ENTRANCE RITE

Entrance Antiphon (Introit)

I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord.
Should they cry to me in any distress,
I will hear them, and I will be their Lord for ever. (See Psalm 37:39, 40, 28)

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 founded all the commands of your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
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.
Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of Isaiah           

My thoughts are not your thoughts. (55:6-9)

Seek the Lord  while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.

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

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(Ps 144)

Response: The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

1. I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.       Response

2. The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.       Response

3. The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.        Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians

For to me, to live is Christ. (1:20-24.27)

Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing work which is having good results- I do not know what I should choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake.
Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ.

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

ALLELUIA VERSE

Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL

The last shall be first, and the first last. (20:1-16)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples: The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage”. So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same.Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too”.
In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first”. So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?”
Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’

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 world leaders and all those in authority. May God’s Spirit guide their minds, hearts and deeds so that they act for the greater good and enable peace, justice and fairness to prevail.  Lord, hear us.

For those who struggle with, or who have left, the practice of the faith.  Through our words, actions, and inspiration may they experience the warmth of God’s yearning for their return.  Lord, hear us.

For those in need: those who are troubled or despairing; those who worry about employment; those who struggle to see their way in life, and all who are treated unfairly. May they never lose hope in the generosity of God’s justice and mercy. Lord, hear us.

For the sick, and especially those near to the end of their earthly lives.  May they and those who care for them, find comfort in the certainty of God’s love. Lord, hear us.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Offertory Song

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Receive with favor, O Lord, we pray,
the offerings of your people,
that what they profess with devotion and faith
may be theirs through these heavenly mysteries.
Through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

PREFACE and EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

COMMUNION RITE

Communion Antiphon

You have laid down your precepts to be carefully kept;
may my ways be firm in keeping your statutes. (Psalm 119:4-5)

— or —

I am the Good Shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me. (John 10:14)

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Graciously raise up, O Lord,
those you renew with this Sacrament,
that we may come to possess your redemption
both in mystery and in the manner of our life.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Final Song