By Sr. Teresa Joseph, FMA –
Lonavla Parish, 31 December 2019
Part 1: In search of God’s love and forgiveness
Hymn: Come and Worship
Narrator 1: Prayer is the force that unites us as Parish Community. Prayer is the breath that revitalizes our being. Prayer is the balm that makes our spirit whole,
Am I aware that the past is the past for a reason? Can I serenely let go of the past without allowing it to disturb me unnecessarily? Can I accept the mistakes of the past? Am I aware that I cannot change what happened? Can I see God’s love guiding and leading me?
Narrator 2: For many of us, the past year 2019 was tough. There were unforeseeable changes, unpredicted diagnoses, broken relationships, the loss of loved ones, and many heartbreaking disappointments. It was also a year of blessing. We have experienced the presence of the Lord in our lives. We look toward the New Year 2020 with great expectations and a longing for the hope that things will be better. We choose to move forward and put the past behind us. Nothing is impossible with God. Even in the darkness, light is coming. Even in the midst of the storm, calmness is coming. Even in the midst of brokenness, restoration is possible. Jesus is with us, He made His Home in our midst. All we can do is to thank God for the past, to surrender into His loving hands what we cannot change and move forward. To render thanks to God in a worthy manner, let us ask God to forgive us of our weaknesses.
Penitential rite:
Reader 1: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7).
Reader 2: All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).
Reader 3: Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you (Acts 13:38).
Hymn: Lord have Mercy
Narrator 1: God our loving Father forgives our sins, sends us His mercy and blessings. We render our praise and thanks to Him with a dance by our Candidates from St. Joseph’s Training Centre, Lonavla.
Dance by the Candidates
Part 2: In Praise and thanks to God
Narrator 2: Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look graciously upon our dear Parish Priest: Fr. Peter Rodrigues and each one of us and receive our heartfelt gratitude in this hour of thanksgiving. Thank you for all the graces and blessings You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage. Our food and shelter, our health, the love we have for one another, our family and friends. Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessing throughout the coming year. This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Brother. Amen.
Narrator 2: Invite 4 youngsters to take turns answering the following questions:
- What has brought you joy in the Year 2019?
- Name three things that make you thankful.
- For what are you currently trusting God?
- What are your dreams at this moment?
Hymn: Thank You Lord…
Narrator 1: We can give thanks to God every day for what we have, because there are many people who are struggling just to exist. At times we take for granted clean water, food, access to medical assistance, clean hospitals and good schools. We have to learn to thank God when everything is going well and also in tough situations. Are we aware that God is still in charge in sickness, happy times and tough times? We have to enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise for He alone deserves all the honor, glory and power. We shall now listen to a few short testimonies on how our brothers and sisters have felt the closeness of God in their lives. In Psalm 26: 7, the Psalmist invites us to proclaim aloud God’s praise and tell of all His wonderful deeds.
Testimonies:
1 – Teacher Nancy
2 – Vineel Monis -Teacher Lorna’s Son
3 – Jake Thomas – A young Jesus Youth
PRAYER
Narrator 2: Lord give us a heart full of thanksgiving. Give us a heart for love and service. Help us not to complain or only expect good things from You. We pray for the missionaries, the homeless and those who are broken. Lord give us the strength to reach out to our neighbors. Help us to reflect the love of Jesus with our words, actions and attitudes. We pray all this in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Voice: Poem – His Presence
Narrator 1: Let us Keep our eyes on the Lord and let His blessings flow…
Reader: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.( Malachi 3:10). Read in Marathi also
Reader: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34).
Reader: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).
Narrator 2: Let us take some time to express our thanks to God. Let us pray for each other that the Lord may help us to cultivate an attitude of gratitude that will lead us to an incessant life-style of thanksgiving. John F. Kennedy reminds us that We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
Reader: In the company of Jesus
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, Father I thank You that You have heard Me (John 11:41).
During His earthly ministry, Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving to the Father on many occasions and for various things. Just to recall a few: Jesus gave thanks to God for revealing truth to babies and hiding it from the wise and clever and learned (Mathew 11:25). He gave thanks to God when He broke the loaves and fishes and fed the four thousand (Mathew 15:36). He gave thanks to God when He took the five loaves and two fishes and fed the five thousand (John 6:11). And He gave thanks to God when He gave the bread and wine to His disciples at the Last Supper (Mk 14: 22, 23).
