Written by The Maronite Church

RITE OF PEACE

Doxology

The congregation stands.

Cel: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Prayer of Peace

Cel: O Lord, grant to your Church, the sheep of your flock and your holy people, everlasting protection, peace, and love. We will glorify and thank you, O Father, your only Son, and your Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Exchange of Peace

Cel: Peace to you, O holy Altar of God. Peace to the Holy mysteries placed upon you. Peace to you, O minister of the Holy Spirit.

Diaconal Proclamation

Deacon: Let each of us give the greeting of peace to our neighbor, with that charity and loyalty which is pleasing to the Lord.

The people exchange the greeting of peace with joined hands.

Hymn of Peace

During the exchange of peace, all sing a hymn of peace, such as the following:

Cong: Peace, charity, and faith, brothers and sisters, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Prayer for the Imposition of the Hand

Cel: Send your blessing upon us, O Lord, that we may be worthy of the happy death reserved to men and women of peace. We will glorify you, O God, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Prayer of the Veil

Cel: Through this prayer of offering, O lord, may these holy mysteries make us strangers to the passions of sin and familiar with deeds of justice. We will glorify you, O Father, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Dialogue

Cel: May the love of God the + Father, the grace of the only-begotten + Son, and the unity and indwelling of the + Holy Spirit be with you, for ever

Cong: And also with you.

Cel: Let us lift up our thoughts, our minds, and our hearts.

Cong: They are raised to you, O God.

Cel: Let us thank the Lord with fear and worship him with humility.

Cong: It is right and proper.

Praise and Thanksgiving

Cel: With heart, mind, and tongue, we give you thanks, O Lord: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one true God. May your faithful people join in spirit with the invisible choirs and the countless ranks of seraphim, who glorify you and three times proclaim:

Holy, Holy, Holy

Cong: Holy, holy, holy mighty Lord, God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your great glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who has come and will come in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Cel: Holy are you, God the Father; holy is your Son; and holy is your Spirit. Through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, your Son, you redeemed the world and freed it from all errors and sin.

Institution Narrative

Cel: On the day before his life-giving passion, Jesus took bread in his holy hands. He blessed, sanctified, broke, and gave it to this disciples, saying: Take and eat it, all of you: This is my body which is broken and delivered for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Cong: Amen.

Cel: Likewise he blessed the cup of wine mixed with water, sanctified, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and drink from it, all of you: This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed and handed over for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Cong: Amen.

Memorial of the Plan of the Son (Anamnesis)

Cel: He then added this instruction, saying: each time you partake of these Mysteries you will recall my death, my burial, and my resurrection until I come.

Cong: O God, we remember your death, we witness that you rose from among the dead, we await your return. May your mercy come upon us all.

Cel: Indeed, O Lord, we do not forget the astonishing events of your plan of salvation and the awesome signs of your second coming, when you shall reward all people according to their deeds. For this reason, your Church, your people, beg you, and with you and through you, beg your Father, saying:

Cong: Have mercy on us, Almighty Father, have mercy on us.

Cel: We, your poor and sinful servants, O Lord, realize the graces we have received and thank you for them and because of them.

Cong: We praise you; we bless you; we adore you; we acknowledge and ask you: have mercy on us, O Lord, and hear us.

Invocation of the Holy Spirit (Epiclesis)

Deacon: How awesome is this moment, O my beloved. The Holy Spirit will descend from heaven and overshadow this offering, prepared for our sanctification. With reverence let us stand and pray, and three times proclaim:

Meanwhile, the celebrant bows and flutters his hands three times over the mysteries as he says quietly:

Cel: Have mercy on us, O Lord, and on your inheritance. Be pleased with this offering by the coming of your Holy Spirit, who proceeds eternally from you, O God the Father, and who, by essence, is equal to your Son.

The celebrant, kneeling on both knees, extends his hands and sings or says:

Cel: Hear us, O Lord; hear us, O Lord; hear us, O Lord. May your holy and living Spirit descend and overshadow us and our offering.

Cong: Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

Cel: Through his overshadowing, may your Spirit make this bread + the body of Christ our God.

Cong: Amen.

Cel: And make the mixture in this cup + the blood of Christ our God.

Cong: Amen.

Cel: May these mysteries, O Lord, enable those who share in them to find joy in your company; and we will glorify you, O Father, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Intercessions

All sit.

Cel: O Lord, be the strength which prevails against false teachings for your Church and her shepherds, especially N., Pope of Rome, N. Peter, our Patriarch, and N., our Bishop. Silence the tongues of those who speak evil against us, that we may glorify you, and pray to you, O Lord.

Cong: Lord, have mercy.

Deacon: O Lord, reward of those who do good and Savior of those who are imprisoned by hardships, do not silence or ignore the sighs of the poor, the calls of the needy, or the torments of the troubled. We glorify you, and pray to you, O Lord.

Cong: Lord, have mercy.

Deacon: O Lord be a strong tower of protection for the people of every city, place and country who truly believe in you and turn to your for refuge. Hasten to disperse those who surround the walls of your holy city, the spiritual Jerusalem. We glorify you, and pray to you, O Lord.

