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Reconciliation Weekend Penance Service During the Year of St. Paul

This has been put together to help priests and parishes that would like to incorporate a Penance Service during the observation of the Diocese of Fall River’s Reconciliation Weekend on March 20-21. It might be particularly useful to initiate the Friday night portion of the Reconciliation Weekend. Since this Reconciliation Weekend is occurring during the Year of St. Paul, the penance service has been put together with a particularly Pauline theme. These thoughts and prayers may of spiritual nourishment to all the faithful of the Diocese of Fall River as the Reconciliation Weekend approaches.

Entrance Hymn The Glory of These Forty Days or another Lenten Hymn.

Greeting After the opening song the celebrant greets the people. The meaning of the celebration is explained in these or similar words:

My brothers and sisters, now is the time to return to the Lord and be reconciled to him with all our hearts. St. exhorted his children in faith with these very words: “The night is ending, the day draws near. Let us cast off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us put on the Lord and give no thought to sin.” Let us now pray silently for these same graces of repentance. (pause)

Opening Prayer Celebrant: Brothers and sisters, We look forward with joy to celebrating the mystery of Christ’s Passion and Death in and of his Resurrection at . Counting on the powerful intercession of the Apostle Paul, let us pray that the saving acts of the Lord’s may lead us to a wholehearted conversion and fully inform our thoughts, words and deeds. (All pray in silence for a brief period.) 1 Lord God, merciful and almighty Father, as we look forward to the celebration of Holy Easter, grant us the of all our sins and newness of life in Christ. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Reading 1 Corinthians 5: 14-20

A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians

The impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm , as on Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. (The responsorial psalm should be sung.)

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness In your compassion blot out my offense. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. R.

My offenses truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done. R.

A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your . R.

Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervor sustain me. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise. R.

2 Acclamation Psalm 94, as on Ash Wednesday If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Gospel Matthew 7:1-5

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Homily

Examination of Conscience The following aid is based upon the and illumined by the words of St Paul. A period of silence should always be included here so that each person may personally examine his or her conscience.

1. “They knew God but did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.” (Rom 1:21-23) • Have I replaced the God of my life with creatures or creature comforts? • Is my faith in God firm and secure?

2. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of .” (Phil 2:9-11) • Have I revered and exalted the name of God or have I abased it in my speech? • Have I shown love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and the ?

3. “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:23-26) • Have I attended Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation? • Have I been faithful to prayer? • Do I offer God my joys and sorrows?

3 4. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth’.” (Eph 6:1-3) • Have I honored those who gave me life, both earthly and eternal? • Do I respect all rightful authority? • Have I been careful to educate my children in the faith?

5. “God saved us and called us with a holy calling … through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through .” (2 Tim 1:9-10) • Have I respected my brothers and sisters as children of God, made in his image and likeness? • Have I shared in the culture of death in any way? • Have I resorted in any way to violence of word or deed? Have I given myself over to ?

6. “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living , holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom 12:1) • Have I kept my whole body pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit? • Have I dishonored my body physically or through unworthy conversation or thoughts? • Have I indulged in activities which offend Christian decency?

7. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.” (Eph 4:28) • Have I stolen or cheated? • Have I shared my abundant blessings with the poor and needy?

8. “Let God be true though every man be false, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." • Have I lied? Do I ever speak or act falsely, especially in such a way that my neighbor is harmed? • Am I justified by my own words or compromised by them? • Have I gone against my conscience out of fear or hypocrisy?

9. “The commandments, ‘You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’." (Rom 13:9) • Am I concerned for the good and prosperity of the human community in which I live, or do I spend my life caring only for myself? • Have I a genuine love for my neighbor, or do I use them for my own ends, doing to them what I would not want done to myself?

10. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:25-28) • Have I been faithful to my spouse? • Have I sought to understand and support the Church’s teachings on marriage? • Do I honor marriage as a holy covenant that mirrors the love of Christ and the Church?

4 Act of

Celebrant: Please kneel.

Christ our Lord came to call sinners into his Father's kingdom by reconciling them through the blood of his Cross. Let us now make an act of sorrow in our hearts and resolve to avoid sin in the future.

After a brief period of silence, all say together an like the following:

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy!

Prayers of the Faithful

Celebrant: Please stand.

Lord our God, You know all things, especially the depths of the human heart. You know that we truly desire to be more generous in serving you and our neighbor. Look upon us now with love and hear our prayer.

Reader: Please respond, "Lord, hear our prayer."

1. Give us the strength to turn away from sin. We pray to the Lord. 2. Help us to be sorry for our sins and to keep our resolutions. We pray to the Lord. 3. Forgive our sins and have pity on our weakness. We pray to the Lord 4. Give us trust in your goodness and make us generous in serving you, as was your holy Apostle Paul. We pray to the Lord 5. Help us to be true followers of your Son and living members of the Church. We pray to the Lord

The Lord’s Prayer

Celebrant: God does not want the sinner to die, but to turn to him and live. May he be pleased that we have confessed our sinfulness, and show us mercy as we pray in the words our Savior gave us: Our Father… 5 Closing Prayer

Celebrant: Father in heaven, In your great love for this world, you gave up your only Son for our . His cross has redeemed us and his resurrection has raised us to glory. Fill our hearts with faith, our days with , and our lives with your love. Through the glorious intercession of your Apostle Paul, may your truth be on our lips and your wisdom in all our deeds. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Individual and

Then the penitents go to the priests designated for individual confession and confess their sins. Each one receives and accepts a fitting act of satisfaction and is absolved. After hearing the confession and offering suitable counsel, the priest extends his hands over the penitent's head and gives absolution.

The penitents leave the church in silence.

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