1st Reading: Romans 6:12-18

Serve God and you will come from death to life

Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey
their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of
wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been
brought from death to life, and present your members to God as
instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you,
since you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone
as obedient servants, you are servants of the one whom you obey, either
of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to
righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been servants
of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to
which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin,
have become servants of righteousness.
The word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm; Psalm 123

R./: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’
this is Israel’s song.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled. (R./)
‘Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept the raging waters.’
Blessed be the Lord who did not give us
a prey to their teeth! (R./)
Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler. Indeed the
snare has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of
the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (R./)
Prayers for the Faithful

1.Inspire all those who lead and serve in this church. May they know your
guidance and direction.
We pray to the Lord

2.Inspire our leaders, teachers, doctors, social workers and counsellors to

be bringers of hope in all situations.
We Pray to the Lord

3.Protect all those who carry peace to other nations. Bless the food, care
and shelter they provide.
We pray to the Lord

4.We pray for athletes around the world, w hether professional or

amateur:That through sport they learn to value the bodies that God has
given them, their minds to persevere, and their spirits to aim to do the best
of their abilities.

We pray to the Lord.

5.We pray for Pope (Francis), the bishops, the cle rgy and all holy men and
women:That they can find time to enjoy active healthy lifestyles.

We pray to the Lord.

6.We pray for those in government: That they see that the value of athletics
stems past a single event and that they work toward legislation that
supports healthy eating and active lifestyles from conception to adulthood.

We pray to the Lord.

7.We pray for those of us present here today:That we strive to do our best
and regardless of the outcome, acknowledge our bodies and minds are
gifts from God that should be celebrated and cared for.

We pray to the Lord.