St Peters RC Church Hamilton

The Spirit develops our confidence in the Lord Jesus,

Our Father’s all loving, ever merciful rescue plan,

Gifting us love and life everlasting in Jesus, by the Spirit.

“Lord, I believe in You; increase my faith.

I trust in You; strengthen my trust.

I love You; let me love You more and more.

I am sorry for my sins; deepen my sorrow.”

(The opening of “The Universal Prayer” Pope Clement XI)

“I worship You as my first beginning,

I long for You as my last end.

I praise You as my constant helper,

And call on You as my loving protector...”

(Second verse of “The Universal Prayer”)

Lord, holy Father, the love and life You offer us through the Lord Jesus, by means of the Spirit of love, here we discover a wealth of joy and harmony, thank You for this, the result of salvation.

Expectant faith is marked by a sense of the peace You gift us, the joy You build up for us and the hope You offer us in the gospel, Your plan of salvation through Jesus, narrated for us.

You make us in Jesus, by the Spirit, Your chosen ones on whom Your favour rests and remains unless we spoil this by sin. And even then, we can ask forgiveness at the †of the Lord Jesus.

Any sense of a life which is hopeless, without an eternal blessing and purpose, has been all lovingly, totally, mercifully dealt with in asking Jesus to live and die for us, the Spirit making this possible for Jesus and for us.

We are graced by the Spirit moving amongst us in all the holy wisdom and truth our friendship with the Lord Jesus secures for us. Life has been enriched immeasurably, thank You.

Our life is enriched by true love when we adhere to Jesus – “ ‘(S)he who abides in Me and I in him (her) bears much fruit...’.” (John 15 v 5) – because it is in our Saviour Brother “We live and move and have

our being.” (Acts 17 v 28)

What a full life the Spirit of the Lord Jesus gifts us, what an honour, what a privilege, all praise, all thanks and all glory ever, ever be.

Oh the wealth of hope, peace and joy which make up the fullness of life in the Lord Jesus, the Saviour Healer Restorer who tends to us, that we in our turn can help each other.

Thank You that the Holy Spirit spells out for us what righteousness means, all the implications and necessary adjustments to daily life, helping us to make these.

What power, what grace, what love, what provision, what protection, what godly direction the Spirit offers to us, if only we would listen, obey and accept.

I ask that there be more reference to the wisdom and truth embodied in holy Scripture, especially as pertaining to Jesus the Saviour as Your Word of Life and offer of love, holy Father.

Your will for us is evident when we look to the Lord Jesus, praying for help to be given by the Spirit. And how reassuring it is to be told that the Lord Jesus’ grace is sufficient for us at all times.

We do not stand alone, thank goodness. May the Spirit keep our heart, mind, will, conscience and imagination alive and alert, more than ready to receive of godly wisdom and truth.

Let us please, be safeguarded from all that is evil because we cannot have the love of our Master within us if being ungodly in any way at all, as holiness and unrighteousness do not stand together.

Each day is rich in possibility for us to serve and serve well, thank You. May we strive to be fully alert to any movement of the Spirit of love, however slight that is.

Not knowing when we will be called upon to act in the Lord Jesus’ name of love, means we must be ready, prayerfully prepared for any situation requiring a godly intervention. May the Spirit prepare us for action.

Let us endeavour to empty of self, dethrone our self-will so as to make the Lord Jesus, King of love in all areas of life, nothing held back, not even those parts of which we are most ashamed.

May the Spirit prompt and persuade us to make fullest use of the sacraments the Church offers us, occasions when the Lord Jesus is with us, You Father are with us, by the Spirit, in a specific way.

Thank You especially for the sacrament of baptism, our beginning of life in learning to love and honour You dearest Father, through the Lord Jesus’ life of love offered us.

Thank You too for the sacred mystery of the Holy Eucharist, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation whereby we are able to repent and resolve to live a more holy life of Christian service.

Thank You for the prayer and praise we share together in church liturgy, uplifting our heart and mind, by the Spirit, to find the hope the Lord Jesus offers us.

Herein is the final and fullest aspect to life, the hope of enjoying a wealth of joy, in harmony with the holy Trinity, a unity of everlasting love which is perfect.

Oh the blessings of grace freely given, the wealth of opportunity to die to self to rise again to the life of love the Lord Jesus offers us in the Spirit. May we ever have ears to hear, eyes to see and hearts to love, as fully

as living in the Lord Jesus makes possible by the Spirit.

For surely then we will see many more people enabled to live to the glory You deserve Father God. You are holy. We are being made holy, through Your Son and by Your Spirit. We rejoice! Amen.