The Lord rescued me

Friday 5 June 2020

The Lord rescued me

Phil 2: 30

This Saint went as far as death,

handing over his life to destruction

for the work of Christ.

____________________

Prayer

Lord, loving Father, through your power in the Sacrament of Baptism you have given us the same Spirit that you gave your Son. May we be filled with your Spirit as he was. In our daily life may we follow in the footsteps of our Lord by the power of your Holy Spirit. We make this prayer through your Son, Christ our Lord.

____________________

First reading

2 Timothy 3:10-17 ·

Anyone who tries to live in devotion to Christ will be attacked

You know what I have taught, how I have lived, what I have aimed at; you know my faith, my patience and my love; my constancy and the persecutions and hardships that came to me in places like Antioch, Iconium and Lystra – all the persecutions I have endured; and the Lord has rescued me from every one of them. You are well aware, then, that anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked; while these wicked impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves.

You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were, and how, ever since you were a child, you have known the holy scriptures – from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy. This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work. THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

“the persecutions and hardships that came to me: the Lord has rescued me from every one of them”.

Paul had a personal relationship with the Risen Jesus. It was in faith, but it was real and personal. This is why he could say, that Jesus had rescued him from all his difficulties. Paul had to suffer innumerable hardships and persecutions. Jesus did not give him an easy life. But because he experienced Jesus as with him, he was able to bear cheerfully any hardship.

“from these (Scriptures) you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation. Our life, as the psalmist says, is like the grass that springs up in the morning, blossoms and fades by evening. In these few days we have on earth, we should learn the wisdom that give us eternal life. How do I learn the wisdom? It is from understanding the message of God. God will speak to the attentive soul through the Word we read. Let us read the Scripture, praying constantly to the Holy Spirit to enlighten us. It is not how much we read, but how well we read, that is important.

How can we understand the Scriptures? “You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true”. It was the Catholic Church that decided what books were inspired by the Holy Spirit, because it decided they taught the truth proclaimed by Jesus. The same Catholic Church under the guidance of the Spirit tells us how to understand the Word in the Bible. We cannot just interpret it as we like. Truth is one. We can’t hold different interpretations and accept all as true.

Do you read the Scriptures daily listening to the Holy Spirit inspiring you?

How do you know that your interpretation is true? It will not contradict the teaching of the true Church of Jesus Christ which is the source of the New Testament under the Spirit of God.

Psalm

Psalm 119:157,160-161,165-166,168

The lovers of your law have great peace.

Though my foes and oppressors are countless

I have not swerved from your will.

Your word is founded on truth,

your decrees are eternal.

The lovers of your law have great peace.

Though princes oppress me without cause

I stand in awe of your word.

The lovers of your law have great peace;

they never stumble.

The lovers of your law have great peace.

I await your saving help, O Lord,

I fulfil your commands.

I obey your precepts and your will;

all that I do is before you.

The lovers of your law have great peace.

____________________

Gospel Acclamation

.Ps18:9

Alleluia,

Your words gladden the heart, O Lord,

they give light to the eyes.

Alleluia!

____________________

Gospel

Mark 12:35-37

'David himself calls him Lord'

At that time while teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, ‘How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said:

The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit at my right hand

and I will put your enemies

under your feet.

David himself calls him Lord, in what way then can he be his son?’ And the great majority of the people heard this with delight. THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

Though truly God, Jesus emptied himself of his divine dignity and became a human being in every way like us, except he did not sin. His life style and his teaching met great opposition from the establishment. They had long since decided to kill him and he knew it. What was his response? First, he trusted in the God of justice and truth who would vindicate him and so always did his will regardless (Hebrews 12:3). He did not take the attacks of his enemies lying down. He answered them in an irrefutable way. He revealed their hypocrisy and the emptiness of their charges. However, he refused to take their path of violence. Until his time came, he escaped their hands and told his disciples, ‘if they persecute in one town, flee to another’. When his hour had come, he freely allowed them to take him. ‘If you seek me, then let these men go’ (John 18:8). He prayed for his enemies and loved them to the end. He prayed that the Father would forgive them. In the end, he handed over his spirit – ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit’.

We too can follow Jesus, if we too, like him, are possessed of God’s Spirit. Are you willing to follow?

His enemies have asked him many questions to try and show him as a charlatan but have failed. Today Jesus ask them a question.  As a descendant of David, he is his son, but as the anointed Messiah and Saviour of the world he is his Lord. His enemies had hardened their hearts (Psalm 95) and so could not and would not answer. Do you accept Jesus as your Lord?

Mk 8: 35

Whoever loses his life for the sake of the Gospel

will save it, says the Lord.

