Confessio Peccati

et Laudis
March 21, 2018, 3pm
Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City

Most. Rev. Socrates Villegas, DD

Presider
 2

GATHERING HYMN

ASHES

We rise again from ashes, from the good we’ve failed to do.
We rise again from ashes to create ourselves anew.
If all our world is ashes then must our lives be true
An offering of ashes, an offering to you.

We offer you our failures, we offer you attempts

The gifts not fully given, the dreams not fully dreamt.
Give our stumblings direction, give our visions wider view
An offering of ashes, an offering to you.

Then rise again from ashes, let healing come to pain

Though spring has turned to winter, and sunshine turns to rain
The rain we’ll use for growing, and create the world anew
From an offering of ashes, an offering to you.

Thanks be to the Father, who made us like himself

Thanks be to his Son, who saved us by his death.
Thanks be to the Spirit, who creates the world anew
From an offering of ashes, an offering to you.
 3

SIGN OF THE CROSS AND INTRODUCTION

Presider:
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
R./ Amen.

Peace be with you.

R./ And with your spirit.

Presider:
May the grace of the Holy Spirit fill your heart with light,
that you may be reconciled to one another.

My brothers and sisters,

Lent is the principal time of penance
both for individual Christians and for the whole Church.
It is therefore desirable to prepare the Christian community
for a fuller sharing in the paschal mystery
by penitential celebrations during Lent.
To this end, we practice almsgiving, prayer and fasting.
We also make the Stations of the Cross.

We are gathered today in this Year of the Clergy and

Consecrated Persons for two reasons:
to celebrate our reconciliation with God
and with one another and to perform
a penitential walk as we meditate on the Stations of the Cross.

The CBCP Pastoral Exhortation for this year

reminds us that while there are many reasons
to celebrate and to rejoice, this year also invites us
to “sincere reflection and humble repentance and reparation”
for the many times that we have lived
contrary to our vows and commitment.”
 4

We go to confession and admit our sins to the priest.

We are absolved of our sins.
But a lot of times we do not feel at peace after the confession.
There must be something missing yet.
And that is reconciliation.
Forgiveness belongs to God.
Only God forgives sins.
The priest represents God in forgiving our sins.
But we need to say sorry also to those we have offended
and give pardon to those who have offended us
if we truly seek healing and reconciliation.

This ritual is intended to offer us

a means for healing ourselves of our transgressions
to our identity as consecrated persons.
Let us look into areas of our sinfulness
that make our witness weak and wanting.

OPENING PRAYER

Presider:

Let us pray.

Father of mercies and God of all consolation,

you have brought us together in the name of your Son
to receive your mercy and grace in time of need.
Open our eyes to see the wrong we have done
and to recognize the failures and shortcomings we have committed.
Touch our hearts and convert us to yourself.

All:
Where sin has divided and scattered,
may your love make one again;
 5

where sin has brought weakness,

may your power heal and strengthen;
where sin has brought death, may your Spirit raise to new life.

Presider:
May we be attentive to your Word;
confess our sins; receive your forgiveness,
and be always grateful for your loving kindness.

All:
Give us a new heart to love you and one another,
so that our lives may reflect the image of your Son.
Help us to live the truth in love
and grow in the fullness of Jesus your Son,
who lives with you for ever and ever. Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

READING

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans 5:8-11

Dear sisters and brothers, God proves his love for us

in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.

Indeed, if, while we were enemies,

we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The Word of the Lord.

R./ Thanks be to God.
 6

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Remember your love and your faithfulness, O Lord.

Remember your people and have mercy on us, Lord

1. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?

The Lord is my life and my refuge; when I call He hears.

2. If you dwelt, O Lord, upon our sinfulness, then who could stand?
But with You there is mercy and forgiveness and a guiding hand.

3. O Lord, hear the sound of my call and answer me.

My heart cries out for Your presence; it is You I seek.

Verse before the Gospel (Joel 2:12-13)

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful.

GOSPEL

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples:

“You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp
and then put it under a bushel basket;
 7

it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.

Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.

The Gospel of the Lord.

R./ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

HOMILY

CONFESSIO PECCATI
Bishop:

My dear brethren,
let us turn with trust to God our Father,
who is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger, great in love and fidelity.
We bow our heads in shame
as we recognize that our failures in renewal
have come from our hardness of heart
and resistance to conversion.
Let us ask him to accept our repentance
as we humbly confess our sins
and grant us his mercy and forgiveness.

I. CONFESSION OF SINS AGAINST THE POOR AND

MARGINALIZED

Leader:
Let us pray for all those who are spiritually and materially poor
especially those who are often neglected by the society.

In our failure to see the image of God on the face of others, especially the
weakest and those most in need. In moments that we lived like lords
 8

and masters, and think of ourselves as above others and not at their
service.

