Jesus, ascend to your Father and our Father,
may the promised Spirit come!
May he keep alive in us the fire of the Gospel,
May it set the earth ablaze!
May men and women of peace arise,
inspired by your breath
to renew the face of the earth
in your Name, blessed for ever!
God, give us to believe that it is good that Jesus is going away
so that we may continue to wait for his Spirit, always present, always to come,
to compel us to take our lives in our hands,
to believe in the living Word of his Gospel,
to bear witness that what is essential is invisible
and that from now on his human face shines only in the secret fire of the Church
which is his body regenerated by the Spirit from age to age.
Jesus, risen from the dead, we give you thanks,
for you call us to share your life to the full.
With you, today we pass from death to life
when we love our brothers and sisters. Blessed are you!
Since Easter, the tombs of fear and hatred
have been opened by the thrust of Hope. Blessed are you!
Those who sow in tears, those who walk without support
will see your face of light. Blessed are you!
All the losers, the victims of our wars and injustices
are the first guests at the Father’s table. Blessed are you!
Lord, you have the words that give life,
words that can turn everything upside down,
words that can raise you from the dead.
But how will the world hear these words
if no one proclaims them?
You count on your Church, you count on us.
With your Spirit in us, there is no longer any fear,
for your strength will be ours and the world will know
that love heals, that love is Peace,
that Love is You, Lord our God.
God our Father,
bless us for Jesus Christ, who opened the way of giving so that all may have life.
Give us the courage to set out in the direction of goodness that is stronger than evil.
Give us the courage to set out in the direction of hope, even when it is still dark.
Give us the courage to cultivate respect
even when we feel our complicity with contempt.
Give us the courage to set out to act with the assurance
that you will give us manna to sustain our efforts.
God our Father,
Jesus Christ prayed for everyone, for those who believe and for those who do not.
He revealed your concern for us, and for that we thank you.
With him, we come to you as a church, gathered together by the bread of the word and of mercy,
in the joy of being loved, freely and freely…
Our Father, in this Easter season, we bless you for the beginning of the first Christian communities
communities, this birth of the Church where something new burst into the religious context…
religious context…
We bless you for this courageous beginning of the proclamation of the Risen Christ through persecution
persecutions, which calls us to be bold in proclaiming this Good News to the world today.
today.
Through prayer, make us missionaries of your Good News: Christ is Risen! Evil is defeated
life and love will eventually create this new world where justice and peace will embrace, where the wolf will live
with the lamb, where relationships will be reconciled. Help us to work together for this through Jesus Christ and in the
of the Holy Spirit.
