First Holy Communion 2021 Listening and Caring Opening

First Holy Communion 2021 Listening and Caring

Opening prayer – Act of Love O my God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things because you are infinitely good and perfect, and I love my neighbour as myself for love of you. Grant that I may love you more and more in this life, and in the next for all eternity. Amen.

Session Overview 1. Structure 2. Things of the Mass we see at Mass 3. We ask forgiveness 4. We sing praise 5. The Liturgy of the Word 6. Praying for Others

The Structure of the Mass The Gathering Arriving at church together The priest, deacon and servers enter The priest greets us We pray forgiveness and give praise The Liturgy of the Word We listen to the Word of God The priest talks to us about the Word of God We say the Creed We pray for our world The Liturgy of the Eucharist We give thanks We remember what Jesus said We share the Bread of Life and the Cup of His Blood The Farewell The priest blesses us and the deacon asks us to love and serve The priest, deacon and servers leave and we sing

Things we see at Mass Chalice Altar Ciborium Vestments Missal Paten

We ask forgiveness We need to prepare our hearts to meet Jesus in the Mass. The priest says: ‘Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries’ We respond by saying ‘Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy’

We sing Our Praise As God gives us the gift of forgiveness, we proclaim his greatness by singing or saying: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You. We bless You. We adore you. We glorify You. We give You thanks for Your great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father: you Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You Who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are holy. You alone are the Lord. You alone, O Jesus Christ, are most high. Together with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Liturgy of the Word The first two readings are from the prophets or the apostles who tell us about the need to follow God’s law of love. The reader says: ‘The Word of the Lord’ and we respond ‘Thanks be to God’. We then respond to a psalm. Eg. ‘The Lord is compassion and graciousness, slow to anger, abounding in love. ’ Then we stand to greet the gospel and sing or say ‘Alleluia’ which means ‘praise’

The Liturgy of the Word Before the Gospel, the priest or deacon says: ‘The Lord be with you’. We respond, ‘And with your spirit. ’ Then he continues: ‘A reading from the Gospel according to Mark’ and we respond ‘Glory to you O Lord’. People make the sign of the cross on their head, lips and heart. After the Gospel reading, the priest or deacon says ‘The Gospel of the Lord’ and we respond ‘Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ’. We then say the Creed together to profess our faith.

We pray for Others We then say a set of prayers which pray for what is happening in our world, our church leaders, our country’s leaders, the hungry, the sick, for countries at war, and for all those who our suffering. We respond by saying ‘Lord hear our prayer’ or another response. Who or what do you want to pray for today?

Let us end by praying… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.