ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
by those who tell of the might of God. Jdt 13:19

OPENING PRAYER

Lord our God,
you chose the mother of your beloved Son
to be the mother and help of Christians;
grant that we may live under her protection
and that your Church may enjoy unbroken peace.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.




FIRST READING
A great sign appeared in the sky.

From the book of Revelation of St. John the Apostle
12:1-3, 7-12, 17

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems.

Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God
day and night.
They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.”

Then the dragon became angry with the woman
and went off to wage war
against the rest of her offspring,
those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus.

The Word of the Lord.


Or:
I will put enmity between you and the woman.

From the book of Genesis
3:1-6, 13-15

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"
But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad."
The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

The Lord God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."

Then the Lord God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."


The Word of the Lord.


RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Jdt 16: 13-15


R. Exalt and invoke the name of the Lord.

A new hymn I will sing to my God.
O Lord, great are you and glorious,
wonderful in power and unsurpassable. R.

Let your every creature serve you;
for you spoke, and they were made,
You sent forth your spirit, and they were created;
no one can resist your word. R.

The mountains to their bases,
and the seas, are shaken;
the rocks, like wax, melt before your glance.
But to those who fear you, you are very merciful. R.


VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
Cf Lk 1: 45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary,
because you believed;
the word of the Lord was fulfilled in you.

R. Alleluia.


GOSPEL
Thus Jesus began his miracles.
From the Gospel according to John
2: 1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Draw some out now and bring it to the headwaiter." So they brought it to him.

And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now."

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

The Gospel of the Lord.


PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Lord,
we offer you this sacrifice of praise
as we rejoice in this memorial of the mother of your Son;
grant that through the help of so great a mother
we may find you coming to our rescue in every trial.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.


PREFACE
Virgin Mary Mother and Help of the Christian people
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right to give him thanks and praise.


Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere
to give you thanks
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You chose the immaculate Virgin Mary,
the mother of your Son
to be the mother and help of Christians,
so that under her protection
we might be fearless in waging the battle of faith,
steadfast in holding the teachings of the apostles,
and tranquil in spirit in the storm of this world,
until we reach the joy of your heavenly city.

With steadfast love
we sing your unending praise;
we join with the host of heaven
in their triumphant song:


Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
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.


COMMUNION ANTIPHON
He is your glory; He, your God who has done
for you those great things. cf. Dt 10:21


PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Lord God,
refreshed by this heavenly sacraments
and relying on the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we ask that we may cast aside old ways of sin
and put on Jesus Christ,
the author of the new creation,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.