Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 18, 2012, Cycle B
New English Translation
Purple priestly vestments symbolize penance and preparation.
 

Home Page
Liturgical Year Cycle B 11-12                                     Introductory Acts Of Worship

The Entrance Prayers:   On Sunday, usually a hymn praising God is sung in place of reciting a Psalm from the Bible which invites us to enter more deeply into the mystery of God's love for us.  The recited weekday Psalm expresses a youthful heart and spirit, delighted that we may come before the living God.

Entrance Song / Entrance Psalm (Antiphon)
Entrance Song  
Isaiah 66:10-11
Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.  Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied at her consoling breast.

The Priest Approaches and Kisses the Altar:  The altar is a symbol of Christ.  In it are cut five crosses to recall the five wounds of Christ.  The altar also represents the Church and has embedded in it the relics of her saints.  The priest comes to the altar to celebrate the Sacrifice in the Church's name.  Because of the glory surrounding the altar upon which the divine Sacrifice will be made, the kiss of the priest unites the Church to Christ, its Redeemer.

Priest:   In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All:          Amen.
Priest:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
All:        And with your spirit.

The Penitential Prayers:  We recognize our guilt for past sins, express our sorrow for them, and ask that Mary, the angels, the saints, and our brothers and sisters in Christ pray for the Lord God's mercy.  (The priest may select from several forms).

Priest:   Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Priest:   Have mercy on us, O Lord.
All:         For we have sinned against you.
Priest:   Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
All:         And grant us your salvation.

The Absolution:

Priest:   May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
All:           Amen.

The Collect:    The priest lifts the united prayers and petitions of the congregation to God the Father through the merits of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Priest:   Let us pray.
Priest:   O God, who through your Word reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way, grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come.  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.

                                           Liturgy of the Word

Christ is made known to us through the Old Testament which prepares us to recognize Him.  In those days, God inspired men who spoke His message.  Now, the New Testament Gospel reading announces His presence to us directly through His Son.  Both readings bring God's message to us.  Our responsibility is to respond.

The First Reading:  From the Old Testament Book of Chronicles. 

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.  But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.  Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects.  Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.  All this was to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost Sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.”

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken to Jeremiah, the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

Priest/Reader:   The Word of the Lord.
All:                           Thanks be to God.

The Responsorial Psalm:  This Psalm praising God, is a prayer to God, or recommends the practice of virtue.  It is sung as an interlude between the scriptural readings.  It provides yet another instructional setting and invites the assembly to imitate the cantor who sings a repeated response to the verses of an ancient Psalm many of which are attributed to King David.  The verses are sung first by a cantor (song leader) accompanied by instruments, the refrain is sung by the people. 

Responsorial
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11

Cantor:   Let my tongue be silenced, if ever I forget you!
All:          R/.  Let my tongue be silenced, if ever I forget you!
Cantor:   By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps. 
All:          R/.  Let my tongue be silenced, if ever I forget you!
Cantor:   For there our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs, and our despoilers urged us to be joyous: “Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
All:          R/.  Let my tongue be silenced, if ever I forget you!
Cantor:   How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?  If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten!
All:          R/.  Let my tongue be silenced, if ever I forget you!
Cantor:   May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, if I place not Jerusalem ahead of my joy.
All:          R/.  Let my tongue be silenced, if ever I forget you!

The Second Reading:  Taken  from the New Testament, often from a letter written by St. Paul.

Ephesians 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ- by grace you have been saved -, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.  For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

Priest/Reader:   The word of the Lord.
All:   Thanks be to God.

The Alleluia:  An ancient expression of joy anticipating the Lord's message we will hear in the Gospel.
John 3:16

Cantor:    Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory.
All:  R/.    Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory.
Cantor:    God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
All:  R/.    Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory.

The Gospel:  The Liturgy of the Word is completed by the reading of the Gospel.  Before its reading, the members of the assembly trace the sign of the cross upon the forehead to indicate their mental acceptance of the Truth, on the lips to indicate their readiness to announce it, and over the heart to indicate their sincere desire to accept it into their lives.  The "Good News" of the Gospel tells that God's kingdom has come for all to hear, accept, and announce to the world for its salvation.  It is God who is speaking to us.  Christ comes to teach us by the example of His life and by His own words.

