[Kneel} P: Lord Jesus, You prayed at the Last Supper that all will be one: All: We adore You, most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all Your church which are in the whole world, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
P: Loving one another with the charity of Christ, may the love you have in your hearts be shown outwardly in your deeds,
All: so that, compelled by such an example, you may always grow in the love of God and in charity for one another.
(St. Clare – Testament)
P: My dear children, I exhort you to maintain mutual peace, charity and unity, and to be humble and meek, All: especially when approaching the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
(St. Eustochia, Poor Clare abbess)
P: One day, when only a half a loaf of bread was available for feeding the sisters in the monastery, she directed that it be distributed in pieces to the sisters.
P: He, who is the living bread and gives food to the hungry multiplied it in the hands of the one who broke it so that there were fifty sufficient portions for those sitting at table.
(Decree #16)
All: O abundance that never falters; O God you do not fail in helping those who are yours!
(Leg. Ver. #470)
P: We are members of one body. We have one Head, we are steeped in one grace. We live on one Bread. We tread the same path.
(St. Paulinus)
All: All that we are, in all that we hope, we are one in the Spiritof the
Lord.
(ibid)
P: For there is one God and one mediator of God and men who is the head of the Church. Since we are all one, we live together as in one house. We belong to the one Spirit, and dwell in the One who is one.
(St. Paulinus)
All: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
(Ps. 133:1)
P: Is not the cup of blessing we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Because the loaf is one, we, many though we are, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
(1 Cor. 10:16-17)
All: All that we are, in all that we hope, we are one in the Spiritof the Lord.
(St. Paulinus)
P: If a mother loves and nourishes her child according to the flesh, should not a sister love and nourish her sister according to the Spirit even more lovingly?
(St. Clare – Rule VIII)
All: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
(Ps. 133:1)
P.: God, who feeds the birds of heaven and clothes the lilies of the field, did not fail them in either food or clothing.
(Pope Gregory IX, Privilege of Poverty)
All: Therefore, be filled with a remarkable happiness and a spiritual joy!
(St. Clare - First Letter)
P. Always be solicitous to preserve intact among yourselves the unity of mutual love which is the bond of perfection.
(St. Clare – Rule X)
All: May the Lord be with you always and, wherever you are, may you be with Him always. Amen.
(St Clare - Blessing)
READING
[Sit]
(Ephesians 4:1-7. Philippians. 2:1-4may also be used.) I beseech you, that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called. With all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all. But to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ. PERIOD OF SILENT PRAYER HOMILY
Final prayer : [Kneel] P: O Mother Saint Clare,* P. and All: your holy life radiates its light to guide us on the way to Christ. Teach us to love Him as you did. O beloved saint, teach us to believe, as you did, that in the Blessed Eucharist we find Jesus, who dwells here in our midst.
You now follow the Lamb wherever He goes: speak to Him of our troubled spirit. Ask Him to heal us, body and soul, and to wash away our sins in His precious Blood.
(Pause for silent reflection and petition)
P: O handmaid of Christ,* P. and All: look with compassion on all who call on you for help. Remember the needs of our family, our loved ones, and all those for whom we pray. Defend us from everything that would endanger our Holy Catholic Faith, especially in these times of confusion, scandal and division. Give us unity and peace in the Church and in society. We ask that our pleas will become a canticle of petition ascending from your pure heart to the Heart of Jesus, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.