Sixteenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 20, 2025 Cycle C
Green priestly vestments
symbolize hope and
the vitality of the life of faith.
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Liturgical Year Cycle C 2024-2025
The Entrance
Prayers:
On Sunday, usually a hymn praising
God is sung in place
of reciting a Psalm from the Bible which invites us to enter
more deeply into
the mystery of God's love for us. The recited weekday
Psalm expresses a
youthful heart and spirit, delighted that we may come before
the living God.
Entrance Song /
Entrance Psalm
(Antiphon)
Psalm
54:6,
8
See, I
have God for my
help. The Lord sustains my soul. I will sacrifice to
you with
willing heart, and praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.
The Priest Approaches and
Kisses the
Altar:
The
altar is a symbol of Christ. In it are cut five
crosses to recall the
five wounds of Christ. The altar also represents the
Church and has
embedded in it the relics of her saints. The priest
comes to the altar to
celebrate the Sacrifice in the Church's name. Because
of the glory
surrounding the altar upon which the divine Sacrifice will
be made, the kiss of
the priest unites the Church to Christ, its Redeemer.
Priest:
In the
name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Priest: Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
All: And with your spirit.
The Penitential Prayers:
We
recognize our guilt for past sins, express our sorrow for
them, and ask that
Mary, the angels, the saints, and our brothers and sisters
in Christ pray for
the Lord God's mercy. (The priest may select from
several forms).
Priest:
Brothers
and
sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves
to celebrate
the sacred mysteries.
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
All: For we have sinned against you.
Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
All: And grant us your salvation.
The Absolution:
Priest:
May
almighty
God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to
everlasting
life.
All:
Amen.
The Gloria: The
Glory of God prayers have existed from the second century. They
repeat the angels praise of God which
heralded the birth of Christ on earth. Our praise is
lifted again through
the years as we rejoice at His coming as Lord, God, the most
high Jesus Christ,
who at Christmas took on our human nature while at the same
time being the son
of Man. This ancient hymn expresses our recognition of God's
glory and
love. It calls upon Christ as our holy and divine
mediator, and the Holy
Spirit who forever binds us together in God's love.
Priest
and
All: Glory
to
God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord
God,
heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give
you thanks, we
praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of
the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have
mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our
prayer. For
you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone
are the Most
High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God
the Father.
Amen.
The Collect:
The
priest lifts the united prayers and petitions of the
congregation to God the
Father through the merits of Jesus Christ in the Holy
Spirit.
Priest:
Let
us
pray.
Priest: Show favor, O Lord, to your servants
and mercifully
increase the gifts of your grace, that, made fervent in hope,
faith and
charity, they may be ever watchful in keeping your
commands. Through our
Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the
Holy Spirit, one God, forever
and ever.
Liturgy
of the Word
Christ
is made
known to us through the Old Testament which prepares us to
recognize Him.
In those days, God inspired men who spoke His message. Now,
the New Testament Gospel reading
announces His presence to us directly through His Son.
Both readings
bring God's message to us. Our responsibility is to
respond.
The First Reading: From the Old Testament.
Genesis
18:1-10a
The
Lord appeared to
Abraham by the Terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of
his tent, while
the day was growing hot. Looking up, Abraham saw three men
standing
nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the
tent to greet
them; and bowing to the ground, he said: “Sir, if I may ask you
this favor,
please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be
brought, that
you may bathe your feet and then rest yourselves under the
tree. Now that
you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a
little food, that
you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your
way.” The
men replied, “Very well, do as you have said.”
Abraham
hastened into
the tent and told Sarah, “Quick, three measures of fine
flour! Knead it
and make rolls.” He ran to the herd, picked out a tender,
choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. Then
Abraham got some
curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and
set these
before the three men; and he waited on them under the tree while
they ate.
They
asked Abraham,
“Where is your wife, Sarah?” He replied, “There in the
tent.” One
of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next
year, and Sarah
will then have a son.”
Priest/Reader: The
Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks
be to God.
The Responsorial
Psalm: This
Psalm praising God, is a prayer to God, or recommends the
practice of
virtue. It is sung as an interlude between the
scriptural readings.
