Jesus, Lord, don't let the fear of death overpower us.
And don't let the loss of our loved ones
cause us to doubt Your power to "Easter" everybody.
Remind us, Lord,
that You have the last words over death.
You are risen!
You are not "among the dead."
Neither are we.
We shall live forever in Your triumphant love.
Amen.
Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
The first Christians recognized the signs and wonders of their day.
Help me to see your guiding hand each day.
Reveal your risen presence to me as you come to me in Holy Communion.
Let my heart burn with love for you as you speak to me in the scriptures.
Keep alive in me the joy of this season
Heavenly Father and God of mercy,
we no longer look for Jesus among the dead,
for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.
From the waters of death
you raise us with him
and renew your gift of life within us.
Increase in our minds and hearts
the risen life we share with Christ,
and help us to grow as your people
Jesus, in Your cruel scourging
in which You shed Your Blood
most painfully and abundantly,
offering it to Your Eternal Father
in payment for our impatience and our wantonness,
how is it, then,
that we do not curb our wrath and self-love?
Oh! let us try to be more patient in our trials,
to cultivate self-control,
O Jesus, Who by reason of Your burning love for us
has willed to be crucified
and to shed Your Most Precious Blood
for the redemption and salvation of our souls,
look down upon us here gathered together
in remembrance of Your most sorrowful Passion and Death,
fully trusting in Your mercy;
cleanse us from sin by Your grace,
Eternal Father,
turn away Your angry gaze from our guilty people
whose face has become unsightly in Your eyes.
Look instead upon the Face of Your Beloved Son,
for this is the Face of Him
in Whom You are well pleased.
We now offer You this Holy Face,
covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises
O Blessed Virgin Mary, you are the mother
and queen of every Christian family.
When you conceived and gave birth to Jesus,
human motherhood reached its greatest achievement.
From the time of the Annunciation
you were the living chalice of the Son of God made man.
You are the queen of the home.
O Virgin, fair as the moon,
delight of the angels and saints in heaven,
grant that we may become like you
and that our souls may receive a ray of your beauty,
which does not decline with the years
but shines forth into eternity.
Almighty and ever-living God,
I approach the sacrament
of Your only-begotten Son
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
I come sick to the doctor of life,
unclean to the fountain of mercy,
blind to the radiance of eternal light,
and poor and needy to the Lord
of heaven and earth.
I Beseech You,
most sweet Lord Jesus Christ,
that Your Passion may be to me power
by which I may be strengthened,
protected and defended.
May Your wounds be to me food
and drink by which I may be nourished,
inebriated, and delighted.
May the sprinkling of Your Blood be to me
an absolution for all my sins.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.
We go in the name of the Church to announce, by deed and word, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Missionary Society of St. Columban
1902 N. Calhoun
St. Columbans, NE 68056
Phone: 877-299-1920
Fax: 402-291-4984
email: mission@columban.org
