Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

Psalm 34, 72, 85 or another appropriate hymn is sung.

Prayer:

Almighty and eternal God, you are the creator and the lover of true peace.
We join in fellowship with our Dehonian brothers and sisters
throughout the world
as we unite ourselves in heart and mind
with our confreres and
the people of the Congo.

Be with them, O Lord, and banish violence, hunger
and suffering from their midst.
Protect them from hatred
and help them to restore
tranquility and peace in their land.

Touch our hearts, O Lord, and remove from us
all that divides us from each other.
Make us effective prophets of love
and servants of reconciliation,
that we may work to remove
violence and hatred from our society
and help to establish
your reign of justice, love and compassion
throughout our world.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Reading: Ezkiel 34,11-16

As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view, so shall I keep my sheep in view.

Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel [in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places]. In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal [but the sleek and the strong I will destroy], shepherding them rightly.

The Word of the Lord.

Copyright © 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; © 1969, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Silent Reflection

[The following may be used in personal prayer and reflection:]

1. The end of his life, Fr. Dehon maintained a special regard for our mission in the Congo. If we count only those letters conserved in our Dehonian archives here in Rome between the years 1918 and 1925 there are 56 letters written to Bishop Grison. For Fr. Dehon, the "beautiful Congo mission" (he said this in 1912) is "one of the most beautiful missions in the world" (from a letter dated 09-06-1918). "Among all our apostolates it is the most important of the Congregation," said Fr. Dehon one month before his death (NQ XLV 64, July 1925).
2. Unfortunately, right now we lack priests for our missions. There are many needed in the Congo, and the Cameroon asks for some too. There are thousands and thousands of souls that beg for priests in the Congo, and we don't have them. It is a pity. "Children cry out for bread, and there is no one to break it for them." (Lm 4,4) (NQ XLIII 117, January 1920; cf. Letters 20-01-1911, 13-0701913, etc.)
3. A true Priest of the Sacred Heart will be one who, following the example of Christ, forgets himself, dedicating his life without regard to province, nation or border. (cf. 31-07-1927 Circular Letter, p. 130 [Bishop Philippe]
4. Bishop Philippe wrote several things about the apostolic undertaking in the Congo. "The Priests of the Sacred Heart were not workers who arrived at the eleventh hour." "Taking a profound view, that Mission was the salvation of a Congregation just beginning to flower. A strong German branch with great promise was developed while numerous vocations came from Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg. The Congregation wished to be, from its very origins, an active apostolic institution." One time the Founder, in the semidarkness of his room said to his Assistant: "People notice our weakness and mediocrity; I think instead about the sacrifices made by our Congo missionaries. That's what puts me at ease." And he declared: "The Congo saved the Congregation" (Cf. Ricordi, p. 114). (from the 1960 Frediani book on Fr. Dehon)
5. Dehon the Priests of the Sacred Heart began their mission in the Congo in 1897 it was called a "grand mission of the Congregation." The first missionaries proved their love for Christ by suffering many hardships due to the rigorous climate and economic privations.

The unstable situation in the first years of the Congo's independence brought new sacrifices. During November, 1964, 28 missionaries of the Priests of the Sacred Heart were killed while witnessing to Christ ˆ among them the Bishop of Wamba, Joseph Wittebols. Also martyred with them were several sisters.

This ultimate gift of their lives brought new vitality to the Congo where SCJ missionaries continue to serve the people of God.

Communal Prayers of Petition

The response to the petitions is: Make us instruments of your love.

Blessed are you, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for in your great mercy you have brought us back to life through a living hope, and made us co-workers in your plan of salvation. We pray:

Gracious God, you called us in Jesus Christ to be a priestly people. In him you made us living stones to offer spiritual sacrifices. We pray:

Accept us as we offer ourselves to live in union with the Heart of your Son Jesus, whom you have made Lord and the hope of humanity. We pray:

Accept our life of prayer, communion and service in a spirit of love and reparation. We pray:

Accept the apostolic activity of your Church, the work and pursuits of all people, that these may cooperate in the work of redemption. We pray:

Accept our commitment to mutual love and the realization of justice. May we love one another as Christ loves us in deed and in truth. We pray:

Accept the hardships and sufferings of the people of the Congo, especially of the poor and the hungry, that their cries for peace and the end of violence may be heard. We pray:

Gracious, loving God, fulfill your plan of love in every human being; make your Son Jesus the heart of humanity and the world, the hope of salvation for us and for all who hear his voice.

Benediction Hymn

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ you gave us the eucharist
as the memorial of your suffering and death.

May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood
help us and the people of the Congo
to experience the salvation you won for us
and the peace of your kingdom
where you live with the Father and Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Amen.