Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B
May 14, 2006
Our weekly email service, clergy@priestsforlife.org, provides priests and deacons with the following resources for each Sunday of the year.
General Intercessions
Celebrant: Jesus teaches us that we depend on the love of God and one another. With courage and faith, let us present our needs to our Father.
Deacon/Lector:
That the Church may continue to make Jesus
known to the world through words of hope and works of love, we pray to the
Lord...
That our pope, bishops and all ordained ministers may be examples of the
faithfulness of Christ by the examples of their lives and the message of their
teachings, we pray to the Lord..
That world leaders may cooperate with one another in an effort to seek peace
and prosperity for all, we pray to the Lord...
That our love may express itself in concrete actions of visiting the sick,
feeding the hungry, and protecting the unborn, we pray to the Lord...
That each member of our parish community may realize their call to stewardship
and generously cooperate through sharing time, talent, and treasure, we pray to
the Lord...
That those who live in Christ and followed his commandments in this life may be
part of God's harvest of souls on the Last Day, we pray to the Lord...
Celebrant:
Heavenly Father, the vine grower, we ask that your Spirit may work in and through us so that we may bear much fruit for your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bulletin Insert
A Prayer for Those Afraid of their Motherhood
Lord God, we thank you, the Source of Life, for all those who have welcomed and nurtured our lives. In particular, we thank you for our mothers, who with trust in you and self-sacrifice beyond description, have made it possible for us to live and praise you today. Give them the reward of their labors.
Today, Lord, we also pray for mothers who are afraid of being mothers. We pray especially for those carrying a child within them, but afraid to bring that child to birth. Look with favor on these, your daughters, and give them trust and strength. Enable them to give themselves to their children, as you give yourself to us, and to experience the joys of motherhood. Enable us to do our part to encourage them and provide for their needs. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Homily Suggestions on Pro-life Themes
The Lord’s words in the Gospel passage for today speak about what Easter has accomplished: a new human community, that takes birth from the Spirit and is filled with the very life of the Risen Christ. We all descended from Adam on a natural level; we all are built into Christ on the supernatural level. He is the new Adam, and Easter began the new humanity, victorious over the grave and sharing the life that lasts forever.
This supernatural community, symbolized by vine and branches, obviously builds on the natural community. To enjoy supernatural life, we must have natural life, and to appreciate the meaning of supernatural community, we must have some appreciation of natural community. In our day, however, the very notion of “community” even on a natural level has been obscured by false notions of freedom that separate everyone into his or her own sphere of “choices” and purely personal evaluations of what is true and right. The fruit of this freedom disconnected from truth is the Culture of Death, in which people think that they have responsibility only to those for whom they choose to take responsibility.
In the natural and supernatural community established by God, however, we have responsibility before we choose. God (not we) has chosen the other branches on the vine, the other members of the community. We must welcome them all, although, as the First Reading demonstrates, it can be challenging to overcome our prejudices.
But here is where the “fruit” comes in. The Lord says we must “bear fruit.” What is this fruit? It is the fruit of love, concretely visible in a life of self-giving, as the commandments specify (Second Reading). The fruit that is to be visible in the community is that we welcome and serve all – born and unborn, healthy and sick, convenient and inconvenient. Mothers in particular demonstrate this kind of love, with an unconditional welcome of their children. We can’t do it on our own power. That’s why we have to stay united to the vine. It is the power of His love in us that makes it possible for us to love as he has commanded, with the very same love that led Christ to the cross and to the glory of the Resurrection.
Priests for Life
PO Box 141172
Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. 888-PFL-3448, (718) 980-4400
Fax 718-980-6515
Email mail@priestsforlife.org
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