In order to worthily sanctify the Fourth Sunday of Easter,
Aleteia proposes this celebration of the Word of God at home.
In collaboration with Magnificat magazine
Instructions:
- This celebration requires the presence of at least two people.
- If you’re alone, you can simply read this celebration, united in your heart and spirit with the Church.You can also watch the Mass on television.
- Choose the most convenient time, from Saturday evening (the vigil of Sunday) to Sunday evening.
- This celebration is particularly suitable for use with family. In order to respect quarantine measures, you should refrain from inviting others from outside your household. If anyone in your house is ill, make sure they remain in isolation to ensure that all safety guidelines are strictly followed.
- Set up the needed number of chairs in front of a prayer corner, respecting an appropriate distance of at least a yard between each.
- Take the time to renew a little the prayer corner’s decorations: images, candles, real or artificial flowers, drawings by your children, garlands, etc.
- A simple cross or crucifix must always be visible in the background.
- Designate a person to lead the prayer.
- The leader will also direct the preparation of the celebration, during which he or she will mark the length of the periods of silence.
- Designate readers for the readings.
- During the preparation of the celebration: you can prepare petitions for the Prayers of the Faithful or Universal Prayer (in case that is not possible, a standard list of petitions is provided here for use during the course of the celebration). You may also prepare suitable hymns.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Celebration of the Word
“I came so that they might have life,
and have it more abundantly.”
The leader of the celebration reads:
Brothers and sisters,
Sunday, the first day of the week,
is for us Christians the day of the Lord,
the day instituted to celebrate his Resurrection.
So, in a special way on this fourth Sunday of Easter,
we have an ardent desire to answer the call of our Good Shepherd,
to get out of our house,
and gather in our beloved parish church
for Sunday Mass!
Sadly, on this Sunday, our Shepherd
is still prevented from herding his flock
to give him the sacrament of unity in love…
Brothers and sisters,
may these contrary circumstances
not undermine our trust:
our Good Shepherd has conquered this world
and its prince, Satan!
Thwarting all the snares of the enemy of humanity,
our Good Shepherd came seeking out
his scattered sheep, one by one,
to give each one his Life,
this life in abundance that overcomes all trials,
and triumphs even over the abysses of death.
And so, this Sunday,
since we are gathered here to pray in his name,
Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd, comes to us:
he is right here among us.
True, our eyes will not see the breaking of the bread,
and our mouths will not receive bread from his hand.
However, since we are going to read his Word in Church,
the Word of God himself will indeed be present among us,
and will surely talk to us.
Then, we’ll recognize his voice.
He’s going to explain to us why he had to suffer his passion,
and we with him,
in order to enter into glory,
and we in him.
So, brothers and sisters, since we cannot receive
the Lord in the Eucharist in our mouths,
let us open our ears!
Let our hearts be consumed with fire within us!
And may our desire to receive Communion
give us the grace to be, all our lives,
the Body of Christ never ceasing to work in the world
so that his sheep may have life,
and have it more abundantly.
After three minutes of silence, all rise and make the Sign of the Cross, saying:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The leader continues:
To prepare ourselves to receive God’s Word
and in order for it to heal us,
we recognize ourselves as sinners.
The penitential rite follows. For example:
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
For we have sinned against you.
Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
And grant us your salvation.
May Almighty God have mercy on us;
forgive us our sins,
And bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The following is said or sung:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Gloria is then said or sung:
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Glória in excélsis Deo
et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
Laudámus te, benedícimus te,
adoramus te, glorificámus te,
gratias agimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis, Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili Unigénite, Jesu Christe,
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus,
tu solus Altíssimus, Jesu Christe,
cum Sancto + Spíritu : in glória Dei Patris.
Amen.
PRAYER
The leader says the opening prayer:
O Jesus, our Good Shepherd,
this Sunday, we are impeded from perpetuating,
through the celebration of the Eucharist,
your offering of your life for your flock:
more than ever, you ask us to make it present,
in the way we love one another
as you loved us. Amen.
All sit down.
FIRST READING (Acts 2:14A, 36-41)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other apostles,
“What are we to do, my brothers?”
Peter said to them,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call.”
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM(23: 1-3A, 3B4, 5, 6)
R/ Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.R/
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.R/
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.R/
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.R/
SECOND READING (1 Peter 2:20B-25)
Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
All rise.
GOSPEL(John 10:1-10)
Alleluia. Alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
Alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
At the end of the Gospel, all sing or say again the joy of the Resurrection:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
All are seated, and the leader repeats slowly,
as if it were a far-off echo:
“I came so that they might have life,
and have it more abundantly.”
