Liturgical Leaflet for an Active Participation in the Celebration of the Eucharist

21 February 2021 1st Sunday of Lent Year B

NATIONAL MIGRANTS’ SUNDAY

THE CHALLENGE TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL

T
oday, the First Sunday of Lent, we focus our attention on
Jesus who, immediately after his baptism, is led by the Holy
Spirit into the desert. There he spends forty days and forty
nights, fasting, reflecting, praying and battling the devil victorious-
ly. Then he begins his mission, inviting all to conversion. His invita-
tion to take the Gospel seriously and change for the better is ad-
dressed also to us. The fruitfulness of this Lenten season depends
to a great extent on our response to his invitation.
Today we also celebrate the 35th National Migrants’ Sunday. As
our fellow Filipinos migrate to other countries, they may suffer hard-
ship, loneliness, or abuse. But they also bring with them the richness
of our Catholic faith and traditions. And this is a great opportunity
for them to bring the light of Christ to all the people they will meet.
As we are about to start our Eucharistic celebration, let us keep our Filipino migrants and their
families close to our hearts.

who calls us to conversion in All – Lord, have mercy!

this Lenten season, let us pause P –May almighty God have
for a moment and realize how mercy on us, forgive us our
much we need his forgiveness sins, and bring us to everlasting
Entrance Antiphon and peace. (Pause) life.
(To be recited only when no All – Amen!
Entrance Hymn is sung.) P –Lord Jesus, you overcame
the devil’s temptation in
When he calls on me, I will the power of the Holy Spirit. Collect (Opening Prayer)
answer him; I will deliver him Lord, have mercy!
and give him glory, I will grant All – Lord, have mercy! P –Grant, almighty God,
him length of days. through the yearly observances
P –Lord Jesus, you began your of holy Lent, that we may grow
Greeting apostolic life by proclaim- in understanding of the riches
P –Grace of our Lord Jesus ing the fulfillment of God’s hidden in Christ and by worthy
Christ, the love of God the Fa- promises. Christ, have mer- conduct pursue their effects.
ther, and the communion of the cy! Through our Lord Jesus
Holy Spirit be with you all! All –Christ, have mercy! Christ, your Son, who lives and
All – And with your spirit! P –Lord Jesus, you invite us reigns with you in the unity of
to undergo conversion and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
Penitential Act believe in the Good News. and ever.
P –With gratitude to the Lord Lord, have mercy! All – Amen!

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 powers subject to him.
The Word of the Lord!
All – Thanks be to God!
1st Reading Gn 9:8-15 Verse before the Gospel
After the purification
brought about by the Flood, All –(Glory and praise to you, O
God is ready to make a fresh Christ!)
start with the few survivors. The One does not live on bread
covenant He intends to establish alone, but on every word
with Noah and his relatives is a * Your ways, O Lord, make that comes forth from the
sign of His enduring merciful known to me; teach me your mouth of God!
love for all human beings. paths. Guide me in your truth (Glory and praise to you, O
R – A proclamation from the and teach me, for you are God Christ!)
Book of Genesis my savior. R.
* Remember that your com- Gospel Mk 1:12-15
God said to Noah and to
his sons with him: “See, I am passion, O Lord, and your love In a few clear strokes, St.
now establishing my covenant are from of old. In your kind- Mark portrays the first two steps
with you and your descendants ness remember me, because of taken by Jesus in his public life:
after you and with every living your goodness, O Lord. R. victory over Satan in the desert,
and the invitation to conversion
creature that was with you: * Good and upright is the addressed to all.
all the birds, and the various Lord; thus he shows sinners
tame and wild animals that the way. He guides the humble P –The Lord be with you!
were with you and came out to justice, and he teaches the All –And with your spirit!
of the ark. I will establish my humble his way. R. P –A proclamation from the
covenant with you, that never holy Gospel according to
again shall all bodily creatures 2nd Reading 1 Pt 3:18-22 Mark
be destroyed by the waters of Jesus Christ has saved all All – Glory to you, O Lord!
a flood; there shall not be an- human beings through his pas- The Spirit drove Jesus
other flood to devastate the sion, death and resurrection. out into the desert, and he re-
earth.” His salvation reaches us through mained in the desert for forty
God added: “This is the the sacrament of Baptism, which days, tempted by Satan. He
sign that I am giving for all was foreshadowed by the purify- was among wild beasts, and the
ages to come, of the covenant ing waters of the Flood. Such angels ministered to him.
between me and you and every is the message addressed to After John had been ar-
living creature with you: I set us through the passage we are rested, Jesus came to Galilee
my bow in the clouds to serve about to hear proclaimed. proclaiming the gospel of God:
as a sign of the covenant be- R – A proclamation from the “This is the time of fulfillment.
tween me and the earth. When First Letter of Peter The kingdom of God is at hand.
I bring clouds over the earth, Repent, and believe in the Gos-
and the bow appears in the Beloved: Christ suffered
pel.”
clouds, I will recall the cov- for sins once, the righteous for
enant I have made between me the sake of the unrighteous, The Gospel of the Lord!
and you and all living beings, that he might lead you to God. All – Praise to you, Lord Jesus
so that the waters shall never Put to death in the flesh, Christ!
again become a flood to destroy he was brought to life in the
all mortal beings.” Spirit. In it he also went to Homily
preach to the spirits in prison,
The Word of the Lord! who had once been disobedient Profession of Faith
All – Thanks be to God! while God patiently waited in (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed)
the days of Noah during the All –I believe in one God, the Fa-
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25 building of the ark, in which a ther almighty, maker of heaven
R –Your ways, O Lord, are love few persons, eight in all, were and earth, of all things visible
and truth, to those who saved through water. and invisible.
keep your covenant! This prefigured baptism, I believe in one Lord Jesus
which saves you now. It is not a Christ, the Only Begotten Son
removal of dirt from the body of God, born of the Father be-
but an appeal to God for a fore all ages. God from God,
clear conscience, through the Light from Light, true God from
resurrection of Jesus Christ, true God, begotten, not made,
who has gone into heaven and consubstantial with the Father;
is at the right hand of God, through him all things were
with angels, authorities, and made. For us men and for our

