Fourth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 1, 2026 Cycle A
Green priestly vestments
symbolize hope and
the vitality of the life of faith.
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Liturgical Year 2025-2026
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 105:47 Save
us,
Lord our God, and gather us together from the nations, that we
may proclaim
your holy name and glory in your praise.
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.
The Greeting:
We
are welcomed in God's name. Our response unites us to
our neighbor, to
the priest and to God. (The priest may select from
several forms of
greeting).
Priest:
The
Lord
be with you.
All:
And
also with you.
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:
As
we
prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ's love, let us
acknowledge our
failures and ask the Lord for pardon and strength. You
raise the
dead to life in the Spirit: Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: You bring pardon and peace to the
sinner: Christ,
have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
Priest: You bring light to those in
darkness:
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 Opening Prayer:
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. Lord
our God, help us to love you with all our hearts and to love all
men as you
love them. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your
Son, who lives
and reigns with you and 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
Priest/Reader: A reading from the prophet
Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13
First
Reading:
1 Zephaniah
2:3,
3:12-13
Seek
the Lord, all you
humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice,
seek humility;
perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people
humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord: the remnant of
Israel.
They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall there
be found in
their mouths a deceitful tongue; they shall pasture and couch
their flocks with
none to disturb them.
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.
Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
Cantor: Blessed
are
the poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
All: R/. Blessed
are the
poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Cantor: The Lord keeps faith forever, secures
justice for the
oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets
captives free.
All: R/. Blessed
are the
poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Cantor: The Lord gives sight to the blind; the
Lord raises up
those who were bowed down.
All: R/. Blessed
are the
poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Cantor: The fatherless and the widow the Lord
sustains, but
the way of the wicked he thwarts. The Lord shall reign
forever, you God,
O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
All: R/. Blessed
are
the poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
The Second Reading: Taken
from the New Testament, often from a letter written by St.
Paul.
Priest/Reader: A
Reading from the
letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Consider
your
own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were
wise by
human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble
birth.
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the
weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly
and despised of
the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing
those who are
something, so that no human being might boast before God.
It is due to
him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God, as well as
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is
written,
“Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”
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.
Matthew
2:2
Cantor:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
All: R/. Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Cantor: Rejoice and be glad; your reward will
be great in
heaven.
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
also with you.
Priest/Deacon: A reading from the holy
Gospel according to
Matthew.
All: Glory
to you, Lord.
The
Gospel:
Matthew 5:1-12a
Matthew
wrote to
show that Christ was the
Messiah and fulfilled the Jewish prophecies.
When Jesus saw the
crowds, he went up the
mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to
him. He began
to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they
will be
comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the
land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they will be
satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be
shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who
are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute
you and utter
every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
Priest/Deacon: The
Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise
to you, Lord
Jesus Christ.
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: We
believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that
is seen and
unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son
of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from
Light, true God from
true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the
Father. Through him
all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he
came down from
heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the
Virgin Mary, and
became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate; he
suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose
again in
fulfillment of 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 he is worshipped and
glorified. He
has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy
catholic and
apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the
forgiveness of
sins. We 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.
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: Lord
God, we ask you to
receive us and be pleased with the sacrifice we offer you with
humble and
contrite hearts.
The Priest's Hands are
Washed: This
act was traditional 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: Lord,
wash away my
iniquity; 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:
Lord,
be
pleased with the gifts we bring to your altar, and make them the
sacrament
of our salvation. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Eucharistic Prayer:
(Number Two: The priest may
select from
several forms).
Priest: The
Lord be with you.
All: And
also with you.
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 to give him
thanks and praise.
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
just as through your
beloved Son you created the human race, so also through him with
great goodness
you formed it anew. And so, it is right that all your creatures
serve you, all
the redeemed praise you, and all your Saints with one heart
bless you.
Therefore,
we, too,
extol you with all the Angels, as in joyful celebration we
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, 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 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.
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: When we
eat this Bread
and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you
come again.
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.
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: May the receiving of
your Body and Blood Lord
Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but
through your
loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body and a healing
remedy.
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:
Psalm 31:17-18
Let
your
face shine on your servant. Save me in your merciful
love. O
Lord, let me never be put to shame, for I call on you.
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: Having received this pledge of eternal
redemption, we
pray, almighty God, that, as the feast day of our salvation
draws ever nearer,
so we may press forward all the more eagerly to the worthy
celebration of the
mystery of your Son's Nativity. Who lives and reigns for
ever and ever.
Concluding Rite
Greeting:
Priest: The
Lord be with you.
All: And with your
spirit.
Priest: Bow
down for the
blessing.
Dismissal Prayer:
Priest:
May
the
almighty and merciful God, by whose grace you have placed your
faith in the
First Coming of his Only Begotten Son and yearn for his coming
again, sanctify
you by the radiance of Christ's Advent and enrich you with his
blessing.
All: Amen.
Priest: As you run the race of this present life,
may he make you
firm in faith, joyful in hope and active in charity.
All: Amen.
Priest: So that, rejoicing now with devotion at the
Redeemer's
coming in the flesh, you may be endowed with the rich reward of
eternal life
when he comes again in majesty.
All: Amen.
Final Blessing:
Priest:
And
my
the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you for ever.
All: Amen.
Dismissal:
O my Jesus, forgive us our
sins.