Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: Mass at the Grotto in Lourdes

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] by god's degree you were called eternally that he would give his son to our race mary we praise you full of grace [Music] [Music] you undertook god's plan to embrace mary we thank you full of grace [Music] joy to god you gave an expressed family [Music] when in your flesh your son took his place mary we love you full of grace [Music] hello and welcome to our mass this day can i invite region now to introduce our celebration our lady appear our lady appeared to a young poor and illiterate girl called bernadette for the first time on the 11th of february 1858 bernadette wasn't rich powerful or important in the eyes of the world but in god's eyes she was the most precious treasure it was through bernadette's life and example of faith humility poverty that mary spoke to the people as pope francis pope francis reminds us we need to contemplate and appreciate the beauty of every human being and every creature we were conceived in the heart of god each of us is a result of a thought of god each of us is willed each of us is loved and each of us is necessary as we prepare to celebrate this mass let us place our lives under the protection of the virgin mary our lady of health may she who called jesus who carried jesus in her womb help us to be trustful and to open our hearts to follow the call of jesus who is our way our truth and our life and so we begin the celebration in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen the grace of our lord jesus christ the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all as we prepare to celebrate this mass we place the petitions which we have received on the altar here in the grotto of lord these petitions have come from the parish huble parishes in london and in dublin who have been journeying with us in the lord's novena and other people who have journeyed with us online so all these intentions we now place on the altar here at the foot of our lady asking her to intercede and to grant all our needs we also remember as we celebrate this mass this morning those who are joining us online and who have asked in a special way for our prayers those who are recovering from illness at this time in a very special way because the feast of our lady of lords is also the world day of the sick and the team chosen for this 30th world day of the sick by pope francis is be merciful even as your father is merciful and that makes us first turn our gaze towards god who is rich in mercy who always watches over his children with a father's love even when they turn away from him pope francis reminds us mercy is god's name power excellence mercy understood not as an occasional sentimental feeling but as an ever-present act of force expresses god's very nature so we pray lord you come to bring sight to our blindness lord have mercy lord have mercy lord you come to bring the good news to our deafness christ have mercy have mercy lord you come to call us to follow you even when we are lost and alone lord have mercy may almighty god have mercy on us forgive us our sins and lead us to everlasting life amen and let us pray loving god with watchful care for your people you will that the virgin mary should remind bernadette of the teachings of your son may our hearts be opened to his message of prayer and penance so that the light of the gospel may guide our every thought word and action we make this prayer to our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the holy spirit one god forever and ever amen we now open our hearts as we listen to the word of god a reading from the letter of saint paul to the ephesians i the prisoner in the lord implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation bear with one another charitably in complete selflessness gentleness and patience do all you can to preserve the unity of the spirit by the peace that binds you together there is one body one spirit just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called there is one lord one faith one baptism and one god who is father of all over all through all and within all each one of us however has been given his own share of grace given as christ allotted it and to some his gift was that they should be apostles to some prophets to some evangelists to some pastors and teachers so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service building up the body of christ the word of the lord [Music] god fills me with joy hallelujah his holy presence is my robe hallelujah my soul now glorify the lord who is my savior that god has shown me favor god fills me with joy hallelujah his holy presence is my robe hallelujah the world shall call me blessed and ponder on my story in me is my first god's greatness and his glory god fills me with joy hallelujah his holy presence is my robe hallelujah then glorify with me the lord who is my savior one holy trinity forever and forever god fills me with joy hallelujah his holy presence is my robe hallelujah and stand to greet the gospel [Music] oh the mighty one has done great things for me holy is his name [Music] lu you the lord be with you a reading from the holy gospel according to luke the angel gabriel was sent by god to a town in galilee called nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man named joseph of the house of david and her name was mary he went in and said to her rejoice so highly favored the lord is with you she was deeply disturbed by these words and asked yourself what this greeting could mean but the angel said to her mary do not be afraid you have won god's favor listen you are to conceive and bear a son and you must name him jesus he will be great and will be called son of the most high the lord god will give him the throne of his ancestor david he will rule over the house of jacob forever and his reign will have no end mary said to the angel but how can this come about since i am a virgin the holy spirit will come upon you the angel answered and the power of the most high will cover you with its shadow