit. Go in peace for God has done great things for us, and his mercy is from age to age. Thanks be to God. FINAL HYMN: Sing a New Song (Gather Australia 414) Catholic Diocese of Ballarat 2015 4
HOMILY FOR A PENITENTIAL SERVICE IN THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY On December 8, Pope Francis opened special doors in St Peter s Basilica in Rome. This was to mark the start of a Holy Year, a year in which the Pope encourages us to focus on God s mercy. The ceremony of opening the doors is a reminder to us that the doors of God s mercy are open. In fact, the doors of God s mercy are open all the time. God is always ready to show us mercy. God is always looking to welcome us with mercy and compassion. Pope Francis announced the Holy Year of Mercy in a document called Misericordiae vultus, The Face of Mercy. The first sentence of the document puts the spotlight on Jesus as the one who shows us the mercy of God. The first sentence reads: Jesus Christ is the face of the Father s mercy. Pope Francis goes on to say: Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth. Whoever sees Jesus see the Father. Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God. As we come to this Penitential Service, we are coming to Jesus as the one who shows us God s mercy. Here we will find a merciful welcome the kind of welcome we read about in the gospel a few moments ago, in the story of the prodigal son who came back to his father and found his father ready to welcome him with open arms. Pope Francis spoke about the Church being an oasis of mercy. The word oasis suggests a lush green place with cool, clear water, in the midst of an otherwise barren desert. Pope Francis speaks of the Church as an oasis of mercy in the midst of a world that is rather barren of mercy. He wrote: Sad to say, we must admit that the practice of mercy is waning in the wider culture. In some cases the word seems to have dropped out of use. By contrast, Pope Francis says that the mercy of God is the beating heart of the Gospel and the Church has a mission to announce this mercy. He writes: Wherever the Church is present, the mercy of the Father must be evident. In our parishes, communities, associations and movements, in a word, wherever there are Christians, everyone should find an oasis of mercy. This is very true of our celebration this evening. This Penitential Service is meant to be an oasis of mercy a place where we can find a mercy that will refresh us and give us new hope and new strength to continue on our life s journey. May this celebration truly be an oasis of mercy for each one of us. Here, in our prayer together and in our personal confession of sins, we can meet Jesus, the one who shows us the Father s mercy. As we pray, as we make our confession, may the mercy of God flow over us, bringing us forgiveness of our sins and the great gift of peace of heart. Catholic Diocese of Ballarat 2015