PRIEST: United in our faith, we turn to the Lord with all our needs.

READER: Let us pray for the Church – for Pope Francis, for all the Bishops and for Christian communities in every nation of the world. We pray that the Church may be a visible sign of hope and mutual support. Lord in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer.

On this education Sunday, we remember all children, students and teachers returning to school after the summer holidays. We pray that the new term brings new joys as well as the cooperation in facing new challenges.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer.

May the Eucharist we celebrate in the name of the Lord Jesus bring us closer to each other today regardless of ethnic, cultural and sociological differences. Lord in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer.

We pray for missionaries today, may they be true instruments of peace and hope.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer.

We pray for everyone devastated by the extremes of the changing climate around the world. We pray for all who have lost their homes and their livelihoods. We especially pray for the poor and marginalised, for the sick and the frail hit so hard by these disasters. And we pray for all who have died. May they rest in peace. Lord in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer.

We Remember all the armed conflicts that plague our world, all the victims and merchants of violence. May reconciliation with justice prevail. Lord in your mercy: Hear our Prayer.

Let us ask Mary, the mother of the Lord and our mother, to pray with us. Hail Mary…

Now let us pray for a few moments in the silence of our hearts.

PRIEST: Almighty and merciful God,

we worship together in the name of the Lord Jesus,

sharing one bread and one cup.

Through our celebration of the Eucharist,

may the gift of the Holy Spirit fill our hearts

to strengthen us in unity and common understanding.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. AMEN