Praying Together 2021

110 Gather Light a candle as a sign of God’s presence and sit quietly. Ring a bell or chime to start the prayer. May the grace and peace of God be with you! And with your spirit. COLLECT Let us pray that everything we do will be guided by God’s law of love. (pause) God our Father, you have promised to remain for ever with those who do what is right. Help us to be welcoming and accepting of others. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. SCRIPTURE A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 22:2-3, 8-10 Jesus used this story to teach the people: “The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. The king said to his servants, ‘It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don’t deserve to come. Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.’ They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.” The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. RESPONSE Imagine your family have decided to give a grand banquet for your birthday! Who would you invite to your party? Close your eyes and spend a moment creating the guest list in your mind. (Pause for a minute or so.) Is each person on your list a family member or a close friend? Now imagine that there are 3 more spaces to fill at your banquet table. Who else could you ask? Perhaps someone from school that you don’t know well? Maybe someone who is new to your neighbourhood? Imagine your house filled with guests where everyone is welcome! You may like to listen to some banquet music while you think. DISMISSAL May the love of God guide our minds. Amen. May God bless us in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Ring the bell or chime to signal the end of the prayer. Extinguish the candle. Wednesday Week 13 Ordinary Time 30 June 2021 “Tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.”