September 21st, 2025 – 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 and peace
of God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you.
And with your spirit.
My brothers and sisters to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries let us call to mind our sins.
You have words of eternal live,
Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison
You are gentle and humble in heart,
Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison
You became obedient even to death,
Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison
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 Book of Proverbs (Prv 9:1-6)
Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids to call from the highest places in the town, ‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’ To him who is without sense she says, ‘Come, eat of my bread and drink if the wine I have mixed. Leave simpleness, and live, and walk in the way of insight.'
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM
Psalm 33 (34)
R. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad. R.
Look to him and be radiant;
so shall your faces never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles. R.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! R.
EPISTLE
A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (1Cor 10:14-21)
Therefore, my beloved, shun the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood,
says the Lord,
abides in me, and I in him.
Alleluia
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you
And with your spirit.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (Jn 6:51-59)
Glory to you, O Lord.
In that time. The Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.’ This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caparnaum.
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.
According to the invitation of the Lord, before presenting our gifts to te altar, 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.
