First reading
2 Chronicles 36:14–16, 19–23
God’s wrath and mercy are revealed in the exile and release of his people.
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 136(137):1–6
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
Second reading
Ephesians 2:4–10
You were dead through your sins; you have been saved through grace.
Gospel acclamation
John 3:16
God loved the world so much, he gave us his only Son, that all who believe in him might have eternal life.
Gospel
John 3:14–21
God sent his Son so that through him the world might be saved.
Images from the Word
- Lifted up
- God gave
- Done in God
- Let him go up
- So much love
Liturgical notes
In the celebration of Mass the faithful form a holy people, a people of God’s own possession and a royal priesthood, so that they may give thanks to God and offer the unblemished sacrificial Victim not only by means of the hands of the Priest but also together with him and so that they may learn to offer their very selves. They should, moreover, take care to show this by their deep religious sense and their charity toward brothers and sisters who participate with them in the same celebration.
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §95
Our God has formed us to be his work of art. In the waters of baptism and the anointing of confirmation, we are called and formed to be his holy people, enjoying a share in the royal priesthood of his Son. Having been created in his likeness, we must respond to God by giving thanks and offering the sacrifice of his Son. Our role at Mass is never to be silent spectators of the actions of others but to help form the celebration by the sacrifice of our lives taken to the altar during the procession of gifts.
‘Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast’
—entrance antiphon