In order to worthily sanctify the Fifth Sunday of Easter,
Aleteia proposes this celebration of the Word of God at home.

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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.

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FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Celebration of the Word

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Have faith in God and faith in me.”

The leader of the celebration reads:

Brothers and sisters,

Certainly, trials litter the path of our existence,

and in these days of pandemic,

we are more aware than ever

of the inevitability of death at the end of our lives.

And now, on this fifth Sunday of Easter,

still bathed in the light of the Resurrection,

Jesus reveals to us that He is the Way that leads to the Father

and that, if He left this world,

it is precisely to prepare the best places for us

near the Father.

What a wonderful prospect!

The bosom of the Father is, from all eternity,

the dwelling place of his beloved Son,

and, behold, it is there, with him and in him,

at the heart of the unity of Love of the Father and the Son,

that we are promised to live a blessed eternity,

in the Communion of the Holy Spirit.

 

So, what should we be afraid of?

We are awaited in the heart of God!

A home is prepared for us in his house!

 

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:

 

Almighty ever-living God,

constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us,

that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism

may, under your protective care, bear much fruit

and come to the joys of life eternal. Amen.

 

All sit down.

 

FIRST READING  (Acts 6:1-7)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

 

As the number of disciples continued to grow,

the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews

because their widows

were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said,

“It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.

Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,

filled with the Spirit and wisdom,

whom we shall appoint to this task,

whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer

and to the ministry of the word.”

The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,

so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,

also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,

and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

They presented these men to the apostles

who prayed and laid hands on them.

The word of God continued to spread,

and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;

even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

 

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

 

PSALM (33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19)

 

R/ Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Exult, you just, in the LORD;

praise from the upright is fitting.

Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;

with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises. R/

 

Upright is the word of the LORD,

and all his works are trustworthy.

He loves justice and right;

of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. R/

 

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,

upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

and preserve them in spite of famine.R/

 

SECOND READING  (1 Peter 2:4-9)

Beloved:

Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings

but chosen and precious in the sight of God,

and, like living stones,

let yourselves be built into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it says in Scripture:

Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,

a cornerstone, chosen and precious,

and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.

Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,

and

A stone that will make people stumble,

and a rock that will make them fall.

They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.

 

You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people of his own,

so that you may announce the praises” of him

who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

 

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

 

All rise.

GOSPEL (John 14:1-12)

Alleluia. Alleluia.

I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord;

no one comes to the Father, except through me.

Alleluia.

 

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You have faith in God; have faith also in me.

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.

If there were not,

would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come back again and take you to myself,

so that where I am you also may be.

Where I am going you know the way.”

Thomas said to him,

“Master, we do not know where you are going;

how can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

If you know me, then you will also know my Father.

From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him,

“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time

and you still do not know me, Philip?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.

The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,

or else, believe because of the works themselves.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,

and will do greater ones than these,

because I am going to the Father.”

 

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:

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Have faith in God and faith in me.”

 

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:

 

God has called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Counting on the Father’s boundless

mercy we now pray:

 

All say the refrain:

 

R/ Lord, hear our prayer.

• That all members of the Church may be strengthened in holiness and truth, and walk in the fear of the Lord. Let us pray to the Lord.R/
• Holy Father’s Intention: We pray that deacons, faithful in their service to the Word and the poor, may be an invigorating symbol for the entire Church. Let us pray to the Lord.R/
• That divisions will be healed, violence will cease, and the peace and justice of God’s Kingdom will reign in every nation on earth. Let us pray to the Lord.R/
• For all mothers, that through the intercession of the Mother of God, the Lord will bless them and reward them for their sacrifices and love. Let us pray to the Lord. R/
• For the poor, the vulnerable, the lonely, and the forgotten: that they know the security and love of Jesus. Let us pray to the Lord. R/
• For an end to the coronavirus pandemic, for God’s mercy on all who are suffering and dying, and for strength and protection on all healthcare workers dedicated to fighting it. Let us pray to the Lord. R/

The people present may add, in turn, their own intentions. At the end of each of them, all repeat the

refrain together:

 

R/ Lord, hear our prayer.

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.

 

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!