‘You encompass me behind and before and lay your hand upon me’ (Psalm 139: 4) … ‘Healing Hands,’ a sculpture by Shane Gilmore in grounds of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Ennis, Co Clare (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Let us pray:
We pray for the universal Church of God;
We pray for the bishops of the Church of Ireland
and the staff of the diocese and the Representative Church Body,
who have continued to work throughout this crisis,
monitoring guidelines and regulations,
and working towards the day when our churches reopen.
We pray for our own bishop, Kenneth,
for our two cathedrals, in Limerick and Killaloe,
and their deans, Niall and Rod.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for the Episcopal Church in the Philippines,
and Most Revd Joel Atiwag Pachao, Prime Bishop of the Philippines.
We give thanks for the prayers being said throughout this diocese
this week in the Diocesan Cycle of prayer
for this group of parishes, for our four congregations, and for our people.
We pray for our neighbouring churches and parishes.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.
We pray for the nations of the world:
We pray for our own government and all governments
that have tried to find ways of dealing with this crisis,
thanking God for the blessings of wise decision makers and advisers …
We pray for the local community:
We give thanks for frontline workers,
essential services that have kept working …
for our schools … the gardai …
for community volunteers who keep in touch with the housebound …
for those who return to work … those who wait to return to work …
those who no work to return to …
for business owners who try to keep going …
for those who still live with fear …
In this time, known in the Church as Ordinary Time,
we give thanks for all the ordinary things
we have taken for granted …
including the chance to meet grandchildren and friends …
Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
We pray those in need:
In our hearts, we name individuals, families, neighbours,
care homes, hospitals, voluntary groups …
We pray for those we have offered to pray for …
We remember, and give thanks for, the faithful departed ...
May their memories be a blessing to us …
We pray in particular for all who grieve and mourn at this time …
the Doherty and Moloney families …
the family of Margaret (McKeown) Henihan, formerly of Drumlohan …
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.
A prayer at the end of lockdown from Bishop Kenneth Kearon:
God of Light and Life,
as we look to the end of this period of lockdown,
we thank you for all who have sustained
and protected us as individuals and communities,
especially those in front-line services
in healthcare and food supply and distribution.
We remember before you those among us
for whom this has been a worrying time,
those who have been ill,
and those who are bereaved.
We look forward to the opportunity to worship you again together in church,
to renewing contacts and friends,
and we ask you to keep us ever mindful of the needs of others.
As we have appreciated our dependence on each other,
so remind us always of our dependence on you,
as we make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Merciful Father …
These intercessions were prepared for Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick, and Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin (Tarbert), Co Limerick, on Sunday 19 July 2020 (Trinity VI)
‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field’ (Matthew 13: 24) … fields near Bunratty, Co Clare (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
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