4th September

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. (1John 3: 16-18)

As the Year of Mercy draws to a close we pray that we may be God’s instruments in a world in need of what Pope Francis calls the ‘balm of Mercy’.

In the following weeks we will try to focus on particular people in our world and to pray for situations in need. Hopefully these prayers will encourage each one of us to reach out further still in prayer and action in our own parishes, schools, places of work, communities, families and friendship groups. As Pope Francis has said, “Mercy will

always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is always ready to forgive”.As we begin these final weeks of the Year of Mercy we hope you will find a wide range of suggestions for prayer, often for people in our world in particular need of that ‘balm of mercy’. You will doubtlessly think of more intentions for prayer and action and it is our hope that the reflections each week will be catalysts for your own additions to the suggestions for particular prayer. Today we pray in the broadest way for a more merciful world, that, “wherever the Church is present, the mercy of the Father may be evident” (Pope Francis).Our prayer will lead us into compassionate action. May we all find the strength of the Holy Spirit who is ever ready to ‘kindle within us the fire of love’.

Jubilee Year of Mercy Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us

your face and we will be saved.You are the visible face of the invisible Father, let the Church be your

visible face of forgiveness and mercy in the world. You willed that your ministers would feel compassion for those in ignorance and

error: let everyone who approaches them feel loved, and forgiven by God.

Send your spirit and consecrate every one of us with his anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the

poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.

We ask this of you, Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy; you who live and reign with the Father and the

Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen

11th September

Education Sunday

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14: 26)

Catholic education aims not only to communicate facts but also to transmit a coherent, comprehensive vision of life, in the conviction that the truths contained in that vision liberate students in the most profound meaning of human freedom.(Pope St John Paul II)

On this Education Sunday we are reminded of the great dignity of learning and understanding and as we pray for all those in the world of education we remember the many in our world deprived of this fundamental human right. In this Year of Mercy, we remember all teachers and governors in our schools that they may be inspired by God’s mercy for all those entrusted to their care. We remember catechists in our parishes and those of all ages seeking to deepen their understanding of our faith. In prayer we reach out to all students and pupils and especially those who find learning difficult.

At the beginning of the academic year we think of those starting at school or university. We remember too those whose experience of education is blighted by indoctrination or coercion or those whose education is interrupted or denied. We pray for those who find their world bewildering or threatening and devoid of purpose and meaning.

Lord, enrich us all as your Church by valuing and walking with our all our brothers and sisters in the world of education. May true learning help us to see your mercy at the heart of all our understanding.

18th September

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—  I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell

you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16: 1-13)

Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on money and riches and we call to mind our God ‘rich in mercy’. We recognize the many acts of mercy that money and riches can help to achieve and pray for a true generosity as we seek to live as did the early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles ‘holding all things in common’. Mercy calls us to reach out in prayer to those for whom money is so easily a problem: to those who lack the basic necessities of life, to those who live in debt, to all those deprived of a proper living, to those whose work is not rewarded justly. We remember those whose lives have been corrupted by riches and wealth and who are enslaved to money. We pray for all those struggling with money.

Lord, enrich us all as your Church by valuing and walking with all our brothers and sisters, help us to share generously with others and to build up true riches in mercy.

25th September

‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.”  But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He

said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’ (Luke 16: 19-31)

Today’s Gospel sees Lazarus at the gate of the rich man’s house, a good reminder for this Homelessness Sunday of a Gospel merciful imperative for us all. The world of those who are homeless today is often a complex one with many issues. So often there are issues around addiction, a loss of self-esteem, broken relationships, a pervading despair, underlying mental health issues. In particular, as we think of those without homes, our thoughts and prayers are with those forced out of their homes in war torn and impoverished countries of the world, but also those in our own country for economic reasons or because the home has become a place of violence or distress. We think of those families living in cramped or poor conditions. We pray for travelers whose way of life and home at times seems to clash with society’s norms and who find themselves on the margins of society.

Lord, enrich us as your Church as we try to see and respond to Lazarus in so many different places in our world today. May we challenge injustice and may we always see others through the merciful eyes of the Father and respond to needs as we can.

2nd October

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good….Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 1:31-2:3)

As we celebrate the feast of St Francis of Assisi during the coming week we think of God’s mercy towards us in giving the beautiful and abundant world in which we live. In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis says: ‘The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God’. We pray then for those who care for the world and the wellbeing of creation, may there be a greater sharing of the world’s abundance. We remember those who work the land, providing food for us all. Those who work at sea to bring food and goods to us often lead hard and lonely lives away for many months from families. We pray our port chaplains in the Apostleship of the Sea offering welcome and support. As natural disasters in our world bring terrible suffering to millions of people, we pray for a

compassionate and generous response to our brothers and sisters in their hour of need, remembering places where disaster has struck, harvests have failed and where there is no access to safe water.

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universeand in the smallest of your creatures.You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.Pour out upon us the power of your love,that we may protect life and beauty.Fill us with peace, that we may liveas brothers and sisters, harming no one.O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,so precious in your eyes.Bring healing to our lives,that we may protect the world and not prey on it,that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.Touch the heartsof those who look only for gainat the expense of the poor and the earth.Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,to be filled with awe and contemplation,to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creatureas we journey towards your infinite light.We thank you for being with us each day.Encourage us, we pray, in our strugglefor justice, love and peace.Amen.

9th October

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25: 34-36)

Prisoner Sunday

On this Prisoner Sunday we remember those who are imprisoned across the world, often in terrible conditions and with many lacking any meaningful justice. We think of those on death row and pray for a more merciful response to them and an end to the death penalty. We pray for families separated from loved ones and often left isolated and hurt. We remember those who work in the prison system and those who work to rehabilitate those who have served sentences back into society.

Lord Jesus Christ,You have come so that we may have life to the full, Listen to our prayers for all in prison and their families, Touched by your Spirit,May they find newness of heart and be open to that new life that is found only in you.May they know care, and receive support from those around them.May they find new purpose in serving you in their brothers and sisters. Amen

Our Lady of Mercy, Pray for us St Maximilian Kolbe, Pray for us