ANNOUNCER: The Daily TV Mass. ANNOUNCER 2: Pope Francis has
asked us to pray and fast for the gift of peace
for the people of Ukraine. Let us join together
as a community and pray the prayer
of Saint Francis. Welcome to the celebration
of the Daily TV Mass. Today, we are celebrating
the Ash Wednesday Mass, and the beginning-- Marking the beginning of
the Lenten season. I am Fr. John Bertรฃo. The televising of this Mass
is made possible by the contribution from an anonymous donor
from Scarborough, Ontario. This Mass is offered
in loving memory of her son, Joel Rosales. Thank you for joining us and
celebrating the memory of Joel. May we pray that his soul and the souls of
all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God,
rest in peace. Amen. We begin in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ALL:
Amen. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and
the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. Let us pray. Grant, O Lord, that we may begin
with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle
against spiritual evils, we may be armed with
the weapons of self-restraint. Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. ALL:
Amen. A reading from the book of
the prophet Joel. Even now, says the Lord, return to me
with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping,
and with mourning. Rend your hearts
and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether the Lord
will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering
and a drink offering to be presented
to the Lord, your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion.
Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.
Gather the people. Sanctify the congregation.
Assemble the aged. Gather the children,
even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom
leave his room, and the bride her canopy. Between the vestibule
and the altar let the priests, the ministers
of the Lord, weep. Let them say,
"Spare your people, O Lord, "and do not make your heritage
a mockery, "a byword among the nations. "Why should it be
among the peoples, "'Where is their God?'" Then the Lord became jealous
for his land, and had pity on his people. The word of the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Thanks be to God. # 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 iniquity # # 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 # LECTOR:
A reading from the Second Letter
of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Brothers and sisters,
we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal
through us. We entreat you on behalf of
Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake God made Christ
to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ we might
become the righteousness of God. As we work together with him,
we urge you also not to accept
the grace of God in vain. For the Lord says, "At an acceptable time
I have listened to you, and on the day of salvation
I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time. See, now is the day
of salvation! The Word of the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Thanks be to God. (Organ playing) # Praise to you, Lord # # King of eternal glory # # Today, do not
harden your heart # # But listen to
the voice of the Lord # # Praise to you, Lord # # King of eternal glory # (Pages flapping) The Lord be with you. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. A reading from the holy Gospel
according to Matthew. PARISHIONERS:
Glory to you, O Lord. Jesus said to the disciples, "Beware of practising your piety
before people "in order to be seen by them; "for then you have no reward
from your Father in heaven. "So, whenever you give alms, do
not sound a trumpet before you, "as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, "so that they may
be praised by others. "Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward. "But when you give alms, "do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, "so that your alms may be done
in secret; "and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you. "And whenever you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites; "for they love to stand and pray "in the synagogues
and at the street corners, "so that they may
be seen by others. "Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward. "But whenever you pray, go into
your room and shut the door "and pray to your Father
who is in secret; "and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you. "And whenever you fast,
do not look dismal, "like the hypocrites,
for they disfigure their faces "so as to show others
that they are fasting. "Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward. "But when you fast, put oil on your head
and wash your face, "so that your fasting
may be seen not by others "but by your Father
who is in secret, and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you." The Gospel of the Lord. PARISHIONERS: Praise to you,
Lord Jesus Christ. So, here we are, as we briefly mentioned
yesterday at the Mass. A change. A change in our
liturgical season. You may remember
that last Sunday, I was wearing
a nice green and gold vestment to indicate Ordinary Time. And today,
our vestments have changed, to help us sort of
change our focus, that the Ordinary Time
has sort of been put away until after Easter. To change, and to maybe-- To encourage our relationship, to strengthen our relationship
with Jesus and also, of course,
to strengthen our eternal, our spiritual life
and our relationship with God. So, as always, a question. Do you hunger for God? I will explain. Also, St. Teresa of Calcutta
many times would say, "I thirst for holiness." Almost the same.
I hunger for God. I thirst for holiness.
I want to be holy. Let me explain that. Personal example.
When I find myself alone, whether in my room
when it's nice and quiet or an in empty church, no lights, just me and the Lord, I try to clear my mind
of all of these material things and of all the agendas and the things I have to do
tomorrow and after tomorrow, and so on, and so on. And I want to focus totally,
completely, on God. No reading material.
Yes, I have the rosary, just in case I can't really
focus on something else. I want to be close to God, as we want to be close to God,
as He is close to us, so to acknowledge
His presence in our lives. See, as many
spiritual writers write, we want to burn for Him. We want to be with Him. Thus, this Lenten season, to try and give up a few things
and maybe take on a couple more. St. Augustine of Hippo
wrote that there are two kinds of people
and two kinds of love. Two kinds of people and two kinds of love. One is a holy love. The other is a selfish love. One is subject to God, and the other endeavours
to be equal to Him. Pretty strong stuff. In other words,
what's your addiction? What do you have going on
in your life right now that you really
don't need too much of? And just a couple of examples.
