COLLECT
Almighty and merciful God,
may no earthly undertaking hinder
those who set out in haste to meet
your Son, but may our learning of
heavenly wisdom gain us admittance
to his company.
Who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Priest: In the name of the Father and
of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.
People: Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our
Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And with your spirit.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cf. Is 30: 19, 30
O people of Sion, behold,
the Lord will come to save the
nations, and the Lord will make the
glory of his voice heard
in the joy of your heart.

Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you feed us with your
body and blood: Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The absolution by the Priest follows:
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

h

7th December 2025

SIT
PENITENTIAL ACT
Brethren (Brothers and sisters),
let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to
celebrate the sacred mysteries.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

O come, thou key of David, come
and open wide our heav’nly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.

O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times didst give the Law,
in cloud and majesty and awe.

Second Sunday of Advent

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Ps71:1-2.7-8.12-13.17.R.v.7

R. In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.

1.O God, give your judgement to the
king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in
justice
and your poor in right judgement. R.

2. In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s
bounds. R.

3. For he shall save the poor when
they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor. R.

4.May his name be blessed for ever
and endure like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name. R.

FIRST READING 11:1-10
A reading from the Prophet Isaiah
A shoot springs from the stock of
Jesse,
a scion thrusts from his roots:
on him the spirit of the Lord rests,
a spirit of wisdom and insight,
a spirit of counsel and power,
a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord.
(The fear of the Lord is his breath).
He does not judge by appearances,
he gives no verdict on hearsay,
but judges the wretched with integrity,
and with equity gives a verdict for the
poor of the land.
His word is a rod that strikes the
ruthless, his sentences bring death to
the wicked.

Integrity is the loincloth round his waist,
faithfulness the belt about his hips.
The wolf lives with the lamb,
the panther lies down with the kid,
calf and lion cub feed together
with a little boy to lead them.
The cow and the bear make friends,
their young lie down together.
The lion eats straw like the ox.
The infant plays over the cobra’s
hole;
into the viper’s lair
the young child puts his hand.
They do no hurt, no harm,
on all my holy mountain,
for the country is filled with the
knowledge of the Lord
as the waters swell the sea.
That day, the root of Jesse
shall stand as a signal to the peoples.
It will be sought out by the nations
and its home will be glorious.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Liturgy of the Word

Entrance Hymn

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PROFESSION OF FAITH

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial
with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
(All bow during the next three lines)
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and
the Son,

SIT

Raising the host, the priest says:
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all
creation, for through your goodness
we have received the bread we offer
you: fruit of the earth and work of
human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God for ever.
The priest pours wine and a little water
into the chalice, saying quietly:
By the mystery of this water and wine
may we come to share in the divinity
of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our
humanity.
Raising the chalice, the priest says:
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all
creation, for through your goodness
we have received the wine we offer
you: fruit of the vine and work of
human hands,
it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God for ever.
Bowing the priest says quietly:
With humble spirit and contrite heart
may we be accepted by you, O Lord,
and may our sacrifice in your sight
this day be pleasing to you, O Lord.
Then the priest washes his hands, saying
quietly:
Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity;
and cleanse me from my sin.

Facing the people the priest says:

Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters),
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.

May the Lord accept the sacrifice at
your hands
for the praise and glory of his
name,
for our good, and the good of all
his holy Church.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

who with the Father and the Son is
adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and
apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the
forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection
of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

GOSPEL 3:1-12
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy
Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, O Lord.

In due course John the Baptist
appeared; he preached in the
wilderness of Judaea and this was his
message: “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is close at hand.” This was the
man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when
he said:

A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.

