ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
O Lord my God, lighten my eyes,
lest I sleep in death;
lest my enemy say,
‘I have prevailed over him.’
You who have opened the eyes of the man born blind,
shed your light on my heart,
that I may perceive your works and
remain faithful to your precepts.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
And with your spirit.
Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
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,
[All strike their breast]
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.
COLLECT
Let us pray.
O God, who created mankind in your image and likeness, succour us in this temporal realm so that we may reign with you in the world to come. May the fruitfulness of your Church wax abundant, that all those who are born into this earthly life may be reborn into the true life of Heaven. Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and God, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Exodus (Ex 33:7-11a)
Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and every man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, every man at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM
Psalm 35 (36)
R. Lord, in your light, we see light.
Your mercy, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,
your judgements are like the great deep;
Man and beast you save, O Lord. R.
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights. R.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart. R.
EPISTLE
A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians (2 Thess 4:1b-12)
My brothers, we beg you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honour, not in the passion of lust like the heathens who do not know God; that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. Thereforewhoever disregard this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedonia. But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you; so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
I am the light of the word, says the Lord;
Whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you
And with your spirit.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (9:1-38b)
Glory to you, O Lord.
Now, as he passed by, the Lord Jesus saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So we went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, ‘Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘It is he;’ others said, ‘No, but he is like him.’ He said, ‘I am the man.’ They said to him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash;” so I went and washed and received my sight.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, ‘He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ There was a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight, and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be the Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, ‘Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?’ And they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshipper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?’ And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe!’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
AFTER THE GOSPEL
I will consider, O Lord, your holy works,
I will ponder your mighty deeds.
O God, your ways are holy,
you work wonders.
Break, O Lord, the captive’s fetters
and make the blind to see;
Lord, lift up those who are bowed down.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
Dear brothers and sisters, filled with paschal joy,
let us pray earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened
to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son,
may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
CONCLUSION OF THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Graciously accept our prayers, Almighty God, and succour your faithful with the manifold resources of your mercy, so that all the redeemed may be preserved by your providence in the hope of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God forever.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
this wine we offer you:
fruit of the vine and work of human hands,
it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God forever.
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
May these mysteries of our redemption keep mankind, O God, in the ways of righteousness, prone as we are to wander far from you. 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,
Father, and with our very selves to glorify you:
For you have washed us clean from the blindness of this world
And revealed to our unveiled eyes the light of your truth
When – unparalleled wonder! – you gave sight to the man born blind.
In this beggar restored to wholeness we behold the entire human race:
First in the blindness of our fallen nature,
And then in the radiant revelation of grace through the waters of Baptism.
For this sign of your infinite mercy, with all the hosts of Heaven
We lift our voices
In an endless hymn of 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
Brothers, we glory in light and righteousness:
let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day.
May we let our light shine in the sight 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
‘Come, eat of my bread’ – says the Lord –
‘drink of the wine I have mixed,
and live.’
Give us, Lord Jesus, the hidden manna,
and do not exclude us from the book of life.
The Body of Christ.
Amen.
AFTER HOLY COMMUNION
Let us pray.
Father of all, grant us, partakers in the one Bread of life, to open ourselves in love, one to another, and to help each other as members of one body.
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.