It provides yet another instructional setting and invites
the assembly to
imitate the cantor, who sings a repeated response to the
verses of an ancient
Psalm, many of which are attributed to King David. The
verses are sung
first by a cantor (song leader) accompanied by instruments,
the refrain is sung
by the people.
Responsorial
Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5
Cantor: He
who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
All R/. He who does justice will live in the
presence of the Lord.
Cantor: One
who walks
blamelessly and does justice, who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders
not with his tongue.
All R/. He who does justice will live in the
presence of the Lord.
Cantor: Who
harms not his
fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; by
whom the reprobate
is despised, while he honors those who fear the Lord.
All R/. He who does justice will live in the
presence of the Lord.
Cantor: Who
lends not his
money at usury and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
One who does
these things shall never be disturbed.
All R/. He
who does justice
will live in the presence of the Lord.
The Second Reading:
From the New Testament.
Second
Reading: Colossians
1:24-28
Brothers
and sisters:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I
am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his
body, which is
the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s
stewardship given
to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the
mystery hidden from
ages and from generations past. But now it has been
manifested to his
holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the
glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for
glory. It
is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching
everyone with all
wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
The Alleluia:
An
ancient expression of joy anticipating the Lord's message we
will hear in the
Gospel.
Luke
8:15
Cantor:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
All: R/.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Cantor: Blessed are they who have
kept the word
with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.
All: R/.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
The Gospel:
The Liturgy of the Word is completed
by the reading of
the Gospel. Before its reading, the members of the
assembly trace the
sign of the cross upon the forehead to indicate their mental
acceptance of the
Truth, on the lips to indicate their readiness to announce
it, and over the
heart to indicate their sincere desire to accept it into
their lives. The
"Good News" of the Gospel tells that God's kingdom has come
for all
to hear, accept, and announce to the world for its
salvation. It is God
who is speaking to us. Christ comes to teach us by the
example of His
life and by His own words.
The
Gospel Luke
10:38-42
Written
to
explain that
Christ came to save
everyone.
Priest:
The
Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise
to you, Lord
Jesus Christ.
The Priest's Sermon:
The
priest develops, explains, and comments upon the Master's
words, so our minds
may be
enlightened, and our hearts enriched.
(A
priestly reflection upon
this Gospel)
Profession of Faith:
We
state in the Nicene Creed the principles of our faith in
precise and definite
terms.
All: I
believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that
is seen and
unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only
Begotten Son of
God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with
the Father;
through him all things were made. For us men and for our
salvation he
came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of
the Virgin Mary
and became man. For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate, he
suffered death and was buried and rose again on the third day in
accordance
with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated
at the right
hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge
the living and
the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in
the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and
the Son, who with
the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken
through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I
confess one
Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look for the
resurrection of the
dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
General Intercessions:
We pray for the needs of the pope,
civic leaders, our
own needs, those of others, the sick, the dying, those who
have died, the
church, and the world. The response of all to each
intercession: Lord, hear our prayer.
All: Lord,
hear our prayer.
The
Liturgy
of the Eucharist
Gifts
of bread and
wine which symbolize ourselves are presented to the priest
who will offer them
to God the Father. Through the Holy Spirit, they will
become the Body and
Blood of Jesus Christ whom we receive in Holy
Communion. Jesus unites Himself
with us for our spiritual nourishment and strength.
Today, when
individuals do not present their own personal offerings of
bread and wine, the
monetary contribution symbolizes the material of their
united sacrifice.
The priest makes and offering of the bread and wine to God.
Preparation of the Bread and
Wine:
Priest: Blessed
are you, Lord
God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received
the bread we
offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will
become for us
the bread of life.
All: Blessed
be God for ever.
Priest: By the
mystery of this
water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled
himself to share in our humanity.
Priest:
Blessed
are
you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have
received
the wine we offer you; fruit of the vine and work of human hands
it will become
our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed
be God for ever.
Priest: With
humble spirit and
contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our
sacrifice in your
sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.
The Priest's Hands are
Washed: This
act was traditionally necessary because the priest
handled the various gifts presented by the people.
Now, the cleansing act
using water reminds the priest and ourselves of the need to
cleanse not only
the hands but the soul. Soon, the priest's hands will
hold the actual
body of Christ, and we will become His dwelling
place.
