Fourth Sunday of Lent
Laetare Sunday
March 15, 2026 Cycle A
Rose priestly vestments symbolize liturgical rejoicing
during the penitential season of Lent
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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 Psal (Antiphon)
Entrance Song
Isaiah 66:10-11 Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love
her. Be joyful,
all who were in mourning; exult 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.
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: 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: O God, who through your Word reconciles
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, forever
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 book of Samuel
First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
The Lord said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil and be on
your
way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have
chosen my king
from among his sons.”
As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked
at Eliab and
thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.”
But the Lord
said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his
lofty stature,
because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see,
because man
sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.”
In the same way
Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to
Jessie, “The Lord
has not chosen any one of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all
the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the
youngest, who is
tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him;
we will not
begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had
the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth
handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance. The Lord said, “There –
anoint him, for
this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in
hand, anointed
David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the
spirit of the
Lord rushed upon David.
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 21:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Cantor: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.
All: The
Lord is my
shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.
Cantor: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want. In
verdant pastures he gives me repose; by restful waters he leads
me;
he refreshes my soul.
All: The
Lord is my shepherd,
there is nothing I shall want.
Cantor: He guides me in right paths for his
name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you
are at
my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
All: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I
shall want.
Cantor: You spread the table before me in the
sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup over-flows.
All: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I
shall want.
Cantor: Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my
life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years
to come.
All: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I
shall want.
The Second Reading: Taken from the New Testament, often from a letter
written by St. Paul.
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you
are light in the
Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every
kind of
goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is
pleasing to
the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose
them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them
in secret; but
everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything
that becomes
visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and
arise from the
dead, and Christ will give you light.”
The Alleluia: An ancient expression of joy anticipating the Lord's
message we will hear
in the Gospel.
John 8:12
Cantor: Praise to you, Lord
Jesus Christ, king
of endless glory!
ALL: R/. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
king of endless
glory!
Cantor: I am the light of the world,
says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of 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. 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 John.
All:
Glory to
you, Lord.
The Gospel: John 9:1-41
John wrote to show that Christ was
the Messiah, the Divine Son of God.
As Jesus passed by he
saw a man blind
from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither
he nor his
parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made
visible through
him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while
it is
day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I
am in the world,
I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he
spat on the
ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on
his eyes, and
said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam”– which means Sent-.
So he went and
washed and came back able to
see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a
beggar said, “Isn’t
this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is,”
but others
said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I
am.” (So they said
to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He replied, “The man
called Jesus
made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and
wash.’ So I
went there and washed and was able to see.” And they said
to him, “Where
is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”)
They brought the one who was once blind to the
Pharisees. Now Jesus
had made clay and opened his eyes on a Sabbath. So then
the Pharisees
also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them,
“He put clay on
my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the
Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God, because he does not keep the
Sabbath.” But
others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And
there was a
division among them. So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you
have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He
said, “He is a
prophet.”
Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and
gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his
sight. They
asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he
now see?” His parents answered and said, “We know that
this is our son
and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees
now, nor do we
know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can
speak for
himself.” Has parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for
the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as
the Christ, he
would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his
parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”
So a second time they called the man who had been blind and
said to him,
“Give God the praise! We know that this man is a
sinner.” He
replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do
know is that I
was blind and now I see.” So they said to him, “What did
he do to
you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them,
“I told you
already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it
again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?” They ridiculed
him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God
spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is
from.” The man
answered and said them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do
not know where
he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does
not listen
sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to
him. It is
unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born
blind. If
this man were not from God, he would not be able to do
anything.” They
answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are
you trying to
teach us?” Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him
and said, “Do
you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who
is he, sir,
that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have
seen him, and
the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe,
Lord,” and he
worshiped him. Then
Jesus said, “I came
into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might
see, and those
who do see might become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said
to him,
“Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to
them, “If you were
blind, you would have no sins; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’
so your sin
remains.”
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: 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. 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 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 Four: 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 to give you thanks, truly
just to give you
glory, Father most holy, for you are the one God living and
true, existing
before all ages and abiding for all eternity, dwelling in
unapproachable light;
yet you, who alone are good, the source of life, have made all
that is, so that
you might fill your creatures with blessings and bring joy to
many of them by
the glory of your light.
And so, in your presence are countless hosts of Angels, who
serve you day
and night, and gazing upon the glory of your face, glorify you
without ceasing.
With them we, too, confess your name in exultation, giving
voice to every
creature under heaven, as we acclaim:
Acclamation:
Priest / 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: We give
you praise,
Father most holy, for you are great and you have fashioned all
your works in
wisdom and in love. You formed man in your own image and
entrusted the
whole world to his care, so that in serving you alone, the
Creator, he might
have dominion over all creatures. And when through disobedience
he had lost
your friendship, you did not abandon him to the domain of
death. For you
came in mercy to the aid of all, so that those who seek might
find you.
Time and again you offered them covenants and through the
prophets taught them
to look forward to salvation.
And you so loved the world, Father most holy, that in the
fullness of time
you sent your Only Begotten Son to be our Savior. Made
incarnate by the
Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, he shared our human
nature in all
things but sin. To the poor he proclaimed the good news of
salvation, to
prisoners, freedom, and to the sorrowing of heart, joy. To
accomplish
your plan, he gave himself up to death, and, rising from the
dead, he destroyed
death and restored life.
And that we might live no longer for ourselves but for him
who died and
rose again for us, he sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, as
the first
fruits for those who believe, so that, bringing to perfection
his work in the
world, he might sanctify creation to the full.
Therefore, O Lord, we pray may this same Holy Spirit
graciously sanctify
these offerings, that they may become the Body and Blood of our
Lord Jesus
Christ for the celebration of this great mystery, which he
himself left us as
an eternal covenant.
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: For when the hour had
come for him to
be glorified by you, Father most holy, having loved his own who
were in the
world, he loved them to the end: and while they were at supper,
he took bread,
blessed and 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 taking the chalice filled with the fruit
of the vine, he
gave thanks, 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: We proclaim your Death O Lord and profess
your
Resurrection 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 our
redemption, we
remember Christ's Death and his descent to the realm of the
dead, we proclaim
his resurrection and his Ascension to your right hand, and, as
we await his
coming in glory, we offer you his Body and Blood, the sacrifice
acceptable to
you which brings salvation to the whole world.
Look, O Lord, upon the Sacrifice which you yourself have
provided for your
Church, and grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of
this one Bread
and one Chalice that, gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit,
they may truly
become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory.
Therefore, Lord, remember now all for whom we offer this
sacrifice:
especially your servant _____ our Pope, _____ our Bishop, and
the whole Order
of Bishops, all the clergy, those who take part in this
offering, those
gathered here before you, your entire people, and all who seek
you with a
sincere heart. Remember also those who have died in the
peace of your
Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known.
To all of us, your children, grant, O merciful Father, that
we may enter
into an heavenly inheritance with the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, with
blessed Joseph, her Spouse, and with your Apostles and Saints in
your
kingdom. There, with the whole of creation, freed from the
corruption of
sin and death, may we glorify you 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, we 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 lives
and reigns
forever 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.
All: Amen.
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 word 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
John 9:11, 38
The Lord anointed my eyes: I went, I washed, I saw and I
believed in God.
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.
The Blessing:
Priest: Look upon those 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.
Final Blessing:
Priest: And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the
Son, and the
Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain with you forever.
All: Amen.
Dismissal:
Priest: Go and announce the Gospel of the
Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
O my
Jesus, forgive us
our sins.