Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 4, 2024 Cycle B
Green priestly vestments symbolize hope and the vitality of the life of faith.

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Liturgical Year Cycle B 2023-2024
                                                  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  
Psalm:  70:2-6

O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me!  You are my rescuer, my help; O Lord, do not delay.

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:   The Lord be with you.
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:   You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord, have mercy.
All:  Lord, have mercy.
Priest:   You came to call sinners: Christ, have mercy.
All:   Christ, have mercy.
Priest:   You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us: Lord, have mercy.
All:   Lord, have mercy.

The Absolution:

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

The Gloria:  The Glory of God prayers have existed from the second century.  They repeat the angels praise of God which heralded the birth of Christ on earth.  Our praise is lifted again through the years as we rejoice at His coming as Lord, God, the most high Jesus Christ, who at Christmas took on our human nature while at the same time being the son of Man. This ancient hymn expresses our recognition of God's glory and love.  It calls upon Christ as our holy and divine mediator, and the Holy Spirit who forever binds us together in God's love.

Priest and All:   Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.  Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.  Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.  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.

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:   Draw near to your servants, O Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness, that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored.  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.  

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  The Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots, and ate our fill of bread!  But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.  Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not.

“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.  Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.  In the morning a dew lay all about the camp, and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.  On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?” for they did not know what it was.  But Moses told them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”

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 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

Cantor:   The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
All:  R/.   The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Cantor:   What we have heard and know, and what our fathers have declared to us, we will declare to the generation to come, the glorious deeds of the Lord and his strength and the wonders that he wrought.
All:  R/.   The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Cantor:   He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven; he rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.
All:  R/.   The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Cantor:  Man ate the bread of angels, food he sent them in abundance.  And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountains his right hand had won.
All:   R/.  The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

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

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24

Brothers and sisters: I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

The Alleluia:  An ancient expression of joy anticipating the Lord's message we will hear in the Gospel.
Matthew 4:4b

Cantor:    Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!
ALL:  R/.   Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!
Cantor:    One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
ALL:  R/.   Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

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.  Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.
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 6:24-35

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

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.  Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”  So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God,  that you believe in the one he sent.”  So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?  What can you do?  Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave 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.”  So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

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 my 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:   Graciously sanctify these gifts, O Lord, we pray, and, accepting the oblation of this spiritual sacrifice, make of us an eternal offering to you.  Through Christ our Lord.

Eucharistic Prayer:   (Number Two: 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: 

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.  For, when your children were scattered afar by sin, through the Blood of your Son and the power of the Spirit, you gathered them again to yourself, that a people, formed as one by the unity of the Trinity, made the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit, might, to the praise of your manifold wisdom, be manifest as the Church.  And so, in company with the choirs of Angels, we praise you, and with joy we proclaim:

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.

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. 

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. 

Priest:   You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fountain 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.

The Lord's Supper:  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.

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

Priest:    The mystery of faith.
Priest / All:    Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.

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 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, your Church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with _____ our Pope, and _____ 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.

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.

Priestly 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:

Wisdom 16:20

You have given us, O Lord, bread from heaven, endowed with all delights a sweetness in every taste.

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:   Accompany with constant protection, O Lord, those you renew with these heavenly gifts and, in your never-failing care for them, make them worthy of eternal redemption.  Through Christ our Lord.

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:  May God bless you with every heavenly blessing, make you always holy and pure in his sight, pour out in abundance upon you the riches of his glory, and teach you with the words of truth; may he instruct you in the Gospel of salvation, and ever endow you with fraternal charity.  Through Christ our Lord. 
All:  Amen.

Priest:  Go forth, the Mass is ended.
All:  Thanks be to God. 

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.

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Liturgical Year Cycle B 2023-2024