We come this morning with our arms full, Lord,
because today we offer you the Church,
the whole Church,
the beautiful, blessed Body of Christ:
all your faithful sons and daughters,
born again in the waters of the font
marred by our pride and carelessness,
You call us to serve one another in love
but we sully ourselves and others
for the sake of prestige and passion…
but we’ve damaged innocent souls,
betrayed the faith of our elders
You call us all to be merciful, Lord,
but we set ourselves up as judges,
handing down verdicts we hope and pray
you’d never hand down on us…
You call us to be just in all we do
but we fail to be accountable
to you, your truth, your Word,
You call us to be the city a hill,
You call us to be fresh yeast for the dough
but our leaven is old and stale…
You call us to be the servants of all
You call us to be your people, Lord,
Corpus et Sanguis Christi,
but our words and deeds betray you,
you whose Body we are…
Lord, have mercy!
Christ, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy!
Help us turn to you, Lord,
Help us change our hearts, Lord,
and offer them to you,
to do the work that’s ours…
Let your Cross, Lord, be our hope
as we let go our selfish ways
and we learn that in surrendering
Let your Holy Spirit guide us
to reform, rebuild your Church:
its methods, ways and laws,
Preserve what’s right and just, Lord,
and change what must be changed;
turn us upside down and inside out
until we have become
We offer you your Church, Lord,
as we wait in joyful hope
Amen.
