Predigten von P. Martin Löwenstein SJ
Predigt zum Patricksday 2001
17. März 2001 - St. Michael, Göttingen
Predigt
1.
- I want you to go on a journey 1600 years back with me: A 15 year old boy living in England is being captured by Gaelic robbers. They kidnap him and soon sell him to Ireland. He is to work as a shepherd there.
- First of all he liked it. He liked the idea of being a shepherd. But then: he didn't want to be a slave! When he reached the age of 21 he managed to escape and went back to "his world". First of all to England later to the south of France. He became a monk there and he started to study the gospel.
- One time, it was late in the evening, he fell asleep in front of his computer screen. Suddenly there was a knock, knock. You are the one… "…I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" - "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves."
2.
- So Patrick went back to Ireland being a shepherd again, but now he was a bishop. He was also helpless like a sheep among the savage Irish. He went thru the land he had been sold to when he was a little boy and told the gospel. That's how those robbers gave Ireland it's missionary.
- Patrick brought the Good News to the savage Irish. In no other country people got so enthusiastic. That's why Ireland became the island of the saints. Many people changed their lives to follow Jesus.
- Patrick became the Nation's saint but he was also relevant for all Europe: After the migration of peoples devastated the continent it was the Irish who brought back civilization and faith.
3.
- We're somehow used to being kidnapped and brought to a place we don't like: sometimes we see ourselves in a job or even a world we didn't choose. Sometimes we react with living in hatred and rejection.
- But, perhaps you just didn't hear the "knock, knock…". Maybe you can find out what you're chosen for right where you are.
- Patrick's fate became his lifetime-job. He told other people the gospel. The word gospel means good spell, good news. That is good news for you: If you want to become a saint you can do that at the place where you are living. Even if it is an island where you were brought to by an ugly fait. Wherever you live, Jesus is the good news for you giving you the new life of the gospel. Amen.
Fürbitten
Priester: O God, with St. Patrick to intercede for us, we pray to You:
Vorsänger: Let us pray for all Christians that the faith they profess with their lips may bear fruit in their lives. for this let us pray to the Lord
Vorsänger: Let us pray for our civil, political and religious leaders that they may lead by word and example: for this let us pray to the Lord
Vorsänger: Let us pray for a true and lasting peace and reconciliation in Ireland, in the Near East and in all our world: for this let us pray to the Lord
Vorsänger: Let us pray for ourselves that we may realize the great treasure we possess in the Christian faith and experience joy in living it: for this let us pray to the Lord
Vorsänger: Let us pray for all those who passed on the faith to us, often at great cost, and who are now deceased that God may reward their faithfulness: for this let us pray to the Lord
Vorsänger: May the power of God preserve us, the wisdom of God instruct us, the hand of God protect us, the way of God direct and the shield fo God defend us.
Priester: We ask this through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Ablaufplan und Gebete
Ablaufplan von P. Martin Löwenstein SJ als pdf
Opening Payer
Let us pray that, like Saint Patrick, we may be loyal to our faith in Christ.
Father in heaven, you sent the great bishop Patrick to the people of Ireland to
share his faith and to spend his life in loving service.
May our lives bear witness to the faith we profess, and our, love bring others to
the peace and joy of your gospel. We ask this through Christ our Lord.Amen.
Prayer over the gifts
Lord our God,
by the power of this sacrament
deepen our love
and strengthen our faith:
as we celebrate the feast of Saint Patrick bind us more and more to each other
in unity and peace.
Preface
Father, it is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you
thanks through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. He is the word through whom
you made the universe, the Saviour you sent to redeem us. By the power of the
Holy Spirit he took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. For our sake he
opened his arms on the cross, he put an end to death and revealed the
resurrection. In this he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people. And so
we join the angels and the saints in proclaiming your glory as we sing:
Concluding Payer
Lord, we heard the word of the Gospel and joined in the praise of your name.
may all we do or say proclaim your glory in imitation of Saint Patrick, who did not
spare himself but gave his whole life to the preaching of your Word. We ask this
through Christ our Lord.