and so the child will be holy and will be called son of god know this too your kinswoman elizabeth has in her old age herself conceived the son and she she whom people called baron is now in her sixth month for nothing is impossible to god i am the handmaid of the lord said mary let what you have said be done to me and the angel left her the gospel of the lord in our gospel today we see the story of how mary said yes how she consented to be the mother of our savior but i'm sure when she said yes she didn't fully realize the implications of what she was agreeing to she had no idea that at his birth every door would be closed in her face that shortly after his birth she would become a refugee in a foreign country and that some 33 years later she would see him executed as a common criminal mary didn't just say yes once she had to confirm that original yes many times throughout her life and without mary's obedience to god we wouldn't have a savior the same is true in our own lives each of us have this are invited to say yes when we undertake our commitments and responsibilities excuse me and many people have suffered for the yes for their belief in god down through the ages we who gather here in lords or who maybe are joining online we are the inheritors of a faith that many people have suffered to preserve for many people the biggest yes they may make is on the day they get married but life is full of little invitations to say yes and when we say our original yes we take a leap into the dark for we don't know the full implications of what we are undertaking which is probably just as well this is things are gradually revealed to us as we go along and sometimes circumcised circumstances arise that mean we take a change of direction along the way trusting that god will understand all we can do is our very best to live faithfully in the present moment you know there's a saying that goes we leave the past to god's mercy the future to god's providence and we are called to live faithfully in the now so we are called to have faith in god but that doesn't mean we can't ask questions for mary asked a lot of questions faith is not blind but ultimately we have to bow to the mystery of god and would mary say i am the servant of the lord saying yes is our response to the call of god for god continually invites us to respond to the love that is poured upon us god is love and there is great hope in our gospel story for we should repeat to ourselves over and over again nothing is impossible with god and with this confidence we unite ourselves and say yes with mary as we know the feast of our lady of lord is also the world day of the sick a day which has special resonance over the last two years as we've journeyed with the reality of the pandemic and we remember in a special way all those who are ill at this time with covert a particular way we say yes to god is through our care for the sick as pope francis reminds us for his message this day he says i would like to remind everyone that closeness to the sick and their pastoral care is not only the task of certain specifically designated ministers visiting the sick is an invitation christ addresses to all his disciples he goes on how many sick and elderly people are living at home and waiting for a visit the ministry of consolation is a task for every baptized person he says mindful of the word of jesus i was sick and you visited me so let our yes to god help us to reach out to those in need let us not allow our fears to hold us back from experiencing god's love and forgiveness and for sharing it with others and let us invite god into our hearts remembering nothing is impossible to god with this confidence and no matter what burdens we may be carrying this day we look to our lady of lord to help us bring them before her son remembering nothing is impossible to god amen and so let us know with that confidence bring our prayer of the faithful before the lord loving and compassionate god we now come before you as we offer you all our prayers and intentions we pray that whatever we are currently experiencing in our lives we may now in our hearts know that jesus is walking with us he is our faithful companion lord hear us lord lord graciously hear us we pray for those who feel isolated alone and lack the confidence to ask for help lord hear us lord graciously hear us we pray for all who support and care for our sick may the lord continue to bless and inspire them in their caring work and ministry lord hear us lord graciously hear us we pray for all who have asked for our prayers during this time here in lourdes lord hear us we bring all our prayers to god through mary as we pray hay and mary full of praise the lord is the day blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruits of thy womb jesus holy mary mother of god pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death amen loving and compassionate god we have made known to you our prayers needs and intentions and faith and confidence we ask that you hear them and answer them through christ our lord i invite you now to join in our offer to him as the gifts are prepared [Music] i offer now to you take and sanctify these for your honor lord knowing that i love and serve you he's in every word all that i am [Music] i offer now to you all that i dream all that i pray all that i'll ever make i give to you today take and sanctify these gifts for your honor lord knowing that i love and serve you is in of reward all that i am all that i do all that i ever have i offer now to you my sisters and brothers we bring our gifts to the lord we bring the petitions which we have brought from many places here to our lady of lord we bring bread and wine for the table of the lord and the gift of each of our lives open to god's will pray that these are sacrifices may be acceptable to god the almighty receive o lord we ask the prayers of your people with the sacrificial offering that through the intercession of our blessed virgin mary the mother of god no prayer may go unanswered no requests be made in vain this we ask through christ our lord the lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god father all powerful and never living god we dwell always and everywhere to give you thanks to praise you for your gifts as we contemplate your saints and glory in celebrating the memory of the blessed virgin mary it is our special joy to echo her song of thanksgiving what wonders you have worked through the world all generations have shared the greatness of your love when you looked on mary your servant you raised her to be the mother of jesus christ your son our lord the savior of all humankind through him the angels of heaven offer their prayer of adoration as they rejoice in your presence forever may our voices be won with theirs in their triumphant hymn of praise [Applause] [Music] [Music] another [Music] oh [Music] god of hosts blessed is he who comes in the name of the [Music] holy indeed are you lord god and greatly to be praised your faithful love attends as we journey through life blessed is your son jesus christ who is present among us when his love gathers us together as once he did for his disciples christ now opens the scriptures for us and breaks the bread therefore we ask you merciful father send down your holy spirit to hallow these gifts of bread and wine so that they may become for us the body and blood of your son our lord jesus christ on the eve of his passion and debt while a table with those he loved he took bread and gave you thanks he broke the bread 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 when supper was ended he took the cup again he gave you thanks and handing the cup to his disciples he said 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 the money for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me the mystery of faith [Music] you have [Music] and so far the most holy we celebrate the memory of christ your son whom you led through suffering and death on the cross to the glory of the resurrection and a place at your right hand until jesus our savior comes again we proclaim the work of your love offering you the bread of life and the cup of blessing look what favor and the offering of your church in which we show forth the paschal sacrifice of christ that was handed on to us through the power of your spirit of love countess both now and forever among the members of your son whose body and blood we share lord perfect your church in faith and love to get together with francis our pope our bishop all the priests and all those your son has gained for you open our eyes to the needs of all inspiring us words and deeds to comfort those who are labor and are burdened keep our service of others faithful to the example and command of christ let your church be a living witness to truth and freedom to justice and peace that all people may be lifted up by a hope of a world made new be mindful of our sisters and brothers who have fallen asleep in the peace of christ and all the dead whose faith is known only to you lead them to the fullness of the resurrection and gladden them with the light of your face when our pilgrimage on earth has ended welcome us into your heavenly home to dwell with you forever there with mary the virgin mother of god with the apostles the martyrs saint bernadette saint eugene and all the saints who pleased you throughout the ages we shall give you praise through jesus christ your son for it is through him and with him and in him o god almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours forever and ever and so we unite ourselves with people throughout the world who are joining us in this celebration of the mass as together we pray in the words gifted to us by christ our savior 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 and graciously grant peace in our days by the help of your mercy must be free from sin safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ for the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now 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 fate of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign for ever and ever amen the peace of the lord be with you always and in these most difficult of times let us remember those who this day need the gift of peace and we pray 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 behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sins of the world blessed blessed are we for we are now invited to share in the supper of the lamb 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 all to everlasting life um so so so [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] let us pray renewed by this heavenly food we humbly ask lord that having received your son born of the tender virgin mary under the sacramental signs may we profess him in words and hold fast to him in deeds who lives and reigns forever and ever just before the final blessing to thank you for joining us here at the grotto of our lady of lord this day thank you for sharing in our mass whether you're physically present or joining us online and we look forward to coming back as an oblique family here to lourdes in september we travel on the 17th of september return this this year traveling from london edinburgh dublin and manchester as an oblate family to answer the call of our lady to come in procession to the grotto here in lord so with that hope in our hearts we call now upon god's blessing and we ask this blessing especially for those who are recovering from any illness at home or far away that the lord would be with them as we respond to the call to care the lord be with you and may the blessing of almighty god come down upon us now and always in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit we go in peace glorifying the lord by our lives thanks be to god please join in our closing hymn [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] the [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] eyes she saw in her glory the morning star rise [Music] oh you

Channel: The Oblates

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Length: 39min 44sec (2384 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 11 2022