Download Holy Hour in Preparation for the Visit of Pope Benedict XVI Hymn

Holy Hour in Preparation for the Visit of Pope Benedict XVI
Hymn: Be still for the Presence of the Lord (Hymns Old and New: 165)
Introduction: (from Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis)
‘....the Holy Eucharist is the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself, thus revealing to us
God's infinite love for every man and woman. This wondrous sacrament makes manifest that
"greater" love which led him to "lay down his life for his friends". Jesus did indeed love them
"to the end". In those words the Evangelist introduces Christ's act of immense humility:
before dying for us on the Cross, he tied a towel around himself and washed the feet of his
disciples. In the same way, Jesus continues, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, to love us "to
the end," even to offering us his body and his blood. What amazement must the Apostles
have felt in witnessing what the Lord did and said during that Supper! What wonder must the
Eucharistic mystery also awaken in our own hearts!’
Let us spend a few moments in silent prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist.
Scripture Reading:
1 John 4: 7-12
My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.
God's love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God's love for us
when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another .
No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another
God will live in us and his love will be complete in us.
Pause for silent prayer
Reflection From Pope Benedict’s Encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’ §7
‘Anyone who wishes to give love must first receive love as a gift. Certainly, as the Lord tells
us, one can become a source from which’ rivers of living water flow.’ Yet to become such a
source, one must constantly drink anew from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from
whose pierced heart flows the love of God.’
Pause for silent prayer
Response:
Psalm 62 (to be recited antiphonally)
Ant: For you my soul is thirsting, the God of my life.
O God, you are my God, for you I long,
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
On my bed I remember you,
on you I muse through the night.
For you have been my help,
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you,
your right hand holds me fast.
Glory be to the Father
And to the Son
And to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and ever shall be
World without end Amen
Ant: For you my soul is thirsting, the God of my life.
Pause for silent prayer
Hymn: Be still and Know that I am God (164)
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8
Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of
them. If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a
gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the
mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move
mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece
by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no
good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is
never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in
other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope,
and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.
Reflection From Pope Benedict’s Encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’ §18
Love of neighbour .. consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the
person whom I do not like or even know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate
encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting
my feelings. Then I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my
feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend…. . Seeing with the
eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give
them the look of love which they crave….. If I have no contact whatsoever with God in my
life, then I cannot see in the other anything more than the other, and I am incapable of
seeing in him the image of God. But if in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of
a desire to be “devout” and to perform my “religious duties”, then my relationship with God
will also grow arid. It becomes merely “proper”, but loveless. Only my readiness to encounter
my neighbour and to show him love makes me sensitive to God as well. Only if I serve my
neighbour can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me.
….Love of God and love of neighbour are thus inseparable, they form a single
commandment. But both live from the love of God who has loved us first. No longer is it a
question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but
rather of a freely-bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its very nature
must then be shared with others. Love grows through love. Love is “divine” because it comes
from God and unites us to God.
Pause for silent prayer
Response :
Psalm 18: 8-15 (to be recited antiphonally)
Ant: The Lord’s precepts are right and good: joy for the heart, light for the eyes
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
So in them your servant finds instruction;
great reward is in their keeping.
But who can detect all his errors?
From hidden faults acquit me.
From presumption restrain your servant
and let it not rule me.
Then shall I be blameless,
clean from grave sin.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favor in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
Glory be to the Father
And to the Son
And to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and ever shall be
World without end Amen
Ant: The Lord’s precepts are right and good: joy for the heart, light for the eyes
Pause for silent prayer
Hymn: Christ be our Light (439)
Gospel :
Matthew 5: 14–16
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp
to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house.
In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.
Reflection From Pope Benedict’s Encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’ §39
Love is the light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a world grown
dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working. Love is possible, and we
are able to practise it, because we are created in the image of God. To experience love and
in this way to cause the light of God to enter into the world—this is the invitation I would like
to extend….
Intercessions
Father in heaven, you have given us a mind to know you, a will to serve you and a heart to
love you. Be with us in all that we do so that your light may shine out in our lives:
We pray that we may be what you created us to be, and may praise your name in all that we
do.
Lord hear us.
We pray for the Church. May it be a true light to all nations. May the Spirit of your Son Jesus
guide our Holy Father Pope Benedict and all who hold authority in the church.
Lord hear us.
We pray for all who are searching for the truth. May they be inspired by the visit of Pope
Benedict and by his teaching and preaching.
Lord hear us.
We pray for all who suffer through war and hatred, through greed and injustice. Inspire us
always to be bearers of peace and love.
Lord hear us.
Lord God, May the light of your presence always shine in our hearts and may we live in that
light forever. We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Reflection From Pope Benedict’s Encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’ §40-42
Finally, let us consider the saints, who exercised charity in an exemplary way....The saints
are the true bearers of light within history, for they are men and women of faith, hope and
love. Outstanding among the saints is Mary, Mother of the Lord and mirror of all
holiness....“My soul magnifies the Lord” - in these words she expresses her whole
programme of life: not setting herself at the centre, but leaving space for God, who is
encountered both in prayer and in service of neighbour—only then does goodness enter the
world. Mary, Virgin and Mother, shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and its
constantly renewed power. To her we entrust the Church and her mission in the service of
love.
Hymn: My soul proclaims you, mighty God
Benediction
Final hymn: Be thou my vision
(168)
(491)