This man John wore a garment made
of camel-hair with a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was
locusts and wild honey. Then
Jerusalem and all Judaea and the
whole Jordan district made their way

to him, and as they were baptised by
him in the river Jordan they confessed
their sins. But when he saw a number
of Pharisees and Sadducess coming
for baptism he said to them, “Brood of
vipers, who warned you to fly from the
retribution that is coming? But if you
are repentant, produce the
appropriate fruit and do not presume
to tell yourselves, “We have Abraham
for our father,’ because, I tell you,
God can raise children for Abraham
from these stones. Even now the axe
is laid to the roots of the trees, so that
any tree which fails to produce a good
fruit will be cut down and thrown on
the fire. I baptise you in water for
repentance, but the one who follows
me is more powerful than I am, and I
am not fit to carry his sandals; he will
baptise you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand;
he will clear his threshing-floor and
gather his wheat into the barn; but the
chaff he will burn in a fire that will
never go out.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

ACCLAMATION Lk3:4.6
Alleluia, alleluia!

Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.

And all mankind shall see the
salvation of God. Alleluia!

SECOND READING 15:4-9
A reading from the letter of St Paul
to the Romans
Everything that was written long ago in
the scriptures was meant to teach us
something about hope from the
examples scripture gives of how
people who did not give up were
helped by God. And may he who helps
us when we refuse to give up, help
you all to be tolerant with each other,
following the example of Christ Jesus,
so that united in mind and voice you
may give glory to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It can only be to God’s glory, then,
for you to treat each other in the same
friendly way as Christ treated you. The
reason Christ became the servant of
circumcised Jews was not only so that
God could faithfully carry out the
promises made to the patriarchs, it
was also to get the pagans to give
glory for God for his mercy, as
scripture says in one place: For this I
shall praise you among the pagans
and sing to your name.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Be pleased, O Lord, with our humble
prayers and offerings,
and, since we have no merits to plead
our cause,
come, we pray, to our rescue
with the protection of your mercy.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER III
PREFACE: Advent 1
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 he assumed at his first coming
the lowliness of human flesh,
and so fulfilled the design you formed
long ago,
and opened for us the way to eternal
salvation,
that, when he comes again in glory
and majesty
and all is at last made manifest,
we who watch for that day
may inherit the great promise
in which now we dare to hope.
And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of
heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end 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.

At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven . . .
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus
Christ.

You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
and all you have created
rightly gives you praise,
for through your Son our Lord Jesus
Christ,
by the power and working of the Holy
Spirit,
you give life to all things and make
them holy, and you never cease to
gather a people to yourself, so that
from the rising of the sun to its setting

a pure sacrifice may be offered
to your name.
Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you:
by the same Spirit graciously make holy
these gifts we have brought to you for
consecration, that they may become
the Body and @ Blood
of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
at whose command we celebrate
these mysteries.
For on the night he was betrayed
he himself took bread,
and, giving you thanks, he said the
blessing,
broke the bread and gave it to his
disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT
OF IT,
FOR THIS IS MY BODY,
WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

In a similar way, when supper was
ended, he took the chalice,
and, giving you thanks, he said the
blessing,
and gave the chalice to his disciples,
saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND
DRINK FROM IT,
FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY
BLOOD,
THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND
ETERNAL COVENANT,
WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR
YOU AND FOR MANY
FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
The mystery of faith:
Save us, Saviour of the world,
for by your Cross and Resurrection
you have set us free.
Then the Priest, with hands extended, says:
Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate
the memorial of the saving Passion of
your Son,
his wondrous Resurrection and
Ascension into heaven, and as we
look forward to his second coming, we
offer you in thanksgiving this holy and
living sacrifice.
Look, we pray, upon the oblation of
your Church and, recognising the
sacrificial Victim by whose death
you willed to reconcile us to yourself,
grant that we, who are nourished by
the Body and Blood of your Son and
filled with his Holy Spirit, may become
one body, one spirit in Christ.
May he make of us
an eternal offering to you,

so that we may obtain an inheritance
with your elect,
especially with the most Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, with
the blessed Apostles and glorious
Martyrs (with Saint N., the Saint of the
day or Patron Saint) and with all the
Saints, on whose constant
intercession in your presence we rely
for unfailing help.
May this Sacrifice of our reconciliation,
we pray, O Lord, advance the peace
and salvation of all the world. Be
pleased to confirm in faith and charity
your pilgrim Church on earth,
with your servant Leo, our Pope, and
N. our Bishop, his assistant Bishop(s)
the Order of Bishops, all the clergy,
and the entire people you have gained
for your own.
Listen graciously to the prayers of this
family,
whom you have summoned before you:
in your compassion, O merciful
Father, gather to yourself all your
children scattered throughout the world.
To our departed brothers and sisters
and to all who were pleasing to you
at their passing from this life,
give kind admittance to your kingdom.
There we hope to enjoy for ever the
fullness of your glory
The Priest joins his hands.
through Christ our Lord,
through whom you bestow on the
world all that is good. †

