Introductory Rite:
God, come to my assistance R/ Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
R/ as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Led by the Spirit of our God,
We go to fast and pray
With Christ into the wilderness;
We join his paschal way.
“Rend not your garments, rend your hearts.
Turn back your lives to me.”
Thus says our kind and gracious God,
Whose reign is liberty.
Led by the Spirit, we confront
Temptation face to face,
And know full well we must rely
On God’s redeeming grace.
On bread alone we cannot live,
But nourished by the Word
We seek the will of God to do:
This is our drink and food.
Antiphon 1: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
Psalm 108
My heart is ready, O God;
I will sing, sing your praise.
Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you,
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!
O come and deliver your friends;
help with your right hand and reply.
From his holy place God has made this promise;
I will triumph and divide the land of Shechem,
But who will lead me to conquer the fortress?
Who will bring me face to face with Edom?
Will you utterly reject us, O God,
and no longer march with our armies?
Give us help against the foe,
for the help of man is vain.
With God we shall do bravely
and he will trample down our foes. Glory…
Psalm Prayer: Accept the prayers of your servants, Lord, and prepare our hearts to praise your holy name. Come to our aid in time of trouble and make us worthy to sing you songs of thanksgiving.
Antiphon 1: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
Antiphon 2 The Lord has robed me with grace and salvation.
Isaiah 61:10-62:5
I rejoice heartily in the Lord,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation,
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
Until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her victory like a burning torch.
Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
You shall be called by a new name
pronounced by the mouth of the Lord.
You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal diadem held by your God.
No more shall men call you “Forsaken,”
or your land “Desolate,”
But you shall be called “My Delight,”
and your land “Espoused.”
For the Lord delights in you,
and makes your land his spouse.
As a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you. Glory…
Antiphon 2 The Lord has robed me with grace and salvation.
Antiphon 3 I will praise my God all the days of my life.
Psalm 146
My soul, give praise to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.
Put no trust in princes,
In mortal men in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay
and their plans that day come to nothing.
He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.
It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,
the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age. Glory…
Psalm Prayer: God of glory and power, those who have put all their trust in you are happy indeed. Shine the brightness of your light on us, that we may love you always with a pure heart.
Antiphon 3 I will praise my God all the days of my life.
Opening Prayer (please stand)
All sit for the Liturgy of the Word.
After the Homily:
INTERCESSIONS (Universal Prayer)
Let us give thanks to God, our Father: through the power of the Spirit he purifies our heart and strengthens us in love. Let us humbly ask him:
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.
Help us to receive good things from your bounty with a deep sense of gratitude;-and to accept with patience the evil that comes to us.Teach us to be loving not only in great and exceptional moments,-but above all in the ordinary events of daily life.May we abstain from what we do not really need,-and help our brothers and sisters in distress.May we bear the wounds of your Son,-for through his body he gave us life.
Presider:
O God, who through your Word
reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way,
grant, we pray,
that with prompt devotion and eager faith
the Christian people may hasten
toward the solemn celebrations to come.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(All are seated for the Liturgy of the Eucharist)
Lord’s Prayer
Pater noster, qui es in cælis Sanctificétur nomen tuumAdvéniat regnum tuum Fiat volúntas tuaSicut in cælo et in terraPanem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie Et dimítte nobis débita nostraSicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónemSed libera nos a malo.
After Holy Communion, all stand for the Benedictus.
BENEDICTUS/Canticle of Zachariah Benedictus – Luke 1: 68-79
Antiphon: Whoever hears my words, says the Lord, and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life.
(While making the Sign of the Cross, we pray the following)
Blest be the God of Israel who comes to set us free
and raises up new hope for us: a Branch for David’s tree.
So have the prophets long declared that with a mighty arm
God would turn back our enemies and all who wish us harm
.
With promised mercy will God still the covenant recall,
the oath once sworn to Abraham from foes to save us all;
that we might worship without fear and offer lives of praise,
in holiness and righteousness to serve God all our days.
My child, as prophet of the Lord you will prepare the way,
to tell God’s people they are saved from sin’s eternal sway.
Then shall God’s mercy from on high shine forth and never cease
to drive away the gloom of death and lead us into peace.
Antiphon: Whoever hears my words, says the Lord, and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life.
Prayer After Communion
(Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help)
Dismissal & Final Blessing
MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF CHRIST WHAT SHALL I ASK OF THEE?
I DO NOT SIGH FOR THE WEALTH OF EARTH FOR THE JOYS THAT FADE AND FLEE, BUT…MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF CHRIST THIS DO I LONG TO SEE THE BLISS UNTOLD WHICH YOUR ARMS ENFOLD THE TREASURE UPON YOUR KNEE
MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF CHRIST I TOSS ON A STORMY SEA
OH LIFT YOUR CHILD AS A BEACON LIGHT TO THE PORT WHERE I FAIN WOULD BE, AND…MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF CHRIST THIS DO I ASK OF THEE WHEN THE VOYAGE IS O’ER
OH STAND ON THE SHORE AND SHOW HIM AT LAST TO ME.