Prayer

Father, we believe in Jesus with all our hearts, but we are weak human beings. Strengthen us by the power of your Holy Spirit to be people of justice and outreach in love to the oppressed and suffering. We make our prayer through your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord..

The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him

Welcome to my blog. You will find the daily readings from the Bible which the Catholic Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has chosen and provides for our spiritual nourishment. If we use them seriously each day, we will grow in our relationship with God – ‘in whom we live, move and have our being’ – and come to know Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us on the Cross. He gives us life and gives it in abundance.

How to pray with the Bible. 1. Set aside a time each day when alone or in a group, you can in silence listen to God speaking to you. He speaks gently as with Elijah (1 Kings 19:12), Jesus, (Rev 3:20). 2.Sit comfortably where you will not be distracted or disturbed. You are to enter into the presence of God who loves and cares for you. 3.Pray for the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to pray (Rom 8:26-27). Ask Mary to intercede with her Son to send the Spirit upon you. (Luke 11:13). 4. Read slowly in the Spirit who inspired the reading, asking him to speak to you too. Phrases will strike you. “Speak Lord your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:11). “All Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching… and instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16”. 5. Pray to Jesus with gratitude for the inspiration he has given you. 6. Go back in the Spirit of Jesus to your ordinary life.

Thursday 4 June 2020

The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him

 Ps 24: 16, 18

Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord,

for I am alone and poor.

See my lowliness and suffering

and take away all my sins, my God.

Prayer

Father in heaven, you care for your children at all times

we humbly ask you to keep us free from all harm in soul and body

and grant that everything that happens may become a source of good for us.

We make our prayer through your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.

First reading

2 Timothy 2:8-15 ·

If we have died with Christ then we shall live with Christ

Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.

Here is a saying that you can rely on:

If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.

If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.

If we disown him, then he will disown us.

We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful,

for he cannot disown his own self.

Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there is to be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening. Do all you can to present yourself in front of God as a man who has come through his trials, and a man who has no cause to be ashamed of his life’s work and has kept a straight course with the message of the truth.

Prayerful reflection

Jesus is risen from the dead. Paul met him on the road to Damascus and since then has preached fearlessly that Jesus is the Risen Lord. As a result, he is now in prison bound with chains. Though suffering, he is confident. He knows the suffering is temporary and the glory to follow eternal. He quotes a Christian hymn, which encourages us to persevere in our fidelity to Jesus, for it holds out a great reward. By being unfaithful to Jesus we will suffer the loss of everything. Jesus will be forced to acknowledge the truth, namely that we have disowned him.

Let us find our security in the Risen Lord. Then, however others treat us, we will come through the trials and not be ashamed of our life of faith.

Let us be as certain of the Risen Lord as St. Paul. May he become the centre of our life. This truth will make us unafraid and unashamed of our faith, whatever the atmosphere in which we live. Let it be openly or covertly hostile, or one of indifference or mockery, we will persevere regardless, because we know the ultimate victory is ours in our Risen Lord.

Do you experience the presence of the Lord Jesus in your life, as you live among those who do not share your faith? Is the Risen Lord a real person for you or just some vague person you believe exists somewhere?

Psalm

Psalm 24(25):4-5,8-10,14

Lord, make me know your ways.

Lord, make me know your ways.

Lord, teach me your paths.

Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:

for you are God my saviour.

Lord, make me know your ways.

In you I hope all day long

The Lord is good and upright.

He shows the path to those who stray,

He guides the humble in the right path,

He teaches his way to the poor.

Lord, make me know your ways.

His ways are faithfulness and love

for those who keep his covenant and law.

The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;

to them he reveals his covenant.

Lord, make me know your ways.

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Jn6:63,68

Alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 12:28-34

'You are not far from the kingdom of God'

One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’  The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.  And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbour as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. (NLT). THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD.

Prayerful reflection

“You must love the LORD your God with all your heart” Everything we have and everything we are, is God’s gift to us. Once without any kind of existence, in his love he brought me into existence and gave me everything I have. So naturally, I should love him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. We understand this and try to do this, though we may often fail. God is invisible, silent, and apparently inactive. It is easy to forget him and do what appeals to our feelings at the time.

But how can Jesus say The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Since God is invisible, silent and apparently distant, how can I show my love to him directly in a concrete human way? I pray, I offer gifts in church or at a shrine. They are for God and surely, he sees them, but he doesn’t take them.

But God has become an incarnate God, he has appeared in true flesh and blood like one of us. He has died and risen and remains with us. In his love he makes himself present in our sisters and brothers. “I was hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, in prison etc. You reached out to me in my need” (Matthew 25:31 ff). Now when I reach out to others with spiritual or physical works of love, I touch God. As any loving parent suffers in the suffering of their child born from them, so God suffers in the pain of his children. When we relieve this pain, we give joy to God.