Not that they're bad, but sometimes an addiction. Number one. (Chuckling) Ready for this one? Television. The other? Social media. How about the internet? Not that these are
bad in themselves. But in moderation,
anything can be pretty good, especially the ones
that I just mentioned. In this season of Lent, many of us try to,
I guess, bargain with God about giving up
something for Lent. Like, sometimes,
so many New Year's resolutions, as we go through Lent, well, those resolutions
are sort of fading away. So, have you given some thought about giving up
something for Lent? I think of
a friend and her family. We're fairly close. And one of the things
that she loves, like I do-- Maybe you do, too-- She loves French fries. So, every week of the year,
she treats herself with a little small portion
of French fries. And she told me
a couple of years ago, without her family knowing, that she was going to
give up French fries either on Friday
or Saturday during Lent. Just to see if
the family noticed, because she didn't want
to make a big thing of it. Well, to this day, she is only having French fries
maybe once a month, because, she goes, "Well, not
only is it good for my health. "But also, it makes me realize
that I depend more on God than my wonderful, fattening,
cholesterol French fries." She has turned to hunger for God and to be closer to him, and has brought
her family along with her, because they do get
along so well together. One Lent,
again, personally speaking, many years ago
I was having a difficult time, not knowing what I was going
to take on or to do for Lent, because I wanted to
maybe add in something else that I wasn't doing. And a friend of mine
said to me that-- He suggested that from now on, before you go to bed-- Maybe a suggestion
for you as well. Before you go to bed,
stop, kneel by the bed, make the sign of the cross
and say, "Dear Lord, thank you. "Thank you for
this beautiful day "that you brought me to
in peace, in some health, "and tranquility. "Please continue to love me and teach me to love you
even more." And then, in the morning,
before you pull the sheets away, "Jesus, I thank you so much "for this wonderful
night's sleep. "Please help me.
Because you know what, Lord? "I love you very much, and I want to love you more
each and every day." In short, then, how about you try
that from now on? Don't get into
the big conversation. Just say, "Jesus, I love you." The more you say it
during your day, the better off
you're going to be. Why? Because one day-- One day, when you say,
"Jesus, I love you," He'll turn around
and say to you, "My dear loved one, I love you more." What a beautiful expression for our Saviour to tell us, especially if we begin
at this time of Advent. Or rather, this time of Lent, to increase our
relationship with God. And so, I pray that
these 40 days of Lent bring you closer to Jesus, and realize
more and more each day that if you hunger for him
as much as he hungers for you, he will satisfy your hunger one day,
even without realizing it. And let my prayer
be this prayer for you before we continue the Mass, and the prayer for you is, "Dear Jesus, I love you. "I love you so much. "And I thank you for loving me "as well as those who I pray for "at every Mass I celebrate, "be it face to face,
be it via virtual television. Bless them, and keep them safe
and close to your heart." Amen. Let us pray, then, friends. We pray for those
in the Daily TV Mass community who have asked to be included
in our Prayer Intentions Book, especially those looking for
a deeper awareness of God in everyday life.
We pray to the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Lord, hear our prayer. For Francis, our pope,
that he continue to guide us in the ways of Christ,
we pray to the Lord. PARISHIONERS:
Lord, hear our prayer. For Mary's gentle guidance, to imitate her son
in all our actions, words and deeds... ALL:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen. Ash Wednesday.
Before we continue with the Eucharistic part
of the Mass, we have our ashes
that I will now bless. And then afterwards, in a very
special and virtual way, I will also bless you,
again, through the virtual way, and also to be in a safe way. Dear pray--
Dear Father, our Lord-- My dear brothers and sisters
in Christ, let us humbly ask God our Father that he be pleased to bless,
with the abundance of his grace, these ashes, which we put on
our heads in penitence. O God, who are moved by
the acts of humility and respond with forgiveness
to works of penance, lend your merciful ear
to our prayers, and in your kindness pour out
the grace of your blessing... ...upon these ashes,
and upon your servants who are marked with these ashes, that, as they follow
the Lenten observances, they may be worthy to
come with minds made pure to celebrate the paschal mystery
of your Son. Through Christ our Lord. ALL:
Amen. I ask you to place your hands
as such, if you can, as I will make
the virtual sign of the cross on your foreheads. And I pray. My dear brothers and sisters
in Christ, receive the ashes,
and remember that you are dust, and into dust you shall return. 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. PARISHIONERS:
Blessed be God forever. Through the mystery
of this water and wine, may we come to share in
the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself
to share in our humanity. 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
our spiritual drink. PARISHIONERS:
Blessed be God forever. With humble spirit and
contrite heart... (Whispering) may our sacrifice this day
be pleasing to you, Lord God. Lord, wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins. Pray, brothers and sisters,
that my sacrifice and yours 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. As we solemnly offer
this annual sacrifice for the beginning of Lent, we entreat you, O Lord,
that, through works of penance and charity, we may turn away
from harmful pleasures and, cleansed from our sins,
may become worthy to celebrate devoutly
the Passion of your Son, who lives and reigns
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. For through bodily fasting, you restrain our faults,
raise up our minds and bestow both virtue
and its rewards through Christ our Lord. Through him,
the angels praise your majesty, Dominions adore
and Powers tremble before you. Heaven and the virtues of Heaven
and the blessed Seraphim worship together
with exultation. May our voices,
we pray, join with theirs in humble praise,
as we acclaim... (Organ 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 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." (Bell 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." (Bell 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've 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
and Thomas, our bishop, and all the clergy. 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. PARISHIONERS:
Amen. At the Saviour's command
and formed by divine teaching, we 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, 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. PARISHIONERS:
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 your Church, and graciously
grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign
forever and ever. PARISHIONERS:
Amen. The peace of the Lord
be with you always. PARISHIONERS:
And with your spirit. May God bless you with peace. (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 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. (Host cracking) May the body of Christ
bring me to everlasting life. (Bell ringing) ANNOUNCER:
Please join me now in this act of
spiritual Communion. Let us pray. May the sacrament we have
received sustain us, O Lord, that our Lenten fast
may be pleasing to you and be for us a healing remedy, 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. Our Mass has been celebrated. Let us go forth
in the peace of Christ. PARISHIONERS:
Thanks be to God. (Organ playing) ANNOUNCER:
Our thanks to our donor for the gift of this Mass. # What does the Lord require # # For praise and offering # # What sacrifice, desire # # Or tribute bid you bring # # Do justly # # Love mercy # # Walk humbly with your God #
