Masses of the BVM: 38 Holy Mary, Mother of Unity
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Cf. Tobit 13: 13
Rejoice and be glad, Virgin Mary,
for all God’s children will be reunited
and will bless the everlasting Lord.
Or: Cf. Acts 1: 14
The disciples devoted themselves with one accord to prayer
with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
COLLECT
All-holy Father,
fountain of unity and wellspring of harmony,
grant that all the families of nations,
through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of the human race,
may be gathered together
to form the one people of the New Covenant.
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
Zep 3:14-20
At the proper time I will gather you together.
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you
and turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
the LORD will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
the LORD will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.
I will remove disaster from among you,
so that none may recount your disgrace.
Yes, at that time I will deal
with all who oppress you:
I will save the lame,
and assemble the outcasts;
I will give them praise and renown
in all the earth, when I bring about their restoration.
At that time I will bring you home,
and at that time I will gather you;
for I will give you renown and praise,
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I bring about your restoration
before your very eyes, says the LORD.
Or: 1 Tim 2:5-8
There is one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy
There is one God.
There is also one mediator between God
and the human race,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
(I am speaking the truth, I am not lying),
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
It is my wish, then, that in every place you should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Jer 31:10, 11-12ab, 13-14
R. (See 10c) Gather your scattered people, O Lord.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant coasts, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. Gather your scattered people, O Lord.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’S blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. Gather your scattered people, O Lord.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
I will lavish choice portions upon the priests,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings.
R. Gather your scattered people, O Lord.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your Church be gathered, O Lord,
from the ends of the earth into your kingdom,
for glory and power are yours
through Jesus Christ for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Jn 11:45-52
He will gather together in unity the scattered children of God.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Many of the Jewish people who had come to Mary and Martha,
the sisters of Lazarus,
and had seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
Caiaphas did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
Or: Jn 17:20-26
May they be completely one.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
“I pray not only for my disciples,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
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
Lord,
as we honor the memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
in whose virginal womb
your Son united divine and human nature,
we earnestly beg
that this offering may become
the sacrament of our worship,
the sign of our unity,
and the bond of our love.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE: Mary, Mother of Unity
The Role of the Blessed Virgin in Fostering the Unity of the Church.
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 truly 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,
through Christ our Lord.
For he is the one who makes whole,
the lover of unity,
who chose for his Mother
a woman unstained in heart and body,
and for his Bride
the one and undivided Church.
Lifted high above the earth,
in the presence of his Mother,
he gathered your scattered children into unity,
joining them to himself
with bonds of love.
Returning to you
and seated at your right hand,
he sent upon the Blessed Virgin,
at prayer with the Apostles,
the Spirit of concord and unity,
of peace and forgiveness.
We praise you, Lord,
with all the Angels and Saints in their song of joy:
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. 1 Corinthians 10: 17
Though man, we are one bread,
one body, for we all partake of the one Bread and one Chalice.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord God, through your holy gifts
which we have received
on this memorial of holy Mary, Mother of unity,
pour out upon us
the Spirit of gentleness and peace,
that we may work together in harmony
and so hasten the coming of your kingdom.
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.