ENTRANCE RITE

Entrance Antiphon (Introit)

Forsake me not, O Lord, my God;
be not far from me!
Make haste and come to my help,
O Lord, my strong salvation! (Psalm 38:22-23)

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

Almighty and merciful God,
by whose gift your faithful offer you
right and praiseworthy service,
grant, we pray,
that we may hasten without stumbling
to receive the things you have promised.
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 Malachi

You have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble. (1:14b-2:2b,8-10)

A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts,
and my name will be feared among the nations.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.
You have turned aside from the way,
and have caused many to falter by your instruction;
you have made void the covenant of Levi,
says the LORD of hosts.
I, therefore, have made you contemptible
and base before all the people,
since you do not keep my ways,
but show partiality in your decisions.
Have we not all the one father?
Has not the one God created us?
Why then do we break faith with one another,
violating the covenant of our fathers?

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(Ps 131)

Response: In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

SECOND READING

A reading from the first Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians

We were pleased to impart to you not only the gosel but also our own lives. (2:7b-9,13)

Brothers and sisters:
We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, alleluia.
You have but one Father in heaven
and one master, the Christ. (Mt 23:9b,10b)
Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (23:1-12)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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 the Church – that as the whole of creation has been brought forth by God’s love, we the Church, extend loving care to all people and to the natural world. Let us pray to the Lord.

For leaders of nations – that they ensure people of different religions are able to live freely, without discrimination in their countries. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are seeking meaning in their lives –that they continue to seek, attend to the whisperings of the Spirit in their hearts, and are guided towards wholeness of life in Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

For young people – that in difficult times, they retain a vibrant hope for the future, be touched by God’s immense love, have wise people to walk beside them, and seek a spirituality centred in Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

FFor priests, religious and lay people who minister in foreign lands – that they will be supported by people in their homelands, compassionate in their missionary work, and faithful in their response to the call of the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Offertory Song

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

May these sacrificial offerings, O Lord,
become for you a pure oblation,
and for us a holy outpouring of your mercy.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PREFACE and EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

COMMUNION RITE

Communion Antiphon

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord. (Psalm 16:11)

— or —

Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so whoever feeds on me
shall have life because of me, says the Lord. (John 6:58)

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

May the working of your power, O Lord,
increase in us, we pray,
so that, renewed by these heavenly Sacraments,
we may be prepared by your gift
for receiving what they promise.
Amen.

Final Song