Opening Comment As we journey through the fifth week of Lent, we pause to keep the feast of Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. We mark the day by praising God the creator, who sustained Patrick, and who sustains the Church, in good times and bad. Penitential Rite To prepare ourselves for this solemn celebration,…
1st Reading: Amos 7:12-15 Amos is called by God to be a prophet Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” Then…
1st Reading: Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25 Trusting in God, they are saved from the fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear…
1st Reading: Numbers 21:4-9 The brazen serpent; anyone bitten can look at it and live From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought…
1st Reading: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 31-62 Susanna is falsely accused; Daniel’s questions uncover the truth There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joakim. And he took a wife named Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord. Her parents were righteous, and had taught their…
Opening Comment We gather to worship our compassionate God, who heals our sinfulness and challenges us to leave sinfulness behind. Penitential Rite: To prepare ourselves for this celebration, let us call to mind our sins: (pause) I confess… Opening Prayer (from 1998 ICEL Missal) God of power, God of mercy, you bring forth springs in…
1st Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21 The prophet promises the exiles a new Exodus Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: “Do not remember the…
1st Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20 The Just One is led like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And I did not know it was…
1st Reading: Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 Malice against the good foreshadows the Passion of Jesus Foolish people reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. Let us then lie in wait…
1st Reading: Exodus 32:7-14 Though his people rebel, Moses begs another chance for them The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast…
1st Reading: Isaiah 49:8-15 God promises the exiles, “You’ll be a sign of salvation!” Thus says the Lord: ‘In a time of favour I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion…
Saint John of God, optional memorial 1st Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 Life-giving water flows out from the Temple of God Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing…
Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs, optional memorial 1st Reading: Isaiah 65:17-21 “Rejoice in what I am creating!” Good things in store for those who love God For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever…
Opening Comment We have reached the midway point of the season of Lent. The joy of Easter is within our reach and the parent of the prodigal son encourages us to rely on divine mercy. (Sunday morning Masses: On this Mother’s Day, we honour the mothers of the community, and those who take a mother’s…
Theme: We too have sinned against heaven and against our God, and reach out for his forgiveness. 1st Reading: Book of Joshua 5:9-12 The Israelites, free at last from slavery and humiliation in Egypt, enter the land of promise The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.”…
1st Reading: Hosea 6:1-6 God wants our love more than ritual sacrifice “Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise…
1st Reading: Hosea 14:2-10 How God supports those who trust in Him Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will…
1st Reading: Jeremiah 7:23-28 Life’s highest goal is obedient response to God But this command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.” Yet they did not…
1st Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 God’s people have clear duties and a high destiny So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. See, just…
1st Reading: Daniel 3:25, 34-43 Nebuchadnezzar admires the miraculous escape of the young Jews Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” He replied, “But I see four men unbound,…
