VOTIVE MASS IN HONOUR OF
THE HOLY FACE
OF JESUS CHRIST
Opening Antiphon
Hear my voice when I call,
O LORD; My heart says of you,"Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I now
seek. Do not hide your face from me. Be
merciful to me and answer me. (Ps.27,7a,8,9a,7b)
The Opening
Prayer
Almighty
God, Father of infinite goodness, who through the Holy Face of your Son,
disfigured by his redemptive passion, make manifest your divinity to all in
this holy temple; grant that aflame with love for you here on earth, we may
come one day to contemplate you in the splendour of your glory. Through our
Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the
Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
The Liturgy of the Word
First
Reading (Is. 52, 13-15; 53.1-5)
A
reading from the prophet Isaiah
See, my servant will prosper, he will be raised and
lifted up and highly exalted. Just as
there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured
beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness, so will many
nations marvel at him; and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For
what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will
understand.
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a
root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows,
and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed
for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by
his wounds we are healed.
Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67.1-7)
Response: Let your face shine upon us, Lord.
May God be gracious to
us and bless us
and make his face shine
upon us,
that your ways may be
known on earth,
your salvation among all
nations.
May the peoples praise
you, O God;
may all the peoples
praise you.
May the nations be glad
and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples
justly
and guide the nations of
the earth.
May the peoples praise
you, O God;
may all the peoples
praise you.
Then the land will yield
its harvest,
and God, our God, will
bless us.
God will bless us,
and all the ends of the
earth will fear him.
Second
Reading (1Pt.3,8-15)
Reading from the first letter of St. Peter the Apostle
Beloved, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be
sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil
with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were
called so that you may inherit a blessing.
For, "Whoever
would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips
from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace
and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are
attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do
evil.
Gospel
Acclamation (Ps.89,16)
Alleluia,
Alleluia!
Blessed the people who have
learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
Alleluia!
Gospel Reading (Jn.20,1-10)
A reading + from the holy Gospel according to John
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still
dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed
from the entrance.
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other
disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of
the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb
first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did
not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the
tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been
around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
Finally the other disciple, who had reached
the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. They still did not
understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
General Intercessions / Prayer of the Faithful:
Response: Lord, hear our prayer. [or a similar response, repeated after
each petition]
By our Baptism we have become children of God. But often sin has had dominion over our
bodies and our spirit. That all the baptised may once again return to the grace
of resembling Christ in their lives through the sacrament of reconciliation,
let us pray to the Lord.
That all our families may submit themselves to God’s
law through the christian education of the children and by being faithful and
true in matrimony, and thus be worthy of having the resplendence of Jesus’ face
on us, let us pray to the Lord.
That we may be able to discover the Face of Christ in
the poor, the sick, the old, the little ones and that we may commit ourselves
to help them being convinced that whatsoever we do to them we do unto Christ,
let us pray to the Lord.
That the youth may be driven to safeguard their purity
so as not to efface the image of the Face of Christ from their souls, let us
pray to the Lord.
That the whole church, the shepherds and the faithful
may live poverty, charity and truth in a
credible manner in this world as a mirror of the Face of Christ, let us pray to
the Lord.
For those in government, that in making and enforcing
civil and social legislations, they may respect in all the image of the Son of
God, let us pray to the Lord.
(A brief pause can be made for personal
intentions and then the priest concludes)
Priest: Father in heaven, you willed to send your divine son
amongst us, that sharing our human condition he might be like us in everything
except sin. We pray, that as we
contemplate the human face of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Redeemer, we may
desire ardently to resemble him in spirit too. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.
Preface
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give him thanks
and praise.
It is our duty and salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Holy Father, Lord God omnipotent and eternal.
Above all, it gives us immense joy and delight
to offer unto you our praise in this holy temple,
wherein, through your wondrous providence,
you give us the grace of venerating the marvellous imprint
of your Son’s face, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sustain the piety of your children
and shower upon your holy people
the gifts of your fatherly and infinite love,
fruit of the redemptive passion
of your Son.
Through him the angels rejoice
and eternally adore the glory of your face.
May our humble voices join with theirs
in their hymn of praise.
Communion
Antiphon
Look upon us, O LORD, let
the light of your face shine upon us. You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound. Alleluia! (Ps.4, 7b,8)
Postcommunion Prayer
Strengthened
by this Sacrament, may the light of your face that brings us peace and fills
our spirit with joy shine on us, Lord, so that we may overcome the vanity of
this world and come one day to contemplate you in the light of your kingdom;
you who are Lord for ever and ever.
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And also
with you.
Priest:
May the Lord bless you and keep you: Amen
May he let his face shine upon you: Amen
May the Lord give you his peace: Amen
And may almighty God bless you, the Father, + and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit.
