20 Jul
Fri 		15th Week in Ordinary Time
Ex. 11:10-12:14
Ps. 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18
Mt. 12:1-8
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"How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?" These words of Psalm 116:12 provide us with a model response to all the stories of the Bible. Each story reveals to us another facet of God's gracious and loving care, and demands a response from us. It is important that we know the story in today's reading from Exodus, the story of the origin of the Passover celebration, as it helps us to understand the Last Supper and our celebration of the Eucharist. Our religion is truly rooted in human history, but we must savour the truth that history is not merely a matter of something past and gone. Each one of us has a personal history. This history is not only the chronology of our lives: more importantly it is our faith history, the experience of our growth in faith. It is also a history of grace. Received into communion with God at Baptism, we are fostered and cherished by God's grace. This grace draws us ever closer to God, and hence draws us ever further from the darkness which threatens us from within and from without. The grace of God makes each moment of our lives a Passover.


Let us repay the Lord by taking the cup of salvation, and calling upon the name of the Lord.

DAILY OFFERING
Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH
INTENTION
That the Gospel, may be read and lived in Christian families by parents and children, so that they may bear witness to the hope of Christ
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H    

INTENTION : That the Gospel, may be read and lived in Christian families by parents and children, so that they may bear witness to the hope of Christ

Abraham and Mary received a wonderful promise from God. For both Abraham and Mary, the divine promise came as something completely unexpected. God disrupted the daily course of their lives, overturning its settled rhythms and conventional expectations. The promise seemed impossible. We must learn to walk in darkness.

Modelling ourselves on Mary, we ask her to help us look at and to listen to, to ponder and to penetrate the deep and mysterious meaning of the very simple, very humble and very beautiful appearing of the Son of God. We pray for a great renewal of faith in all the children of the Church everywhere to preach the good news to the poor. We ask her to teach us the way of humble and joyful obedience to the Gospel in the service of our brothers and sisters, without preferences and without prejudices. A deep renewal that is not just reflected in a general attitude to life, but as a conscious and courageous profession of the Creed. We ask the Holy Family to inspire all Christians to defend the family against so many present-day threats to its nature, its stability and its mission. We pray the efforts of Christians and of all people of good will to defend life and to promote respect for the dignity of every human being.



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