Masses of the BVM: 27 The Blessed Virgin Mary, Image and Mother of the Church III
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Hail, holy Mary, mirror without stain!
As the Church looks on you
it sees the perfect image of its future glory.
COLLECT
Lord our God, through your power and goodness
the Blessed Virgin,
the fairest fruit of your redeeming love,
shines forth as the perfect image of the Church;
grant to your people on their pilgrim way on earth
that, with eyes fixed on Mary,
they may follow closely in the footsteps of her Son
until they come to that fullness of glory,
which now they contemplate in his Mother
with hearts filled with joy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
FIRST READING
Rev 21:1-5a
I saw the new Jerusalem, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband.
A reading from the Book of Revelation
I,John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
God will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
God will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6
R. (6b) Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
See Luke 1:28
Alleluia, alleluia.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Lk 1:26-38
He will rule over the house of Jacob for ever.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to Mary, the angel said,
“Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
But Mary was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:
The Gospel of the Lord.
All reply:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:
Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
May this oblation dedicated to your name
purify us, O Lord,
and fashion your Church more and more
in that image of Christ,
which it admires and praises in his glorious Mother.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE: Mary, Image and Mother of the Church III
The Blessed Virgin Is the Resplendent Image of the Church in its Future Glory.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For you have given the Blessed Virgin Mary to your Church
as the perfect image of its role as mother
and of its future glory.
She is a virgin unsurpassed in purity of faith,
a bride joined to Christ
in an unbreakable bond of love
and united with him in his suffering.
She is a mother by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit,
filled with loving concern for all her children.
She is a queen adorned with the jewels of grace,
robed with the sun and crowned with stars,
sharing eternally in the glory of her Lord.
Through him the Angels of heaven
offer their prayer of adoration
as they rejoice in your presence for ever.
May our voices be one with theirs
in their triumphant hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
Cf. Wisdom 7: 26
Virgin Mary, you are the brightness of eternal light,
the spotless mirror of God’s glory, the image of his goodness.
Or: Luke 1: 31
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Grant to your Church, O Lord,
that, strengthened by the power of this Sacrament,
she may eagerly walk in the pathways of the Gospel,
until she reaches the blessed vision of peace,
which the Virgin Mary, your lowly handmaid,
already enjoys eternally in glory.
Through Christ our Lord.
SOLEMN BLESSING
The following Solemn Blessing may be used:
The Lord be with you.
The people reply:
And with your spirit.
The Deacon or, in his absence, the Priest himself, says the invitation:
Bow down for the blessing.
Then the Priest, with hands outstretched over the people, says
Ordinary Time I
May the Father of all mercy,
through the love with which he cherished
the Mother of his Son,
bless you with health of mind and body.
R. Amen.
May Jesus Christ, the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb,
adorn you with the virtues
that will make you more pleasing to him.
R. Amen.
May the Holy Spirit,
whose power overshadowed the Blessed Virgin,
give you serenity and peace,
that you may live as one in mind and heart
in the household of the Church.
R. Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you for ever.
R. Amen.
Ordinary Time II
May God, who through the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin Mary
willed in his great kindness to redeem the human race,
be pleased to enrich you with his blessing.
R. Amen.
May you know always and everywhere the protection of her,
through whom you have been found worthy to receive the author of life.
R. Amen.
May you, who have devoutly gathered to celebrate this memorial of our Lady,
carry away with you the gifts of spiritual joys and heavenly rewards.
R. Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you for ever.
R. Amen.
Ordinary Time III
May the Father of mercies bless you
through the intercession of Blessed Mary ever-Virgin
through whom he chose to remedy the fall of our first parents.
R. Amen.
May Jesus Christ, who in the womb of the Blessed Virgin
became our brother and our Savior,
free your hearts from every trace of sin.
R. Amen.
May the Holy Spirit
increase in you the grace of true faith and of hope for heaven,
that you may walk in the ways of the Gospel
and so reach your eternal home.
R. Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you for ever.
R. Amen.
Then the Deacon, or the Priest himself, with hands joined and facing the people, says:
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
Or:
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
Or:
Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
Or:
Go in peace.
The people reply:
Thanks be to God.