21 February 2021
salvation he came down from all to a lasting conversion. Let us of malice, so that, celebrating
heaven, (bow)* and by the Holy pray! R. worthily the Paschal Mystery,
Spirit was incarnate of the Vir- C –For all of us: May we spend we might pass over at last to the
gin Mary, and became man.* this Lenten season in a spirit of eternal paschal feast.
For our sake he was crucified penance and fruitful conversion And so, with the company of
under Pontius Pilate, he suf- from our un-Christian ways. Let Angels and Saints, we sing the
fered death and was buried, and us pray! R. hymn of your praise, as without
rose again on the third day in end we acclaim:
accordance with the Scriptures. C –Let us pray in silence for our All – Holy, holy, holy . . .
He ascended into heaven and is personal intentions. (Pause)
seated at the right hand of the Let us pray! R. Memorial Acclamation
Father. He will come again in P –Lord Jesus, grant us the P –The mystery of faith!
glory to judge the living and the grace we need to always reject All –When we eat this Bread
dead and his kingdom will have the devil’s temptations and live and drink this Cup, we pro-
no end. according to the Gospel you claim your Death, O Lord,
I believe in the Holy Spirit, preached. until you come again!
the Lord, the giver of life, who You who live and reign for
proceeds from the Father and the ever and ever.
Son, who with the Father and the All – Amen!
Son is adored and glorified, who
has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic All – Our Father . . .
and apostolic Church. I confess P –Deliver us, Lord . . .
one Baptism for the forgiveness All –For the kingdom, the
of sins and I look forward to the Preparation of the Gifts power, and the glory are
resurrection of the dead and the P –Pray, brethren . . . yours, now and for ever.
life of the world to come. Amen! All – May the Lord accept the
sacrifice at your hands, for the Sign of Peace
Prayer of the Faithful praise and glory of his name, Breaking of the Bread
P – As we take the first steps for our good and the good of all
All – Lamb of God . . .
in our Lenten pilgrimage, we his holy Church.
realize our need to undergo con- Communion
Prayer over the Offerings
version in response to the Lord’s P –Behold the Lamb of God,
invitation. Aware of our faults P –Give us the right disposi- behold him who takes away the
and weaknesses, we cry out: tions, O Lord, we pray, to make sins of the world. Blessed are
these offerings, for with them we those called to the Supper of the
All – Lord, graciously hear us!
celebrate the beginning of this Lamb.
C –For the entire Church who venerable and sacred time. All –Lord, I am not worthy
is always in need of conversion: Through Christ our Lord. that you should enter under
May she follow the lead of the All – Amen! my roof, but only say the word
Spirit in rejecting all the allure- and my soul shall be healed.
ments of Satan. Let us pray! R. Preface of Lent (1st Sun.)
C – For the Holy Father and all P –The Lord be with you! Communion Antiphon
other spiritual leaders: May their All –And with your spirit! (To be recited only when no
efforts to bring people closer to P –Lift up your hearts! Communion Hymn is sung.)
Jesus in this Lenten season be All – We lift them up to the Lord! One does not live by bread
crowned with success. Let us P –Let us give thanks to the alone, but by every word that
pray! R. Lord our God! comes forth from the mouth of
C – For all the migrant workers All –It is right and just! God.
all over the world: May they be P –It is truly right and just, our
treated with respect and justice, duty and our salvation, always Prayer after Communion
and soon be reunited with their and everywhere to give you P –Renewed now with heav-
families. Let us pray! R. thanks, Lord, holy Father, al- enly bread, by which faith is
mighty and eternal God, through nourished, hope increased, and
C –For all the Filipinos working Christ our Lord. charity strengthened, we pray, O
abroad: May they treasure their By abstaining forty long Lord, that we may learn to hun-
dignity and faith, and be loyal to days from earthly food, he con- ger for Christ, the true and living
their dear ones. Let us pray! R. secrated through his fast the Bread, and strive to live by every
C –For all the preachers of re- pattern of our Lenten obser- word which proceeds from your
treats and recollections: May vance and, by overturning all mouth.
their words be a faithful echo of the snares of the ancient serpent, Through Christ our Lord.
the message of Jesus and bring taught us to cast out the leaven All – Amen!

