COLLECT
O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s
Nativity, enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a
salvation and to celebrate them
always with solemn worship and glad
rejoicing.

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.
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 Phil 4: 4-5
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I
say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is
near.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear.
R: Rejoice, rejoice, O Israel,
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 vic’try o’er the grave.

O come, thou dayspring, come and
cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of
night,
and death’s dark shadows put to
flight.

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.

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.

SIT

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

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.

Third Sunday of Advent

14th December 2025

FIRST READING 35:1-6.10

A reading from the prophet Isaiah
Let the wilderness and the dry-lands
exult,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,
let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil,
let it rejoice and sing for joy.
The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Ps 145:6-10.R.Is.35;4
R. Come, Lord, and save us.

1. It is he who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free. R.

2. It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan. R.

3. It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age. R.

steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
“Courage! Do not be afraid.
“Look, your God is coming,
vengeance is coming,
the retribution of God;
he is coming to save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame shall leap like a deer
and the tongues of the dumb sing
for joy;
for those the Lord has ransomed
shall return.
They will come to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces;
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

s

The Liturgy of the Word

Entrance Hymn

GOSPEL 11:2-11
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy
Gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.

John in his prison had heard what
Christ was doing and he sent his
disciples to ask him, “Are you the one
who is to come, or have we got to wait
for someone else?” Jesus answered,
“Go back and tell John what you hear
and see; the blind see again, and the
lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, and the dead are raised
to l i fe and the Good News is
proclaimed to the poor; and happy is
the man who does not lose faith in
me.”

As the messengers were leaving,
Jesus began to talk to the people
about John: “What did you go out into
the wilderness to see? A reed swaying
in the breeze? No? Then what did you
go out to see? A man wearing fine
clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine
clothes are to be found in palaces.
Then what did you go out for? To see
a prophet? Yes I, tell you, and much

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
May the sacrifice of our worship, Lord,
we pray, be offered to you
unceasingly, to complete what was
begun in sacred mystery and
powerfully accomplish for us your
saving work.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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,
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.

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

SECOND READING 5:7-10

A reading from the letter of
St James

Be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s
coming. Think of a farmer: how
patiently he waits for the precious fruit
of the ground until it has had the
autumn rains and the spring rains!
You too have to be patient; do not
lose heart, because the Lord’s coming
will be soon. Do not make complaints
against one another, brothers, so as
not to be brought to judgement
yourselves; the Judge is already to be
seen waiting at the gates. For your
example, brothers, in submitting with
patience, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

ACCLAMATION Lk4:18
Alleluia, alleluia!

The spirit of the Lord
has been given to me.

He has sent me to bring
good news to the poor.

Alleluia!!

more than a prophet: he is the one of
whom scriptures says: Look, I am
going to send my messenger before
you; he will prepare your way before
you. I tell you solemnly, of all the
children born of women, a greater
man than John the Baptist has never
been seen; yet the least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he
is.”

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

Liturgy of the Eucharist

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER III
PREFACE I of Advent

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

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.

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.

The mystery of faith:
When we eat this Bread and
drink this Cup,
we proclaim your death, O Lord,
until you come again.

Communion Rite

a
t

t
f
a

o
d

a
f

a

a

w

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Is 35: 4
Say to the faint of heart:
Be strong and do not fear.
Behold, our God will come,
and he will save us.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
We implore your mercy, Lord,
that this divine sustenance may
cleanse us of our faults
and prepare us for the coming feasts.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

God’s Spirit is in my heart.
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do,
what I have to do.

He sent me to give the Good News
to the poor,
tell prisoners that they are prisoners
no more,
tell blind people that they can see,
and set the downtrodden free,
and go tell ev’ryone
the news that the Kingdom of God
has come,
and go tell ev’ryone
the news that God’s kingdom has
come.

The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me down to lie
in pastures green;
he leadeth me the quiet waters by.

My soul he doth restore again;
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for his own name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

My table thou hast furnished
in presence of my foes,
my head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house for evermore
My dwelling place shall be.

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.

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

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.

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.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Man and
Son of God.
May I stand ready to greet you when
you come in glory.
Lord Jesus, Saviour of all,
may I cherish the grace-life you gave
me at baptism.
Lord Jesus, Lamb of God, you will
come again as Judge,
As the patient farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the ground,
may I be patient and not lose heart
until you come.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Communion Hymn

Private Prayer after Communion

Concluding Rites

Recessional Hymn