BIDDING PRAYERS
PRIEST
God instituted the sacrament of matrimony and endowed it with all the graces by which a man and a woman grow in love and, if so blessed, raise up a Christian family to God’s glory. We ask the Lord for the graces which married couples need in today’s world.
READER
We pray for the leaders and teachers in the Church: may they keep before the eyes of all, the true dignity of marriage. May those who help prepare couples for marriage, and those who assist where marriages have run into difficulties, be helped and supported in their task: (pause) … Lord hear us.
Let us pray for the leaders of government: may they show their appreciation of marriage in society by helping couples stay together and avoiding laws which serve to undermine the sanctity and permanence of marriage: (pause) … Lord hear us.
Let us pray for all who have experienced separation and divorce: may they have the courage and confidence to go forward in life, grateful for the greater understanding that past experiences have given them: (pause) … Lord hear us.
Let us pray for all single members of the community: may they see their lives as a way of giving service in a different way: (pause) … Lord hear us.
Let us pray with Mary, the Mother of the Lord and wife of Saint Joseph, as we say together: Hail Mary … etc.
In silence, we make our personal petitions to God our Father.
PRIEST
God our Father, as members of the Christian family, we make these and all our prayers to you in the sure knowledge that you hear and answer them. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B