ANNOUNCER: From the historic Loretto Abbey Chapel... With the kind cooperation of the Toronto Catholic
District School Board... The National Catholic
Broadcasting Council presents... The Daily TV Mass. In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. PARISHIONERS: Amen. The grace and peace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, the friendship of
the Holy Spirit be with you all. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. Welcome to the celebration
of the daily televised Mass during this season of Lent. I am Fr. Michael Coutts. The televising of this Mass is made possible
by a contribution from three donors. The first is Lorraine Boyce
from Mont-Royal, Quebec, in memory of her sister, Betty Blahovici, and for the deceased members
of the Boyce and Grace families, and in thanksgiving
for blessings received. The second is Audrey Williams,
also from Mont-Royal, Quebec, in loving memory
of the deceased members of the Williams
and Cunninghan families and in thanksgiving
for blessings received. The third is Yvonne Lajoie
from Ruscom, Ontario, in memory of the Lajoie family, her parents,
Bernadette and Walter, sisters, Madeleine,
Juliette, and Corinne, and brothers,
Raymond and Edmond. Also, in thanksgiving
for blessings received and for
the daily televised Mass. Our thanks go out
to the sponsors of this Mass. And as we get into
this joyful season of Lent, we ask the Lord
to forgive us our sins. You were sent
to heal the contrite of heart. Lord, have mercy. PARISHIONERS: Lord, have mercy. FATHER:
You came to call sinners. Christ, have mercy. PARISHIONERS:
Christ, have mercy. FATHER: You are seated at
the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord, have mercy. PARISHIONERS: Lord, have mercy. May Almighty God
have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us
to everlasting life. PARISHIONERS: Amen. Let us pray. Show gracious favour, O Lord, to the works of penance
we have begun, that we may have strength
to accomplish with sincerity the bodily observance
we undertake through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever. PARISHIONERS: Amen. A reading from
The Book of the Prophet Isaiah. "Shout!
Do not hold back! Lift up your voice
like a trumpet! Announce to my people
their rebellion, to the house of Jacob,
their sins. Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation
that practised righteousness and did not forsake
the ordinance of their God. They ask me
of righteous judgements. They delight
to draw near to God. 'Why do we fast,
but you do not see? Why humble ourselves,
but you do not notice?' Look, you serve your own
interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast
only to quarrel and to fight and to strike
with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make
your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down
the head like a bulrush, and to lie
in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast
that I choose? To loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the throngs of yoke, to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? Is it not to share
your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor
into your house? When you see the naked,
to cover them, and not to hide yourself
from your own kin? Then your light shall
break forth like the dawn, and your healing
shall spring up quickly. Your vindicator
shall go before you. The glory of the Lord
shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call,
and the Lord will answer. You shall cry for help,
and He will say, 'Here I am.' The word of the Lord. PARISHIONERS: Thanks be to God. (Organ playing) # Have mercy on me, O God # # According
to Your steadfast love # # According
to Your abundant mercy # # Blot out # # My transgressions # # Wash me thoroughly # # From my inequity # # And cleanse me # # From my sin # # For I know # # My transgressions # # And my sin # # Is ever before me # # Against You # # You alone have I sinned # # And done what is evil # # In Your sight # # For You have no delight # # In sacrifice # # If I were to give
a burnt offering # # You would not be pleased # # The sacrifice
acceptable to God # # Is a broken spirit # # A broken and contrite heart # # O God # # You will not despise # (Organ playing) # Praise to You, Lord # # King of # # Eternal glory # # Praise to You, Lord # # King of eternal # # Glory # # Seek good # # And not evil # # So that You may live # # And the Lord # # Will be with you # # Praise to You, Lord # # King of eternal # # Glory # The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. A reading from
The Holy Gospel according to Matthew. PARISHIONERS:
Glory to You, O Lord. "The disciples of John
came to Jesus, saying, 'Why do we
and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?' And Jesus said to them, 'The wedding-guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom
is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'" The gospel of the Lord. PARISHIONERS: Praise to You,
Lord Jesus Christ. Out liturgy
has been described as "the joyful season of Lent." Pretty difficult
to get into that idea of a "joyful season of Lent" when you hear
Isaiah and fasting, when you hear
Psalm 51 that says, "If you, O Lord, should mark
our guilt, who will survive?" And, the dreadful story
in the gospel of a bridegroom being taken away. And yet, Pope Francis has said, "We, as Christians, should not
have a face, a demeanor, that looks like we have
just come back from a funeral." We should be joyful. So, how can we be joyful when we hear Isaiah speaking
about a fast that you and I do? And he said "Ah-ah,
that's not up to the mark. It... you need to go deeper
and it means something more." Or you hear the gospel where you have
this beautiful celebration with the bride and bridegroom,
and there's wine, and feasting, and dancing, and songs,
and right in the middle, there's somebody
that kidnaps the bridegroom and takes it away. Everybody will be
totally distraught. And then Psalm 51
which is said every Friday all through the year
in the Office of the Readings when we speak about,
"God, if You mark our guilt, who will survive?" It's rather difficult, and yet, in the (Unclear) order
to the Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis says that every individual Christian
and every community should enable the poor to be a part of the society, should allow them to realize that they are special. This is the joy of the gospel. So what does Isaiah
say to us about this fasting? He starts off
with something negative. He says, "This is not
what fasting is all about." Says, "Any fasting that
does not have humility about it is not fasting. If I fast,
and I blow the trumpet, and I put it in the newspaper,
and I tell everybody 'Hey, look at me.