Priest: Wash me
O Lord, from my
iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be
acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
All: May the
Lord accept the
sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good and
the good of all his holy Church.
Prayer over the Gifts:
Speaking
in our name, the priest asks the Father to accept the gifts
we offer through
him.
Priest:
Receive,
O
Lord, the sacrifice of conciliation and praise and grant that,
cleansed by
its action, we may make offering of a heart pleasing to
you. Through
Christ our Lord.
Eucharistic Prayer:
Number One: The priest
may select
from several forms.
Priest: The
Lord be with you.
All: And
with your
spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift
them up to the
Lord.
Priest: Let us
give thanks to
the Lord, our God.
All:
It is
right to give him
thanks and praise.
Preface Prayer:
Priest: It
is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and
everywhere to
give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ
our Lord. For out of compassion for the waywardness that
is ours, he
humbled himself and was born of the Virgin; by the passion of
the Cross, he
freed us from unending death, and by rising from the dead he
gave us life
eternal. And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones
and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of
your glory, as
without end we acclaim:
Acclamation:
Priest
and
All:
Holy,
Holy, Holy Lord,
God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your
glory. Hosanna
in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the
Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Priest: To you,
therefore, most
merciful Father, we make humble prayer and petition through
Jesus Christ, your
Son, our Lord: that you accept and bless these gifts, these
offerings, these
holy and unblemished sacrifices, which we offer you firstly for
your holy catholic
church. Be pleased to grant her peace, to guard, unite and
govern her
throughout the whole world, together with your servant ______,
our Pope and
_____, our Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand
on the
catholic and apostolic faith.
Remember,
Lord, your
servants _____ and _____ all gathered here, whose faith and
devotion are known
to you. For them, we offer you this sacrifice of praise or
they offer it
for themselves and all who are dear to them: for the redemption
of their souls,
in hope of health and well-being, and paying their homage to
you, the eternal
God, living and true.
In
communion with those
whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin
Mary, Mother of
our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her Spouse,
your blessed
Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John,
Thomas, James, Philip,
Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; Linus, Cletus, Clement,
Sixtus,
Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas
and Damian and
all your Saints; we ask that through their merits and prayers,
in all things we
may be defended by your protecting help. Through Christ
our Lord.
Amen.
Priest: Be
pleased, O God, we
pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every
respect; make
it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us the
Body and Blood of
your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The priest repeats the words which
Christ used at his
Last Supper when He changed the bread into His Body and the
wine into His
Blood. His Body and Blood are truly present but under
the appearance of
bread and wine. The death of Christ is prolonged in
each of those who
receive Him worthily. We apply His death to ourselves
so that we may
share His glory. This moment is the most solemn on
earth because it is
Divine act which enables us to apply to ourselves the Cross
which 
Christ willingly took upon Himself.
We are called to die to sin and lift
our very selves to
God so that we become changed; to do as God would have us
do, to become what
God would have us become. Our own little cross can
lift us into union with
Christ's Cross so we may earn the joys of everlasting
happiness with God the
Father.
The
Lord's Supper:
On the
day before he was
to suffer, he took bread in his holy and venerable
hands, and with eyes
raised to heaven to you, his almighty Father, giving you thanks,
he said the
blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take
this,
all of you and eat of it: for this is my Body which will be
given up for
you.
In a
similar way, when
supper was ended, he took this precious chalice in his holy and
venerable
hands, and, once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing
and gave the
chalice to his disciples, saying:
Take
this,
all of you, and drink from it; for this is the chalice of my
Blood, the
Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured
out for you and for
many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of
me.
The Mystery of Faith:
Priest: Let us
proclaim the
mystery of faith:
Priest and All: We proclaim your Death,
O Lord, and profess your
Resurrection until you come again.
Memorial Prayer:
Priest:
Therefore,
O
Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion, the
Resurrection
from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ,
your Son, our
Lord, we, your servants and your holy people, offer to your
glorious majesty
from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this
holy victim, this
spotless victim, the holy Bread of eternal life and the Chalice
of everlasting
salvation.
Be
pleased to look upon
these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to
accept them, as
once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel
the just, the
sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of
your high priest
Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.
