ANNOUNCER:
From the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Manresa Jesuit
Spiritual Renewal Centre in Pickering, Ontario... The National Catholic
Broadcasting Council presents... The Daily TV Mass. Welcome to the celebration
of the Daily TV Mass. I am Fr. Francis Salasiar. The televising of
this Mass is made possible by the contribution
from Arden and Bill Broadhurst from Toronto, Ontario. This Mass is offered for all their
family members. We know that this television
Mass brings meaning to the lives of tens of thousands of
Canadians across our land and around the world, and they join with me in thanking our donor for the gift of
this Mass. In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The grace and peace
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and
the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. Dear sisters and
brothers, we come around this altar
to worship the Lord, and as we
come together today, we celebrate the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross. We come to honour
the cross. We come to celebrate
the victory that Christ won for
us through the cross. As we come, in honouring
the cross, in honouring
the love that God the Father
and the Son had for us, we are reminded to
acknowledge our failures, the times that we have failed
to show our love to each other. Let us ask
God's mercy. You were sent to heal the
contrite of heart. Lord, have mercy. CONGREGANTS:
Lord, have mercy. FRANCIS: You came
to call the sinners. Christ, have mercy. CONGREGANTS:
Christ, have mercy. FRANCIS: You are seated at
the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord, have mercy. CONGREGANTS:
Lord, have mercy. May almighty God have
mercy on us, forgive us
of our sins, and bring us to
life everlasting. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. Glory to God
in the highest... ALL:
And on Earth, peace to people
of goodwill. 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 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. FRANCIS:
Let us pray. O God, who willed
that your only begotten Son should undergo the cross to
save the human race, grant, we pray, that we who have
known this mystery on Earth may merit the grace
of his redemption in heaven through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever
and ever. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. A reading from the
Book of Numbers. "As they journeyed across
the desert, the Israelites left Mount Hor
by the way to the Red Sea to go around the
land of Edom, but the people
became impatient on the way. The people spoke against
God and against Moses. 'Why have you brought
us up out of Egypt to die in the
wilderness? For there is no
food and no water, and we detest this
miserable food.' Then the Lord sent poisonous
serpents among the people, and they
bit the people, so that many
Israelites died. The people came
to Moses and said, 'We have sinned by
speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord to take
away the serpents from us.' So Moses prayed for
the people, and the Lord
said to Moses, 'Make a poisonous serpent
and set it on a pole and everyone who is bitten shall
look at it and live.' So Moses made a serpent of
bronze and put it upon a pole, and whenever a
serpent bit someone, that person would look
at the serpent of bronze and live." The word of
the Lord. CONGREGANTS:
Thanks be to God. # # Do not forget # # Do not forget # # The works # # Of the Lord # # Give ear,
O my people # # To my teaching # # Incline
your ears # # To the words of
my mouth # # I will open
my mouth # # In a parable # # I will utter dark
sayings # # From of old # # Do not forget # # Do not forget # # The works # # Of the Lord # # When he
killed them # # They sought
for him # # They repented # # And sought
God earnestly # # They remembered # # That God was
their rock # # The most
highest God # # Their redeemer # # Do not forget # # Do not forget # # The works # # Of the Lord # # But they
flattered him # # With their mouths # # They lied to him # # With their
tongues # # Their heart was
not steadfast # # Toward him # # They were not true # # To his covenant # # Do not forget # # Do not forget # # The works # # Of the Lord # # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # We adore you,
O Christ # # And we
praise you # # Because
by your cross # # You have redeemed
the world # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # # Hallelujah # The Lord be
with you. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. A reading from the Holy
Gospel according to John. CONGREGANTS: Glory
to you, O Lord. "Jesus said
to Nicodemus, 'No one has ascended
into heaven except the one who
descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son
of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in
him may have eternal life. For God so
loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him may not perish but may
have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send
the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order
that the world might be
saved through him.'" The gospel