Love God in prayer and in church and love him with all your heart. When you come out, search for him and love him in a concrete way in those you meet. The mystery is that he is there. The wisdom is to recognize him. Do you?

Mk 11: 23, 24

Amen, I say to you: Whatever you ask for in prayer,

believe you will receive it,

and it will be yours, says the Lord.

Prayer

Father in heaven, you feed us day by day,

with the food of your Word

and with the food of the Eucharist,

help us to love not only in words

but also in works.

We make our prayer through your Son,

Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have mercy on me and open my mind

Wednesday 3 June 2020

Have mercy on me and open my mind 

Cf. Wis 3: 6-7, 9

As gold in the furnace, the Lord put his chosen to the test;

as sacrificial offerings, he took them to himself;

and in due time they will be honoured,

and grace and peace will be with the chosen of God.

Prayer:

Jesus, you have risen from the dead and live among us. Through your Holy Spirit, show us the way to meet you. Speak to us and grant us the grace that we may never lose hope in your promises. May we all come into your Kingdom

First reading

2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12 ·

God's gift is the Spirit of power, love and self-control

From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.

Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers. That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News; and I have been named its herald, its apostle and its teacher.

It is only on account of this that I am experiencing fresh hardships here now; but I have not lost confidence, because I know who it is that I have put my trust in, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to take care of all that I have entrusted to him until that Day.

Prayerful reflection

Though scholars say that this letter is most probably not written by Paul but by someone, who, according to the custom of the day, wrote in the style of Paul and gave it his name, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Whoever wrote it, it is God’s Word and gives us God’s message.

“I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you”. All who are baptised and confirmed have received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us that the Father is only too happy to send the Holy Spirit on those who ask for him (Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit, God himself, is ever ready to give us his gifts to build up our brothers and sisters and to strengthen ourselves. We need to cultivate fellowship and communion with him. He is a Person who is the Paraclete. Paraclete is a Greek word conveying the idea of one who is ever at our side to help us effectively in any situation we may find ourselves in. We must constantly throughout the day be calling on the Spirit of God to assist us. Do it with expectant faith and see miracles happen for you daily. 

“bear the hardships” “relying on the power of God”. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, is always at our side ready to give us the power of God. We shouldn’t struggle on our own.

“He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News”.  This is the great achievement of Jesus for us. It cost him a life of suffering and death on a Cross. With immense gratitude rejoice in his gift. We will not know the disintegration of death.

Psalm (Pray the Psalm as your response to God's Word)

Psalm 123:1-2

To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.

To you have I lifted up my eyes,

you who dwell in the heavens;

my eyes, like the eyes of slaves

on the hand of their lords.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.

Like the eyes of a servant

on the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes are on the Lord our God

till he show us his mercy.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.

Alleluia!

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;

whoever believes in me will never die.

Alleluia!

____________________

Gospel

Mark 12:18-27

The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

Prayerful reflection

‘The people who matter’ among the Jews, - the chief priests, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the elders etc., are all opposed to Jesus, ‘this preacher from a provincial village of Nazareth never mentioned in the Scriptures, without training, not belonging to any of their groups, just an ordinary layman without any religious authority’. ‘Who is this fellow to tell us? Well, this rabble that follow him. They know nothing’. Today the Sadducees try to make Jesus look a fool. But Jesus is the wisdom of God embodied in a human being.

“you understand neither the scriptures” All Scripture is inspired and useful for our instruction and spiritual growth (St. Paul to Timothy). God, however, did not write the Scriptures, nor did he dictate them. He inspired ordinary human beings with his divine message. They listened and understood according to their human and cultural way. They may not have understood that the thoughts in their head were from God. They may well have thought, that their ideas were their own – just as we do. Then for the instruction of others, they wrote a message in their own language and according to the way they thought in their culture – just as we do. We cannot read the Bible as if we wrote it in the 21st century. After understanding the way people of that day thought and wrote, we must distil the message of God for us today. For this we need the Holy Spirit’s help. He inspired the sacred writer, he will also inspire you, the sacred reader, if you open yourself to him.

