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FOREWORD

In preparation for the 500th anniversary (1521-2021) of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines announced in July 2012 nine years of faith-filled journey with a different theme each year. Last year, it was the year of the laity, this 2015, it is the Year of the Poor, or Taon ng mga Maralita.

Coincidentally, or providentially, His Holiness Pope Francis made a pastoral visit to the Philippines at the beginning of 2015. His homilies and messages during his visit were clear: We are asked to reflect and to open our eyes, hearts and minds to our poor brothers and sisters. This invitation to us finds support in a passage in the book of Micah (6:8), “to do justice and act with loving kindness.”

According to Fr. Enrico Martin F. Adoviso, chairman of the Commission on Social Services and Development (CSSD) of the Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM), “We as the Church of the Poor are called to renew our commitment to Christ’s mission and to always take the side of the poor and the oppressed, especially when and where there is injustice and denial of basic human rights. The farmers that till the land to bring us food, the fisher folks who navigate the seas for us and the workers who run the

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industries are still materially poor after decades and generations of work for living. Their dignity as co-creator of the Lord should be reclaimed.”

The Year of the Poor was launched by RCAM-CSSD with an encouraging invitation to “Rise and Stand-up,” or Bumangon at Manindigan, in behalf of our poor brothers and sisters. Basically, responding to the call to “rise and stand-up” for others is not about taking a big and huge responsibility, but rather doing little things, especially those that would uplift human dignity and human value, with constancy and sincerity. And during times when we cannot extend material or financial assistance to people who are in need, let us draw inspiration from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (25:40), “whatever you have done to the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done it to me.”

Filipinos are fundamentally prayerful. I notice many people making the sign of the cross when passing a church. I also notice many people praying the rosary while riding public transportation. Even in the United States where I ministered for a number of years, whenever Filipino communities gather together, prayer is basically part of the celebration. Filipinos love to say “I will include you in my prayers.” Therefore, for our poor and oppressed brothers and sisters, for the maralita, we say also we are keeping you in our prayers.

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This Holy Hour for the Year of the Poor is our contribution, sharing and response to the many realities our poor brothers and sisters are experiencing in their lives. We are praying for them for an hour that the good and gracious Lord may bless them. For I believe that when two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord, God is there listening. Similarly, through this Holy Hour for the Poor, may we commit to constantly challenge ourselves to raise awareness of the plight of the poor and protect the human dignity of our brothers and sisters.

Fr. Rudsend Paragas, SSS Parish Priest

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“The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus. After this, there is nothing more but Heaven itself.” - St. Peter Julian Eymard

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Holy Hour for the Year of the Poor

EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

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CALL TO PRAYER

Presider: O Sacrament most Holy O Sacrament Divine

Response: All praise and thanksgiving Be every moment thine.

Presider: Blessed are you, O Lord, God of all creation and the Face of all goodness and mercy.

Response: Through your goodness, the poor have found joy and honor in offering their lives at the service of your kingdom of justice and peace.

Presider: Blessed are you, Lord Jesus, obedient and humble Son of the Father and Face of Compassion.

Response: Through your goodness, the poor have an inspiration that they can make a gift of themselves so that others may find You and experience life to the full.

Presider: Blessed are you, Holy Spirit, our Consoler, and Face of Holiness

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Response: Through your goodness, the poor even in their poverty can become bread broken for the hungers of humanity.

Presider: Let us pray,

All Blessed are You, Lord God present for us in the Eucharist, the memorial of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the Cross, where once and for all He offered himself to the Father even unto death, to accomplish an everlasting redemption for all of God’s children.

On the cross, your eyes, O Lord, gaze into ours so that we may have the privilege of encountering the love of the Resurrected One. Many of us prefer not to look. Many of us recoil at looking into the eyes of a man in deathly pain. Many of us hesitate at having to respond to love. But yours are not the eyes of a defeated man, condemned for criminal insurrection. Yours are the eyes of an unlikely king, who is dealing death its death blow, and still looks into our eyes with challenge. In your love is the call to the Kingdom of your Father, a kingdom of justice, compassion and life to the full.

