Family Home Liturgy:  Pentecost (31 May)

Mother/other person lights candle

Ldr:   Christ, our Lord, is risen, alleluia!

All:     He is truly risen, alleluia!

Ldr:   We pray in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

All:     Amen!

Ldr:   As we celebrate the great day of Pentecost,

remembering the great event of the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the disciples,

let us open our minds and our hearts so that we, now,

may also be strengthened by God’s holy gifts…

(pause)

          God of Glory, in every generation you send forth your Spirit

to breathe upon the world and make it come alive!

Pour forth your Holy Spirit on your Church,

gathered in prayer with the mother of Jesus,

and cause springs of living water to well up among us

so that all may quench their thirst for justice and truth.

In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

First reader:

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles     (Acts 2:1–11)

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,

and a tongue rested on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered,

because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.

Amazed and astonished, they asked,

“Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

Parthians, Medes, Elamites,

and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

The word of the Lord.     (“Thanks be to God”)

Second reader:

A reading from the 1^st letter to the Corinthians     (1 Cor 12:3–7, 12–13)

Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand

that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!”

and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;

and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;

and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God

who activates all of them in everyone.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

For just as the body is one and has many members,

and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body

—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

The word of the Lord.     (“Thanks be to God”)

Third reader:

A reading from the Gospel of John.     (John 20:19–23)

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,

and the doors of the house where the disciples had met

were locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;

if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

The Gospel of the Lord.            (“Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ”)

[Reflection:  -what gift of the Holy Spirit are you most in need of now?

                   -share a time when you found the courage to overcome one of your

     fears in order to do what is good and just?

-how do you share Jesus’ peace with others?

-think/share about how good it feels to be forgiven? ]

Ldr:   As we conclude our Easter season, let us renew our baptismal promises,

our response (℟) is:  “I DO”

My brothers and sisters:

• Do you reject Satan? ℟ I do.
• And all his works? ℟ I do.
• And all his empty promises? ℟ I do.

• Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty,

creator of heaven and earth?              ℟ I do.

• Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary                                                                                                                                       was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead,                                                                                and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?    ℟ I do.
• Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,                                                                                                                                           the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting?        ℟ I do.

prayer leader:

Our response will be, “Come, Holy Spirit!”

• For the Church throughout the world:

may all members courageously embrace our prophetic mission

to proclaim peace, justice and holiness

within the Church and throughout the world…  we pray:

• For those whose labor is difficult, for those whose hearts are closed,

for those who are bereaved, for those weakened by illness

and for those who have gone astray:

send your Spirit to comfort, to heal, to cleanse and to restore…   we pray:

• As we all long to be reunited to worship as a community in our church,

give us patience and a stronger conviction in the power of faith

that binds us together as a family of faith…   we pray:

• We commend to God’s loving embrace all who have died

(especially __ )… we pray:

• (other prayers?)

We bind our prayers together in the words that Jesus taught us: OUR FATHER…

Ldr:

Come, Holy Spirit! 

As a goose noisily awakens all at the approach of a stranger,

so awaken us from our complacency

that we may be ever alert and always willing to be people of the Gospel. 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Keep us awake!  Keep us alert!

We ask this through Jesus our Lord.   Amen!

May Almighty God bless us with peace

     and protect us from all harm.  Amen.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God…

All:   That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.