Praying Together 2021

150 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 peace of Christ be with you! And with your spirit. COLLECT Let us pray for God’s protection. (pause) O God, whose love never fails, keep us from danger and provide for all our needs. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. SCRIPTURE A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 10:29-37 The lawyer asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbours?” Jesus replied: “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side. A man from Samaria then came travelling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, ‘Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.’” Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbour to the man who was beaten up by robbers?” The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.” Jesus said, “Go and do the same!” The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. RESPONSE This story would have been very powerful for the people in Jesus’ time. There had been long-standing hatred between Jews and Samaritans, so it was really amazing that the Samaritan man showed kindness to the Jewish traveller. The message is that we should show love to everyone, even people we don’t like. As you watc h “God’s Story: The Good Samaritan” by Crossroads Kids’ Club, think about which character you would like to be in the story. DISMISSAL May God protect us from all harm. 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 21 Ordinary Time 25 August 2021 “Who are my neighbours?”