Priest:  Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel.
Priest:  The Lord be with you.
All:        And with our spirit.
Priest/Deacon:   A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. 
All:          Glory to you, Lord.

The Gospel:  John 3:14-21

John wrote to show that Christ was
the Messiah, the Divine Son of God.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.  But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Priest:   The Gospel of the Lord.
All:          Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Priest:   Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.

The Priest's Sermon:    The priest develops, explains, and comments upon the Master's words, so our minds may be
enlightened, and our hearts enriched.

(A priestly reflection upon this Gospel)

Profession of Faith:     We state in the Nicene Creed the principles of our faith in precise and definite terms.

All:   I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.  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.  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 for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

General Intercessions:   We pray for the needs of the pope, civic leaders, our own needs, those of others, the sick, the dying, those who have died, the church, and the world.  The response of all to each intercession:  Lord, hear our prayer.

All:   Lord, hear our prayer.

                  The Liturgy of the Eucharist

Gifts of bread and wine symbolizing ourselves are presented to the priest who will offer them to God the Father.  Through the Holy Spirit, they will become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ whom we receive in Holy Communion.  Jesus unites Himself with us for our spiritual nourishment and strength.  Today, when individuals do not present their own personal offerings of bread and wine, the monetary contribution symbolizes the material of their united sacrifice.  The priest makes and offering of the bread and wine to God.

Preparation of the Bread and Wine:

Priest:   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. 
All:           Blessed be God for ever.

Priest:    By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to
               share in our humanity.

Priest:   Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you; fruit
               of the vine and work of human hands it will become our spiritual drink.
All:           Blessed be God for ever.

Priest:    With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this
               day be pleasing to you, Lord God.

The Priest's Hands are Washed: This act was traditionally necessary because the priest handled the various gifts presented by the people.  Now, the cleansing act using water reminds the priest and ourselves of the need to cleanse not only the hands but the soul.  Soon, the priest's hands will hold the actual body of Christ, and we will become His dwelling place.   

Priest:    Wash me o Lord, from m iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
               Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.

All:           May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of
               all his holy Church.

Prayer over the Gifts:  Speaking in our name, the priest asks the Father to accept the gifts we offer through him.

Priest:   We place before you with joy these offerings, which bring eternal remedy, O Lord, praying that we may both faithfully revere them and present them to you, as is fitting, for the salvation of all the world.  Through Christ our Lord.

Eucharistic Prayer:   (Number Three: The priest may select from several forms).

Priest:    The Lord be with you.
All:           And with your spirit. 

Priest:    Lift up your hearts.
All:           We lift them up to the Lord.

Priest:    Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
All:           It is right and just. 

Preface Prayer:

Priest:   It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.  By the mystery of the Incarnation, he has led the human race that walked in darkness into the radiance of the faith and has brought those born in slavery to ancient sin through the waters of regeneration to make them your adopted children.  Therefore, all creatures of heaven and earth sing a new song in adoration, and we, with all the host of Angles, cry out, and without end acclaim:

Acclamation:

Priest and All:   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.

Priest:   You are indeed Holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise, for through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.

Priest:  Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.

The priest repeats the words which Christ used at his Last Supper when He changed the bread into His Body and the wine into His Blood.  His Body and Blood are truly present but under the appearance of bread and wine.  The death of Christ is prolonged in each of those who receive Him worthily.  We apply His death to ourselves so that we may share His glory.  This moment is the most solemn on earth because it is Divine act which enables us to apply to ourselves the Cross which Christ willingly took upon Himself. 

The Lord's Supper:  For on the night he was betrayed he himself took bread, and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take this, all of you and eat of it: this is my Body which will be given up for you.
 

In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, and gave the chalice 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.
                                   
Memorial Acclamation: (The priest may select from several forms). 

Priest:             The mystery of faith.
Priest / All:   When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.

We are called to die to sin and lift our very selves to God so that we become changed; to do as God would have us do, to become what God would have us become.  Our own little cross can lift us into union with Christ's Cross so we may earn the joys of everlasting happiness with God the Father. 