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You never abandon the creatures formed by your wisdom, but remain with us in the midst of our suffering and struggles and work for our good even now. We rejoice in beholding You, Lord Jesus, who became poor and who embraced our poverty. No image of You, Lord Jesus, poor, surpasses that, as you hang on the cross stripped of your clothes, your dignity, your possession, your power, your strength. You have chosen to be fully one with the unwashed, the oppressed, the scorned, the powerless, the miserable, the outcast.

But it is with those stretched arms of yours on the cross that you gather the poor and bring them to the fold of your Church, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, guide your pilgrim Church today as it journeys along the paths of time to the eternal joy of your kingdom. Amen.

I. “You who are Poor”

The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Blessed be the Lord.

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1. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord, for He hears the cry of the poor. (refrain)

2. Let the lowly hear and be glad; the Lord listens to their pleas; And to hearts broken He is near, for He hears the cry of the poor. (ref)

3. Ev’ry spirit crushed He will save; will be ransom for their lives; Will be safe shelter for their fears, for He hears the cry of the poor. (ref)

4. We proclaim the greatness of God, his praise ever in my mouth. Ev’ry face brightened in his light, for He hears the cry of the poor. (ref)

First Reading: Luke 6: 17-26

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits

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were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

(Moment of silence – to reflect on the word of God - 5 minutes)

Presider: Our God is a God of blessing. Since He is a God of blessing, and we, the Church of the Poor who contemplates his face are made in his image and likeness, so we too are called to be bearers of his blessing.

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Response: May the Lord bless us. May the power of his life fill and invigorate us.

Presider: Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Response: The poor are blessed because You, O Lord, chose from your cross to be with them; to walk with them through crowded alleys, stumble on mud, recoil at the stench of unmoved sewerage; to bend low to enter their makeshift homes that are like an oven in hot season and a waterfall when it rains.

Presider: Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.

Response: Those who are hungry and wanting are blessed because You, O Lord, have taken on their hunger, their nakedness, their vulnerability, their illness, their shame.

Presider: Blessed are you who are weeping now, for you will laugh.

Response: Those who are weeping are blessed, O Lord, because even with back-breaking

work and ever-mounting debts, they feel your gaze into their souls, and with your compassion emanating from the Cross, they

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are convinced they are loved and have your abiding identification with them.

Presider: Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Response: Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.

Presider: Let us pray,

All: Lord Jesus, we thank You, who made a gift of your life for us so humbly and tenderly.You endured the pain and your wounds so patiently; You embraced the cross so lovingly, even if it means suffering in intense agony; You wept so bitterly being abandoned by your friends; You shed tears and blood plentifully; and for me, a sinner, You suffered and died.

Loving Savior, we entrust ourselves to You – to the depths of your unbounded mercy and compassion. Keep alive within us the memory of your holy passion and death, so that in the midst of everyday challenges, we may remember your gentle gaze on the Cross.

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We ask You “to engrave upon our hearts a deep and lively faith, hope and charity, with true repentance for our sins and a firm resolve to make amends” for our neglect and offense against the poor among us, whom You so love unconditionally. Amen.

II. Behold Jesus Poor and Hope of the Poor

Hymn:

Hesus na aking Kapatid, sa lupa nami’y bumalik

Iyong mukha’y ibang-iba, hindi kita nakikilala.

Tulutan mong aking mata, mamulat sa katotohanan Ikaw Poon makikilala sa taong mapagkumbaba.

Hesus na aking kapatid, putikan man ang ‘yong sapin Punit-punit ang yong damit, nawa’y ika’y mapasaakin.

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Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others. Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(Moment of silence – to reflect on the word of God - 5 minutes)

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Presider: “Whatever you do for this poor person, that you do for me.… Whatever you do not do for this poor person, that you do not do for me.” Why do you ask to any who follow you, O Lord, this mandate to works of mercy? “Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless. Visit the sick. Ransom the captive. Bury the dead.”

Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: “Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened; and I will give you rest.” (Mt 2:28) Life has not reduced our Lord to misery, but life has not lifted him to wealth. But Jesus assures us: “I have come to give life, and to give it to the full.”

Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

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obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed….(Lk 4:18) A good life is a spirit-filled life. It is a gift not of our own making. It is a blessing that comes from above by a loving God, who is concerned for man’s well-being.

Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mk 10:21) Jesus admonishes us not to hoard for ourselves but to seek the common good and not only our good.

