Opening Prayer Series: 16th Sunday of Year

OPENING PRAYER SERIES

 

THE MASS: OPENING PRAYER SERIES ICON.

OPENING PRAYER

The Opening Prayer of the Mass for the 16th Sunday of the Year reads as follows:

Let us pray 

(to be kept faithful in the service of God)

Lord,

be merciful to Your people.

Fill us with Your gifts and make us always eager to serve You

in faith, hope and love.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In making this prayer tangible for my life during this week, the following reflection questions emerged: 

1.What areas of my life do I need God's mercy?

2. How will I be merciful to my family, colleagues and parishioners this week?

3. Name the gifts of God do you need most in your life? Pray for them this week.

4. What does it mean to me to serve God?

5. What prevents me from being eager in serving God?

6. What do I know about the virtues faith, hope and love?  You might like to visit my Virtue series in the faith nurturing section to assist you.

7. How will I serve God, neighbour and myself in faith, hope and love this week?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

In the Gospel, we are reminded of the fact that there is both a Martha and Mary in us.  Christ reminded Martha ( and us) that examination of priorities  is essential to place God first, then the worries of the day will be put into a proper perspective. In our families, workplace and parishes, we need a Martha- the doer personality.  I can very much relate to the Martha in me, but Christ says to me : 'You fret and worry about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one..'

There is also the Mary in me, and Christ also seems to indicate that Mary has chosen the better part in that she has chosen her priorities appropriately.  However, prayer and putting God first is not an excuse to shirk our responsibilities.  It is all about appropriate balance and living with the Lord in amongst our lives.(eg stopping and saying hello to God after a task is completed and thanking Him, asking His help whilst doing a task at work/home or just saying a short prayer/invocation throughout the day silently in your heart to Him).

If you want to know what your balance of prayer, work, rest, eating, sleeping and other activities, why not draw two circles and divide each of them into 12 segments to represent the 24 hours. Divide again in half if necessary to establish the half hour segments.  Then fill in a typical day in your week, (or week).  You will soon find out pictorially how much of your day/week is a Martha or a Mary personality.

May you experience a balanced week of prayer, work and recreation and 

live in the presence of the Lord.

'.