of the Lord. ALL: Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ. FRANCIS: As we celebrate the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross, the first question that
came to my mind is, why do we have
this feast? What do we
celebrate here? Why exalt the cross, the cross, which was an
instrument of death and torture? It could have been
a real challenge for the first-century Christians
to understand this concept. The cross could have brought
back lots of bad memories of the cruelty of
the Romans. It could be a challenge
for each of us, too. To nonbelievers, to celebrate
the Feast of the Cross make no sense
at all. It is sheer
madness. That's why
St. Paul would say, "A stumbling block to Jews
and foolishness to Gentiles." To those who
do not believe, the cross is
exclusively a symbol of pain and
horrible death. So, what is the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross? Why do
we celebrate? We celebrate
this feast to see how God used the
instrument of torture to bring about
his glory. The call from Christ
to each of us is to take up our
crosses and follow him. It's not only Christ
who took up the cross. We, each of us, are
instructed to do the same. Christ makes
it clear we can't be a
real follower of Christ if we don't pick up
our crosses and follow him. Most of us wear the
cross around our neck because we want to remind
ourselves who we are, whose we are, and what is the
call for each of us. So, the cross, for
believers, is not so much
a symbol of pain but rather of
the love that made even that much
suffering worth it. For we heard
in the gospel, "For God so
loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him may not perish
but have eternal life." So, we come to
celebrate that love, that sacrifice God the Father
offered through his Son, God the Son
offered through the cross. When we look at
the cross, we don't look it as a
means of torture, but we see that love that took up
the cross willingly, not for one's own
sake but for others'. Pope Francis summarized
both the shock and the saving
love of the cross in one of his
Angelus Meditations. He asked, "Why was the
cross necessary?" and answered, "Because
of the gravity of the evil we
were enslaved to. The cross of Jesus
expresses two things: all the negative strength
of evil and all gentle omnipotence
of the mercy of God. The cross seems to declare
the failure of Jesus, but in reality, it marks
his victory." If you have
traveled to India, one of the places which
most of the tourists, if not all, stop by is Taj Mahal
in Agra. The whole world knows that
it stands for a symbol of love. At times,
we could think, "How could a tomb be
a symbol of love?" When you look at Taj Mahal, we don't see it as a tomb, but we see an
act of love that moved King Shah
Jahan to build that place. The cross reveals the
world's greatest love story. The celebration of the
feast is a reminder of God's everlasting love
for each of us. He loves us enough
to die on the cross, to give himself. St. Rose
of Lima said, "There is no other
ladder to heaven but the ladder of
the cross." To be a disciple means to
embrace the cross. To be a disciple means to follow where our
master has gone. The Holy Cross priests have
the motto "Spes unica," "cross, our only hope." The cross is our only
hope in two ways: first, because without
Christ's sacrificial triumph on the cross, we would have no hope
of eternal salvation... And second, because unless
we pick up our cross every day to
unite ourselves to God, we have no hope
of salvation, either. So, we are called to meditate
on the cross of Christ, at the same time
focusing the cross that is present to
each of us. So, dear brothers
and sisters, as we celebrate the Feast
of the Exaltation of the Cross, we are called to
embrace the cross. When we really
understand the cross, we cannot
be a spectator but want to participate
in the cross. Yes, dear brothers
and sisters. Let us run to the cross. Let us take
up the cross, and let us lead
our lives towards heaven in the path
of the cross. Let us bring our prayers
and petitions to the Lord. That the church may lift high
the cross of Christ, proclaiming forgiveness and
redemption in him alone, we pray
to the Lord. ALL: Lord,
hear our prayer. FRANCIS: That all whose lives
are marked by suffering may discover the saving
power of the cross of Christ and be victorious
in all their trials, we pray
to the Lord. ALL: Lord,
hear our prayer. FRANCIS: That those
who embrace the cross as they work for justice
for the poor, the oppressed may find strength
and success in their work, we pray
to the Lord. ALL: Lord,
hear our prayer. FRANCIS: We pray
for all those in our Daily
TV Mass community who are dedicated
to the care of the sick. May they receive
the grace to continue their ministry
of compassion and caring with hope and joy, we pray
to the Lord. ALL: Lord,
hear our prayer. FRANCIS: Gracious
and loving God, believing and trusting in
your love and the Son's love, we bring all
our prayers to you. Listen to us. We make this prayer
through Christ our Lord. ALL:
Amen. FRANCIS: Blessed are you, Lord,
God of all creation, for through your goodness,
we have received the bread we
offer you, fruit of the earth and
work of human hands. It will become for us
the bread of life. ALL:
Blessed be God forever. (Francis whispering
indistinctly) Blessed are you, Lord,
God of all creation, for through your goodness,
we have received the wine
we offer you, fruit of the vine
and work of human hands. It will become for
us our spiritual drink. ALL:
Blessed be God forever. (Francis speaking
indistinctly) Pray, dear brothers
and sisters, my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father. ALL:
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 his holy church. FRANCIS: May
this oblation, O Lord, which, on the altar
of the cross, cancelled the offense
of the whole world, cleanse us, we pray, of all of our sins
through Christ our Lord. CONGREGANTS: Amen. The Lord be with you. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. Lift up
your hearts. CONGREGANTS:
We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks
to the Lord our God. CONGREGANTS: 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, for you placed the
salvation of the human race on the wood of
the cross so that where death arose, life might again
spring forth and the evil one
who conquered on a tree might be likewise on a tree be
conquered through Christ. Through him, the angels
praise your majesty. Dominions adore and powers
stumble before you. Heaven and the virtues of
heaven and the blessed seraphim worship together with
exaltation. May our voices be joined
with theirs in humble praise as we acclaim... # Holy, holy # # Holy Lord # # God of hosts # # Heaven and
Earth are full # # Of your glory # # Hosanna # # In the highest # # Hosanna # # In the highest # # Blessed is
he who comes # # In the name of
the Lord # # Hosanna # # In the highest # # Hosanna # # In the highest # You are indeed holy,
O Lord, the fount
of all holiness. - Make holy, therefore--
- (Bells ringing) --these gifts,
we pray, by sending
down your spirit upon them like
the dewfall so 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, giving 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." (Bells ringing) In a similar way,
when supper was ended, he took the chalice. 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." (Bells ringing) The mystery
of faith. # When we eat this bread # # And drink this cup # # We proclaim your death # # O Lord # # 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,
all the clergy, and the people of God
you have gained for your own. 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, we pray, that with the blessed
virgin Mary, mother of God, with blessed
Joseph, her spouse, with the blessed apostles
and 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 and
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. ALL:
Amen. FRANCIS: At the
saviour's command and informed
by divine teaching, we dare to say... ALL:
Our Father, who<font color="#FFFFFF">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. FRANCIS: Deliver us, Lord, we
pray, from every evil. Graciously grant peace
in our days that by the help
of your mercy, we may be always
free from sin and 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. FRANCIS:
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 your church and graciously grant her
peace and unity in accordance with
your will who live and
reign forever and ever. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The peace of the Lord
be with you always. CONGREGANTS:
And with<font color="#FFFFFF">your spirit. Let us offer each other
the sign of peace. # 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. (Francis speaking
indistinctly) (Bells ringing) ANNOUNCER:
Please join me now in this act of
spiritual communion. My Jesus, I believe that you are present
in the blessed sacrament. I love you above all things, and I desire you in my soul. Since I cannot now
receive you sacramentally, come spiritually
into my heart. As though you were
already there, I embrace you and unite myself wholly to you. Permit not that I should ever be separated from you. Amen. Let us join together in
this prayer to St. Joseph. Hail, guardian
of the redeemer, spouse of the
blessed virgin Mary. To you God entrusted
his only Son. In you Mary placed
her trust. With you Christ
became man. Blessed Joseph, to us, too,
show yourself a father and guide us in
the path of life. Obtain for us
grace, mercy, and courage, and defend us
from every evil. Amen. # Let us pray. Having been nourished by
your holy banquet, we beseech you,
Lord Jesus Christ, to bring those
you have redeemed by the word of your
life-giving cross to the glory
of the resurrection who lives and reigns
forever and ever. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. The Lord be with you. CONGREGANTS:
And with your spirit. May almighty
God bless you, the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. CONGREGANTS:
Amen. Go forth in peace to share
the love with the world. ALL:
Thanks be to God. ANNOUNCER:
Our thanks to our donors for the gift of this Mass. # Lift high the cross # # The love of Christ proclaim # # 'Til all the world # # Adore # # His sacred name # # Come let us follow # # Where our captain trod # # Our king victorious # # Christ the Son of God # # Lift high the cross # # The love of Christ #
