A Spiritual Communion

25^thSunday in Ordinary Time

In absence of the celebration of Mass, please join us in this prayer which unites us to Christ and to each other at Saint Hubert. It may be very appropriate to light a candle as we spend this time in prayer. 

Opening Our Heart to God
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Lord, I know you are with me, always. You are kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion. So, as I begin this time of spiritual communion, I turn to you calling to mind the sin in my life and ask for your mercy.

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth, peace to people of good will!

Opening Prayer
Father,
Guide us, as you guide creation
according to the law of love.
May we love one another and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
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.
Amen.

The Word of God: The Words of Life
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092020.cfm

First Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9
God’s ways aren’t necessarily our ways. We’re meant to conform our lives to His rather than the other way around.
 
Responsorial: Psalm 145
The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Second Reading: Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
Paul shares his desire to be with Christ, whether in the work he was entrusted to do, or in the life to come.

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16a
Jesus shares another parable about the Kingdom of God revealing what we heard in the first reading: that God ‘s ways often challenge conventional human ways.

A Reflection by Fr. Mike
This is one of those parables that often throws us off balance. How can the worker who works 12 hours in the heat get the same amount as the worker who was hired for just an hour?

But Jesus’ parable isn’t about justice for laborers or a statement on just wages—the message is really about being part of the Kingdom of God. That’s how the parable opens, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landownerwho went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.” One of the things Jesus may be hoping we’ll think about today is that when it comes to being part of God’s kingdom, no one is meant stay idle.

When we’re baptized, we’re commissioned to contribute and participate in the Kingdom of God—to build it up and allow it to grow. In fact, at the end of every Mass we’re sent out into the world to live knowing we’re part of God’s kingdom. We're sent to glorify the Lord with our lives; to announce the good news; to bring peace where we go; in other words to contribute. We all have something to do. God invites us to roll up our sleeves and join in—even in the midst of a pandemic! The pandemic can’t make us idle, because how we participate and contribute to this world is what our vocation is all about. And a vocation is about who we are.

Most of us will participate in the Kingdom as married couples and as families.  Some will remain single.  But others—even if there are only a few—are invited to participate through a religious vocation: to be a religious sister or brother, to live a consecrated life, or to be a priest or deacon. And we’re blessed here at Saint Hubert, because we have a mix of all these vocations in our parish, which makes us unique and really strengthens the work we do to build up our community and to help those who come to us in need.  We do the work together. Here we’re able to participate and express who we are in God’s eyes.

Whatever our vocation is, we’re called to contribute and live it out fully. Because the heart of every one of these vocations is to love and one way we do that is to be of service. A pandemic can’t stop us from doing this. It’s part of who we are. We aren’t idle, but hard at work building up the kingdom God in our little corner of the world. 

Consider sharing some of your own perspectives or spend some time in personal reflection. During the months of the pandemic, think of some ways that show you have you contributed and are participating in building up God’s kingdom through your own vocation.  In other words, how have you shown love, even in the smallest of ways?


All I Believe
As an alternative to the Nicene Creed, the Church also encourages Catholics around the world to profess the most ancient creed of our faith, The Apostle’s Creed.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son Our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I 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.
Amen.


The Prayers of the Faithful
Good and gracious God, in union with my brothers and sisters at St. Hubert, we bring our prayers to you.
 

• May the people of the Church never stop seeking the Lord with all our hearts, embracing His ways while forsaking all that is wicked, we pray to the Lord.

 

• May our civil leaders work to end persecution and violence and earnestly work toward peace and justice; and may those in our nation dealing with the effects of the wild fires and hurricanes find ways to cope and recover, we pray to the Lord.

 

• May all those that have fallen away from the Church hear the calling of the Holy Spirit and return with an open heart, we pray to the Lord.

 

• May the people of Saint Hubert faithfully and tirelessly labor for the Lord, we pray to the Lord.