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Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36) This same gaze of compassion is what Jesus desires we all will have towards the poor.

Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: “He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said

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to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she, out of her poverty.’” (Mk 12:41-44) For the Lord, the poor has the same dignity as everyone else and has the capacity to share life and love, probably even more.

Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”(Lk 14:12-14) Jesus is calling us to see everyone as His beloved…to look at each other the way He gazes at us.

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Response: Renew our hearts and make us of the same attitude as you, Lord Jesus – You who emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave, and

being made in the likeness of men. You humbled yourself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You are the hope of the poor.

Presider: Let us pray,

All: O Lord, Jesus Christ, present in the Eucharist, light and life of the poor,

“our human heart, burdened with sin, often bewildered, weary and tried by suffering of all kinds, has need of light.” You called us out of darkness into your wonderful light.

In the difficult quest for peace that seems remote, overwhelmed and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war, beset by calamities, natural and man-made, we need light. May we experience your kindness and blessings and be strong in truth, in hope and in love.

But in the midst of the noise and confusion, as we contemplate the Eucharistic mystery, we also experience what the apostles have experienced. In the Eucharist, we daily encounter You, true God and true man.

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While our everyday journey can be challenging, even exhilarating, it can also be lonely and tiring. The shadows are lengthening. We have become indifferent to the truth. There is loss of moral awareness, and worse, we have lost the sense of God. Consequently, we have neglected the poor

among us and have just focused on ourselves.

Forgive us our pride, O Lord. Forgive us our indifference and our weakness. O Lord, let the light of your countenance shine upon us and we shall be saved. Amen.

III. A Poor Church for the Poor

Hymn:

1. We are made for service to care for all men: We are made for love both time and again- A love that will live through sorrow and pain, A love that will never die with strain.

2. God sent his son to show us the way, One who shared His love every minute of the day, One who gave His life that we might live And His spirit to help us through the years.

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3. Life can be so lonely when nobody cares Life can be so empty when nobody shares. But if man gives himself to care of other men The happiness of Christ will live within. Reading: REFLECTION OF POPE FRANCIS

Poverty for us Christians is not a sociological, philosophical or cultural category, no. It is theological. I might say this is the first category, because our God, the Son of God, abased himself, He made himself poor to walk along the road with us.

This is our poverty: the poverty of the flesh of Christ, the poverty that brought the Son of God to us through his Incarnation. A poor Church for the poor begins by reaching out to the flesh of Christ. If we reach out to the flesh of Christ, we begin to understand something, to understand what this poverty, the Lord’s poverty, actually is; and this is far from easy. (Address at the Vigil of Pentecost with the Ecclesial Movements, 05/18/2013)

Presider: “[To] love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: it means seeing in every person the face of the Lord to be served, to serve him concretely. And you are, dear brothers and

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sisters, the face of Jesus.“ (Pope Francis, Address during Visit at the Homeless Shelter “Dona Di Maria,” 5/21/13)

Response: Loving Lord, recognizing You in our brothers and sisters is not that easy. We have our preferences and most of the time it will be in those that are pleasant and appealing in our eyes.

Help us to see You more readily among the

poor, the unwashed, the oppressed, the scorned, the powerless, the miserable and the outcast…amongst the street people, the prisoners, the sick, the aged, the orphans.

Presider: “Poverty calls us to sow hope. …Poverty is the flesh of the poor Jesus, in that child who is hungry, in the one who is sick, in those unjust social structures. …The times talk to us of so much poverty in the world and this is a scandal. Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. Poverty today is a cry.” (Pope Francis, Meeting with Students of Jesuit Schools — Q&A, 6/7/13)

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Response: Merciful Lord, you came to bring hope to our world. You are our hope. But more certainly, You are the hope of the poor and probably their only hope. Being part of the Church, You challenge us to be sowers of hope by challenging and dismantling those unjust social structures that cause the suffering and misery of the poor.

Give us the courage to stand up to the challenge and not be afraid to embrace the cross that might accompany it.