The Priest takes the chalice and the paten
with the host and, elevating both, he says:
Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Communion Rite

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Bar 5: 5; 4: 36
Jerusalem, arise and stand upon
the heights,
and behold the joy which comes to
you from God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Replenished by the food of spiritual
nourishment, we humbly beseech you,
O Lord, that, through our partaking in
this mystery, you may teach us to judge
wisely the things of earth
and hold firm to the things of heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Arise, Jerusalem, city of God our
Saviour,
For now the time has come to robe
yourself in splendour.
Come forth, dressed in fine gold,
your crown shining like sunbeams,
put on your cloak of peace,
gather the poor beneath its folds.
R. Put on your cloak of peace,
Gather the poor beneath its folds.
Arise, Jerusalem, come all you men
and women,
The promised time has come.
Here God has made his dwelling.
And you, children of light,
must leave all that is darkness.
Arise, your light has come.
Shout your cry of gladness.
R. Arise your light has come.
Shout out your song of gladness.

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
SOLEMN BLESSING – ADVENT
May the almighty and merciful God,
by whose grace you have placed your faith
in the First Coming of his Only Begotten
son and yearn for his coming again
sanctify you by the radiance of Christ’s
Advent and enrich you with his blessing.
Amen.
As you run the race of this present life,
may he make you firm in faith,
joyful in hope and active in charity.
Amen.
So that you, rejoicing now with devotion
at our Redeemer’s coming in the flesh,
you may be endowed with the rich
reward of eternal life
when he comes again in majesty.
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.
Go forth, the Mass is ended,
Thanks be to God.

Imprimi Potest: Concordat Cum Originali: @ Most Rev. Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor. Nihil Obstat: Excerpts from
the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy corporation. Origination
and printing by Shanway Press, email: info@shanway.com T: 028 9022 2070

For the kingdom, the power and the
glory
are yours, now and for ever.

May the Body of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.

Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give
you, look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and
unity in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.

The peace of the Lord be with you
always.
And with your Spirit.
The priest may add these or similar words.
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

The priest places a small piece of the host in
the chalice saying quietly:
May this mingling of the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
bring eternal life to us who receive it.

Meanwhile the people sing or say:
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world: grant us peace.

The priest says quietly:
May the receiving of your Body and
Blood, Lord Jesus Christ,
not bring me to judgment and
condemnation,
but through your loving mercy
be for me protection in mind and body,
and a healing remedy.

Raising the host the priest says:
Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of
the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper
of the Lamb.

And together with the people he says once:
Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.

The Priest reverently consumes the Body of
Christ.
Then he takes the chalice and says quietly:
May the Blood of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.
The Priest raises a host slightly and shows it
to each of the communicants, saying:
The Body of Christ.
Amen.

R: Wait for the Lord, his day is near.
Wait for the Lord: be strong, take
heart!

Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make a straight path for him. R.

The glory of the Lord
shall be revealed. R.

All the earth will see the Lord. R.

Rejoice in the Lord always:
he is at hand. R.

Seek first the kingdom of God,
seek and you shall find. R.

Joy and gladness for all
who seek the Lord. R.

Prepare the way of the Lord. R.

Lord, even though I am not worthy,
you have come into my soul.
In your goodness, help me to become
less unworthy
so that the next time you come
I may be better prepared for you.
Help me also to prepare the way for
your coming this Christmas and at the
end of time.
In this Holy Communion you have
begun a good work in me;
bring it to completion before the day of
your final coming,
so that even I may succeed in living
up to the grace of my baptism,
obtain forgiveness of my sins,
and see the salvation of God.

Communion Hymn

Private Prayer after Communion

Concluding Rites

Recessional Hymn