In
humble prayer we ask
you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the
hands of your holy
Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that all of
us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most
holy Body and
Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly
blessing.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Remember
also, Lord,
your servants _____ and _____, who have gone before us with the
song of faith
and rest in the sleep of peace. Grant them, O Lord, we
pray, and all who
sleep in Christ, a place of refreshment, light and peace.
Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
To us,
also, your
servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies,
graciously grant
some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and martyrs:
with John the
Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, (Ignatius, Alexander,
Marcellinus, Peter,
Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia) and
all your
Saints; admit us, we beseech you, into their company not
weighing our merits,
but granting us your pardon, through Christ our Lord.
Through
whom you
continue to make all these good things, O Lord; you sanctify
them, fill them
with life, bless them, and bestow them upon us.
Doxology:
Prayer
of
Praise:
Through
him, with him,
and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor
is yours,
almighty Father, forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Communion
Rite
In the
Liturgy of the
Eucharist, we symbolically offer ourselves to the Lord
through the gifts of
bread and wine. At the Consecration, we offer our very
lives to be united
the God the Father through the Cross of Christ. In
Communion, we find that
we have not died at all but have come to life. We have
surrendered
ourselves to God through His Divine Son, Jesus Christ.
In return, we
become ennobled and enriched.
We give up
time and we get eternity, we give up our sin and we receive
grace, we surrender
our self-will and receive the strength of the Divine Will,
we give up ourselves
and we receive everything. For the Son of God says to
us that unless we
receive Him, we shall not have Divine life in us. But
it is not really we
who receive Christ, as it is Christ who receives us,
bringing us into Himself.
God makes His Cross the very means
of our salvation and
our life. While we have crucified Him, His eternal
love cannot be
extinguished. Christ willed to give us the very life
we crucified in our
Redemption, the Consecration of Holy Thursday into
Communion, His death into
our everlasting life.
The Lord's Prayer:
Priest: At the Savior's command
and formed by divine
teaching, we dare to say:
Priest
and
All: Our
Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be they name; Thy kingdom come; Thy
will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread; and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us; and lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Priest: Deliver us, Lord, we
pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your
mercy, we may be
always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the
blessed hope
and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
All: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory
are yours, now
and forever.
Prayer for Peace:
Priest: Lord
Jesus Christ, you
said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you.
Look not on our
sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her
peace and unity
in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever
and ever.
All: Amen.
Priest: The
peace of the Lord be
with you always.
All: And with your spirit.
Priest: Let us offer each other the sing of peace.
Breaking of the Bread:
Priest:
May
this
mingling of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring
eternal life
to us who receive it.
Priest
and
All: Lamb
of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you
take away the sins of
the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you
take away the sins of
the world, grant us peace.
Communion of the
Priest:
Priestly Preparation:
Lord
Jesus Christ, Son
of the living God, who, by the will of the Father and the work
of the Holy
Spirit, through your Death gave life to the world, free me by
this, your most
holy Body and Blood from all my sins and from every evil; keep
me always
faithful to your commandments, and never let me be parted from
you.
Priest: Behold
the
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Happy are those who are called to his supper.
Priest
and
All: Lord, I
am not worthy to
receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.
Priest: May the
Body of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.
May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.
Communion Antiphon:
Priest:
The
Lord,
the gracious, the merciful, has made a memorial of his wonders;
he gives
food to those who fear him.
Communion of the Faithful:
Priest: The
Body of Christ.
The
Faithful: Amen.
Priest/Deacon/
Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister: The Blood of
Christ.
The
Faithful: Amen.
Cleansing of the
Vessels:
Priest: Lord,
may I receive
these gifts in purity of heart. May they bring me healing
and strength,
now and forever.
Prayer after Communion:
Priest: Let us
pray.
Priest:
Graciously
be
present to your people, we pray, O Lord, and lead those who have
imbued with
heavenly mysteries to pass from former ways to newness of
life. Through
Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Concluding Rite
Priest: The
Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit.
Priest:
Bow
your
heads and pray for God's blessing.
Dismissal
Prayer:
Priest:
May
the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your
hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ.
All: Amen.
Final Blessing:
Priest:
And
may the blessings of
almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come
down on you
and remain with you for ever.
All: Amen.
Dismissal:
Priest
/
Deacon: Go
forth, the Mass is ended.
All:
Thanks
be to God.
