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
17:6,
8
To you
I call; for you
will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my
words. Guard me
as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect
me.
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: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of
god, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 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 / All: I confess to almighty God and to
you, my brothers
and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in
my words, in
what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my
fault, through my
fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed
Mary
ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers
and sisters, to
pray for me to the Lord our God.
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: Almighty; ever-living God, grant that we
may always conform
our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of
heart. Through
our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever 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. Exodus
17:8-13
In those days, Amalek
came and waged war against
Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, “Pick out
certain men, and
tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be
standing on top of
the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua
did as Moses told
him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to
the top of the hill
with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses kept his hands
raised up, Israel had
the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better
of the fight.Moses’
hands, however,
grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit
on. Meanwhile
Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on
the other, so
that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua
mowed down Amalek
and his people with the edge of the sword.
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 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Cantor: Our
help
is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. All: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven
and earth. Cantor: I lift up my eyes toward the
mountains; whence shall
help come to me? My help is from the Lord, who made
heaven and earth. All: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven
and earth. Cantor: May he not suffer your foot to
slip; may he slumber
not who guards you: indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps, the
guardian of
Israel. All: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven
and earth. Cantor: The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is
your shade; he is
beside you at your right hand. The sun shall not harm
you by day, nor the
moon by night. All: Our
help is from the
Lord who made heaven and earth. Cantor: The
Lord will guard
you from all evil; he will guard your life. The Lord
will guard your
coming and your going, both now and forever. All: Our
help is from the
Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The Second Reading:Taken from the New Testament.
Second
Reading 2
Timothy 3:14-4:2
Beloved:
Remain faithful
to what you have learned and believed, because you know from
whom you learned
it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred
Scriptures, which are
capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching,
for refutation,
for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one
who belongs to
God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
I
charge you in the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living
and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the world;
be persistent
whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand,
encourage
through all patience and teaching.
The Alleluia:An
ancient expression of joy anticipating the Lord's message
we will hear in the
Gospel. Hebrews
4:12
Cantor:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
All: R/.
Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Cantor: The word of God is
living and effective,
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart. All: R/.
Alleluia!
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 us 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
18:1-8
Luke
wrote to
explain that Christ came to save everyone.
Jesus
told his disciples
a parable about the necessity for them to pray always
without becoming
weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither
feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow
in that town used
to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me
against my
adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling,
but eventually he
thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor
respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me, I shall deliver a
just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'" The Lord said,
"Pay
attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not
God then secure the
rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and
night? Will he be
slow to answer them? I tell you; he will see to it
that justice is done
for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will
he find faith on
earth?"
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.
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
symbolizing 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:
Grant
us,
Lord, we pray, a sincere respect for your gifts, that, through
the
purifying action of your grace, we may be cleansed by the very
mysteries we
serve. Through Christ our Lord.
Eucharistic Prayer:(Number Three: 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 and
just.
Preface Prayer:
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.
For you laid the foundations of the world and have
arranged the changing
of times and seasons; you formed man in your own image and set
humanity over
the whole world in all its wonder, to rule in your name over
all you have made
and for ever praise you in your mighty works, through Christ
our Lord.
And so,
with all the
Angels, we praise you, as in joyful celebration we acclaim:
Acclamation:
Priest
and
All:Holy,
Holy, Holy Lord,
God of hosts. 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:
You
are
indeed Holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives
you praise, for
through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and
working of the Holy
Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and
you never cease to
gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the
sun to its setting
a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.
Priest:
Therefore,
O
Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously
make holy these
gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may
become the Body
and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command
we celebrate
these mysteries.
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'sSupper: At the time he was
betrayed and entered
willingly into his Passion, he took bread and, giving thanks,
broke it, 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 the chalice and, once more giving
thanks, he gave it
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.
Memorial Acclamation:(The
priest may select from several forms).
Priest:The
mystery of faith. Priest / All: When we eat this Bread
and drink this Cup, we
proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
Memorial Prayer:(The
priest may select from several forms).
Priest: Recalls
Christ's
Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, the Church, the
dead, and ourselves.
Therefore,
O
Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving Passion of
your Son, his
wondrous Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, and as we
look forward to his
second coming, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and
living
sacrifice. Look, we pray, upon the oblation of your
Church and,
recognizing the sacrificial Victim by whose death you willed
to reconcile us to
yourself, grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and
Blood of your Son
and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one
spirit in Christ.
May he
make of us an
eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance
with your elect,
especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of
God, with blessed
Joseph, her Spouse, with your blessed Apostles and glorious
Martyrs and with
all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your
presence we rely for
unfailing help.
May
this Sacrifice of
our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, advance the peace and
salvation of all the
world. Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your
pilgrim Church on
earth, with your servant, _____ our Pope and, _____ our
Bishop, the Order of
Bishops, all the clergy, and the entire people you have gained
for your
own. Listen graciously to the prayers of this family,
whom you have
summoned before you: in your compassion, O merciful Father,
gather to yourself
all your children scattered throughout the world.
To our
departed brothers
and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their
passing from this
life, give kind admittance to your kingdom. There we
hope to enjoy for
ever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord,
through whom you bestow
on the world all that is good. Doxology Prayer of Praise:Through
him, with him,
and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, all glory
and honor is yours, for ever 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, 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, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, 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 sign 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,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed
are those called
to the supper of the Lamb. Priest
and
All:Lord, I
am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof, but only say the world
and my soul 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:
Psalm 33: 18-19
Behold,
the eyes of the
Lord are on those who fear him, who hope in his merciful love,
to rescue their
souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.
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:
What
has
passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of
heart, that
what has been given to us in time may be our healing for
eternity.
Prayer after Communion:
Priest:Let us
pray. Priest: Grant, O Lord, we pray, that, benefiting
from participation
in heavenly things, we may be helped by what you give in this
present age and
prepared for the gifts that are eternal. Through Christ
our Lord.
Concluding Rite
Greeting:
Priest:The
Lord be with you. All:And with your
spirit. Priest:Bow
down for the
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 blessing 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:
Go
forth, the Mass is
ended. All: Thanks be to God.
In those days, Amalek
came and waged war against
Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, “Pick out
certain men, and
tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be
standing on top of
the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua
did as Moses told
him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to
the top of the hill
with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses kept his hands
raised up, Israel had
the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better
of the fight. Moses’
hands, however,
grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit
on. Meanwhile
Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on
the other, so
that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua
mowed down Amalek
and his people with the edge of the sword.
