The celebration of Easter
takes place over the next seven weeks,
and will be crowned by Pentecost.
Until the end of social distancing, Aleteia will offer you
a daily celebration of the Word of God at home
to sanctify every day of the Easter season.
In collaboration with Magnificat magazine
Read more:
Mass on TV, or a celebration at home?
Instructions:
- This celebration requires the presence of at least two people.
- If you are alone, it is preferable to simply read the readings and prayers found in the proposed celebration.
- This celebration is particularly suitable for use with family. In order to respect quarantine measures, you should refrain from inviting others from outside your household. If anyone in your house is ill, make sure they remain in isolation to ensure that all safety guidelines are strictly followed.
- Set up the needed number of chairs in front of a prayer corner, respecting distance between them.
- Light one or more candles, placing them on non-flammable stands (such as candlesticks or small porcelain plates). Don’t forget to blow them out at the end of the celebration. Place some flowers and decorations as a sign of joy. A simple cross or crucifix should always be visible in the background.
- Designate a person to lead the prayer. He or she will also determine the length of the periods of silence. Designate a reader.
THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER
Celebration of the Word
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
All are seated.
The leader of the celebration reads:
O Jesus, we are prevented from
perpetuating the offering of your life
by the celebration of the Eucharist:
more than ever, we ask you to make it present
in the way we love each other
as you loved us.
After three minutes of silence, all rise and make the Sign of the Cross, saying:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The leader continues:
To prepare ourselves to receive God’s Word
and in order for it to heal us,
we recognize ourselves as sinners.
The penitential rite follows. For example:
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
For we have sinned against you.
Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
And grant us your salvation.
May Almighty God have mercy on us;
forgive us our sins,
And bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The following is said or sung:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
PRAYER
The leader says the opening prayer:
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will tell of your name to my kin, alleluia.
FIRST READING (Acts 5:27-33)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
When the court officers had brought the Apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
“We gave you strict orders did we not,
to stop teaching in that name.
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
“We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM(34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20)
R/Alleluia!
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.R/
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.R/
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.R/
GOSPEL(John 3:31-36)
Alleluia. Alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
Alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.
No acclamation concludes the reading of the Gospel.
All are seated, and the leader repeats slowly,
as if it were a far-off echo:
In the depths of our hearts,
let us listen to the echo of the words of the Gospel
that the Church offers us today:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
All observe five minutes of silence for silent personal meditation.
The leader indicates the end of the period of silence, and invites all to rise.
The leader introduces the Lord’s Prayer:
United in the Spirit and in the communion of the Church,
we dare to pray as the Lord Jesus himself
taught us:
All say or sing the Our Father:
Our Father…
Continuing immediately with:
For the kingdom…
Then the leader invites those present to share a sign of peace:
We have just joined our voices
with that of the Lord Jesus to pray to the Father.
We are sons and daughters in the Son.
In the love that unites us with one another,
renewed by the word of God,
we can exchange a gesture of peace,
a sign of the communion
we receive from the Lord.
All then exchange a greeting of peace from a distance: for example, by bowing deeply towards each other in turn; or, as a family, by blowing each other a kiss. Then all sit down.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The leader says:
When we cannot receive sacramental communion for lack of a Mass, Pope Francis urges us to practice spiritual communion, also called “communion of desire.”
The Council of Trent reminds us that this “consists in an ardent desire to feed on the Heavenly Bread, with a living faith that acts through charity and that makes us participants in the fruits and graces of the Sacrament.” The value of our spiritual communion depends therefore on our faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist as a source of life, love and unity, and our desire to receive Communion in spite of our inability to do so.
With that in mind, I now invite you to bow your head, to close your eyes and recollect yourselves.
Silence
Deep in our hearts,
may a burning desire arise within us to unite ourselves with Jesus,
in sacramental communion,
and then to bring His love to life into our lives,
loving others as He loved us.
All remain in silence for 5 minutes for a
heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus Christ.
A hymn of thanksgiving may be sung.
All stand.
All recite together the following prayer:
As we recall year by year the mysteries
by which, through the restoration of its original dignity,
human nature has received the hope of rising again,
we earnestly beseech your mercy, Lord,
that what we celebrate in faith
we may possess in unending love.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
FINAL BLESSING
The leader of the celebration, with hands joined in prayer,
says the blessing in the name of all:
Through the intercession of St. N.
[patron saint of the parish, diocese or country],
and of all the saints of God,
May the God of perseverance and courage
grant us to manifest throughout our lives
the spirit of sacrifice, compassion and love
of Christ Jesus.
Thus, in the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we will give glory to God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for ever and ever!
Amen.
All together facing the cross, each with their hands joined in prayer,
invoke the Lord’s Blessing:
May the grace of God descend upon us
and remain with us forever. Amen.
All make the Sign of the Cross.
Then parents may trace the Sign of the Cross on their children’s foreheads.
To conclude the celebration, the participants may sing the Regina Caeli,
or some other joyful, well-known Marian hymn.
Regína caéli, lætáre, Allelúia!
Quia quem meruísti portáre, Allelúia!
Resurréxit, sicut dixit, Allelúia!
Ora pro nóbis Déum, Allelúia!
O Queen of heaven rejoice! Alleluia!
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, Alleluia!
Hath arisen as he said, Alleluia!
Pray for us to God, Alleluia!
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To continue to sanctify this day, it would be good to reconnect with the venerable tradition of vespers by celebrating, towards the end of the afternoon, the office of the Liturgy of the Hours, or you can pray today’s Evening Prayer, which can be found on the Magnificat website.
Throughout the Easter season, Aleteia will propose daily guides for celebrations at home, to help you continue to sanctify the each day, for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.
You can also find other resources for free on the Magnificat website.
And today we celebrate...