INTRODUCTION
Please stand
God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. (Alleluia.)
HYMN
I will restore you health;
I will heal your wound.
I am with you and will rescue you.
Do not be afraid;
Do not be dismayed.
You shall be my people, I am your God.
Please sit
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PSALMODY
Ant. 1 He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.
Psalm 144
Prayer for victory and peace
Christ learned the art of warfare when he overcame the world, as he said: “I have overcome the world” (Saint Hilary).
I
Blessed be the Lord, my rock †
who trains my arms for battle, *
who prepares my hands for war.
He is my love, my fortress; *
he is my stronghold, my savior
my shield, my place of refuge. *
He brings peoples under my rule.
Lord, what is man that you care for him, *
mortal man, that you keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath, *
whose life fades like a shadow?
Lower your heavens and come down; *
touch the mountains; wreathe them in smoke.
Flash your lightnings; rout the foe, *
shoot your arrows and put them to flight.
Reach down from heaven and save me; *
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes †
whose mouths are filled with lies, *
whose hands are raised in perjury.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.
Ant. 2 Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
II
To you, O God, will I sing a new song; *
I will play on the ten-stringed harp
to you who give kings their victory, *
who set David your servant free.
You set him free from the evil sword; *
you rescued him from alien foes
whose mouths were filled with lies, *
whose hands were raised in perjury.
Let our sons then flourish like saplings *
grown tall and strong from their youth:
our daughters graceful as columns, *
adorned as though for a palace.
Let our barns be filled to overflowing *
with crops of every kind;
our sheep increasing by thousands, †
myriads of sheep in our fields, *
our cattle heavy with young,
no ruined wall, no exile, *
no sound of weeping in our streets.
Happy the people with such blessings; *
happy the people whose God is the Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
Ant. 3 Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.
Canticle: Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God
We praise you, the Lord God Almighty, *
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power, *
you have begun your reign.
The nations have raged in anger, *
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead: *
the time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you, *
the great and the small alike.
Now have salvation and power come, †
The reign of our God and the authority *
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, *
who night and day accused them before God.
They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb †
and by the word of their testimony; *
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens, *
and you that dwell therein!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.
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READING
James 4:7-8, 10
Submit to God; resist the devil and he will take flight. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you backsliders. Be humbled in the sight of the Lord and he will raise you on high.
Another reading may be used as circumstances suggest
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RESPONSORY
To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
– To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
– I make my prayer for mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
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GOSPEL CANTICLE OF MARY Luke 1:46-55
Ant.: Whosoever gives up his life for my sake in this world will find it again for ever in the next, says the Lord.
The soul rejoices in the Lord
My + soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God mý Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lówly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things fór me, *
and holy ís his Name.
He has mercy on those whó fear him *
in every géneration.
He has shown the strength of hís arm, *
he has scattered the proud in théir conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from théir thrones, *
and has lifted úp the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with góod things, *
and the rich he has sent áway empty.
He has come to the help of his servánt Israel *
for he has remembered his promíse of mercy,
the promise he made to óur fathers, *
to Abraham and his childrén for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to thé Son, *
and to the Hóly Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, ís now, *
and will be for evér. Amen.
Ant.: Whosoever gives up his life for my sake in this world will find it again for ever in the next, says the Lord.
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INTERCESSIONS
In his mercy, God sends the Holy Spirit to shine on us, so that our lives may radiate holiness and faith. Let us raise our voices in prayer and say:
Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.
Lord, source of all holiness, draw bishops, priests and deacons closer to Christ through the Eucharistic mystery,
– may they grow daily in the grace of their ordination.
Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.
Teach Christ’s faithful people to be devout and attentive at the table of his word and of his Body,
– so that they may bring into their daily lives the grace they receive through faith and sacrament.
Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.
Grant, Lord, that we may see in each person the dignity of one redeemed by your Son’s blood,
– so that we may respect the freedom and the conscience of all.
Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.
Teach us to restrain our greed for earthly goods,
– and to have concern for the needs of others.
Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.
Be merciful to your faithful people whom you have called to yourself today,
– grant them the gift of eternal happiness.
Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.
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THE LORD’S PRAYER
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 trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
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BENEDICTION & CONCLUDING PRAYER
Tantum Ergo
Divine Praises
Blessed be God.
Blessed be his holy name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be his most sacred heart.
Blessed be his most precious blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the most holy sacrament of the altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, Consoler.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception.
Blessed be her glorious assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints.
HYMN
I will restore you health;
I will heal your wound.
I am with you and will rescue you.
Do not be afraid;
Do not be dismayed.
You shall be my people, I am your God.