Presider: The parable of the Good Samaritan “speaks of a man assaulted and left half dead at the side of the road. People pass by him and look at him. But they do not stop, they just continue on their journey, indifferent to him,” as if to say: “it is none of their business! How often do we say: it’s not my problem! How often do we turn the other way and pretend not to see!” (Pope Francis, Address at St. Francis of Assisi of the Providence of God Hospital, 7/24/13)

Response: Compassionate Lord, in the gospel, you are drawn to people who are suffering and in need. You never run away from them but choose to be with them even if it means embracing their pains.

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Shatter the indifference that has hardened our hearts in the face of such challenging situations. As a Church, make it our business, our concern to feed the hungry, nurse the wounded, fight for the oppressed; never out of anger nor discontent but always in love and in compassion.

Presider: “If in so many parts of the world there are children who have nothing to eat, that’s not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! Yet these things become the norm: that some homeless people die of cold on the streets is not news. In contrast, a ten point drop on the stock markets of some cities is a tragedy. A person dying is not news, but if the stock markets drop ten points it is a tragedy! Thus people are disposed of, as if they were trash.” (Pope Francis. World Environment day, 06/05/21013)

Response: Lord of Life, nothing is more precious to You than the well-being of everyone of God’s children. The good Shepherd that You are, You will leave the 99 and search for the one lost sheep. How it must have pained You, therefore, to see how we can so easily dismiss as trash the lives of the poor among us. How sad You must have been that we have treated the life of a

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person as a commodity that we can dispose of so easily in cases of abortion, summary executions, human trafficking, prostitutions and exploitations.

Awaken in us, your church, O Lord, the commitment to uphold the sanctity of life and family. Help us that beginning with the love and respect we show to members of our families and communities, we may promote a culture of life and not death.

Presider: “We are living in a time of crisis: we see this in the environment, but above all we see this in mankind. ...Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task! Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption… .”(Pope Francis 06/05/2013)

Response: Lord Almighty, you have reminded us that we cannot serve both God and mammon. But indeed, in many occasions, we have chosen mammon over you. We underpay our workers, we use and produce substandard materials, we take advantage of the weak and unlearned – all for the sake of making bigger profit.

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Recreate our hearts, O Lord, and make us your people once again with You at the center and focus of our life.

Presider: We are living in a “culture of waste. We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy.” (Pope Francis 06/05/2013)

Response: Lord of all creation, you created this world and saw how good it is. You have made it so that there is enough for everybody’s need but not for any one person’s greed.

Help us to protect and care for the whole of creation. Help us to realize the kingdom You have planned for us today and forever.

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Presider: Let us pray,

All: Life is before us, Lord, with its promises, exciting possibilities and thrilling adventures. The future lies ahead, beckoning to us because You chose to be with us.

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You chose to create us in your own image, setting us over the whole world in all its wonder. You made us stewards of all creation to praise You day by day for the marvels of your wisdom and power.

On the table of the meals of our lives we tell our stories, we share our dreams and we proclaim our lives and our times.As we celebrate the mystery of your love, we acknowledge our failures, and ask You for pardon and strength. Together we eat, and together we celebrate our happiness, successes, joys and our health. Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father, we worship You. We give You thanks, we praise You for your glory.

We drink from each other’s cup of pain. We touch each other’s sorrow, we dry each other’s tears and we heal each other’s brokenness. May all of us who share in the Body and Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.

We draw strength from each other. We declare our thanksgiving. We build up our fellowship and we become Church. Lord Jesus, we ask You to receive us and be

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pleased with the sacrifice we offer You, with humble and contrite heart.

Together as a Church of the Poor, who is in need of your grace, we enter into each other’s lives, and on the altar of life we become bread taken, blessed, broken and given. We come to You, Father, with praise and thanksgiving through Jesus Christ, your Son, who together with our Blessed Mother will be forever the hope and refuge of the poor. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

CONCLUDING PRAYER AND BENEDICTION

Tantum Ergo (Hymn)

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Presider: You have given them Bread from heaven.

Response: The source of all happiness.

Presider: Let us pray,

Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood, help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom, where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Response: Amen.

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Presider: The Divine Praises!

All: Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart. Blessed be His Most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy. Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate

Conception. Blessed be her Glorious Assumption. Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother. Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

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REPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Sacrament Most Holy (Hymn)

O Sacrament most HolyO Sacrament divine

All praise and all thanksgivingBe every moment thine.Be every moment thine.

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