ENTRANCE RITE

Entrance Antiphon (Introit)

Give me justice, O God,
and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless.
From the deceitful and cunning rescue me,
for you, O God, are my strength. (Psalm 43:1-2)

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,

OPENING PRAYER

By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God,
may we walk eagerly in that same charity
with which, out of love for the world
your Son handed himself over to death.
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 the prophet Isaiah

Behold, I will do something new; I will make rivers in the desert. (43:16-21)

Thus says the LORD,
            who opens a way in the sea
            and a path in the mighty waters,
who leads out chariots and horsemen,
            a powerful army,
till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
            snuffed out and quenched like a wick.
Remember not the events of the past,
            the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
            Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
            in the wasteland, rivers.
Wild beasts honor me,
            jackals and ostriches,
for I put water in the desert
            and rivers in the wasteland
            for my chosen people to drink,
the people whom I formed for myself,
            that they might announce my praise.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(Ps 126)

Response: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
            we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
            and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,
            “The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
            we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
            like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
            shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,
            carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
            carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

SECOND READING

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians

Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (3:8-14)

Brothers and sisters:
I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, I for my part
do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit toward the goal,
the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL

Even now, says the Lord,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful. (Joel 2:12-13)

GOSPEL

He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. (8:1-11)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

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.

Instead of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, especially during Lent and Easter Time, the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church, known as the Apostles’ Creed, may be used.

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
(At the words that follow, up to and including the Virgin Mary, all bow.)
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

Our response is: Hear us now we pray.

For the Church – that the baptized may discover anew the call to lose oneself for the sake of the Gospel, to follow Christ by serving others, and to live the Mission of Christ in our daily lives. In your mercy Lord. Hear us now we pray.

For national leaders – that they conduct their work with dignity and integrity, seeking what is best for the common good and attending to the special needs of the vulnerable. In your mercy Lord. Hear us now we pray.

For catechumens – that in this time of preparation for their initiation into the Church, their journey will be prayerful and that they will be led to a true conversion of heart. In your mercy Lord. Hear us now we pray.

For catechumens – that in this time of preparation for their initiation into the Church, their journey will be prayerful and that they will be led to a true conversion of heart. In your mercy Lord. Hear us now we pray.

For all political prisoners and all who are tortured for their beliefs  – that their struggle for justice will bear good fruit and that they will be freed from unjust detention. In your mercy Lord. Hear us now we pray.

For all political prisoners and all who are tortured for their beliefs  – that their struggle for justice will bear good fruit and that they will be freed from unjust detention. In your mercy Lord. Hear us now we pray.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Offertory Song

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Hear us, almighty God,
and, having instilled in your servants
the teachings of the Christian faith,
graciously purify them
by the working of this sacrifice.
Through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

PREFACE and EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

COMMUNION RITE

Communion Antiphon

Amen, Amen I say to you: Unless a grain of wheat
falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single grain.
But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24) 

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

We pray, almighty God,
that we may always be counted among the members of Christ,
in whose Body and Blood we have communion.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. 
Amen.

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE

Bless, O Lord, your people,
who long for the gift of your mercy,
and grant that what, at your prompting, they desire
they may receive by your generous gift.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Final Song