Cong: Lord, have mercy.

Deacon: O Lord, defender and help of those who invoke he memory of the mother of your Son, Jesus Christ, and of the saints who pleased you, [especially, N., and N.]. In your kindness, enable us and our faithful departed, to be worthy of the wonderful favors granted to those who keep you commandments. We glorify you, and pray to you, O Lord.

Cong: Lord, have mercy.

Deacon: O Lord, the vision of immortal beauty for those who faithfully shepherded your flock during their lives, and who left this life in holiness to come to you, do not keep us away, nor remove us from fellowship with your saints through whom we become children of your grace and brothers and sisters of your only Son. We glorify you, and pray to you, O Lord.

Cong: Lord, have mercy.

Deacon: O Lord, you are the give of rest and pardon to the faithful departed, who have been redeemed by the death of your only Son, [especially, N. and N.]. You have redeemed them from death, delivered them from the nether world, and brushed off the dust of the grave. Increase in us and in them the grace of your only son, with whom and through whom we hope to find compassion and forgiveness, and we glorify you, and pray to you, O Lord.

Cong: Grant them rest, O Lord, and forgive all our sins and failings: those sins we have committed knowingly and those things we have done without knowledge.

Cel: O Lord, on the great day of resurrection when life is renewed, make us worthy to share in the joy of your blissful kingdom. Grant that in this service, as in all things, you blessed name, O Father, may be glorified, exalted, and honored, with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

Cong: As it was, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.

COMMUNION RITE

Blessing

Cel: May the blessing of God the + Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit be with you, for ever.

Cong: And also with you.

Fraction, Consignation, Intinction, Commixture and Elevation

The congregation sings an appropriate hymn, for example, Father of Truth, or the korozooto of the day while the celebrant prays silently.

Fraction

Cel: We have believed, and we have offered, and now we seal + and break this oblation, the heavenly bread in living body of the Word of the living God.

Intinction

Cel: We sign this cup of salvation and thanksgiving with the purifying ember which glows with the heavenly mysteries in the name of the + Father, life for all the living; in the name of the only-begotten + Son, who proceeds from him, and, like him, is life for all the living; in the name of the + Holy Spirit, the beginning, the end, and the perfection of all that was and will be in heaven and on earth, the one, true, blessed, and exalted God, without division, from whom comes life for ever.

Consignation

Cel: The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is sprinkled over his holy body, in the name of the + Father, and of the + Son, and of the + Holy Spirit.

Commixture

Cel: You have united, O Lord, your divinity with our humanity and our humanity with your divinity; your life with our mortality and our mortality with your life. You have assumed what is ours, and you have given us what is your, for the life and salvation of our souls. To you, O Lord, be glory for ever.

Elevation

The congregation stands. The celebrant places the paten containing the host over the cup and elevates the, saying silently:

Cel: You, O Lord, are the pleasing victim, who was offered for us; you are the forgiving sacrifice, who offered yourself for us to your Father. You are the Lamb of sacrifice, and yet also the priest who offered himself for us. May our prayers be like incense in your sight as we present them through you and with you to your Father.

Lord’s Prayer

Cel: O Lord, open our mouths and lips, sanctify our souls and bodies, and free our minds and consciences, so that we may call upon you, O God, Father of mercies, and implore you, saying:

The celebrant and congregation extend their hands and pray:

All: Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; your 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. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

Cel: Hasten, O Lord, to change all that is detrimental and harmful into that which will help and benefit us, and we will glorify you , now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Penitential Rite

Cel: Peace be with you.

Cong: And also with you.

Deacon: Bow your heads before the merciful Lord, before his forgiving altar, and before the body and blood of our Savior, who gives life to those who partake of him, and received the blessing of the Lord.

Cel: O Lord God, may your divine blessings, favors, and grace come and descend of your flock, and we will glorify you, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Cel: May the grace of the most Holy Trinity + eternal and co-equal in essence, be with you, my brothers and sisters, for ever.

Cong: And also with you.

Deacon: Let us all look to God in awe and with reverence and ask him for mercy and compassion.

Invitation to Communion

Cel: Holy things for the holy, with perfection, purity, and sanctity.

Cong: One holy Father, one holy Son, one holy Spirit. Blessed be the name of the Lord for he is one in heaven and on earth. To God be glory for ever.

The celebrant and the congregation prepare for communion. They extend their hands in prayer and say:

All: Make us worthy, O Lord God, to sanctify our bodies with your holy body and to purify our souls with your forgiving blood. May our communion be for the forgiveness of our sins and for eternal life. O Lord our God, to you be glory, for ever.

Communion of the Celebrant

The congregation sings one of the following hymns:

(A) Through the Resurrection of Christ

Cong: Through the resurrection of Christ the King, with true faith, let us beg for forgiveness for our souls.

Let us all together proclaim to the Son, who redeemed us be his cross: “Blessed is our Savior: holy are you, holy are you, holy are you.”

May the memory of Christ’s mother, the saints, and all the faithful departed be honored throughout the whole world. Alleluia!

