SPIRITUAL COMMUNION THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT March 14, 2021
Celebrant: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.
People: His mercy endures for ever.
Celebrant: COLLECT
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE LESSONS
FIRST LESSON:
A Reading from 2 Chronicles 36: 14-23
14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.
15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king
and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”
Here ends the reading.
Response: Thanks be to God
PSALM 122
1 I was glad when they said unto me, *
“We will go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city *
that is at unity in itself.
4 For there the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, *
as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
5 For there is the throne of judgment, *
even the throne of the house of David.
6 O pray for the peace of Jerusalem; *
they shall prosper that love you.
7 Peace be within your walls *
and plenteousness within your palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, *
I will wish you prosperity.
9 Indeed, because of the house of the Lord our God, *
I will seek to do you good.
SECOND LESSON:
A Reading from: Ephesians 2:1-10
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Here ends the reading.
Response: Thanks be to God
The Holy GOSPEL of our Lord Jesus Christ according to: John 6:1-15
Response: Glory to you, Lord Christ.
6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Response: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Celebrant: Homily
Celebrant: Let us confess our faith in the words of the Apostle’s Creed
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Celebrant: PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
In your own words, pray for your own needs, for those on your heart, for the peace of
the world, and for the Church.
Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to your never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that you are doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Celebrant: ACT OF CONTRITION
Let us humbly confess our sins to Almighty God:
O GOD, We are VERY SORRY that we have sinned against you and for all the wrongs we have done and the good we have not done.
Take a moment in silence to share your confession to God with these words in your heart:
Especially I confess_______________________________.
Everyone: Forgive us for Jesus' sake, and grant us strength and wisdom to amend our
lives. Amen.
Everyone:
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen
Everyone:
Dear Jesus, we believe that you are truly present in the Holy Sacrament. We love you above all things, and we desire to possess you within our souls. And since we cannot now receive you sacramentally, we beseech you to come spiritually into our hearts. We unite ourselves to you, together with all your faithful people gathered around every altar of your Church, and we embrace you with all the affections of our souls. Never permit us to be separated from you. Amen.
COME LORD JESUS, and dwell in our hearts in the fullness of your strength; be our wisdom and guide us in right pathways; conform our lives and actions to the image of your holiness; and, in the power of your gracious might, rule over every hostile power that threatens or disturbs the growth of your kingdom, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Priest’s Blessing:
AND MAY THE PEACE OF GOD, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you now and always, Amen.
ANIMA CHRISTI
SOUL of Christ, sanctify me Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me Water from the side of Christ, wash me Passion of Christ, strengthen me O good Jesus, hear me Within Thy wounds, hide me Separated from Thee let me never be From the malignant enemy, defend me At the hour of death, call me To come to Thee, bid me That I may praise Thee in the company Of Thy Saints for all eternity. Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. From the Collect and Gospel:
Christ is the "true bread which gives life to the world".
Jesus prefigures this in the Gospel with the miraculous multiplication of the bread to feed the 5,000.
We pray in the Lord's Prayer: "give us this day our daily bread" and,
our Collect prays that God would "evermore give us this (true) bread which give life to the world".
How do you see the similarities between bread for our physical life and bread for our spiritual life?
2. Psalm 122 opens with "I was glad when they said unto me, 'We will go into the house of the Lord'."
Do you identify with this sentiment? How do you understand the 'house of the Lord'
3. In the Epistle we read, "by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing."
In your life as a Christian, how have you experienced this to be true?
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