I'm fasting.' That is not fasting at all." Also he says,
"If you start fasting in order just to please God, just in order to get
blessings from God, just in order
to get rewards from God, that is not
fasting at all either." Well, we do fast in order that we may
give gratitude to God for the gifts
that He have given us. It's quite different
from trying to just please God in order to get something. And then he says, "You have to be bothered about
fasting which is just a façade. It just covers all the sins
that I have been committing, and, in order to show that all the things
that I've done wrong are bad, I fast and put on this demeanor of fasting and doing penance." That is not
what it is all about. But, what is fasting? He says, "Fasting
simply means three things." He says...
In the first place it says "to set the captives free." Now, you and I don't think
we have captives, but in something that
you and I have been experiencing over the last two years, and people just don't want
to even mention it, we have been captives in a way. We haven't been able
to get out of our houses. We haven't been able
to do the things we want to do. We haven't been able to go to
cinema houses and theaters. In one way, we are captives,
but that is not exactly... But you know exactly
what it feels to be like that. But I can make people
feel captive with my fasting when I fast
and set such a high standard that people who do not have
the skills, the opportunities, or the means to fast the way I am fasting because
of the privileges that I have. I put a pressure on them
and make them captives. The second thing that Isaiah
speaks about fasting is, he says,
"Take the yoke off the necks." And in this sense, it speaks
about the debts that we have. If we can relieve
the debts that people have, both individually,
and in countries, then it will be fasting
that is worthwhile, its name and worth its salt. So many countries
in our world today, the third world countries,
have received loans, have received money. And they, the gr-- Great--
Sorry. The GNP of these countries,
half off it goes towards paying the premiums
on these loans. And the Lord says,
"Set these people free." It's good to look back
into the Old Testament where they say that, "Every seven years
you should set the people free, and every 49 years cancel every debt possible." And finally, he says,
"Sharing bread with the poor." This does not only mean that
we should share what we have, but also, we should not
waste what we have. We should not complain when we do not get
the things that we want to get. Francis set a beautiful example. It is said that any groceries, any produce
that grocery stores have, they cannot throw out
at the end of the day, in order to raise
the prices the next day. They have to be given,
by law, to the food banks and to help the needy
and the poor. That is what
fasting is all about. Which brings us
to the gospel where the disciples say--
The disciples-- "Your disciples fast..." "Our disciples fast,
but your disciples don't." Jesus is acting
prophetically here. He knows that these people
are waiting for the Messiah. The Messiah has come. The signs
of the Messiah has come. But they don't
want to accept it. And as a result, He knows what will happen to Him. That he will suffer, and die,
and rise from the dead, but also,
Jerusalem will be destroyed. He acts prophetically. And so he speaks to them
of this terrible thing, of a bridegroom being taken. He says at that time they will
mourn and they will fast. So as we get into
the season of Lent, a joyful season of Lent, may our fasting
be worth its salt. God bless you all. Would you join me
as we pray together? For all those in our daily
televised Mass community who have asked to be included
in the Prayer Intention Book, especially for those who are seeking
a deeper awareness of God, we pray to the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Lord, hear our prayer. Gather into one body, all who bear
the name of Christian, that the world may believe
that in Christ, whom, You, our heavenly Father, has sent. We pray to the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Lord, hear our prayer. Loving God,
show Your love to all those who are suffering. Open their eyes to the vision
of Your revelation. We pray to the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Lord, hear our prayer. Loving God, we thank You
for this joyful season of Lent. Help us to get into it
with the true spirit of fasting, so that we may
give glory to You, through Christ our Lord. PARISHIONERS: Amen. Blessed are You, Lord,
God of all creation. For through Your goodness,
we have this bread we offer You, fruit of the earth
and work of human hands. It will become, for us,
the bread of life. PARISHIONERS:
Blessed be God forever. Blessed are You, Lord,
God of all creation. For through Your goodness, we have this wine we offer You, fruit of the vine,
and work of human hands. It will become, for us,
our spiritual drink. PARISHIONERS:
Blessed be God forever. Lord God, be pleased to accept
these gifts that we offer to You with humble
and with contrite hearts. Pray, my sisters, my brothers, that this, our sacrifice, be acceptable to God,
the Almighty Father. PARISHIONERS: May the Lord
accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory
of His name, for our good, and the good
of all of His Holy Church. We offer, O Lord, the sacrifice
of our Lenten observance, praying that it may make our
intentions acceptable to You, and add to our powers
of self-restraint. We make this prayer through our
Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. - PARISHIONERS: Amen.
