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First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul.
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul.
You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great.
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul.
They look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul.
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul.
Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.
When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
Gospel Reading: Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
"You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased."
Greetings (See Second Reading)
God has revealed to us his kindness and love
in Jesus Christ our Savior
by saving us through the cleansing water of rebirth
and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A. My Beloved Son
Still in the Christmas spirit we celebrate today the Lord's Baptism. On Christmas he manifested himself as a child, yet he was no other than God's Son. At the Epiphany he manifested himself to the Gentiles as the Savior of all people. Today he manifests himself as the Son intensely loved by the Father, with the Spirit resting on him and guiding him. Now he can begin his mission. In this Eucharist we ask our Lord to make us aware how we too, through baptism, are beloved sons and daughters of the Father, and how the fire of the Spirit should inflame us.
B. What About Our Baptism?
On this feast of Our Lord's baptism the liturgy reminds us of our own baptism. At his baptism Jesus saw the mission ahead of him and committed himself to it. He received heaven's confirmation that the Father and the Holy Spirit were with him in his mission of saving people. At our baptism too the Father accepted us as his beloved sons and daughters and gave us the mission of living the life of Christ for all people to see. We ask the Lord here with us to give us the insight and strength to accept our Christian mission in life.
Penitential Act
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord
to see whether we are taking our Christian life seriously.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, beloved Son of the Father,
the Father assured you of his approval:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, the Spirit came down on you
and confirmed that you were doing
what was right and good:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you brought us in baptism
the love of the Father
and the fire of the Spirit:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us, Lord,
that we have not fully used
the grace of our baptism.
Renew us and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that with Jesus
we may be God's beloved sons and daughters
(pause)
God our Father,
with your whole people reborn in baptism
we give you thanks.
In Jesus, each of us has become
your beloved son or daughter.
Fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit
who guided Jesus in life and death.
Let this Spirit set us free
to serve you and one another
with unselfish, grateful love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction: Here Is Your God
To his repentant people, God promises a savior who will be like a loving shepherd. At his baptism Jesus will be revealed as that Savior and God's own Son.
Second Reading Introduction: God's Grace Is Shown In Jesus
God sent us a Savior to give us God's life. In his Son Jesus he showed us how great his compassionate love is.
Gospel Introduction: You Are My Beloved Son
In his description of Jesus' baptism Luke recognizes Jesus as God's Son. His Father invests Jesus with his mission as Savior and the Holy Spirit will guide him.
General Intercessions
Let us pray today to our Father in heaven, who sent his Son among us as a servant, to set us free and to make us new. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, hear your people.
• For the Church and its leaders, that they and we may not seek compromises with wealth and power, but learn to commit ourselves in love and to help the poor, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
• For all those who do not yet know Christ or who are estranged from the Church, that the way we live Christ's Gospel may reveal to them the love of the Lord, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
• For us Christians and for all people, that the Holy Spirit may guide us to respect all who are little and defenseless; that we may not crush them but give them justice, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
• For all who are baptized, that they may follow Christ and that like him they may learn to serve rather than to be served, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
• For us and for all our Christian communities, that the Eucharist may strengthen in us the gifts of the Holy Spirit and make us ever more faithful to our vocation as God's beloved children, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
Lord our God, you have called us to become new when we were baptized. Keep renewing us through your Spirit, that we may have the courage to go with Christ all the way, for he is your Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
these gifts of bread and wine
will become your beloved Son Jesus
on whom your favor rests.
Strengthen us with his body and blood
and let his Holy Spirit renew us
as people who live without compromise
the message of justice and love
and the very life of your Son.
In this way, may we truly be
your beloved sons and daughters
on whom your favor rests,
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us give wholehearted thanks to the Father for having made us in baptism his beloved sons and daughters together with Jesus our Lord.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
Baptized in the Holy Spirit
and children of the Father
through Jesus, his beloved Son,
we pray with all trust Jesus' own prayer: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and grant us your peace in our day.
Revive in us the grace of baptism
and guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our mission
of living the life of Jesus in this world,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord,
the beloved Son of the Father,
on whom God's favor rests.
Happy are we to be invited
to share his table
and to live his life.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
you have opened heaven to us
to strengthen us with the bread of life
and to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
Make us new and call us away
from our certainties and attachments.
Send us out to go forward without fear
on the road of justice and peace,
that we may be your beloved children
together with your faithful Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
At his baptism
Jesus saw his vocation:
to serve God and people.
At our baptism
we were given our vocation.
It is, in our own small way,
the vocation of Jesus.
Let each of us become
a faithful servant
and son or daughter of the Father,
a humble servant of those around us.
And may Almighty God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in the peace and the love of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