All observe three minutes of silence for silent personal meditation.
PROFESSION OF FAITH
All then stand to profess the faith of the Church
saying the Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
UNIVERSAL PRAYER
All remain standing for the prayers of the faithful, as prepared ahead of time. The following intercessions may be used instead, separating the intentions with an intervening moment of silence.
The leader of the prayer says:
Let us give thanks to the Father who sent us his Son
to give us life, and have it more abundantly:
All say the refrain:
R/ Glory to you, loving Father!
- We pray for your Church
in which you gather your flock:
let it open wide its gates to all who have gone astray.R/ - For the Pope, bishops and priests
called to follow Christ to proclaim the Gospel:
may the example of their lives be their first form of witness.R/ - For catechumens awaiting baptism:
may they may be immersed
in the death and resurrection of Christ.R/ - For families, our domestic churches:
may they be places of sanctification
where the young are brought up to know, love and serve you. R/ - For those who suffer from illness,
and for those close to them:
may they receive from you healing of body and heart. R/ - For all those who have left this world:
may they rejoice forever in eternal happiness. R/
The people present may add, in turn, their own intentions. At the end of each of them, all repeat the refrain together:
R/ Glory to you, loving Father!
The leader introduces the Lord’s Prayer:
United in the Spirit and in the communion of the Church,
we dare to pray as the Lord Jesus himself
taught us:
All say or sing the Our Father:
Our Father…
Continuing immediately with:
For the kingdom…
Then the leader invites those present to share a sign of peace:
We have just joined our voices
with that of the Lord Jesus to pray to the Father.
We are sons and daughters in the Son.
In the love that unites us with one another,
renewed by the word of God,
we can exchange a gesture of peace,
a sign of the communion
we receive from the Lord.
All then exchange a greeting of peace from a distance: for example, by bowing deeply towards each other in turn; or, as a family, by blowing each other a kiss. Then all sit down.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The leader says:
When we cannot receive sacramental communion for lack of a Mass, Pope Francis urges us to practice spiritual communion, also called “communion of desire.”
The Council of Trent reminds us that this “consists in an ardent desire to feed on the Heavenly Bread, with a living faith that acts through charity and that makes us participants in the fruits and graces of the Sacrament.” The value of our spiritual communion depends therefore on our faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist as a source of life, love and unity, and our desire to receive Communion in spite of our inability to do so.
With that in mind, I now invite you to bow your head, to close your eyes and recollect yourselves.
Silence
Deep in our hearts,
may a burning desire arise within us to unite ourselves with Jesus,
in sacramental communion,
and then to bring His love to life into our lives,
loving others as He loved us.
All remain in silence for 5 minutes for a
heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus Christ.
You may optionally stand and say or sing a beautiful Alleluia once more:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
All remain standing, turning to face the Cross of Christ. With hands joined in prayer, the prayer leader, in the name of all, says the prayer of blessing:
FINAL BLESSING
May God, who by the Resurrection of his Only Begotten Son
was pleased to confer on us
the gift of redemption and of adoption,
give us gladness by his blessing. Amen.
May he, by whose redeeming work
we have received the gift of everlasting freedom,
make us heirs to an eternal inheritance.
Amen.Amen.
And may we, who have already risen with Christ
in Baptism through faith,
by living in a right manner on this earth,
be united with him in the homeland of heaven. Amen.
All together, each with hands joined in prayer:
And may the blessing of almighty God,
come down on us and remain with us for ever. Amen.
All make the Sign of the Cross.
Then parents may trace the Sign of the Cross on their children’s foreheads.
To conclude the celebration, the participants may sing the Regina Caeli,
or some other joyful, well-known Marian hymn.
Regína caéli, lætáre, Allelúia!
Quia quem meruísti portáre, Allelúia!
Resurréxit, sicut dixit, Allelúia!
Ora pro nóbis Déum, Allelúia!
O Queen of heaven rejoice! Alleluia!
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, Alleluia!
Hath arisen as he said, Alleluia!
Pray for us to God, Alleluia!
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To continue to sanctify the Lord’s Resurrection, Aleteia will propose occasional guides for celebrations of the Word at home. This way, in your home, you can continue to keep Sunday holy, despite the circumstances, for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.
To continue to sanctify this day, it would be good to reconnect with the venerable tradition of Vespers by celebrating as a family, towards the end of the afternoon, the office of the Liturgy
of the Hours. Alternatively, you can pray today’s Evening Prayer, which can be found here.
You can also find other resources for free on the Magnificat website.
And today we celebrate...