15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
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We gather as pilgrims on a journey, asking God to keep us steadfast until we reach our eternal home.
God of the heavens, God of the earth, all creation awaits Your gift of new life. Prepare our hearts to receive the word of Your Son, that His gospel may grow within us and yield a harvest that is a hundredfold. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
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Paul Gauguin
A Reading from the Old testament: Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT)
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 65:10,11,12-13 (NLT)
You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.
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You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
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The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!
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A Reading from the Letters: Romans 8:18-23 (NLT)
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 13:1-9 (NLT)
Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
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Intercessions:
Gracious God – Crown our lives with Your goodness and produce in us the good fruit of Your word:
+ For Your people – that our hearts may hear Your word and understand it….
Lord, hear us.
+ For new believers in Christ – that Your Word may be firmly rooted in their lives….
Lord, hear us.
+ For all whose faith is weak – that Your love may transform them into all that they are called to be….
Lord, hear us.
+ For all who bring the Good News to the ends of the earth – that the Holy Spirit may support the work of those who proclaim the Gospel in the poorest countries….
Lord, hear us.
+ For farmers and all who depend on the soil for their livelihood – that this year’s crop may satisfy their needs….
Lord, hear us.
+ For those who are far from home, for work or on holidays – that they may experience kindness, and travel in safety….
Lord, hear us.
+ For all those who have died in service to their country – that they may share the glory awaiting all believers…
Lord, hear us.
God our creator, You provide for the earth and for all who live in it, hear our prayers we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Peanut Gallery 