I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem For my brethren, and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. (Psalm 122:1–2, 8–9). Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands. Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! (Psalm 100:1–2, 4). How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints, for the courts of the Lord; .. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. (Psalm 84:1–2, 4, 10)
The Order of Mass: (introductory rites) Entrance Procession(All stand for the entrance song or antiphon of the day.) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Greeting – The priest greets the people in one of the following ways: 1. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Or 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Or 3. The Lord is with you. Or, if a bishop presides: 4. Peace be with you. The people reply: And with your spirit. Theme of the Mass – The priest, or a deacon, or another minister may briefly introduce the theme of the day’s Mass.
Penitential Act: The priest invites the faithful to recall their sins: Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. After a brief silence one of the following forms is used: 1. 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, All strike their breast as they say: 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. 2. Have mercy on us, O Lord. For we have sinned against you. Show us, O Lord, your mercy. And grant us your salvation.
3. The priest, a deacon, or another minister says the following or similar invocations: You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. You came to call sinners: Christ, have mercy. Or Christe, eleison. Christ, have mercy. Or Christe, eleison. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us: Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. The absolution by the priest follows: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. If form 1 of the Penitential Act was used, the following invocations are then said or sung: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
Rite of Sprinkling: From time to time on Sundays, especially in Easter Time, instead of the customary Penitential Act, the blessing and sprinkling of water may take place as a reminder of baptism. One of the following is prayed: 1. Dear brethren (brothers and sisters), let us humbly beseech the Lord our God to bless this water, he has created, which will be sprinkled on us as a memorial of our baptism. May he help us by his grace to remain faithful to the Spirit we have received. After a brief silence the priest joins his hands and prays: Almighty ever-living God, who willed that through water, the fountain of life and the source of purification, even souls should be cleansed and receive the gift of eternal life; be pleased, we pray, to bless + this water, by which we seek protection on this your day, O Lord. Renew the living spring of your grace within us and grant that by this water we may be defended from all ills of spirit and body, and so approach you with hearts made clean and worthily receive your salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
2. Almighty Lord and God, who are the source and origin of all life, whether of body or soul, we ask you to + bless this water, which we use with confidence to implore forgiveness for our sins and to obtain the protection of your grace against all illness and every snare of the enemy. Grant, O Lord, in your mercy, that living waters may always spring up for our salvation, and so may we approach you with a pure heart and avoid all danger to body and soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 3. During the Easter season Lord our God, in your mercy is present in your people’s prayers, and for us who recall the wondrous work of our creation and the still greater work of our redemption, graciously + bless this water. For you created water to make the fields fruitful and to refresh and cleanse our bodies. You also made water the instrument of your mercy: for through water you freed your people from slavery and quenched their thirst in the desert; through water the prophets proclaimed the new covenant you were to enter upon with the human race; and last of all, through water, which Christ made holy in the Jordan, you have renewed our corrupted nature in the bath of regeneration. Therefore, may this water be for us a memorial of the baptism we have received, and grant that we may share in the gladness of our brothers and sisters who at Easter have received their baptism. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Where the circumstances of the place or the custom of the people suggest, the priest may bless salt: We humbly ask you, almighty God: be pleased with your faithful love to + bless this salt you have created, for it was you who commanded the prophet Elisha to cast salt into water, that impure water might be purified. Grant, O Lord, we pray, that, wherever this mixture of salt and water is sprinkled, every attack of the enemy may be repulsed and your Holy Spirit may be present to keep us safe at all times. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. The priest pours the salt into the water. The priest sprinkles himself and the ministers, then the clergy and the people. An appropriate chant is sung. The rite concludes with this prayer: May almighty God cleanse us of our sins and, through the celebration of this Eucharist, make us worthy to share at the table of his kingdom. Amen.
