ENTRANCE RITE

Entrance Antiphon (Introit)

As for me, in justice I shall behold your face;
I shall be filled with the vision of your glory. (Psalm 17:15)

Entrance Song

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

My brother and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the mysterier, let us call to mind our sins.

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.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
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.

OPENING PRAYER

O God, who show the light of your truth
to those who go astray,
so that they may return to the right path,
give all who for the faith they possess
are accounted Christians
the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ
and to strive after all that does it honor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Ho-ly Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. 
Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah         

My word shall not return to Me empty. (55:10-11)

Thus says the Lord:
As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth,
making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating,
so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty,
without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(Ps 64)

Response: Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.

1. You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.                                        Response

2. And thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows,
you level it, soften it with showers,
you bless its growth.                                       Response

3. You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.  Response

4. The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.               Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Romans

Creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. (8:18-23)

I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God; but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA VERSE

Alleluia, alleluia.
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life.
(Mt 11: 25)
Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Behold, the sower went out to sow. (13:1-23)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:
You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.
‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
‘You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

PROFESSION OF FAITH

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
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,
(at the words that follow up to and including and became man, all bow)
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 forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

Our response is: Lord, hear our prayer.

For Christian people everywhere, that they may learn to trust in God’s gentle support. Lord, hear us.

For those who live in parts of the world where there is war and division, that may have true reconciliation and peace. Lord, hear us.

For all who labour and are overburdened, that they may experience the rest promised by Jesus during their holidays.  Lord, hear us.

For our brothers and sisters whose life on earth is over (especially N and N), that they may be raised to eternal life with Christ.  Lord, hear us.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Offertory Song

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Look upon the offerings of the Church, O Lord,
as she makes her prayer to you,
and grant that, when consumed by those who believe,
they may bring ever great-er holiness.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PREFACE and EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

COMMUNION RITE

Communion Antiphon

The sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for her young:
by your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise. (Psalm 84:4-5)

— or —

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord. (John 6:57)

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Having consumed these gifts, we pray, o Lord,
that by participation in this mystery,
its saving effects upon us may grow.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Final Song