LAST DAY OF THE YEAR

LAST DAY OF THE YEAR    

Introduction

Today, the liturgy fits in very well with the celebration of New Year’s Eve: it both looks forward to the end of time (1^stReading) and back to the beginning: to the Word that created all and came among people as the living Word, Jesus, to make a new beginning with us. And that’s life: the end of what is past, a new beginning to be made ever anew. It was mixture of joys shared together and miseries that were lighter when they too were borne together. And a time for which we are grateful to one another and to God. A turning point is also a time of hope. The past is gone; we look forward. We say goodbye and we welcome what is coming with hope, for the Lord is with us; we resume our journey together as God’s pilgrim people.

Opening Prayer

Loving Father,         
You gave us your Son, Jesus Christ,
and let him share our poverty.
He brought us grace upon grace,
for all that comes from you is a free gift.
Accept our thanks for the moments
when we accepted your gifts
and shared them with one another.
Accept our thanks for the times
we listened attentively to your Son’s words
and put them into practice.
Help us go forward with hope and joy
with joy and mutual encouragement.
with the companion in life you have given us,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Intentions

In gratitude to our generous Father for all his blessings and graces received in the past year, we pray:

–   For all those with whom we are united in one common friendship and concern, that he may keep us all in his love, we pray:

–   For all whom we have disappointed in the past, for those whom we have hurt or neglected, and for those who have pained and irritated us, we pray:

–   For those who have lost someone dear to them, that their hope in Christ may give them strength; for those who have died this year, that they may live in the Lord’s peace, we pray:

–   And for all of us here, that we may be grateful for life, for all the joys we have experienced, and for one another, we pray:

God, let your Son speak his word among us and live among us, now and for ever.

Prayer over the Gifts

Loving Father,
it is easy for us here to break this bread
and to share it with one another,
to drink this cup and offer it to one another.
As we offer you these gifts,
we pray to you for strength,
for it is difficult for us the whole year long,
to keep sharing ourselves with one another
to offer our hand to give and receive help
and to forget ourselves for the sake of others.
Let us always be each other’s food and drink
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God, our Father,
in this celebration, we have looked back
to the past, to what is done and gone.
With Jesus in our midst,
we look now forward to the future.
Let neither the past or the present, nor the future,
neither joys nor sorrows
ever separate us from him.
Let you Son be the center of our lives
and the bond that binds us to you
and to one another,
in faith, hope and lasting love.
Go with us through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

Let us go in the peace of the Lord. May the Lord be with you wherever you go. May he bless your coming and your going, your work and your care, your joys and your suffering. As he blessed you the past year, may he bless you even more in the new year: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.