- The Lord be with you. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. Lift up your hearts. PARISHIONERS:
We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks
to the Lord, our God. PARISHIONERS:
It is right and just. It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere
to give You thanks, Lord, Holy Father,
almighty and eternal God, through Christ, our Lord. For by
Your gracious gift, each year, Your faithful
await the sacred paschal feast with joy of minds made pure, so that
more eagerly intent on prayer, and on the works of charity, and participating
in the mysteries by which they have been reborn, they may be led to the fullness
of grace that You bestow on Your sons and daughters. And so, with the angels
and archangels, with thrones and dominion, and with all the hosts
and powers of Heaven, we sing the hymn of Your glory,
as with one voice, we acclaim. (Organ music playing) # Holy, holy # # Holy Lord # # God of hosts # # 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... # You are, indeed holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy,
therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down Your Spirit
upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become, for us, the body and blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time He was betrayed and entered willingly
into His passion, He took bread,
and giving You thanks, broke it,
and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take this,
all of you, and eat of it. For this is my body, which will be given up for you." (Chimes ringing) In a similar way
when supper was ended, He took the chalice. And once more giving thanks, He gave it
to His disciples saying, "Take this,
all of you, and drink from it. For this is
the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new
and eternal covenant, which will be
poured out for you and for many,
for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me." (Chimes ringing) # The mystery of faith # (Organ playing) # We proclaim
Your death, O Lord # # And profess # # Your resurrection # # Until # # You come # # Again # Therefore,
as we celebrate the memorial of His death
and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the bread of life,
and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks
that You have held us worthy to be in Your presence
and minister to You. Humbly we pray, that partaking
of the body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered
into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, Your Church
spread throughout the world, and bring her
to the fullness of charity, together with Francis our pope, Thomas our bishop,
the bishops across Canada, and all the clergy,
and this entire people of God. Remember, also,
our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep
in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have
died in Your mercy. Welcome them
into the light of Your face. Have mercy on us all, that with the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Blessed Joseph, her spouse,
with the blessed apostles, and with all the saints
who have pleased You throughout the ages, we may merit to be
coheirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify You through Your Son, Jesus Christ. # Through Him,
with Him, and in Him # # O God, Almighty Father # # In the unity
of the Holy Spirit # # All glory
and honour is Yours # # Forever and ever # # Amen... # # Amen # # Amen... # At the Saviour's command,
and formed by divine teaching, we now dare to say... ALL: ...our Father,
who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on Earth
as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us,
Lord, from every evil. Graciously
grant peace in our day, that by the help of Your mercy,
we may be always free from sin, safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope, and the coming of
our Saviour, Jesus Christ. ALL: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever. Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to Your apostles, "Peace I leave you.
My peace I give you." Look not on our sins, but on
the faith of this, Your Church, and graciously
grant her peace and unity in accordance with Your will, who live and reign
forever and ever. PARISHIONERS: Amen. Peace of the Lord
be with you always. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. And wherever you are,
share with one another a sign of this peace
and friendship. (Organ playing) # Lamb of God # # You take away # # The sins of the world # # Have mercy # # On us # # Lamb of God # # You take away # # The sins of the world # # Have mercy # # On us # # Lamb of God # # You take away # # The sins of the world # # Grant us # # Peace # Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away
the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called
to the supper of the Lamb. ALL: Lord,
I am not worthy that You should
enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. May the body
and blood of Christ bring us and all our dear ones
unto life everlasting. PARISHIONERS: Amen. (Chimes ringing) ANNOUNCER:
Please join me now in this act
of spiritual communion. # Let us pray. We pray, Almighty God, that through partaking
of this mystery, we may be cleansed
of all our misdeeds and so be suited for
the remedies of Your compassion, through Christ our Lord. PARISHIONERS: Amen. The Lord be with you. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. May Almighty God bless you. The Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. PARISHIONERS: Amen. Go in the peace of Christ
to love and serve the Lord. PARISHIONERS: Thanks be to God. ANNOUNCER:
Our thanks to our donors for the gift of this Mass. # # Lord of all hopefulness # # Lord of all joy # # Whose trust ever child-like # # No cares can destroy # # Be there at our waking # # And give us, we pray # # Your bliss
in our hearts, Lord # # At the break of the day # # Lord of all eagerness # # Lord of all faith # # Whose strong hands
were skilled # # At the plane and the lathe # # Be there at our labours # # And give us... #