“nor the power of God?” Of God, we humans know very little. Our knowledge at best is minute. Before God the whole universe, which scientists struggle to understand and which we find bewildering, is no more than a spec of dust on the scales – Isaiah chapter 40. Can an ant with its little brain understand me, then how can I understand anything about God. The whole universe is not even an ant before God, then what of me or you? we know he exists (Romans chapter 1). We know he must be infinite in all perfections. Beyond that we know nothing. Jesus who has come from God has taught some other truths about God, not many, but of immense importance. He revealed to us that God is One and also Three, that he is the primordial Family from which every family takes its name. He taught us that God loves us, each one of us, infinitely and that he will do anything for us so that we can live in his Family as his children for ever. To show us this in a way we ‘puny human beings’ (Isaiah) can understand, he became a human being and lived among us. He has revealed himself now in a human way. Look at Jesus and you look at a God, but in a human way. He chose to save us from our rebellious sin by the extreme form of human suffering on a Cross to reveal how much God loves us.

Can we know what his infinite love, power and wisdom will devise for us when we arrive home with him? “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of human beings to even imagine what God has prepared for those who love him” – Isaiah quoted by St. Paul.

Let us believe the Word of God and let us live in hope and respond to the promise by a life of love, for God and for everyone he has created and for the wonderful universe in which we live now.

Can you sit and relax in the presence of God now? This is prayer. ‘Father, have mercy on me and open my mind to you’

Rm 6: 8

If we have died with Christ,

we believe that we shall also live with Christ, alleluia.

 Prayer

Lord Jesus, through your Word, may we come to know you. May we, who through your infinite mercy, believe in you, come one day to share, in our own bodies, the glory of your Resurrection, which is beyond our imagination.

Father, enlighten the eyes of our mind

Tuesday 2 June 2020

Father, enlighten the eyes of our mind

Cf. Ps 24: 16, 18

Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord,

for I am alone and poor.

See my lowliness and suffering

and take away all my sins, my God.

Collect

Father, who never fail to carry our your plan,

keep us, we humbly pray,

from all that might harm us

and grant  that everything may work for our good.

We make our prayer through

your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord. 

____________________

First reading

2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18 ·

We are waiting for the new heaven and the new earth

You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen. HE WORD OF THE LORD.

Prayerful reflection

Let us make no mistake. God is working out his plan for his creation. You are an important part of it; you are precious to me. I love you and will honour you. (Isaiah 43:5) Can I ever forget you (Isaiah 49:15). Creation will be transformed into a new heaven and new earth. (Confer Romans, 8:21, Revelation 21:1-4) and God will live with his family. What will it be like? St. Paul told his Christians that was a useless question. We don’t know and can’t guess. If we look at the Risen Jesus in the Gospel, we get some idea. He is the first fruit.

So now as we look forward longingly for the fulfilment, we are to prepare ourselves and the world around us for the glorious finale. Let us not be side-tracked by the deceptive glitter of a passing world.

Do you really believe? What preparation are you making today?

____________________

Psalm

90:2-4,10,14,16

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

Before the mountains were born

or the earth or the world brought forth,

you are God, without beginning or end.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

You turn men back to dust

and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’

To your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday, come and gone,

no more than a watch in the night.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

.

Our span is seventy years,

or eighty for those who are strong.

And most of these are emptiness and pain.

They pass swiftly and we are gone.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

In the morning, fill us with your love;

we shall exult and rejoice all our days.

Show forth your work to your servants;

let your glory shine on their children.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 12:13-17

Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God

The chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

Prayerful reflection

‘God so loved the world, that he sent his only son, so that those who believe him may not perish, but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). And so, Jesus, the son of God and living image of the Father (Colossians 1:15), came as the embodiment of that love. He came that human beings may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). He came to give us his joy and his peace (John 15:11,14:27,16:33.) Anyone who accepts him will not walk in darkness but have the light of life (John 7:12). but humanity does not accept the light but prefers darkness (John 3:19).

The prophet had warned the people of Israel, ’harden not your hearts as at Meribah in the desert, when our fathers put me to the test, even though they saw my works’ (Psalm 95:8).

Here we see how his enemies have hardened their heart against Jesus. At any cost, whatever he says or does, they are oppose to him. They have rejected the light, the joy, the peace and the life. The whole of the political spectrum rejects the only One who can give them and the world the happiness they ultimately desire. The pharisees are opposed to Roman rule to the point that later they will rebel and fight a four year war resulting in total destruction. The Herodians are happy with Roman rule and cooperate to their advantage. Now they come together as allies against Jesus.

Jesus is in the world today, as much and more than then. Where do you stand with regard to him?  ‘Blessed is the man who delights in the Lord. He prospers in all he does’ Psalm 1:2,3).

 Ps 16: 6

To you I call, for you will surely heed me, O God;

turn your ear to me; hear my words.

Father, you feed us each day with the Bread of your Word,

Grant that by feeding on your spoken Word,

we make come to know and love your Word

who came in the flesh and knowing him

manifest to the world his joy, peace and life.

We make our prayer through your Son,

Your Word, Christ Jesus our Lord.