Narrator 1: Heavenly Father, we come before you today, to give thanks for all You have done for us. We give you thanks Father for sending Your Son Jesus to us. R: O Give thanks to the Lord… Eternal is His Love – Sung
- We give you thanks Father for giving Jesus the strength to endure pain and suffering for our salvation. Bless us with the same kind of strength to endure life for Your sake. R.
- We give you thanks Father for new mercies and blessings each and every day. We thank you for our Holy Father Pope Francis, our Bishop Thomas Dabre, Our Parish Priest Fr. Peter Rodrigues, our teachers and Catechists. R.
-
We give you thanks Father for giving us our family and loved ones, blessing us with health and strength. O Lord thank you for your unconditional, never-failing, endless love that graces us each day. R.
-
We give you thanks Father for grace, forgiveness, peace, joy. Guide us Lord that whatever we do, we do it in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. R.
-
We give you thanks Father for every blessing and for every trial for they mould us into who we are meant to be and who You want us to be. R.
-
We give you thanks Father for You know us, you hear us, and You see our tears. With grateful hearts we give thanks for all You have done Lord, as well as all You are going to do in our lives in the Year 2020. In Jesus Holy Name. Amen!!!
Hymn: When I Look into His Holiness…
Part 3: Imploring God’s choicest blessings
Narrator 2: For the people of the Bible, it is the story of the past that interested them deeply. They kept the past ever in front of them so as to be able to read in it the plan of God and in this way they recognized their history-in-the-making. We have to be alert to re-discover the traces of God’s plan in our lives. God lives with us and we experience His love, gradually, we enter into a covenant story that anticipates and contains the personal salvation story of each one of us.
Narrator 1: The New Year 2020 is an opportunity for us to start anew. May Jesus our Lord, give us hope, inspiration and courage to let go of the past and embrace the future to pursue a life well-lived. May Mary our Mother accompany us on life’s pilgrim journey.
Reader: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15). Read in Marathi also this text
Reader: Apostle Paul lived a life-style of thanksgiving. In his letter to the Philippians He wrote: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6). Read in Marathi also this text
Hymn: There shall be Showers of Blessing
Narrator 2 Prayer: God our loving Father, in the name of Jesus Your beloved Son, we implore you to send your Holy Spirit up on each one of us present here and on all those who are part of our Parish community, extend your blessings to all our brothers and sisters residing at Lonavla and to all your sons and daughters throughout the world. May we welcome the New Year 2020 as a fresh loving gift from You. Grant us grace and strength to make the New Year a fruitful one. Help us to journey along the path together and being led by the Spirit.
Narrator 1: Mary’s role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan. Mary has an important mission to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38). St. Paul’s words: “God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba, Father!’” helps us realize that Mary is mother to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood brings in an additional note of Christmas joy. 1st January is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. As we are about to enter into the New Year 2020: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who are also God’s children.
Voice: This brand new year 2020 we welcome in faith,
But we know not what lies in wait for us,
So dear God, as we welcome the New Year we pray,
Take control and show the way.
We do not see with these our eyes,
We do not know where danger lies.
Please, dear Lord, be our guide.
Let us not drift from Your side.
Assist us to love and trust You ever more
And radiate Your love to our neighbor.
And let our praise for You abound.
His Presence
© Alora M. Knight More By Alora M. Knight
Published: April 2018
A friend of mine once asked me
Just how could I believe
In someone I never saw,
Nor spoken words received.
I thought, perhaps, I should explain
Just why I have no doubt
That it was God’s creativeness
That brought this world about.
I only have to look around
To know that He is there.
I see and feel and hear Him.
That’s why I’m so aware.
I see Him in the raindrops
That nourish trees and flowers.
I see Him in the rainbows
That sometimes follow showers.
I see Him in a mother’s love
When looking at her child.
So thankful that this miracle
Is pure and undefiled.
I see Him in the wrinkled face
That’s seen so many years,
Knowing it was faith in Him
That overcame all fears.
I hear Him when a meadowlark
Trills out its joyful song.
I hear Him when the thunder
Comes forth so loud and strong.
I see the beauty of Him
In the butterflies on wing.
The feathers of the peacock
Are the colors He can bring.
I feel Him when a playful breeze
Blows gently through my hair.
When the sun shines warmly on my face,
I know that He is there.
His strength shows in the mountains
And the ever pounding seas.
A kitten’s purred affection
Shows how gentle love can be.
It’s true I have no pictures
To hang upon my wall.
I do not need a portrait,
His presence to recall.
For those who wish to listen,
It is played throughout the land.
The symphony of life itself,
Directed by His hand.
Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/his-presence
(accessed on 29/12/2019).