The Ascension of the Lord, June 02, 2019
On this Ascension Day, we not only look to the sky but we offer our prayers and petitions for our needs on earth.
- That the Church may mirror the disciples of Jesus who joyfully witnessed his Ascension and responded with constant prayers of praise. We pray to the Lord.
- That missionaries and all who teach the message of Jesus will know that he is with them in their efforts as witnesses to “Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We pray to the Lord.
- That the Church will be renewed as the bishops respond to Pope Francis’ reflection that “some are struggling to establish acceptable relationships with their priests, thus risking the ruin of their mission and even weakening the mission of the Church itself.[1]” We pray to the Lord.
- That priests, through the modesty and humility of their lives, commit themselves actively to a solidarity with those who are most poor.[2] We pray to the Lord.
- That those traveling during the summer months may be kept safe and may spread the good news of the Gospel to those whom they meet. We pray to the Lord.
- That people will work together in a spirit of charity to keep their neighbors safe from the rains, tornadoes, hurricanes, heat, and drought of the coming months. We pray to the Lord.
- That the violence, spirit of tiredness, and dissatisfaction that plague our society will be dissipated by the Lord who “always gives us hope for the future and the strength to keep going.”[3] We pray to the Lord.
- That the theme of today’s World Communication Day of the Church, “We are members, one of another,”[4] will guide us in our use of the internet and all forms of communication to be truthful and to be respectful of the dignity of others. We pray to the Lord.
- That Fr. Christopher may be given the health and grace to continue his fight to preserve the generous gifts from God of his priesthood and his ministry to his parishioners. We pray to the Lord.
- That those who are ill may hold unwaveringly to their faith in God and be granted relief from their suffering. We pray to the Lord.
- That those who have died may rejoice forever in heaven with our ascended Lord. We pray to the Lord.
- For our own intentions that we recall in silence…….. We pray to the Lord.
May these petitions which we offer be carried up with our ascended Lord to the Father who hears and answers all our needs. We offer these prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.
[1] Address of Pope Francis to Italian bishops [20 May 2019]
[2] Intention of Pope Francis for the month of June.
[3] Homily of Pope Francis [09 April 2019]
[4] http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/communications/documents/papa-francesco_20190124_messaggio-comunicazioni-sociali.html
parishionersforjustice.com 
I don’t fully understand what is meant by # 3 petition..
.I hope the Bishops intend to be there for their priests as shepherds — who are also leading the flock —
in what ways might a Bishop ” ruin the mission of the church?”
Please explain.
I think the hierarchy and the people need to know how this might happen—-and how their actions might do this — they might ”risk the mission of the church.”
What exactly is the mission of the Church these days? Sometimes I feel like we don’t really know that anymore?
Sad.
We want peace and we want justice in our church…we want truth and goodness from those who are members of our church as our leaders——-the Bishops and the priests and the people have a real responsibility – obligation to speak the truth——- to speak truth and justice! Young people are not seeing or finding that in the church these days and many old people are questioning or losing the faith they had because of the way the church keeps secrets /treats and deals with people!
We need to be the Church that Jesus intended!
Bishops must be more understanding of what a priest does and make sure they are empathetic to the priests they work with—that is the way that priests can lead the young and old alike—-lead us the people in the right instructions as taught by Jesus!
Love God——-Love others!
Who teaches the Bishops??????? How did they get chosen to be bishops?
Who do THEY ‘report ‘ to?????????? WHO REMINDS THEM OF THE MESSAGE OF Jesus AND WHAT IT SHOULD MEAN TO THEM??
We are living in difficult times right now!
JESUS SHOWED US HOW TO LIVE THE RIGHT WAY-WE ALL NEED TO RE-READ THAT PART OF OUR BELIEFS AND FOLLOW JESUS RULES OF LOVE BETTER THAN WE ARE ALL PRESENTLY DOING!
EXAMINE OUR OWN CONSCIENCES AND SEE HOW WE RE REALLY DOING!
BISHOPS PRIESTS AND PEOPLE ALIKE! IT IS THE SAME MESSAGE FOR ALL OF US!
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