The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith
Come to the Table
Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
Greeting
God’s wisdom has prepared his wine
and laid the table.
He invites us:
‘‘Come and eat my bread,
drink the wine I have prepared!”
This is our Lord’s invitation to us.
May we answer his invitation
and may he always be with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
1.The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith
We know that the very core of our faith is that Jesus’ body was broken for us on the cross, that he shed his blood for us, but that he rose again from the dead and is alive. The deepest way for us to share in his death and resurrection is the Mass, the Eucharist we celebrate. There the body of Christ is given to us as our food; there his blood is made present as shed to forgive our sins and to fill us with Jesus’ life and strength and joy. Let us celebrate this Eucharist with gratitude, for here the Lord gives himself totally to us.
2. Come, the Table Is Ready
“Come, the table is ready!” In our homes this is the invitation that brings us together as a family to share our food and our love. “Come, the table is ready!” is Jesus’ invitation to us in the Eucharist. He takes our human bread and makes it into the sign of the giving of himself: “Take this, all of you, and eat it: This is my body, this is I myself giving myself for you.” Let us sit at the table of the Lord and break his bread, and learn from him to become each other’s food and drink of life and joy.
3. Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
How fortunate we are that we have the Eucharist! Here is Jesus assuring us: I am with you and live among you, and give you not just any gift but myself to eat on the journey of life. Eat my bread of life and drink my wine of joy. This is I who give myself for you. In this way he also makes us capable of giving ourselves to God and to one another. Let this be a celebration of thanksgiving with the Lord among us.
Penitential Act
1 and 2. The Eucharist at the Core of our Faith. The Table Is Ready
The Eucharist makes us one with the Lord Jesus.
How much are we one with him?
How often do we let sin alienate us from him?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you invite us
to eat your body and drink your blood:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you invite us
to live in you and to be one with you
so that you can be one with us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you invite us to eat you
as our bread that overcomes death
and makes us live for ever:
Lord, have mercy R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, let this Eucharist forgive our sins,
fill us with your love and strength
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
3. Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
Have we ever thanked the Lord deeply
for staying with us in the Eucharist?
Let us acclaim him as our God-with-us,
(pause)
Lord Jesus, all praise and thinks to you
for giving yourself to us in the Eucharist:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, all praise and thanks to you
for assuring us that we have eternal life
if we eat your body and drink your blood:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, all praise and thanks to you
for making yourself the food we need
on the journey of life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us, kind and compassionate God,
that we have shown little gratitude
for the life you have brought us in the Eucharist.
Let the food of life lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
1 and 2 Themes
Let us pray that the Eucharist
may fill us with the life of Christ
(pause)
Our living God,
you let us taste and see how good you are
by giving us your Son Jesus Christ
as the bread and drink of life.
Give him to us today as our daily bread,
that with him we may pass from death to life.
Let his life flow in us and overflow
on our brothers and sisters,
that we may become his body to the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
3. Thank the Lord for the Eucharist
Let us thank the Father
for giving us Jesus in the Eucharist
(pause)
Loving Father,
how could we know the depth of your love
if your Son had not become flesh of our flesh
and blood of our blood?
How could we ever have the courage
to live for one another and if necessary to die
if he had not given up his body
and shed his blood for us?
Thank you for letting him stay with us in the Eucharist
and making himself there our daily bread.
On our journey through life
let this bread be the food that empowers us
to live and die as he did,
for one another and for you,
our living God, for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
First Reading:Proverbs 9:1-6: Eating and Drinking Wisdom
Wisdom wants to share itself as food and drink, to give insight and life. Christ, the Word of God, is true wisdom. In the meal of the Eucharist he transforms us into God’s image.
Christians learn the true wisdom of life from the Holy Spirit. In the liturgical assembly they sing out their thanks to the Father through Christ.
Brothers and sisters:
Gospel:John 6:51-58: Sharing Jesus’ Life through the Eucharist
By eating the Lord’s body and drinking his blood, we share in Jesus’ life and we are sure he will raise us from the dead.
Intercessions
Our Lord Jesus has nourished us with his words of life and invites us to his table. Let us bring to him all our cares and those of the people we love. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For the Church, that the Eucharist may remain the source of its vitality and of its ability to witness to the presence of the Lord in his community, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For Christians everywhere, that they may hunger and thirst for justice in the world and give access to every person to spiritual values and the material goods they need, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For those in many parts of the world who don't have enough to eat, that people may unite to help them to earn their own food in dignity, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For us and for all Christians who come together around the Lord’s table, that Christ may unite us heart and soul and make us open tables to one another, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, you give yourself to us as the bread of life. Help us to give ourselves like you, without charge and without regret. Stay with us, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, as a Father who cares
you invites us to the table of your Son.
He will change our bread into his flesh,
our wine into the drink of life.
Make us one with him,
appease our hunger with his bread
and refresh us with his drink,
that we may live his life
of courage and commitment
and that we may live in your love
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
In the Eucharistic prayer we sing out our praise and thanks to our Father as we join our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has made Jesus our bread of life.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
One with Jesus our Lord
we pray in his own words
to our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
set us free from our cowardice and selfishness.
Nourish us with the bread of life,
gather us together and keep us united,
that the world may recognize
that your Son is alive in us
as we go forward in joyful hope
toward the coming in glory
of our Savior, Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Breaking of Bread
The bread that we break
is the bread of resurrection
to a new life and to new happiness.
It is bread to be shared,
for it is the bread of the Lord.
Invitation to Communion
This is the Lord who says:
‘‘My flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
live in me and I live in them.”
Happy are we to accept his invitation
to eat his bread of life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after communion
Thank you, God our Father,
for nourishing us on the way to you
with the true bread and drink of life,
your Son Jesus Christ.
In this and in every Eucharist,
let him take flesh again in us,
that we may do for one another
what he has done for us,
that we may be present to one another
as he is present and available to us,
and that with him we may live your life
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We experience day after day
that it is not easy to live the Lord’s gospel.
It is not easy to live a life that is worthwhile,
to be unselfish, compassionate,
to love and help one another
even when it is uncomfortable,
to lead a life of integrity,
to build a better world together.
It is true wisdom that prompts us
to come to the Lord’s table
to seek his strength.
May the Lord accompany us
on the road of life and love
and may God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go with the Lord on the road
to God and to one another.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Hong Kong
