VOTIVE MASS FOR ABUSED SEMINARIANS AND PRIESTS

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON: The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Blessed be the lord.

Opening Prayer:

Let us pray:

O God, who has led your people with good and noble pastors we pray today for all those seminarians and priests who have been abused in any way. In their distress lead them to call upon you and to believe that you will heal all their wounds through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 12: 1 – 3

Those who abuse priests and seminarians.

You are always righteous, LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? ²You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. ³Yet you know me, LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! The word of the Lord.

PSALM:

Response: Out of the depts I cry to you O Lord.

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.
² Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
³ If You, ^[a]Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,

And ^[b]in His word do I hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸ And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

SECOND READING: Hebrews 10: 32 – 36

A call to perseverance

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.  Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.  You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming will come
    and will not delay.”

And,

“But my righteous one will live by faith.
 And I take no pleasure
 in the one who shrinks back. But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.. The word of the Lord.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:

Alleluia, Alleluia,

Give the me the man who stands firm when trials come.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL Matthew 5: 1- 12

True and false prophets.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  Blessed are those who mourn,
 for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
 for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
 for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Gospel of the Lord.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL:

1. Lord, we remember the church you founded which has been spoiled over many generations by men who did not have true faith in you. We ask you, Lord, to send your Holy Spirit as you did on the first Pentecost and bring your people once again out of human slavery into the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. Lord hear us.

• Lord, we pray for all those seminarians and priests all over the world who are being abused, whether sexually, mentally, emotionally, at the hands of those men who are supposed to form them in your likeness. Free those seminarians from every tyranny as your freed your people from Egypt. Lord hear us.

• Lord, take the hard hearts out of bishops and other members of the Catholic hierarchy and give them hearts of flesh, so that they might cease to abuse all those subject to them. Lord, protect your people from all wolves in sheep’s clothing. Lord hear us.

• Lord, we pray for those seminarians and priests who have been led astray by others and have adopted a lifestyle incompatible with your teaching and the dignity of man and woman kind. Lord, help them to find you again in prayer and faith. Lord hear us.

• Lord, we pray all seminaries throughout the world. We ask you to free these seminaries from the spirit of evil and sin that has enveloped them as a result of false teachings and unfaithful formators. Lord, cleanse the seminaries as you cleansed the Temple. Lord hear us.

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS:

Look, O Lord, upon the offerings which we bring before you in faith and love. We pray today for all abused seminarians and priests and we ask you to make your pastors holy in your sight. Amen.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON:

“The disciples went forth and preached God’s Word to all.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION:

O God, Father of all who makes us sharers in the One Bread and the one Spirit, look upon the abuse suffered by all those who you have called to serve you. Free them from their oppression O Lord and lead them on the path that leads to you. Amen.