In moments that we shut the window of our hearts and closed our eyes
in order not to see them. Recognizing that we must be one with them,
striving to fulfill our common vision to be a church of and for the poor.

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison

All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:
Lord God,
you continue to save mankind and the world
through the poverty of Christ,
who makes himself poor in the sacraments,
in his word and in His Church,
which is a people of the poor.
In our imitation of our master,
we are called to confront
the poverty of our brothers and sisters,
to touch it, to make it our own
and to take practical steps to alleviate it.
In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face;
by loving and helping the poor,
we love and serve Christ, for unto them,
the kingdom of heaven belongs.
Grant us the gift of justice, equality, simplicity and sharing
so that in Jesus’ poverty
we might enshrine human dignity.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
 9

II. CONFESSION OF SINS AGAINST THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN

LIFE

Leader:
Let us pray for all the victims of human trafficking, extra-judicial
killings and our indigenous communities.
In our lack of human sensitivity that enables us to weep with those who
weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice. For all those times that our
hearts become hard and incapable of loving unconditionally the Father
and our neighbor. For our lack of solidarity to all those who suffer under
pain as of land exploitation, armed conflicts and inhumane treatments;
And for those members of our communities which we neglect to
minister to and serve.

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison

All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:
God our Father,
violence against human life is rampant
in our society today,
terrified crimes infested our country.
Forgive us Lord when we forget
our responsibility to your people,
when we close our eyes
to the victims of the injustices of the world
and for not extending our hands to them.
Grant us Lord the courage to step out in our comfort zones
to bear witness and proclaim you
the true source of justice, mercy and love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

A lamp is lit before the Crucifix

 10

III. CONFESSION OF SINS AGAINST THE CHURCH

Leader:

Let us pray for our Holy Mother Church.

For our infidelity to do our mission of spreading the Good News; our
inconsistencies to the truthful witnessing and preaching of the Word of
God with our own actions; for our inconsiderate actions that marred the
Church with various forms of abuses; and our failure to support the
needs of the Church.

For our weak collaboration with the Church leaders in the dioceses we
are in, for failing to be faithful and live in communion with the Church,
we ask forgiveness.

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison

All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:
Father, you did not call the qualified
rather you qualify the call.
We turn to you, O God, as we feel weak and vulnerable.
Forgive us our infidelity to the church as we forget our mission.
Help us to detach ourselves
from the promise of the world
to keep our focus on you.
Fill our hearts with your burning love.
Enlighten and strengthen us
so that we may respond faithfully
to your call.

A lamp is lit before the Crucifix

 11

IV. CONFESSION OF SINS AGAINST OUR COMMON HOME

Leader:
Let us pray for our common home,

In our failure to speak out when our environment is abused. When we

failed to denounce the harm inflicted to the Earth through pollution, the
scandalous destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity, and the
spectre of climate change. For the moments that our institutions and
lifestyles do not manifest simplicity and concern for our common home.

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison

All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:
Father of all, Creator and ruler of the universe,
You entrusted your world to us as a gift.
Forgive us for the times when
we fail to live in right relationship--
with You, with ourselves, with one another, and with creation.
Help us to imitate your love for the human family
by recognizing that we are all connected—
to our brothers and sisters around the world,
to those in poverty impacted by environmental devastation,
and to future generations.
Help us to hear the cry of those in poverty,
and the cry of the earth,
so that we may together care for our common home.
R./ Amen.

A lamp is lit before the Crucifix

 12

V. CONFESSION OF SINS AGAINST THE COUNTRY AND

SOCIETY

Leader:
Let us pray for our country, In our indifference to show unity as one
nation. For our apathy to our fellow Filipino citizens. For our failure in
speaking up and fighting against the impunity of corruption and other
forms of abuses in the government. And for our complacency in acting
out our duties as Filipinos.

For failing to denounce the many who wash their hands in situations
that require making unpopular decisions, instead of washing the feet
and "take the bull by the horns," as it is popularly said, we ask
forgiveness from the people.

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison
All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:
God the Father almighty,
you are the true source of order and peace,
despite of our rigidity and indifferences
no one is a stranger to you
and no one is ever far from your loving care.
God, grant us a pure heart
so that we may bring love, joy and peace
to all the people that surrounds us.

Help us to recognize the divine image and likeness

in your people and free us
from discrimination and isolation.
Through Christ our Lord. R./ Amen.
A lamp is lit before the Crucifix
 13

VI. CONFESSION OF SIN AGAINST OUR COMMUNITIES

Leader:
Let us pray for our religious communities.

As consecrated people, we are expected to live out our vows in the

context of a community. Still, there are times that we have lived more
like individual persons rather than people in communion. In the midst
of our constant bickering and backbiting, it is the community that is
hurt and scandalized. We repent for not creating enough spaces for
dialogue, for serene confrontation, for co-responsibility, we ask
forgiveness from the people;

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison

All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:

Almighty Father, you called us to live in unity and harmoniously.

