Petitions/Prayer of the Faithful for May 29th, 2016

Here are the petitions Ellen McHugh developed for this coming Sunday:

Prayer of the Faithful for May 29th, 2016

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ 

Celebrant: By offering himself for us, Jesus bound us to the Father in the new and everlasting covenant.  As we renew the covenant, by offering the same sacrifice of his body and blood, let us intercede through him for the needs of others.

For the Universal Church, and for our priests who accompany us to the mountain of Christ at every Mass and feed us with His transforming love in the Eucharist.  We pray to the Lord.

For our Eucharistic ministers who help bring Jesus to us; we pray especially for those who minister to the sick, the homebound and the incarcerated of our community.  We pray to the Lord.

For the Food Ministries here at St. Mary and our neighboring Painesville churches.  We pray for all who volunteer their time and for the hope and well-being among the people they serve.  We pray to the Lord. 

For the children of our parish who recently received their First Holy Communion. May they always find strength and joy in Jesus’ love for them and encouraged by our example as we welcome them into our faith community.  We pray to the Lord.

For those participating in today’s Eucharistic procession. May your Presence in our community serve as testimony to our reverence and love for You.  We pray to the Lord.

And for those for whom this Mass is offered [name them]. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pause now and silently offer to the Father our own particular intentions [allow for silence. . .].  We pray to the Lord.

Celebrant: Merciful Father, grant the petitions we make, as we are one in celebrating the holy mystery of the Body and Blood of Jesus, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Spectacular Mid-Spring Wildflowers at Headwaters Park

Today I hiked at Headwaters Park at East Branch Reservoir in Geauga County, Ohio. This park is near the headwaters of the Cuyahoga River--by the way, pronounce it right: CUY-uh-HOG-uh--remember to "keep the HOG in CuyaHOGa." O yes, we pronounce "hog" around here something like /hawg/. We don't like people who say CUY-uh-HOE-guh or CUY-uh-guh (for God's sake!). The pronunciation is like a shibboleth (check out the etymology of that word). We detect outsiders by the pronunciation of this word.

This park is one of the best in the area for wildflowers. The spring wildflower season comes to an end when the leaf canopy closes up. This year the spring is developing later than usual, but the canopy is starting to close now. The early wildflowers are nearly gone. Today I saw lots of bloodroot foliage--but no blooms. I saw massive areas of gigantic skunk cabbage. I believe the jack-in-the-pulpit are still in bloom here, but I didn't see them from the trail. Still, this late in the season I saw about 10 species of wildflowers. I saw masses of wild geranium, blue violets, white violets, marsh marigold. I saw phlox, three types of violets, foam flower, false solomon's seal, and other flowers that I can't identify. Oddly, I didn't see any dogwood (about 10 miles north of Headwaters Park, at Girdled Road Reservation, I have seen hundreds of dogwoods in full bloom). Here are some photos from today's walk:

Great fields of violets!

Hiking, and being with the wildflowers, brings me great comfort during this time of political distress, when we have legitimate worries about America being taken over by a fascist political movement.

Petitions/Prayer of the Faithful for May 22, 2016

Here are the petitions Ellen McHugh developed for this coming weekend:

Prayer of the Faithful for May 22nd, 2016

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 

Celebrant: My dear friends: let us be one in prayer to our Triune God, just as we are one in the faith, hope and love his Spirit gives. 

For the Universal Church as we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity; help us always to honor and witness you as our creator, redeemer and sustainer.  We pray to the Lord.

For all who hold public office: strengthen them with the gifts of your Spirit that their actions may reflect your will for peace, justice and mercy.  We pray to the Lord.

For the working poor and the unemployed, for those who suffer with chronic illness, addiction or disability.  We pray especially for the communities served at Rose-Mary Home and through Catholic Charities. May our prayer and support bring us into closer communion with our sisters and brothers in Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the beauty of the created world:  Inspire us to manage faithfully the riches of this good earth that, in our caring, we may give witness to your sustaining love.  We pray to the Lord.

For our parish community; for an open-door spirit of friendship in Christ.  As we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, may we go out with you to the service of the world.  We pray to the Lord.

And for those for whom this Mass is offered [name them]. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pause now and silently offer to the Father our own particular intentions [allow for silence. . .].  We pray to the Lord.

Celebrant: Father, hear our prayers, offered for all creation, in the power of your Holy Spirit, and in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Petitions for May 8, 2016. Feast of the Acension

So sorry I didn't get Ellen McHugh's petitions on the blog in a timely fashion! I love Ellen's prayer that our religious leaders become "agents of healing and advocates of mercy." And I love her petitions about the Blessed Mother and our own mothers, living and dead. Here they are:

Prayer of the Faithful for May 8^th, 2016

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord 

Celebrant:  On this day when Christ our Lord ascended into heaven, we make our prayers for the Church and the world, trusting that the Father will answer them out of love for his Son.

 For our Holy Father Pope Francis, and for our bishops, priests and religious, that the Gospel message they share may influence the hearts and minds of all people to become agents of healing and advocates of mercy.  We pray to the Lord. 

For those who govern nations and make laws: may “the eyes of [their] hearts be enlightened” with wisdom and courage to honor the dignity of all human life from conception until death. We pray to the Lord.

 For the created world: For those who work to protect our Earth and its resources on which all human life depends.  We pray to the Lord.

 For our mothers, living and passed, who have given us life and love; we pray that the love they have shown for us may be reflected in the way that we show our love for others. We pray to the Lord.

In this month of May, may the example of our Blessed Mother inspire us to say “yes” to God’s call in our lives and may our devotion to her draw us closer to her son.  We pray to the Lord.

 For our beloved dead, especially for [name them]. May Our Lord, who has gone before us into heaven, prepare a place for us all in his eternal kingdom. We pray to the Lord.    

Let us pause now and silently offer to the Father our own particular intentions [allow for silence. . .].  We pray to the Lord.

Celebrant:    Father, just as your Son ascended to you, may our voices rise up before your throne, and may our prayers be heard. We ask this through your Son Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. 

A Poem in Memory of the Kent State Tragedy of May 4, 1970

Old Math: The Calculus of May 4, 1970

Neil Young’s song still dances around my brain

Forty years after that fateful Monday, May 4^th, 1970:

“Four dead in O-hi-o. Four dead in O-hi-o.”

The math is both hard and simple:

4^th day of the fifth month of the 1970^th year of the Lord.

77 Guardsmen with fixed bayonets advance toward the crowd.

13-second fusillade;

67 shots fired, many into the ground or into the air;

4 dead in Ohio: Jeffrey Miller. Allison Krause. Sandy Scheuer. Bill Schroeder.

Their ages: 20, 19, 20, and 19.

9 wounded in O-hi-o: John Lewis, Thomas Grace, John Cleary,

Alan Canfora, Douglas Wrentmore, James Russell, Robert Stamps.

Dean Kahler permanently paralyzed.

Donald MacKenzie wounded from a distance of 750 feet.

Branded into memory, the image of Mary Ann Vecchio,

Horror on her face, arms extended over the lifeless body of Jeffrey Miller,

Shot through the mouth:

John Filo’s Pulitzer winning photo

Developed inside every young American’s brain.

58,000 Americans dead in the Vietnam War;

10 times that many wounded; how many with deep psychic injury?

Uncountable millions of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians.

A couple hundred million Americans torn up in anguish,

Conflicted, confused—a confusion that can never be resolved.

The old chant continues:

“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,

We’re finally on our own,

This summer I hear the drumming,

Four dead in Ohio.

Four dead in Ohio.”

                              Robert M. Coughlin

                                    Kirtland, Ohio

                                    May 4, 2010