Sunday, December 17 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B) Exult For Joy
The One You Do Not Know
Greeting (From the Second Reading)
May the God of peace make you perfect and holy, and keep you sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice, for the Lord is with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Exult For Joy
How come, with all the good things the Lord gives us, that so often we are sad, so joyless? We have one another, we have our faith, we have Jesus as our companion in life, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, we have a Father in heaven who cares. Rejoice, the Lord is near. Rejoice, the Lord is here. Rejoice, here with us is the Lord Jesus. Now with him, we can give proper thanks to our Father.
The One You Do Not Know
Do you want to know Jesus? Do you want to meet him today? Encounter him in people, and accompany them on the road of life, especially the poor, the broken-hearted, the downtrodden, and those who are not free. Jesus identifies with them. In them we find Jesus. Then he will no longer remain an unknown, remote person to us. We will then be with Jesus, and Jesus with us.
Penitential Act
Too often we are sad and thankless. We now ask the good Lord to forgive us. (pause)
Lord Jesus, you have brought us the joy of complete forgiveness: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you keep sharing with us the Good News of the life and the love of God: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you prepare us for a joy that will last and that no one can take away from us: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, forgive us all our sins and turn our sadness into joy. Lead us to everlasting life. R/Amen.
when he comes among us (pause)
Lord God, our Father, no one has ever seen you but you have shown yourself to us in your beloved Son Jesus Christ. Help us to recognize his face in the poor and the humble. Do not allow us to overlook him in the broken-hearted and the weak. Let the Holy Spirit give us the courage to bring his good news of hope and joy to all who wait for him and need him, whether they know it or not. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading • Is 61:1-2, 10-11:
I Rejoice, For God Is Near To The Humble
Second Reading • 1 Thes 5:16-24:
Rejoice: The Lord Is Coming Gospel • Jn 1:6-8,19-28: Among You Stands He Whom You Do Not Know Intercessions
While we wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us recognize him already present in our hope and in our love. Let us ask him to bring before his Father the needs and the cares of his people as we pray: R/ Come, Lord, stay with us.
-Lord, we pray for the Catholic Church and for all Christian Churches. May all bear witness to your presence by their concern for justice and peace, their search for unity and their respect for consciences, and above all by their hope in your future, we pray: R/ Come, Lord, stay with us.
Lord, we pray for all Christians. May they be always people of joy, happy and serene even in the tensions of life, for you have brought us forgiveness and mercy and you let us live in your love. Let our joy be contagious, we pray: R/ Come, Lord, stay with us.
Lord, we pray for all who sincerely seek you. Like you, may they bring freedom to prisoners, food and drink to the needy. Let them speak words of encouragement to the broken-hearted and in this way proclaim the Good News to the poor, we pray: R/ Come, Lord, stay with us.
Lord, we pray for ourselves. Let us be a community of faith and hope, of compassion, mutual respect, and service, of unity and sharing, where each feels responsible for the others. May this show people that you are alive among us, we pray: R/ Come, Lord, stay with us.
Come, stay with us Lord, and let nothing come between you and us, between us and people. Keep us in your love now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer Over the Gifts
God our Father, we welcome your Son in our midst with simple gifts of bread and wine, your present to us, and also the fruit of rain and sunshine and the work of our hands. Let the Spirit of your Son be also upon us to help us welcome one another with the bread and the love we share and with the wine of our joy. Let this be the sacrifice we offer you today together with your Son in our midst, Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Before the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us with joy give thanks to the Father with Jesus, his Son, already in our midst.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray to God our Father for the coming of his Son and of his kingdom: R/ Our Father...
Prayer for Peace
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. But we are each seeking our own little peace at the expense of others; peace is often on our lips, but we do not know how to live in peace. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever. R/Amen.
Invitation to Communion
Happy are we to be invited to the meal of joy of the Lord. For this is the Savior announced by the Baptist, he who is in our midst and whom we do not always recognize, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/Lord, lam not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God our Father, we thank you for the joy of this Eucharist. You have given us a glimpse of him whom we do not know well, Jesus Christ, your Son. Let him stay with us now in everyday life and help us to know him better by learning to recognize him in the people around us, especially in the poor and the humble, and by doing for one another what he did and still does for us. We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen,
Blessing
In this Eucharist we heard the words of the prophet: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he sent me to bring the Good News to the poor.” At the beginning of this preaching, Jesus uses the same words about himself. We share in his mission: we have to make him visible in the Church and in the world of today by our concern for the poor and the humble. May we carry out this task with joy, and with the blessing of Almighty God: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen. May the Lord go with you wherever you go. W Thanks be to God.
