Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 27, 2020

Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 27, 2020

We come to the Lord, offering our prayers as people who too often turn away from virtue to commit iniquity, seeking the grace to turn from wickedness and do what is right and just.  

1. That in observing World Day for Migrants and Refugees, the Church will see the face of Jesus in all those who have been forced to flee and will care and advocate for those who are suffering from the hardships of displacement.  We pray to the Lord.
2. That governments and nations will show mercy, welcome, support, and love to migrants and refugees from places torn apart by war and poverty and to their own citizens who flee from injustice, natural disasters, and tragedies.  We pray to the Lord.
3. That during our time of isolation due to coronavirus, we will pray in solidarity with those crowded together in squalor in refugee camps as we all look to the day of our release.  We pray to the Lord.
4. That our children, united in heart with children from various cultures, languages, and faith traditions throughout the world, will respond to the voice of the Lord calling them to build a better world that respects our environment, acknowledges the importance of each individual, and is grateful for the beauty that surrounds us.  We pray to the Lord.
5. That on hearing the voice of God calling us to action in our lives and to himself, we will answer, “Yes, Lord,” and with grace and commitment act on that call.  We pray to the Lord.
6. That we will trust in God’s love, so that despite knowing we often respond, “I will not” to God’s call to turn away from sin, we will return to him confident in his mercy, assured that it is never too late to change our lives and do the Father’s will.  We pray to the Lord.
7. That in seeing the lives of others through the eyes of our own lives, we will not assess what is “fair” and “unfair” but will discern God’s generous mercy and compassion, humbly regarding all others as more important than ourselves and looking out for their interests.  We pray to the Lord.
8. That as we enter this season of heightened political activity, we will engage with mutual respect, humbly seeking the common good, asking that the Lord will show us the way to prudence and to justice for all. We pray to the Lord. 
9. That Fr. Christopher and those entrapped by memories of the injustices they have experienced may be freed from their misery and look to the Lord who is good and upright, who guides the humble to justice and shows sinners the way.   We pray to the Lord.
10. That “in the face of the challenge of illness and the emotional and spiritual difficulties associated with pain, [we may know] how to speak a word of comfort [to the suffering] drawn from the compassion of Jesus on the Cross [who faced] the moment of trial and the challenge of death.^[1]”  We pray to the Lord.
11. That we will know that “human compassion consists not in causing death, but in embracing the sick, in supporting them in their difficulties, in offering them affection, attention, and the means to alleviate suffering.¹” We pray to the Lord. 
12. That as we “assist persons with chronic illnesses or in the terminal stages of life [we may] ‘know how …to keep vigil with those who suffer the anguish of death, ‘to console’ them, to be with them in their loneliness, to be an abiding with that can instill hope¹”.  We pray to the Lord.
13. That those whose lives seem to have been unfairly cut short by disease, war, or natural disaster will be welcomed by all the saints and angels to the joy of heaven which is beyond any merited fairness.  We pray to the Lord.

O God, in these prayers we ask not for what we deserve but that you hear and answer us, giving us what we truly need through your generous mercy.  We make

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^[1] Letter Samaritanus Bonus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life, September 22, 2020.