(B) The Heavenly Hosts

Cong: The heavenly hosts stand with us in the sanctuary. They carry in procession the body of the Son of God, immolated before us. Let us all approach and receive him for the forgiveness of our sins and faults. Alleluia!

May our parents, brothers and sisters, and teachers be commemorated at your altar, O Lord, and may they stand at your right hand on the day of judgement, O Christ the King. Alleluia!

Blessed is the Lord who gave us his living body and blood that we may find pardon in them. Praised and exalted are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Glory to them for ever and ever. Alleluia!

Meanwhile, the celebrant consumes the large part of the host, saying:

Cel: The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is given to me for the forgiveness of my sins and for eternal life.

The celebrant drinks from the cup, saying:

Cel: The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is given to me for the forgiveness of my sins and for eternal life.

The priest concelebrants then communicate themselves.

Communion of the People

Before he distributes communion, the celebrant raises the paten and with the congregation sings or says:

All: Our Lord said: “I am the bread of life. Whoever easts me in faith inherits life.”

Cel: This is the cup which our Lord prepared on the cross. Come forth, O mortals, and drink from it for the forgiveness of sins.

Cong: The Church proclaims: “Come, O brothers and sisters, take the body of the Son, drink his blood in faith and sing of his glory.”

The following verses may also be sung:

Cong: The Church proclaims: “Holy, holy, holy are you, O Lord; blessed is he who gives me his body and blood for my salvation.”

Alleluia! Alleluia! To Christ be glory, for he gives us his living body and blood for our salvation.

May this offering intercede for us on the day of judgement, when we stand before God’s awesome throne.

Alleluia! Alleluia! To Christ be glory, for from his cup the Church and her children drink, and sing his praise.

When the celebrant gives communion to the deacon(s), the subdeacon(s) (servers), and the congregation, he says:

Cel: The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are given to you for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life.

During communion, the congregation sings “O Bread of Life” or “Father of Truth,” or other hymns and psalms appropriate to communion. They may also sing the following traditional Syriac verses in commemoration of the faithful departed:

Cong: O merciful Lord, accept this offering from your worshipers. In your kindness, grant pardon to the faithful departed.

Behold, the oblation has been offered and souls have been redeemed May it give rest to the departed for whom it was offered.

May this oblation, offered by the living for the dead, obtain pardon for their souls and forgiveness for their failings.

May the Lord, who called Eleazar and the widow’s sons to life, sprinkle the dew of his mercy upon the faithful departed.

With Abraham and Isaac and with the faithful Jacob, celebrate, O Lord, the memory of those for whom it is offered.

O heavenly King, accept the offering of your servants, and celebrate their memory in your heavenly Jerusalem.

In the Jerusalem above, and in the Church on earth as well, may it be an honorable memory at your altar in heaven.

O Lamb of God, O Shepherd who died for his flock: in your kindness, grant rest to the faithful departed.

My soul longs for your body, yet I am afraid to get close, for I tremble because of my sins. In your kindness, O Lord, grant me pardon.

May your body and blood that we have partaken be for us the way, the bridge, and the safe passage from darkness to light.

May the heavenly beings find joy and mortals good hope, because of the offering of the living for their dead.

Blessing with the Mysteries

After communion, the celebrant blesses the congregation with the mysteries:

Cel: We render always glory and thanksgiving to you, O Lord, for giving us your body to eat and your blood to drink. O Lover of all, have mercy on us.

Cong: O Lover of all, have mercy on us.

Thanksgiving

The congregation sits and sings hymns of thanksgiving, for example, “O Lord, I have consumed you holy body,” or Psalms 133 (134).

Meanwhile, the celebrant consumes what remains of the offerings, and then performs the ablutions.

Cel: O Lord, our mouths, used to earthly food, give you thanks for your grace which enables us to receive the divine gift of the body and blood of your only son. With Christ and through him, glory, honor, and power are due to you, O Father, and to your Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

Blessing and Dismissal

Cel: Peace be with you.

Cong: And also with you.

The celebrant extends his right hand over the congregation:

Cel: O Christ, Divine Bread, who desired to be our imperishable food, at your second coming, do not allow us to become the food of the unquenchable fire. We will glorify and thank you, O Christ, your Father, and your living Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

Cong: Amen.

The congregation stands. The celebrant concludes:

Cel: Go in peace, beloved brothers and sisters, accompanied by the nourishment and graces you have received from the forgiving altar of the Lord. May the blessing of the most Holy Trinity remain with you: the + Father, and the + Son, and the + Holy Spirit, one God, to whom be glory, for ever.

Cong: Amen.

The celebrant kisses the altar and silently says:

Cel: Remain in peace, O holy altar of God, I hope to return to you in peace. May the offering I have received from you forgive my sins and prepare me to stand blameless before the throne of Christ. I know not whether I will be able to return to you again to offer sacrifice. Guard me, O Lord, and protect your holy Church, that she may be the way to salvation and the light of the world. Amen.

The celebrant and ministers then leave the sanctuary.

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