EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 2, n. 14)
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
February 26 - March 4, 2006
“The Bridegroom’s Redeeming Love”
(+) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(A moment of silence)
SONG: Any suitable Eucharistic hymn or any appropriate song may be sung.
INTRODUCTION – by Adrian Nocent
(Cf. The Liturgical Year, vol. 1, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1977, p. 400-401)
Faith in the presence of the Bridegroom with his new covenant, while requiring a new outlook, also makes dialogue with God possible … In this dialogue God constantly renews us; we become a new garment, new wine: “There she shall answer as in the day, of her youth, as at the time when she came out of Egypt” … The Christian, despite his infidelity, does not have a past weighing upon him. Moreover, the mystery of his liberation by divine love is ever alive, ever renewed: “I will betroth you to me for ever” … These statements of God in Hosea describe the life of the Church and of each Christian: the primacy of God’s love for us and our love for him (our love being inseparable from love for other men as well). Other things – various observances, rituals, customs – are not to be neglected, for they help in a meantime to foster love and fidelity; the sacraments, in fact, even give grace to love and to be faithful. But the chief thing in the life of the Church and the individual should be the profound sense of God’s loving presence.
SILENT ADORATION
OPENING PRAYER
Leader: Lord,
you care for your people even when they stray.
Grant us a complete change of heart,
so that we may follow you with greater fidelity.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Assembly: Amen.
Part I
JESUS MASTER TRUTH
Listening to the Word
FIRST READING: Hos 2:16b, 17b, 21-22
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
GOSPEL READING: Mk 2:18-22
PERSONAL REFLECTION
(As a tool for personal reflection, please visit the PDDM Website: www.pddm.org // www.pddm.us for BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD [Series 4, n. 14]: A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy. The Biblico-Liturgical Reflections are an aid for a deeper understanding of the Gospel reading.)
SONG: Any Eucharistic hymn or suitable song of praise may be sung.
Part II
JESUS MASTER WAY
Confrontation with the Word
POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Leader: We open our hearts to listen to the promptings of the living Word. Let us ask ourselves with limpid honesty:
A. How do the pathos and deep agony of the abandoned spouse, Hosea, impact us? What feelings are evoked in us by Israel’s betrayal of her spouse, Yahweh? How do we react to the prophet Hosea’s fidelity to his faithless wife? How does the forgiving and renewing love of Yahweh for wayward Israel touch our hearts?
B. In what ways are we the unfaithful spouse of Yahweh? How do we respond to God’s forgiving love and his gracious invitation to renew our nuptial covenant?
C. Are our hearts gracious enough to respond to God’s eternal and faithful love crystallized in the paschal offering of Christ, the messianic Bridegroom? Do we cherish the radical newness that God’s forgiving and renewing love bring to us through his Son Jesus Christ? Are we ready to share the tenderness of God’s love with the forlorn and abandoned of today’s world?
PRAYING WITH THE WORD
(Cf. Commission Francophone Cistercienne, La nuit, le jour, 31 // Days of the Lord, vol. 5, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1993, p. 78)
Assembly: Lord, Bridegroom of the Church,
speak to our hearts.
We are listening to you.
In the mirror of your Word,
you fill us with your image
and we live by your light.
Jesus, handed over for the Church,
show us the way.
We are following you.
On the way of suffering
your freedom renews us
and our strength is in the Spirit.
O Christ, you are the portion of the Church.
May your Day come.
We are waiting for it.
By longing to encounter you,
we are advancing in the mystery;
here you unveil your face.
SONG: Any suitable song may be sung.
Part III
JESUS LIFE
Acting upon the Word
PERSONAL PRAYER
CONTEMPLATING WITH MARY THE FACE OF CHRIST: The Mysteries of Light of the Rosary may be prayed in part or in full.
THE WAY OF SOLIDARITY: PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
Leader: The world was created by the Word of God, re-created by his redemption, and it is continually renewed by his love. Rejoicing in him we call out:
(R.) RENEW THE WONDERS OF YOUR LOVE, LORD.
1. We give thanks to God whose power is revealed in nature, and whose providence is revealed in history. (R.)
2. Through your Son, the herald of reconciliation, the victor of the cross, free us from empty fear and hopelessness. (R.)
3. May all those who love and pursue justice work together without deceit to build a world of true peace. (R.)
4. Be with the oppressed, free the captives, console the sorrowful, feed the hungry, strengthen the weak; in all people reveal the victory of your cross. (R.)
5. Bless married couples and make them faithful to their nuptial bond; may the messianic Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, strengthen their covenantal love for one another. (R.)
6. After your Son’s death and burial, you raised him up again in glory, grant that the faithful departed may live with him and partake in the nuptial banquet of the Paschal Lamb in heaven. (R.)
(Other prayers may be added.)
THE LORD’S PRAYER
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Leader: Loving Father,
we pray for your people who believe in you.
May they enjoy the gift of your love,
share it with others,
and spread it everywhere.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord,
the Bridegroom of the Church,
who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Assembly: Amen.
FINAL SONG: Any suitable Eucharistic hymn or song of praise may be sung.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US