A reading from the book of Genesis.
The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.
While the people were migrating in the east,
they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
They said to one another,
“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.”
They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the sky,
and so make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”
The LORD came down to see the city and the tower
that the people had built.
Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people,
all speaking the same language,
they have started to do this,
nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.
Let us then go down there and confuse their language,
so that one will not understand what another says.”
Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth,
and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel,
because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.
It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!
His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
And of Zion they shall say:
“One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD.”
R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
“This man was born there.”
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
“My home is within you.”
R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!
GENERAL INTERCESSIONS
Presider:
As children of the Church, born of water, Spirit, and the love of
Christ crucified, let us bring our prayers before God, our merciful
Father. In every petition we say, “Lord, hear our prayer.”
Lector:
1. For the holy Church of God: that, under the care of Mary our
Mother, she may grow in unity, holiness, and missionary zeal,
let us pray to the Lord.
R/. Lord, hear our prayer.
2. For all mothers and those who care for others with a mother’s
heart: that they may be strengthened by the example of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, let us pray to the Lord.
R/. Lord, hear our prayer.
3. For those who suffer, especially the lonely, the dying, and the
forgotten: that they may know the comforting presence of
Mary, who stood at the foot of the Cross, let us pray to the Lord.
R/. Lord, hear our prayer.
4. For peace in the world and healing in the Church: that the
blood and water flowing from Christ’s side may cleanse and
renew all peoples, let us pray to the Lord.
R/. Lord, hear our prayer.
5. For our parish and all gathered here: that we may grow in
devotion to Mary and imitate her trust, humility, and love, let
us pray to the Lord.
R/. Lord, hear our prayer.
6. For our beloved dead, that they may be received into the arms
of Mary and brought to the fullness of life in Christ, let us pray
to the Lord.
R/. Lord, hear our prayer.
Presider:
Loving Father, you gave us Mary to be our mother and the mother of
the Church. Hear the prayers we bring to you today and strengthen
us to live as her faithful children. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