 

• May all those that are sick, including those fighting covid-19 find comfort in the servants of God, including Lester Hill, Ray Garber, Ken Vallamar, Dennie & Vijaya Wilson, Simon Kolasa,Jose Joseph, Mary Stump, Charlene Perri, for all those suffering with the coronavirus, and for your own needs (please include those you are praying for),we pray to the Lord.

 

• May all those who have died find eternal peace with Lord especially Thomas Black, Bill O’Howell, those who have lost their lives to the coronavirus or through natural disasters, and those for whom you would like to now remember and for your own needs (please include those you are praying for),we pray to the Lord.

 

• For those we remember this weekend as a community of faith: Lou Bushenot, Mario DeAngelis, Corinne Childress, Marie Fiedler and Stephanie Kopterski; for the needs of those listed in our book of prayer intentions and for all your needs and desires, we pray to the Lord.

May these prayers be answered according to your will, O God. We ask them all through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.


A Spiritual Offering
During the Mass, we bring up gifts of bread and wine and thank God for them, because he gave them to us. Those gifts are then returned to us. God gives himself to us through Jesus Christ.  What do you offer to God today of yourself, that can be returned as a gift to others?  Who would you like to remember or offer this time of prayer for?


Longing for Communion
As we contemplate our desire to have Jesus Christ in our life, we prepare our hearts—knowing the angels and the saints are in communion with the One we long to be with.  Let us lift up our hearts to the Lord.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God
through Christ our Lord.

For in you we live and move and have our being,
and while in this body we not only experience the daily effects of your care,
we even now possess the pledge of eternal life.

For having received the first fruits of the Spirit,
through whom you have raised up Jesus from the dead,
we hope for an everlasting share in the Paschal Mystery.

And so, with all the Angels we praise you,
as in joyful celebration we acclaim:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The Prayer that Unites Us
United with my brothers and sisters at St. Hubert and with Catholics around the world, with one voice we pray the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray together.

Our Father, who art in heaven…


A Time for Peace
Lord, Jesus Christ,
You said to your apostles, “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you”.
Please graciously grant peace to all of us,
to those in our family
and to everyone in our parish.
Allow us to be of one mind and heart.
Allow us to be an instrument of your peace.

(If praying with others, offer a sign of peace to one another.)


A Time for Spiritual Communion
As we long for the Eucharist, we long to be with Christ and share in his life.  Let us spend some moments now in prayer uniting our life to the life of Jesus Christ.  (You may even want to look upon a crucifix or hold it, or look upon an image or statue of Jesus Christ.)

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there,
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.

A Prayer for Our Vocation
Lord, my God and my loving Father, you have made me to know you, to love you, to serve you, and thereby to find and to fulfill my deepest longings. I know that you are in all things, and that every path can lead me to you. 

But of them all, there is one especially by which you want me to come to you. Since I will do what you want of me, I pray you, send your Holy Spirit to me: into my mind, to show me what you want of me; into my heart, to give me the determination to do it, and to do it with all my love, with all my mind, and with all of my strength right to the end.

Jesus, I trust in you.
Amen

Pastoral Note:
For those who may want to experience a more contemplative form of prayer, allow the Holy Spirit to pray within you. One way is to center ourselves by being conscious of our own breathing.  Slowly breathein.  As you hold your breath for a second or two, picture Jesus Christ or even his name in your mind.  Then slowly breathe out. You can repeat this type of spiritual exercise until you are ready to close in prayer. This can be done as easily with children as with adults. It can be very comforting, peaceful and a way to find communion with God by feeling His presence.


A Closing Prayer
Lord,
As we seek this spiritual communion
and desire Your presence,
we pray, that You will protect us in these uncertain times.

Please give us the hope we need day by day,
strengthen our desire to help one another,
and keep our St. Hubert Parish community close to You.

We long to all be together as a parish again,
without fear and uncertainty,
one family of faith, united and of one mind and heart,
to worship You at your altar of praise.

In the meantime, please give us the strength
and connection we need
as we seek to be with you and one another.

We ask all our prayers, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.


Going Forth
Thank you, God, for this time we have shared.
I know you are with me.

Send me to go forward into the everyday world
glorifying You by the way I live my life.

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.