Hour of Eucharistic Adoration

A Civilization of Love

Leader: "O Lord, with the psalmist we pray: Truly, you have formed our inmost being, and knit us together in our mothers' wombs. We give you thanks! We are marvelously made, and all your works are marvelous. You knew us, body and soul, even as you made us in that deep and secret place, where we were hidden from every eye but yours. You marked out days and years for us even before we came to birth. O God, creator of all life, we praise you! With our lips, we sing to you; with our hands and feet and hearts, we serve you."

Invite the participants to present their own words of gratitude for the goodness of life and for its many gifts. After each gift is acknowledged, the assembly could respond, "O God, creator of all life, we praise you!"

Song Suggestion: Holy Ground (by Christopher Beatty).

Leader: Let us take abundant time to acknowledge the gracious gift of the Lord, whose self-offering we entered into at Mass. Jesus shows us that love means "self-giving." That is the love Jesus nourishes in us through the Eucharist. (Pause.)

Leader: Pope John Paul, in his encyclical, "The Gospel of Life," reminds us:

"The revelation of the Gospel of life is given to us as a good to be shared with all people: so that all men and women may have fellowship with us and with the Trinity (cf. 1 Jn 1:3). Our own joy would not be complete if we failed to share this Gospel with others but kept it only for ourselves.

"The Gospel of life is not for believers alone: it is for everyone. The issue of life and its defense and promotion is not a concern of Christians alone. Although faith provides special light and strength, this question arises in every human conscience which seeks the truth and which cares about the future of humanity."

Joined in faith and in the love of the Holy Trinity, we pray today for those who most urgently need to hear the good news, the Gospel, of life. Let us especially pray for those who are facing severe trial, and who do not know where to turn. (Pause generously.) On their behalf, we pray Psalm 85. (Pray this in choral fashion, alternating stanzas with the participants.)

Leader: The Lord proclaims peace: this is the Gospel of Life. God did not make us for punishment or frustration, but for salvation and holiness. How do I, how do you, witness to this good news? (Pause generously.)

Reader: At the lectern (or at least from a standing position), read Luke 15:1-7.

Leader (with reflective pauses): Who are you in Jesus' parable? Who is the missing sheep? When the missing one is found, the owner rejoices. Do the other sheep? If they do, how do they show their joy? How do the sheep welcome the return of the one who was lost? How do we as a community show welcome to the confused, the angry, the misinformed, the "lost" in our families and neighborhood? How can they hear the Gospel of Life from us? (Long pause.)

Together:
We adore you, Jesus, eternal Shepherd of the human race.
You are present in the Eucharist
to dwell continually in the midst of your flock.
You nourish us, you guard us, you guide us to the heavenly fold.
We do not live on bread alone,
but on your doctrine of truth and love.
Your sheep listen to your voice and follow it with love.
Have pity on so many who wander in the shadow of error and anxiety,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Attract them. Draw them.
Multiply evangelizers, catechists, and media apostles.
Give us all the grace to listen to and love your Word,
that it may bear fruit in our hearts.
Speak, Lord, your servants are listening.

Leader: Let us offer our prayers of intercession for those in need, as well as for those dedicated to social service in Church and community agencies. Our response will be: Lord, help us support and encourage them. (Participants can offer intercessions in the usual way.)

Leader (after a substantial time devoted to intercessory prayer): In the words Jesus gave us, let us sum up these and all our hopes. (Sing or recite the Lord's Prayer.)

Reader: Continue with Luke 15: 8-10, adding an introduction like, "Jesus went on to say…"

Leader: How God treasures us! We are so precious that he sent his only Son into our sin-darkened world to find us, to restore us to life, to rejoice over us with the angels in a joy that will never end. How do our efforts in favor of human life proclaim this joyful goodness of God? Are we joyful witnesses of Jesus--or is the value of life just too serious a matter for us to smile about? (Pause.) Let us ask the Lord's forgiveness for the occasions when we ourselves did not live and act in conformity with the Good News, the Gospel of life, and for the times when our failure to witness to the joy of God's love may have even turned people away from Jesus. (Pause so each one can pray for God's mercy.)

Let us turn to Mary, true "Mother of all the living," asking her to deepen our appreciation of the worth of every human being, redeemed by the life and saving mysteries of her divine Son:

Together:

O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life:
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.
(JOHN PAUL II)

Song Suggestion for Closing: Teach Me to Love Your People (by Dennis Garrity).

This outline for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is provided by the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of consecrated women who serve the Church with the communications media. We ask that you remember our congregation, mission, and special intention of vocations in your prayer. When you are on-line, visit us at www.pauline.org.