1st Sunday of Lent (B)

 – May bountiful blessing, O All – Amen!
Lord, we pray, come down P –May almighty God bless
upon your people, that hope you: the Father, and the
may grow in tribulation, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
P –The Lord be with you. virtue be strengthened in All – Amen!
All – And with your spirit! temptation, and eternal P –Go in peace to love and
P –Bow your heads and pray redemption be assured. serve the Lord.
for God’s blessing. (Pause) Through Christ our Lord. All – Thanks be to God!

An OFW Couple Makes the Right Choice

Ć Fr. Remo P. Bati, SDB

T his is the story of Leonard and Cristina, a

couple who had gotten married in Daet, Ca-
marines Norte but somehow after three years
themselves entirely to Divine Providence and
Mary’s motherly assistance. While they were
waiting for some answer from the Lord to
of married life, remained childless. their questions, something totally unexpected
Cristina decided to migrate to Italy for work. happened: the employer’s husband suffered
Fortunately enough, after almost a year, Italy a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. That
granted amnesty to irregular and clandestine event seemed to make the situation of the
migrants and she was “regularized” and given Filipino couple even more critical, but it turned
the “soggiorno” (visa). After two years, she out to be the beginning of the solution to their
was able to petition for Leonard through di- problems. During the dramatic situation of
rect hiring. However, she found it hard to look their employers, Cristina and Leonard seemed
for an employer who would accept a couple. to forget their uncertain future and focused on
But after much patient searching and prayers, assisting the old man during his show recovery.
finally, they were accepted by a couple who of- Leonard, in a special manner, was very faithful
fered them a room to stay in. in assisting him in his physical needs, while Cris-
One day, Cristina approached her lady em- tina did her part from the psychological part
ployer and revealed to her that she was two of cheering him up with her kindness, witty
months pregnant. She added that her doctor remarks and encouragement. Both were so
had advised her not to do strenuous work to dedicated and loving in rendering their service
assure a safe delivery. The employers did not that their employers were deeply impressed.
hear the news as something pleasant and The lady employer was also touched by their
beautiful. On the contrary, Leonard and Cris- calm attitude because, in spite of her intimida-
tina were advised to leave the place as soon as tion to send them away, due to Cristina’s preg-
possible because the employers did not want nancy, they had shown such concern and care
to have any baby in their house because Cris- for their employer’s recovery.
tina would be more absorbed in taking care of As a result, the lady employer changed
her baby than on doing her domestic work. her mind and told Cristina and Leonard to re-
Cristina and Leonard were so depressed by main at home even after the child’s birth. Both
the unexpected reaction of their employers. thanked God and the Blessed Mother for hav-
Where would they find someone who would ing listened to their prayers.
welcome a couple in their house? Who would
--------------
welcome a pregnant woman as a domestic Editor’s Note: Fr. Remo P. Bati, SDB served for several
helper? How would they cope with the ex- years as Chaplain of Filipino migrants in Rome. He
penses of the child’s delivery? There was a real gathered numerous testimonies from Overseas Filipino
internal struggle in their hearts so much so that Workers (OFWs) he has met or those met by other Filipino
they also discussed whether it would be prac- missionaries all over the world and compiled some of them,
together with his reflections, in an inspiring book. This article
tical to just abort the baby. Both prayed hard was featured in that book, Light from Pinoys on the Move,
and after much soul searching, they decided which is available from Word & Life Publications and other
to keep the baby at any cost. They entrusted Catholic bookstores.

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