OPENING PRAYERS               (Kneel)

P.         We adore You, O most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all Your churches which are in the whole world,
ALL:   And we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

P.         Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus’ preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes;
ALL:   … through the merits of Jesus Christ and of His Passion, God keeps us in the “hope that does not disappoint.”
P:         Hope is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul …
ALL:   that enters where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.
P:         Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation.
ALL:   Let us put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
P:         Hope affords us joy even under trial.
ALL:   Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulations.
P:         Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer,
ALL:    especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire.
                             ((Please turn to the readings for the day)
August 3^rd -   The Great Hope – Our Call                   (Sit)
A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes. 5:8-11)

(Pause)

What is the secret of the Great Hope to which we are called?  There is a Lord who is good, goodness in Person – (by Him) we are known, loved and awaited.

Once Saint Clare came to know Him, her life changed:  “Ever since I came to know the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ through His servant Francis, no suffering has troubled me, no penance has been hard, no sickness too arduous.”  This encounter with the Great Hope enables each person to say:  “I am definitively loved… And so, my life is good.”  This is the hope that redeems.
(Pause for quiet prayer)

HOMILY
 (Please turn to the Closing Prayers, page 7)


 CLOSING PRAYERS        (Kneel)
P:         Saint Clare of Assisi, Daughter of Hope,
ALL:   Intercede with our heavenly Father for each of our personal intentions.
P:         Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope,
ALL:   Plead with your Divine Son, Jesus, that all sorrow may turn into joy / and all hatred into love /  and war into the peace we so desire.
P:         Saint Clare of Assisi, Daughter of Hope,
ALL:   Pray that the light of the Holy Spirit / enlighten the world /  and dispel the darkness of our times.
P:         May our Seraphic Mother Saint Clare, that woman brimming with confidence, help all of us to live in joyful expectation,
ALL:   with our hearts focused on the Great Hope which does not disappoint.
P:         Let us now pray the Act of Hope together:   O my God *
ALL:   relying on your infinite goodness and promises, / I
            hope  to obtain pardon of my sins, /  the help of your
            grace, /  and life everlasting,  /  through the merits of
            Jesus Christ,  /my Lord and  Redeemer.  Amen.