Masses of the BVM: 23 The Blessed Virgin Mary, Temple of the Lord
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Revelation 21: 3
I heard a great voice from the throne:
“Here God lives among the human race!
He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God will be with them as their God.”
COLLECT
Lord God,
with artistry beyond all telling
you fashioned a holy temple for your Son
in the virginal womb of Blessed Mary;
grant that, in faithfully safeguarding the grace of our Baptism,
we may worship you in spirit and in truth
and become like Mary a temple of your glory.
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
1 Kgs 8:1, 3-7, 9-11
A cloud filled the temple of the Lord God.
A reading from the first Book of Kings
The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,
the princes in the ancestral houses of the Israelites,
came to King Solomon in Jerusalem,
to bring up the ark of the LORD’S covenant
from the City of David, which is Zion.
When all the elders of Israel had arrived,
the priests took up the ark;
they carried the ark of the LORD
and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels
that were in the tent.
(The priests and Levites carried them.)
King Solomon and the entire community of Israel
present for the occasion
sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen
too many to number or count.
The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD
to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary,
the holy of holies of the temple.
The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark,
sheltering the ark and its poles from above.
There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets
which Moses had put there at Horeb,
when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites
at their departure from the land of Egypt.
When the priests left the holy place,
the cloud filled the temple of the LORD
so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,
since the LORD’S glory had filled the temple of the LORD.
Or: Rev 21:1-5a
Here God lives among his people.
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.”
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Or: Gen 28:10-17
This is nothing else but the house of God and the gate of heaven.
A reading from the Book of Genesis
Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, Jacob put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God’s messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
“I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
“Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!”
In solemn wonder he cried out: “How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!”
The word of the Lord.
RESONSORIAL PSALM
Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
℟. (2 Chronicles 7:16a) I have chosen and sanctified this house.
The earth and what fills it are the LORD’S,
the world and those who live there.
For God founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.
℟. I have chosen and sanctified this house.
Who may go up the mountain of the LORD?
Who can stand in that holy place?
“The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who are not devoted to idols,
who have not sworn falsely.”
℟. I have chosen and sanctified this house.
They will receive blessings from the LORD,
and justice from their saving God.
Such are the people that love the LORD,
that seek the face of the God of Jacob.
℟. I have chosen and sanctified this house.
Verse Before the Gospel
RESONSORIAL PSALM
Ps 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11
℟. (Revelation 21:3b) Here God lives among his people.
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and flesh cry out
for the living God.
℟. Here God lives among his people.
As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
my home is by your altars,
LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
℟. Here God lives among his people.
Happy are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
O God, look kindly on our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed.
℟. Here God lives among his people.
Better one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
Better the threshold of the house of my God
than a home in the tents of the wicked.
℟. Here God lives among his people.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.
Hail, holy Mary, temple of holiness
and temple of love for us sinners.
Hail, temple filled with the Holy Spirit,
which God the Father chose for the Son.
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Lk 1:26-38
The power of the Most High will overshadow you.
✠ 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
Lord, receive these gifts from our grateful hearts
as we celebrate this memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
from whose life we learn the secret of prayer and praise.
In your goodness grant that like her
we may offer you a sacrifice of holiness
by doing always what is pleasing in your sight.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE: Mary, Temple of the Lord
Our Lady is a Temple of God’s Glory Without Compare
℣. 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.
For by the grace of the Holy Spirit
you purify our hearts by your light
and sanctify them with your presence,
so that they become the dwelling-place of your glory.
But because of her obedience of faith
and the mystery of the Incarnation
you made the Blessed Virgin your temple without compare:
a house of gold adorned by the Spirit
with every kind of virtue,
a royal palace resplendent
with the presence of the One who is the Truth,
the holy city, rejoicing in its streams of grace,
the ark of the New Covenant
enshrining the author of the New Law,
Jesus Christ our 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. Psalm 46: 5-6
Blessed are you, Virgin Mary,
holy tabernacle of the ways stand firm.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord our God,
you have nourished us with food and drink from heaven;
grant that, like the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may serve you in holiness of life,
revere your presence in our neighbor,
and with Mary proclaim your greatness
with sincerity of heart.
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.
℟. Amen.
May Jesus Christ, the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb,
adorn you with the virtues
that will make you more pleasing to him.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. Amen.
May you know always and everywhere the protection of her,
through whom you have been found worthy to receive the author of life.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
℟. 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.
