7. Votive Mass of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Cf. Rev 5: 9-10
You have redeemed us, Lord, by your Blood,
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
and have made us into a kingdom for our God.
COLLECT
O God, who by the Precious Blood of your Only Begotten Son
have redeemed the whole world,
preserve in us the work of your mercy,
so that, ever honoring the mystery of our salvation,
we may merit to obtain its fruits.
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.
READING I
During the Easter Season
Exodus 24
Ex 12:21-27
Seeing the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door.
A reading from the Book of Exodus
Moses called all the elders of the children of Israel and said to them,
“Go and procure lambs for your families,
and slaughter them as Passover victims.
Then take a bunch of hyssop,
and dipping it in the blood that is in the basin,
sprinkle the lintel and the two doorposts with this blood.
But none of you shall go outdoors until morning.
For the LORD will go by, striking down the Egyptians.
Seeing the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts,
the LORD will pass over that door
and not let the destroyer come into your houses to strike you down.
“You shall observe this as a perpetual ordinance
for yourselves and your descendants.
Thus, you must also observe this rite
when you have entered the land which the LORD will give you as he promised.
When your children ask you,
‘What does this rite of yours mean?’ you shall reply,
‘This is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD,
who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt;
when he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.’”
Then the people bowed down in worship.
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ex 24:3-8
This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you.
A reading from the Book of Exodus
When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites
to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.”
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
“This is the blood of the covenant
which the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his.”
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Reading I During the Easter Season
Revelation 7
Rv 1:5-8
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood.
A reading from the Book of Revelation
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,
“the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Rev 7:9-14
They have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
A reading from the Book of Revelation
I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb.”
All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:
“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”
He said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The One who sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 116
Ps 40:2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
℟. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
℟. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
℟. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
℟. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
℟. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Reading II
Verse Before the Gospel
Ps 116:12-13, 1-16bc, 17-18
℟. (1 Corinthians 10:16) Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
℟. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
℟. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
℟. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Verse Before the Gospel
READING II
Hebrews 9
Hebrews 12
1 Peter 1
1 John 5
Heb 9:11-15
The blood of Christ will cleanse our consciences.
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works
to worship the living God.
For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place for deliverance
from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
The word of the Lord.
Verse Before the Gospel
Heb 12:18-19, 22-24
You have approached the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters:
You have not approached that which could be touched
and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness
and storm and a trumpet blast
and a voice speaking words such that those who heard
begged that no message be further addressed to them.
No, you have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all,
and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently
than that of Abel.
The word of the Lord.
Verse Before the Gospel
1 Pt 1:17-21
You were ransomed with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Peter
Beloved:
If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially
according to each one’s works,
conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,
realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
The word of the Lord.
Verse Before the Gospel
1 Jn 5:4-8
A reading from the First Letter of Saint John
So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint John
Beloved:
Whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one that testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three that testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
The word of the Lord.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
1. Rev 1:5ab
Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead;
you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.
2. Rev. 5:9
Worthy are you, O Lord, to receive the scroll and to break open its seals,
for you were slain and have redeemed us with your Blood.
GOSPEL
Mark 14
Mark 15
Luke 22
John 19
Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
This is my Body. This is my Blood.
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
his disciples said to him,
“Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
“Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there.”
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, and said,
“Take it; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
“This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Prayer Over the Offerings
Mk 15:16-20
They clothed him in purple and weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
The soldiers led him away inside the palace,
that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.
They clothed him in purple and,
weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.
They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him.
They knelt before him in homage.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the purple cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him out to crucify him.
Prayer Over the Offerings
Lk 22:39-44
He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently, that his sweat became like drops of blood.
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Jesus went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives,
and the disciples followed him.
When he arrived at the place he said to them,
“Pray that you may not undergo the test.”
After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling,
he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing,
take this cup away from me;
still, not my will but yours be done.”
And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.
He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently
that his sweat became like drops of blood
falling on the ground.
Prayer Over the Offerings
Jn 19:28-37
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
One of the soldiers thrust his lance into his side, and immediately Blood and water flowed.
Jesus, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
The Gospel of the Lord.
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
As we offer our oblation to your majesty, O Lord,
may we draw near in these mysteries
to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant,
and celebrate anew the sprinkling of his Blood,
in which lies all our salvation.
Through Christ our Lord.
Preface I of the Passion of the Lord.
The Victory of the Passion.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.
℣. Lift up your hearts.
℟. We lift them up to the Lord.
℣. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
℟. 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,
through Christ our Lord.
For the days of his saving Passion
and glorious Resurrection are approaching,
by which the pride of the ancient foe is vanquished
and the mystery of our redemption is celebrated.
Through him the host of Angels adores your majesty
and rejoices in your presence for ever.
May our voices, we pray, join with theirs
in one chorus of exultant praise, as we acclaim:
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 Cor 10:16
The chalice of blessing that we bless
is a communion in the Blood of Christ,
and the bread that we break
is a sharing in the Body of the Lord.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Refreshed, O Lord, by this saving food and drink,
we pray that we may always be bathed
in the Blood of our Savior,
so that it may become for us
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Through Christ our Lord.
Or:
Restored with heavenly food and drink,
we beseech you, almighty God,
to protect from fear of their enemies
those you have redeemed by the Precious Blood of your Son.
Who lives and resigns for ever and ever.