September 20th, 2026 – Fourth Sunday after the Martyrdom of St John
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
You have fed us, O Lord, with finest wheat
and filled us with honey from the rock.
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.
GLORIA
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.
COLLECT
Let us pray.
May we sing your praises, O Lord our God, with clean hands and pure heart. We fall so often under the burden of our sins; Lord, have pity on us and heal us by your grace. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, 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 Prophet Isaiah (Is 64:1-11)
In those days. Isaiah prayed to the Lord, and said: ‘O that you would tear the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence – as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil – to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did terrible things which we looked not for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one that calls upon your name, that bestirs himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquities. Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not exceedingly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, consider, we are all your people. Your holy cities have become a wilderness, Sion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins.'
Thanks be to God.
PSALM
Psalm 76 (77)
R. Come, Lord, and save your people.
In the day of my distress I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be consoled.
I think of God and I groan,
I ponder, and my spirit faints. R.
I consider the days of old,
I remember the years long past.
I commune with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit. R.
Will the Lord spurn us forever,
and never again be favourable to us?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time? R.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What God is great as our God?
With your arm you have redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph. R.
EPISTLE
A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Hebrews (Heb 9:1-12)
My brothers, even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of offering; it is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties; but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper, but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia
The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.
Alleluia
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you
And with your spirit.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (Jn 6:24-35)
Glory to you, O Lord.
In that time. When the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caparnaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
AFTER THE GOSPEL
I am the living bread come down from heaven, says the Lord.
He who eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
Brothers and sisters, as we now make our prayer for our community and for the world, let us all pray to Christ the Lord, not only for ourselves and our own needs, but for the entire people.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
CONCLUSION OF THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
We beseech you, O Father, to defend this your family and preserve her in your grace, that she may be always obedient to your will and taste the sweetness of your gifts. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
All-merciful Father, accept this bread,
so that it becomes the body of Christ, your Son.
Amen
All-merciful Father, accept this wine,
so that it becomes 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
O God, who in this bread and wine offer mankind both the sustenance of earthly life and the sacramental signs of our souls’ nourishment and renewal, keep us always safe in your paternal care. 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 praise and glorify your name,
All-powerful and ever-merciful God.
For he is the true and eternal Priest,
who instituted the pattern of an everlasting sacrifice
and was the first to offer himself as the saving Victim,
commanding us to make this offering as his memorial.
As we eat his flesh that was sacrificed for us,
we are made strong,
and, as we drink his Blood that was poured out for us,
we are washed clean.
And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:
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 Leo 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
As often as you eat this bread
and drink the chalice,
you proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes.
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
The cup of blessing which we bless
is a participation in the Blood of Christ;
the bread which we break
is a participation in the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ
Amen
AFTER HOLY COMMUNION
Let us pray.
O true and ever-living God, who have called us to participate in the holy mystery and abiding memorial of your Son’s redeeming Passion, grant that this most precious gift of Christ’s love be truly efficacious to our salvation.
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.
