(Make the sign of the cross, saying:)

God, come to my assistance,
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be 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: This is the time when you can win God's favor;
the day when you can be saved.

Psalms 114&115 (113)
When Israel came forth from Egypt,
Jacob's family from an alien people,
Judah became the Lord's temple;
Israel became his kingdom.

The sea fled at the sight;
the Jordan turned back on its course;
the mountains leapt like rams
and the hills like yearling sheep.

Why was it, sea, that you fled,
that you turned back, Jordan, on your course?
Mountains, that you leapt like rams;
hills, like yearling sheep?

Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
in the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool
and flint into a spring of water.

Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name give the glory
for the sake of your love and your truth,
lest the heathen say, "Where is their God?"

But our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he wills.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.

They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see;
they have ears but they cannot hear;
they have nostrils but they cannot smell.

With their hands they cannot feel;
with their feet they cannot walk.
No sound comes from their throats.

Their makers will come to be like them
and so will all who trust in them.

Israel's family, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
Aaron's family, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.

You who fear him, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
He remembers us, and he will bless us;
he will bless the families of Israel and Aaron.

The Lord will bless those who fear him,
the little no less than the great;
to you may the Lord grant increase,
to you and all your children.

May you be blest by the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
The heavens belong to the Lord
but to us he has given the earth.

The dead shall not praise the Lord,
nor those who go down into the silence.
But we who live bless the Lord
now and for ever, amen.

Glory be 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: This is the time when you can win God's favor;
the day when you can be saved.

ANT: Eagerly we await the fulfillment of our hope,
the glorious coming of our Savior.

Psalm 62 (61)
In God alone is my soul at rest;
my help comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold, my fortress.
I stand firm.

How long will you attack me to break me down,
as though I were a tottering wall, or a tumbling fence?

Their plan is only to destroy;
they take pleasure in lies.
With their mouth they utter blessing
but in their heart they curse.

In God alone be at rest, my soul;
for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold, my fortress.
I stand firm.

In God is my safety and glory,
the rock of my strength.
Take refuge in God, all you people.
Trust him at all times.
Pour out your hearts before him
for God is our refuge.

Common folk are only a breath,
the great are an illusion.
Placed in the scales, they rise;
they weigh less than a breath.

Do not put your trust in oppression
nor vain hopes on plunder.
Do not set your heart on riches
even when they increase.

For God has said only one thing;
only two do I know:
that to God alone belongs power
and to you, Lord, love;
and that you repay us all
according to our deeds.

Glory be 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: Eagerly we await the fulfillment of our hope,
the glorious coming of our Savior.

READING (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
While all the runners in the stadium take part in the race,
the award goes to one person.
In that case, run so as to win!
Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things.
They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers,
but we a crown that is imperishable.

[Reflect on the Reading, applying it to your life today.]

ANT: Watch over us, eternal Savior;
do not let the cunning tempter seize us.
We place all our trust in your unfailing help.

CANTICLE OF MARY (Lk 1:46-55)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory be 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: Watch over us, eternal Savior;
do not let the cunning tempter seize us.
We place all our trust in your unfailing help.

INTERCESSIONS
For the gift of understanding,
to realize more profoundly the bond of loving intimacy
between the Father, who has created us,
the Son, who has redeemed us,
and the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us.

That our faith in Jesus' presence in our lives
may never weaken, but grow deeper each day.

That we develop within our hearts a true spirit of thanksgiving.

For all of our deceased family members and friends,
may they rest forever in the peace of Christ.

[Pray for your special intentions.]

OUR FATHER
And now we pray to God the Father in the words that Jesus taught us.

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.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen

PRAYER
Lord our God, you formed our first parents from the clay of the earth
and breathed into them the spirit of life,
but they turned from your face and sinned.
In this time of repentance
we call out for your mercy.
Bring us back to you
and to the life your Son won for us
by his death on the cross,
for he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen