Introductory Rites: in These or Similar Words..

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INTRODUCTORY RITES

OPENING HYMN

GREETING

Presider: Grace, mercy, and peace be with you


from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

All: And with your spirit.

INTRODUCTION

Presider: In these or similar words...

We gather here today because we are confident


that God is merciful. We have this confidence because, in
every age, God has shown his justice and his mercy.

When his chosen people erred, he sent prophets to call


them back. He sent John the Baptist to call sinners to
repentance and to announce the coming of the Savior.

And in his greatest act of merciful love, God sent his only
Son to live among us, to preach of the Father‟s love, and to
set us free from sin and death.

God continues to save his people and Christ continues to


be present to us, especially in the Church‟s sacraments.
And in this sacrament of reconciliation, though we cannot
grasp the richness of his grace nor depth of his
compassion, God continues to offer us his mercy.

OPENING PRAYER
Presider:
My brothers and sisters,
God calls us to conversion;
let us therefore ask him
for the grace of sincere repentance.

Silent prayer

Father of mercies and God of all consolation,


you do not wish the sinner to die
but to be converted and live.
Come to the aid of your people,
that they may turn from their sins and live for you alone.
May we be attentive to your word,
confess our sins,
receive your forgiveness,
and always be grateful for your loving kindness.
Help us to live the truth in love
and grow into the fullness of Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever.

All: Amen.
CELEBRATION OF THE WORD OF GOD
FIRST READING
Isaiah 55:1-11

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,


come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Seek the Lord while he may be found;


call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,


neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The word of the Lord


Thanks be to God
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 145: 1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13
The Lord is gracious and merciful;
slow to anger and of great kindness.

I will extol you, my God and king;


I will bless your name forever and ever. R.

The Lord is good to all,


compassionate toward all your works. R.

All your works give you thanks, Lord


and your faithful bless you. R.

They speak of the glory of your reign


and tell of your mighty works, R.

Making known to the sons of men your mighty acts,


the majestic glory of your rule. R.

Your reign is a reign for all ages,


your dominion for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
and loving in all his works. R.

SECOND READING
Ephesians 2:1-10

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians

As for you,
you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
in which you used to live
when you followed the ways of this world
and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,
the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our flesh
and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest,
we were by nature deserving of wrath.
But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions—
it is by grace you have been saved.
And God raised us up with Christ
and seated us with him
in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
in order that in the coming ages
he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,
expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God‟s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Psalm 85:8
Show us, LORD, your love;
and grant us your salvation.

GOSPEL
John 1:29-34

The proclamation of the Holy Gospel according to St. John.

The next day


John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
This is the one I meant when I said,
„A man who comes after me has surpassed me
because he was before me.‟
I myself did not know him,
but the reason I came baptizing with water
was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony:


“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven
as a dove and remain on him.
And I myself did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
„The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain
is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.‟
I have seen and I testify that this is God‟s Chosen One.”

The Gospel of the Lord,

Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Reader #1: How have I failed to worship God in private and communal
prayer?

 Do I pray daily?
 Do I receive the sacraments regularly?
 Do I keep Sundays and holy days sacred?
 Do I fulfill my commitments as a member of my faith community?
 What is my attitude toward the sacrament of reconciliation?
 Have I tried to grow in the life of the Spirit through prayer and the reading of the word of God?
 Do I trust God‟s goodness and providence, even in times of crisis and doubt?

Reader #2: How have I failed to use the gifts of God in daily living?
 Do I respect my own body as a gift from God?
 Do I control my vices, including abuses of food and drink?
 Have I made good use of the gifts God has given me?
 Do I work too hard and too long? Do I neglect my family and health?
 Have I been lazy and given too much time to leisure or entertainment?
Reader #1: How have I failed in my relationships with others?
 In my household, have I contributed to the well-being and happiness of the rest of my family? Am
I patient? Am I loving?
 Do I treat my parents with respect?
 Am I ever angry with those I love?
 Have I been faithful in my relationships?
 Have I imposed my will on others without respecting their freedom and rights?
 Am I intolerant of other‟s ideas or needs?
 Have I perpetuated racism, prejudices and stereotypes?
 Do I treat people with disabilities with respect?
Reader #2: Have I failed to share God‟s love with the world?
 Do I share my time and my treasure with others in need?
 Do I fail to speak out on behalf of the poor or the oppressed?
 Have I accepted suffering as a share in the suffering of Christ?
 Have I indulged in reading, conversation, or entertainments that are contrary to Christian
decency and respect for human life?
 Do I use the earth‟s resources wisely?
 Do I purchase a lot of material goods that I don‟t really need?

RITE OF RECONCILIATION

GENERAL CONFESSION OF SINS

Presider: God who is infinitely merciful


pardons all who are repentant and takes
away their guilt. Confident in his goodness,
let us ask him to forgive all our sins
as we confess them with sincerity of heart.

All: I confess to almighty God,


and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary, ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

LITANY OF REPENTANCE

Presider: Let us turn to Christ with confidence and ask his mercy.

Minister: You came into the world to seek and save what was lost.
All: Lord, have mercy.

Minister: You came to give us life, life in its fullness.


All: Lord, have mercy.

Minister: You became the source of salvation for all who obey you.
All: Lord, have mercy.

Minister: Once and for all you died for our sins,
the innocent one for the guilty.
All: Lord, have mercy.

Minister: In your mercy free us from the past


and enable us to begin a new life of holiness.
All: Lord, have mercy.

Minister: Make us a living sign of love for all to see:


people reconciled with you and with each other.
All: Lord, have mercy.
LORD‟S PRAYER

Presider: Now, in obedience to


Christ himself, let us join in prayer
to the Father,
asking him to forgive us as we forgive others.

Our Father,...

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Presider: Almighty and eternal God,


you sent your only-begotten Son
to reconcile the world to yourself.
Lift from our hearts the oppressive gloom of sin,
so that we may celebrate the approaching
dawn of Christ‟s birth with fitting joy.
Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen

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