15 December - FIFTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Reveal yourself, you who sit enthroned on the cherubim!
Show us your power and come, Lord, to save us.
Turn to us, O God almighty,
look down on us from heaven and come, Lord, to save us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The grace and peace of our God our Father
and of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
be with you all.
And with your spirit.
PENITENTIAL ACT
Jesus Christ, the righteous one, intercedes for us and reconciles us with the Father. Let us open our souls to repentance, that we may be less unworthy to draw near to the table of the Lord.
You who came into the world to redeem us:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
You who continue to visit upon us the grace of your Spirit:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
You who will come again at the end of time in the splendour of your glory:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
COLLECT
Let us pray.
Look down upon your people and come to us, O Lord. May you who have begun the work of salvation in us bring it to completion as we grow in faith in love of you, our Lord and our God, who live and reign with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Prophet Isaiah (Is 30:18-26b)
In those days. Isaiah said, ‘The Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Yes, O people in Sion who dwell at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your silver-covered graven images and your gold-plated molten images. You will scatter them as unclean things; you will say to them, “Begone!” And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plentiful. In that day your flock will be given pasture, and the lamb will graze in open fields; and the oxen and the donkeys that till the ground will eat salted food, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. And upon every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the hurt of his people.’
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
PSALM
Psalm 145 (146)
R. Come, Lord, to our aid.
The Lord keeps faith forever;
he executes justice for the oppressed;
he gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free. R.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
The Lord loves the righteous;
the Lord watches over the sojourner. R.
He upholds the widow and the fatherless;
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Sion, to all generations. R.
EPISTLE
A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (2Cor 4:1-6)
Therefore, my brethren, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
R. Alleluia.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord.
R. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you
And with your Spirit
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (Jn 3:23-32a)
Glory to you, O Lord
In that time. John also was baptising at Aenon near Salim because there was much water there; and people came and were baptised. For John had not yet been put in prison. Now a discussion arose between John’s disciples and a Jew over purifying. And they went to John, and said to him, ‘Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptising, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease.’ He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
AFTER THE GOSPEL
Fear not, Sion,
let not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord your God is in your midst;
a mighty warrior who will rejoice over you with gladness.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
Dear brothers and sisters, let us entrust our intentions to God.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
CONCLUSION OF THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Be near, O God almighty, to those who await your coming with a pure heart. Grant to those aware of their weakness and poverty the strength and richness of your infinite love. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
O merciful God, accept this bread, that it may become the body of Christ your Son.
Amen.
O merciful God, accept this wine, that it may become the blood of Christ your Son.
Amen.
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,
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.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
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.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Deign to accept our gifts, O God, who in your Son have granted us pardon and peace. Preserve in our community the gift of fraternal love. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
PREFACE
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just,
Our duty and our salvation,
Always and everywhere to give you thanks, O Lord,
And praise you with joyful hearts.
Our redemption is drawing near,
The ancient hope is accomplished;
The promised redemption is at hand,
And the light and glory of your saints is dawning.
In thanksgiving for these gifts of your grace, united with the choirs of angels we raise our voices to hymn your praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
The fount of all holiness.
Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray,
by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall,
so that they may become for us
the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the time he was betrayed
And entered willingly into his Passion,
he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take this, all of you, and eat of it,
For this is my Body,
Which will be given up for you.
In a similar way, when supper was ended,
he took the chalice
and, once more giving thanks,
he gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it,
for this is the chalice of my Blood,
the Blood of the new and eternal covenant,
Which will be poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in memory of me.
The mystery of faith.
We proclaim your Death, O Lord,
and profess your Resurrection
until you come again.
Therefore, as we celebrate
the memorial of his Death and Resurrection,
we offer you, Lord,
the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation,
giving thanks that you have held us worthy
to be in your presence and minister to you.
Humbly we pray
that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ,
we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world,
and bring her to the fullness of charity,
together with Francis our Pope
and Mario our Bishop,
and all the clergy.
Remember also our brothers and sisters
who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection,
and all who have died in your mercy:
welcome them into the light of your face.
Have mercy on us all, we pray,
that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
with blessed Joseph, her Spouse
with the blessed Apostles,
and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages,
we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life,
and may praise and glorify you
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours,
Forever and ever
Amen.
THE COMMUNION RITE
BREAKING OF THE BREAD
The Saviour is at hand
in the splendour of his glory:
let us be ready
to welcome the kingdom of God.
At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of Your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
The peace and communion of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
And with your spirit.
Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.
AT HOLY COMMUNION
I hoped in the Lord:
he bent his ear to me.
Behold: our salvation is near.
He heard my cry, he made my footsteps firm.
The Body of Christ.
Amen.
AFTER HOLY COMMUNION
Let us pray.
Lead your family, Father, to your eternal dwelling-place; even we who, in the banquet of salvation, already taste the joy of your presence. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Go in peace.
In the name of Christ.
