4th week of advent16 11am

Prepare the way for the coming of God.

Make a straight path for the coming of God. (Repeat)

1. Ev’ry valley: fill it in.Ev’ry mountain: make

it small. (Repeat)

2. Crooked pathways: make them straight.

All the rough land: make it smooth. (Repeat)

3. All will see: God’s power strong.

God has promised: glory comes. (Repeat)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen We Gather

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All: And with your spirit. We Gather

1. Light the Advent candle, one; Now the waiting has

begun; We have started on our way, Time to think of

Christmas day.

Candle, candle, burning bright, Shining in the cold

winter night; Candle, candle, burning bright, Fill our

hearts with Christmas light.

2. Light the Advent candle, two; Think of the humble

shepherds, who Filled with wonder at the sight Of the child on Christmas night.

3. Light the Advent candle, three; Think of heav’nly

harmony; Angels singing “peace on earth”; At the

blessed Savior’s birth.

4. Light the Advent candle, four; Think of joy forevermore

Christ – child in a stable born, Gift of love that Christ – mas

morn.

…Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy…Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy…Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercyPenitential act

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

All: Amen.Penitential act

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the

Incarnation of Christ your

The Collect

Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may by

his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his

Resurrection.The Collect

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy

Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

All: AmenThe Collect

The First Reading

A reading from the prophet Micah

The Lord says this:But you, Bethlehem

Ephrathah,the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel;

his origin goes back to the distant past,to the days of old.The Lord is therefore going to abandon them

till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.Then the remnant of his brothers will come backto the sons of Israel.

He will stand and feed his flockwith the power of the Lord,with the majesty of the name of his God.

They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his powerto the ends of the land.He himself will be peace.

The Word

of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

God of hosts, bring us back; let your

face shine on us and we shall be saved.

The Psalm

O shepherd of Israel, hear us,shine forth from your cherubim

throne.O Lord, rouse up your might,O Lord, come to our help.

The Psalm



The Psalm

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,

look down from heaven and see.Visit this vine and protect it,the vine your right hand has

planted.The Psalm



The Psalm

May your hand be on the man you have chosen, the man you have given your strength.

And we shall never forsake you again; give us life that we may call upon your name.

The Psalm



The Psalm

The Second Reading

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews

This is what Christ said, on coming into the world:

You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then I said,

just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book,‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’Notice that he says first:

You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices

for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to

replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.

The Word

of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

Alleluia, alleluia!I am the handmaid of the Lord:let what you have said be done to me.Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit. A Reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord. The Gospel

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and

greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the

Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I

be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt

for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,Creator of heaven and earth,and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

The Apostles’ Creed

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,


was crucified, died and was buried;he descended into hell;on the third day he rose again from the dead;


he ascended into heaven,and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;


from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,


the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting.

AmenThe Apostles’

Creed

Prayer of the Faithful

Celebrant: My brothers and sisters, as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord Jesus, let us earnestly ask his mercy, as we pray for the needs of the Church and for the world.

1. We pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for Vincent, our Cardinal, and for all Christians; that they may be more and more aware of their unique mission in the world, and so strive to serve mankind by reflecting Christ in all they say and do. Lord hear us.All: Lord graciously hear us

2. We pray for the peoples of the world, that all may rejoice in the blessing of true peace, the peace which Christ himself gives to us.Lord hear us.All: Lord graciously hear us

3. Let us pray for all those who find the preparations for Christmas difficult; the unemployed and those threatened with redundancy, the sick, the lonely and the bereaved and those who find it difficult to make ends meet; that the wonder of this season may fill them with joy. Lord hear us.All: Lord graciously hear us

4. We pray for our families, our friends and our neighbours, that our daily care of one another may nurture strong growth of Christian love in our society. Lord hear us.All: Lord graciously hear us

5. We pray for all those who have died in faith, and for all who feel the pain of loss at this holy time.Lord hear us.All: Lord graciously hear us

6. In silent prayer let us place our individual needs into God’s loving hands, especially those which are mentioned in our Intentions Book.

Mary, our Mother, is always ready to come to our help, as she travelled to help Elizabeth. Let us ask her to pray with us as we say:

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed

art thou among women, and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our

death. Amen.

Celebrant: Almighty God, give us the grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, as we wait for the birth of the Lord of Light. We ask this through that same Jesus, your Son and our Lord. Amen

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.Presentation and preparation of the

Gifts

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.Presentation and preparation of the

Gifts

Pray, my brothers and sisters, 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.

May the Holy Spirit, O Lord, sanctify these gifts laid upon your altar, just as he filled with his power the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through Christ our Lord.

All: AmenPrayer over the

offerings

The Lord be with you. All: And with your spirit.Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up to the Lord.

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

Dialogue

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.

We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your

Resurrection until you come again.

Memorial Acclamation

Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, for ever and ever.

All: Amen!

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name, thy

kingdom come, thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our trespassesas we forgive

those who trespass against

us.

And lead us not into

temptation,but deliver us

from evil.

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, and useless worry, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

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

Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles, Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,

and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen

The Peace of the Lord

be with you always.

And with your spirit.

Let us offer each other the sign of peaceWe Share God’s

Peace

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.Fraction of the Bread

http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Christological_Titles.htm

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.

Invitation to Communion

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

Invitation to Communion

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive

Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the

Son of God appear:

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel

shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell thy people save, and give

them vict’ry o’er the grave:

O come, thou dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine

advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to

flight:

O come, thou key of David, come and open wide our

heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high,

and close the path to misery.

O come, O come, thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes, on Sinai’s height in ancient times, didst give the law in

cloud and majesty and awe:

Father, slow to anger, abounding in mercy, You see us and run to us

when we are far away from you, you find your way to us when we cannot find our way to you, you are always

faithful when we are unfaithful.

Jesus Christ, you entered the house of sinners, you

sat at the table of the poor, you mounted the Cross, you throne of

mercy.

Holy Spirit, you pour your healing gifts over our

wounds, you anoint us to bring good news to the

poor, you send us out as missionaries of mercy.

God of Mercies, have mercy on us, so that where

sin abounds your grace may abound all the more, and we shall become like

you, Merciful. Amen.

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.All: Amen Prayer after communion

The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Final Blessing

May almighty God bless you,the Father, and the Son,and the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen.Final Blessing

The mass is ended, go in peace and proclaim the Gospel of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God.Dismissal

http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Christological_Titles.htm

Like a sea without a shore love divine is boundless.

Time is now and evermore and his love surrounds us.

Maranatha! Maranatha!Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

So that we could all be free he appeared among us,

blest are those who have not seen, yet believe his promise.

All our visions, all our dreams, are but ghostly

shadows of the radiant clarity waiting at life’s close.

Death where is your victory? Death where is your sting?

Closer than the air we breathe

is our risen King.

4th week of advent16 11am

Spiritual