September 17

Entrance Antiphon

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me
and I to the world.

Almighty God,
you renewed the marks of the sufferings of your Son
in the body of our holy Father Francis
in order to inflame our hearts with the fire of your love.
Through his prayers
may we be made conformable to the death of your Son
and thus, share also in his resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Lord,
may the humble and devout prayer of St. Francis sustain us.
Through this offering may we always experience within us
the saving benefit of the sufferings of your Son.
Through Christ our Lord.

The following Preface is said on the Solemnity of St. Francis. It is also used on the Feasts of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, and the Stigmata of Our Holy Father Francis.

V: The Lord be with you. 
R: And with your spirit.
V: Lift up your hearts. 
R: We lift them up to the Lord.
V: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 
R: 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.
You exalted your servant Francis
through sublime poverty and humility
to the heights of evangelical perfection.
You inflamed him with seraphic love
to exult with unspeakable joy
over all the works of your creation.
Branding him with the sacred stigmata,
you gave us the image of the crucified
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through him the Angels praise your majesty,
Dominions adore and Powers tremble before you.
May our voices, we pray, join with theirs
as without end we acclaim:

Communion Antiphon

Kung ibig ninumang sumunod sa akin, limutin ang kanyang sarili,
Pasanin ang kanyang krus at sumunod sa akin.

Almighty God,
in many ways you displayed the wondrous mystery
of the cross
in our holy Father Francis.
May we follow the example of his devotion
and find strength in constant meditation on the same cross.
Through Christ our Lord.

Reading I

I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians

May I never boast
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything,
nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.
From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

℟ (Gal 2:19)I have been crucified with Christ.

Man is justified through faith in Jesus Christ.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
that we might be justified by faith in Christ.

℟ I have been crucified with Christ.

Christ loved me and gave himself for me.
Christ will be glorified in my body
whether through life or through death.

℟ I have been crucified with Christ.

To me, life means Christ;
dying is so much gain.
The life I live now is not my own;
Christ is living in me.

℟ I have been crucified with Christ.

Alleluia

℟ Alleluia. Alleluia.

I have been crucified with Christ;
yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.

℟ Alleluia. Alleluia.

Gospel

Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to all:
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his glory
and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

The Gospel of the Lord.