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Penance Service During the Year of St 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. Paul the Apostle 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 Jesus Christ 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 Holy Week and of his Resurrection at Easter. Counting on the powerful intercession of the Apostle Paul, let us pray that the saving acts of the Lord’s redemption 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 forgiveness 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 love of Christ 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 Psalm 51, as on Ash Wednesday 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 spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit. 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 Gospel 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 Ten Commandments 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 heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (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 saints? 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 new covenant 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 Catholic 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 the gospel.” (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 anger? 6. “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 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 church 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 Contrition Celebrant: Please kneel.
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