Prayerful Concerns of Our Parish Community – 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We post these Prayers of the Faithful each week so that you may find them helpful in your own reflections and prayers. Below are the Prayers of the Faithful for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September10-11.
God, you want us to experience the depth of your love for us all. Open our hearts that we might let that love into our lives and in that way be able to share it with our brothers and sisters.
We pray that your church and our parish be places and people where love is shared, welcome and forgiveness are experienced. Take away our fears and the judgements we so easily make about others, so that love may be among us; let us never look upon another person as “unworthy” no matter their circumstances, past history, marital status, sexual identity, ethnic, or religious background. We pray to the Lord.
Bless and protect those whose life journey now includes Alzheimer’s or other forms of memory loss, their families and care-givers. We pray to the Lord.
Open our hearts to the growing numbers of people living on the streets in our cities, including Portland. Inspire us with wisdom, courage, and compassion in seeing them and knowing the best way to be Christ’s love for them. We pray to the Lord.
Bless our young people in this new school year, their parents and teachers. Bless those who are returning to university campuses in our area. Help them to know they are welcome and wanted here. Let us serve them and learn from them. We pray to the Lord.
This week we celebrate the feast of the Holy Cross. Show us how to comfort those in whom Christ’s Passion is happening in our world. Help us to feel a connection to Jesus and his knowledge of our own struggles and in our response to and sharing in the injustice of the world today. We pray to the Lord.
For all who have died. You loved them in this life. Let them know your extravagant love now in eternal life. On this Sept 11 we place before you all those who have died around the world as a result of terrorist attack.
With the Pope, Catholic people, and leaders around the world, we ask God’s blessings on Queen Elizabeth, her family, nation and the Commonwealth. We pray to the Lord.
At this Mass we especially remember:
4:30 PM For the People of the Parish both Living & Deceased
7:30 AM Raymond Thibodeau, Sr.
9:30 AM Paulette Dugas
5:00 PM Marcus DeSanctis
We pray to the Lord.
Lord, your love is deeper than any of our faults and failures. Let us trust that love. Your love is more powerful than the scars and wounds that can harden our hearts. Let that love soften our hearts to receive your embrace. We place these and all the prayers, hopes and fears we carry into your hands and heart God through Jesus our Lord.
Amen.