Celebrant: We are gathered to celebrate the mystery of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Let us ask God our Father to open for all the world this fountain of life and blessing.
Deacon/Lector:
For the Church, that she will joyfully proclaim the living Word of God to all people, we pray to the Lord...
That pastors may lead in faith and serve in love the flock entrusted to their care by Christ the Good Shepherd, we pray to the Lord…
That those who serve in public office and all those entrusted with the common good, that they may promote true justice and peace, we pray to the Lord…
That all who are pregnant and feel they cannot carry their child will find new strength from the presence of Christ who says, "Do not be afraid," we pray to the Lord...
For the aged who suffer from loneliness and infirmity, that we will sustain them by our love and compassion, we pray to the Lord…
For all who have died, may they come into the light of God's presence, we pray to the Lord…
Celebrant:
Father, hear the prayers of your people. Increase our confidence that you always provide for our needs, And give us grace to serve you faithfully. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day, Sydney, Australia (July 17, 2008)
“Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise? And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies. How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space – the womb – has become a place of unutterable violence? My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable.”
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13aRom 9:1-5Mt 14:22-33
St. Paul expresses profound anguish in today’s second reading for his people. He longs that they accept Christ, who is “God blessed forever,” and the only hope of the human family. For every disciple, Christ is everything. Each event and decision of life, each project and plan, finds its standard, meaning, and fulfillment in him.
Yet those events, projects, plans, and the circumstances of life under which they unfold, are very much like the tempestuous behavior of nature that we see in both the first reading and the Gospel. Wind, waves, earthquakes, noise, danger, and the confusion of constant change mark many chapters of life. Yet there isn’t a single chapter, nor a single moment, in which the believer cannot cling to Christ, find him present, and embrace his hand that saves them from drowning.
In the pro-life effort, this theme applies directly to those confused by a pregnancy they feel they cannot handle, those who have had an abortion and are suffering the storms of anguish that follow – and risk drowning in despair – and those who are in the heat of the battle, defending life against numerous odds and attacks.
In all of this, we seek and cling to Christ, who gives us the strength to stand on the side of life and experience his forgiveness and strength for the battle.
