VI. WE ARE SERVANTS

Hymn: The Servant Song

  1. Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you?
    Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant, too.
  2. We are pilgrims on a journey, we are trav’lers on the road.
    We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
  3. I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night time of your fear.
    I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
  4. I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I’ll laugh with you.
    I will share your joy and sorrow till we’ve seen this journey through.
  5. When we sing to God in heaven, we shall find such harmony,
    born of all we’ve known together of Christ’s love and agony.
  6. Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you?
    Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant, too.

 

 

Prayer

Leader:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Let us pray as one:

All:
Good and Gracious God,
We come before you separated by physical distance from each other, yet
joined as one to pray a Novena for clarity of mind and heart.
During this time that challenges each of us to be people of hope we ask you, O God,
for support and strength,
for direction and guidance,
for joy and peace, as we seek to be people
who serve the needs of all whom we know, pray for those whom we do not know,
and who address the ills of society.
Lead us the way we need to go, as our story unfolds before us.
Open our eyes to the gifts that surround us, aware that poverty grows daily
for so many around us.
Open our hearts to the love you offer to us,
that we might bless others with the richness of your love as we learn to serve
generously and without judgment.
We make this prayer, filled with hope,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Reading from the Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

Response

Leader At dawn, fill us with your merciful love;
All we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Leader Let your deed be seen by your servants,
All and your glorious power by their children.
Leader Let the favor of God be upon us;
All Give success to the work of our hands.
O give success to the work of our hands.

The Word of God from the Last Supper adapted from John’s Gospel

During supper,
Jesus rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on
and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

Petitions

Leader: Christ hears and saves all who hope in him. Let us bring him our needs. That those among us who have so much will share generously with those who have so little, we pray…

R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That our children will mature responsibly, outgrowing an unhealthy sense of entitlement and discovering joy in service to others, we pray… R.

That our community will follow the example and the command of Jesus, humbly embracing the tasks of service in the world, we pray… R.

That healthcare workers, who serve as care-takers for patients fighting to be well from the coronavirus, may themselves be protected, we pray. . .R

For whom else will you pray?

The Lord’s Prayer

Leader As one family, let us pray in the words our Savior taught us:
All Our Father…

Prayer of Saint Margaret of Scotland

Leader: Let us recall our mission as together we pray:

Loving God,
you call your people to holiness
and create among them models of kindness.
We thank you for the life of St. Margaret of Scotland:
a woman of leadership and hope in a confusing world;
a wife and mother excelling in patience, dedication and love;
a teacher supported and inspired by a life of learning;
a generous friend and a loyal servant to the poor and helpless;
a model of Christian faith and constant prayerfulness.

As we build on our faith,
help us to grow rich in the values of St. Margaret:
that faith, hope and love might inspire
our presence in the city and neighborhood,
our relationships with family and friends,
our concern for the education of the young,
our care for the poor and the weak,
our community’s prayer in word and sacrament.

Bless our parish and our school;
let it be for us a community of love and sharing,
and a source of life and grace
let it be a witness to our neighbors
of your life, your presence and your love.
Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

Until tomorrow when we join in prayer again, may we each find time to learn something new and
share that new learning with someone else. AMEN