OPENING RITE

PRAYER BEFORE THE ICON OF THE PENTECOST

INVITATION TO PRAYER
All stand.
OPENING VERSE
Leader: God, come to my assistance.
All: Lord, make haste to help me.

Leader: Glory to the Father, and to the son, and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

UNVEILING OF THE ICON: HOLY TRINITY

All stand. The icon is unveiled while the community sings a hymn.

Veni creator Spiritus

Mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia,
Quae tu creasti pectora.

Tu septiformis munere,
Digitus paternae dexterae
Tu rite promissum Patris
Sermone ditans guttura.

Accende lumen sensibus,

Infunde amorem cordibus,
Infirma nostri corporis,
Virtute firmans perpeti.

Hostem repellas longius

Pacemque dones protinus;
Ductore sic te praevio
Vitemus omne noxium.

Per te sciamus da Patrem

Noscamus atque Filium,
Te utriusque Spiritum
Credamus omni tempore.

Deo Patri sit gloria,

 Et Filio qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito,
In saeculorum saecula.
Amen.

PRAYER
Leader: We invoke the Holy Spirit to accompany us as a local Church in the
synodal process. We ask the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring fire into
our hearts and to purify our soul. We invoke the Holy Spirit to lead,
guide, and unite us as we walk together as a Church.

All: Send, we beseech you, Almighty God,

your Holy Spirit into our hearts,
that he may rule and direct us according to your will,
comfort us in all our temptations and afflictions,
defend us from all error,
and lead us into all Truth;
that we, being steadfast in the faith,
may increase in love and in all good works,
and in the end obtain everlasting life:
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

All be seated.

PSALM 104
Antiphon: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the LORD, my soul!

LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
robed in light as with a cloak.

You make the clouds your chariot;

traveling on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.

You fixed the earth on its foundation,

so it can never be shaken.
The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.

At your rebuke they took flight;

at the sound of your thunder they fled.
They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
to the place you had fixed for them.

You made springs flow in wadies

that wind among the mountains.
They give drink to every beast of the field;
here wild asses quench their thirst.

Beside them the birds of heaven nest;

among the branches they sing.
You water the mountains from your chambers;
from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.

How varied are your works, LORD!

In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, great and wide!

I will sing to the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God while I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the LORD.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen
Antiphon: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 2,1-4

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it
filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

The word of the Lord.

REFLECTION ON THE SYMBOLS IN THE ICON

RAYS OF FIRE
Leader: Behold is the icon of the Pentecost. The Descent of the Spirit upon the
Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

At the top of the icon is typically a semicircle with 12 rays of light or

fire, symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 apostles.
They were filled with fire of God’s love which moves them to move
out for mission. Amidst fear, the Spirit gave them to courage to preach
the Good News, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we start, our synodal process we ask the Spirit to bestow on us the

fire of God’s love to become more charitable to one another by
listening, participation and walking together.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

All:
Come Holy Spirit
bestow upon us Your sevenfold gifts.
Grant to us the gift of wisdom,
to discover God’s will
and to see things according to the divine perspective;
the gift of understand,
which will enlighten us;
the gift of counsel,
which will guide us in the way of righteousness;
and the gift of fortitude,
which will give us the strength to continue our journey
towards the path of sanctification and salvation.
Impart to us the gift of knowledge,
 which will enable us to discern the signs of the times
and to see clearly
God’s invitation and call;
the gift of piety,
which will make us devoted in our worship;
and the gift of fear,
which will make us shun all iniquity
and makes us faithful servants of God.
Descend on us, O Holy Spirit,
Amen.
Short moment of silence.

SONG
VENI, Creator Spiritus,
mentes tuorum visita,
imple superna gratia
quae tu creasti pectora.

Accende lumen sensibus:

infunde amorem cordibus:
infirma nostri corporis
virtute firmans perpeti.

Hostem repellas longius,

pacemque dones protinus:
ductore sic te praevio
vitemus omne noxium.

Deo Patri sit gloria,

et Filio, qui a mortuis
surrexit, ac Paraclito,
in saeculorum saecula.
Amen.

APOSTLES SEATED WITH MARY

Leader: Mary is often in the center of the icon, with the apostles seated in a
semicircle. They are seated in such a way that expresses the harmony
and unity the Holy Spirit brings to the Church.
 Mary is also seated on the “teacher’s seat,” reminding us that she is
the example for all Christians to follow.

Pentecost . . . reveals the face of the Church as a family gathered

together with Mary, enlivened by the outpouring of the Spirit and
ready for the mission of evangelization. The contemplation of this
scene . . . ought to lead the faithful to an ever-greater appreciation of
their new life in Christ, lived in the heart of the Church, a life of
which the scene of Pentecost itself is the great “icon.” —(Pope John
Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 23)

PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

All: O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of the Church, and Queen of the Apostles,
we know that God’s commandment of love
and our vocation to follow Jesus Christ
impels us to work for the mission of the Church.
Realizing our own weakness,
we entrust the renewal of our personal lives
and our priestly to your intercession.
We are confident that through God’s mercy
and the infinite merits of Jesus Christ,
you, who are our Mother,
will obtain the strength of the Holy Spirit
as you obtained it for the community of the apostles
gathered in the upper room.

Relying on your maternal intercession,

we entrust to you ourselves,
and the faithful God has entrusted to us.
Make us listening and discerning shepherds.
help us to become good shepherds like your Son,
that we maybe always sensitive
to the longings and desires of God’s flock.

O Mother of the Church,

among the disciples in the Cenacle
 you prayed to the Spirit for the new People and their Shepherds,
obtain for us the full measure of gifts,
Amen!
Short moment of silence.
SONG

Short moment of silence.

PETITIONS
All stand.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus. Veni, Sancte Spiritus.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus. Veni, Sancte Spiritus.

For the Church. That we may journey as companions, side by side of one another
on the same road. We pray to the Lord.

For listening ears. That our hearts and minds be open to listen to others without
prejudice. We pray to the Lord.

For the gift of speaking out. That we may encouraged in this Synod journey to
speak with courage and boldness, integrating justice, freedom, truth, and love. We
pray to the Lord.

For our participation in the Mission of Christ. That through our synodal journey,
we may grow in our shared responsibility of the mission entrusted to us. We pray
to the Lord.

For our true dialogue in the Church and in our Society. That through a path of
perseverance, patience, and mutual understanding, we may be attentive to the
experience of persons and peoples. We pray to the Lord.

For the exercise of authority and participation in the people of God. That the
synodal roots of the Church will bear fruit in new ways of being at the service of
one another at all levels of the body of Christ. We pray to the Lord.
For our discernment to be led by the Holy Spirit. That all decisions in this synodal
process may be discerned through a consensus that flows from our common
obedience to the Holy Spirit. We pray to the Lord.

For a spirituality of journeying together. That we may be formed as disciples of

Christ as families, communities, and as human beings, through our experience of
this Synodal journey. We pray to the Lord.

PRAYER (Adsumus Sancte Spiritu)

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,

as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path
nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life
and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right.
All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son,
forever and ever.
Amen

CONCLUDING RITE
Leader: May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to
everlasting life.
All: Amen.

Leader: Let us bless the Lord.

Response: Thanks be to God.