We are called to die to sin and lift our very selves to God so that we become changed; to do as God would have us do, to become what God would have us become.  Our own little cross can lift us into union with Christ's Cross so we may earn the joys of everlasting happiness with God the Father. 

Memorial Prayer:  (The priest may select from several forms).

Priest:  
Recalls Christ's Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, the Church, the dead, and ourselves.
Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving Passion of your Son, his wondrous Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, and as we look forward to his second coming, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.  Look, we pray, upon the oblation of your Church and, recognizing the sacrificial Victim by whose death you willed to reconcile us to yourself, grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.

May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs and with all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help.

May this Sacrifice of our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, advance the peace and salvation of all the world.  Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim Church on earth, with your servant, _____ our Pope and, _____ our Bishop, the Order of Bishops, all the clergy, and the entire people you have gained for your own.  Listen graciously to the prayers of this family, whom you have summoned before you: in your compassion, O merciful Father, gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world.

To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom.  There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.

Doxology:   
               
Prayer of Praise:   Through him, with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever.
All:   Amen.      

                                        Communion Rite

In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we symbolically offer ourselves to the Lord through the gifts of bread and wine.  At the Consecration, we offer our very lives to be united the God the Father through the Cross of Christ.  In Communion, we find that we have not died at all, but have come to life.  We have surrendered ourselves to God through His Divine Son, Jesus Christ.  In return become ennobled and enriched.  We give up time and we get eternity, we give up our sin and we receive grace, we surrender our self-will and receive the strength of the Divine Will, we give up ourselves and we receive everything.  For the Son of God says to us that unless we receive Him we shall not have Divine life in us.  But it is not really we who receive Christ as it is Christ who receives us, bringing us into Himself.

God makes His Cross the very means of our salvation and our life.  While we have crucified Him, His eternal love cannot be extinguished.  Christ willed to give us the very life we crucified in our Redemption, the Consecration of Holy Thursday into Communion, His death into our everlasting life.

The Lord's Prayer:

Priest:  At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:
Priest and All:   Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be they 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.

Priest:  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 Savior, Jesus Christ.

All:  For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.

Prayer for Peace:

Priest:  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.
All:        Amen.

Priest:  The peace of the Lord be with you always.
All:        And with your spirit.
Priest:   Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

Breaking of the Bread:

Priest:   May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.

Priest and All:  Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
                           Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
                           Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Priest Preparation:    Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, through your Death gave life to the world, free me by this, your  most holy Body and Blood, from all my sins and from every evil; keep me always faithful to your commandments, and never let me be parted from you.

Priest:   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. 

Priest and All:   Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the world and my soul shall be healed.

Priest:   May the Body of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.
              May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.

Communion Antiphon:

Communion Antiphon:
Psalm 122:3-4
Jerusalem is built as a city bounded as one together.  It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to praise the name of the Lord.

Communion of the Faithful:

Priest:              The Body of Christ.    
The Faithful:   Amen.

Priest/Deacon/
Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister:   The Blood of Christ.   
The Faithful:   Amen.

Cleansing of the Vessels:

Priest:   What has passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of heart, that what has been given to us in time may be our healing for eternity.

Prayer after Communion:

Priest:   Let us pray.
Priest:   O God, who enlighten everyone who comes into this world, illuminate our hearts, we pray, with the splendor of your grace, that we may always ponder what is worthy and pleasing to your majesty and love you in all sincerity.  Through Christ our Lord.
All:          Amen.
                                        Concluding Rite

Priest:   The Lord be with you.
All:          And with your spirit. 
Priest:   Bow down for the blessing.

Dismissal Prayer:  (The priest may select from several forms)

Priest:  Look upon these who call to you , O Lord, and sustain the weak; give life by your unfailing light to those who walk in the shadow of death, and bring those rescued by your mercy from every evil to reach the highest good.  Through Christ our Lord.

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. 
 Save us from the fires of hell. 
 
 Lead all souls to heaven,
 especially those in most need of your mercy.
 
 www.Divinemasterplanforlife.com
 www.Saintsnheaven.com


Top
Home Page
Liturgical Year Cycle B 11-12