Through your spirit, you built us as a community.
We ask for forgiveness Father on our insensitivity
to the needs of our brothers and sisters,
on our mediocrity for the good of the community and
on our selfishness that brings us to disunity.

Help us to be selfless in order for us to care one another.

Teach us to love and accept
the weaknesses of each other.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

A lamp is lit before the Crucifix

 14

VII. CONFESSION OF SIN AGAINST OUR VOWS

Leader:
Let us pray for all the victims of clerical and religious abuse.

For our failure in live a life becoming of a consecrated person; for our
activities that go against the practice of purity of life; for the hardness of
our hearts that leads us to disobedience; and for our mediocrity in doing
and fulfilling our mission as consecrated people. For fighting for survival
that has often resulted into mediocrity, which leads to double life,
which is the true cancer of consecrated life, we ask forgiveness from the
people

After a brief moment of silence, the choir sings.

Cantor: Kyrie, eleison

All: Kyrie, eleison. Lord have mercy. Ginoo, kaloy-i, kaawaan mo kami.

Presider:

God, our Father, in you nothing is hidden.

Grant us all your consecrated people
a deep faith, a firm hope
and unfathomable love.
Comfort us in our loneliness,
strengthen us in our frustrations and
help us to live as a true followers of your Son.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
 15

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Presider:
Most merciful Father, your Son, Jesus Christ,
the judge of the living and the dead,
in the humility of his first coming
he redeemed humanity from sin
and on his glorious return,
he will demand an account of every sin.
Grant that we, your servants,
who by the grace of the Holy Spirit,
recognize our shortcomings and sins
and turn back to you
in whole-hearted repentance,
may experience your mercy
and receive the forgiveness of our sins.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R./ Amen.

As a sign of penance and veneration the Presider embraces and kisses the Crucifix.

CONFESSIO LAUDIS
Presider:
God will never abandon us.
He will always be with us to help us go back to the right path,
to rectify our wrongdoings, to fill up what is lacking
and to show us the way back to Him.
For where sin abounds,
His grace abounds all the more.

Assured of his presence and assistance,

of His mercy and compassion
let us praise Him in the words of Mary.
With Mary, let us sing the Magnificat.
 16

CANTICLE OF MARY Luke 1:46-55

My + soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: †

the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel *

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *

and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
 17

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Presider:
The challenge of this Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons is
tremendous. It is a call to revisit and become reconciled once again
with our founding charisms and our identity as consecrated persons.
Let us ask God to renew the fervor of a credible response to
consecrated life.

Assisting Minister: Create in us, a new spirit, O Lord.

For the Pope and the Church leaders, ordained and lay, may Pope
Francis continue to inspire Church leaders to live in joyful simplicity
and in solidarity with the poor, the deprived, the oppressed, the
marginalized. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the poor, may they experience the joy of the gospel as they educate
the People of God in the true disposition as God’s children by their
simple living and humble work. And may those in dire need and pitiful
circumstances encounter compassionate people who will respond to
their necessities. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are forgotten or thrown away, and especially for the poor,
the sick and the aged, that God might change our hearts and move us to
love them as the image of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord

For all who are lonely or afraid, for children, teenagers and old people on
the street, prisoners with no one to visit them, and all whom the world
has forgotten: that Christ might lead us to them. Let us pray to the Lord

For the religious, may we honestly witness to a poor lifestyle in the use
of cars, in leisure and recreation, in our electronic devices and gadgets as
our sincere living of the Gospel counsels and with the poor preach to all
that life dependent on God’s divine Providence can be joyful. Let us pray
to the Lord.
 18

Because all things belong to God who distributes them generously to all,
therefore, their use is determined by necessity: goods belong to those
who need them. May we, religious, realize that sharing and solidarity
with the poor is a work of restitution, of return. Let us pray to the Lord.

OUR FATHER

Presider:
Let us turn to God our Father
and ask him to free us from evil
and prepare us for the coming of his kingdom:

Our Father …

CONCLUDING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Presider:
Heavenly Father,
as we challenge ourselves to live a simple but joyful lifestyle,
we return and become reconciled once again to our roots
and as we remember the poor and
those suffering from violence, hatred and oppression,
we ask your grace for us to relieve their pain,
grant them peace of mind and a renewed faith
in your protection and care.
Protect us all from the harm of others,
keep us safe from the weapons of hate,
and restore to us tranquility and peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
R./ Amen.
 19

BLESSING

Presider:
The Lord be with you.

Bow your heads and pray for God's blessing.

May the great rejoicing that goes on in heaven

when a sinner repents also be in your hearts. R./ Amen.

May the Lord guide your hearts in the way of his love
and fill you with Christ-like patience. R./ Amen.

May almighty God bless you, the Father,

and the Son + and the Holy Spirit. R./ Amen.

May God give you strength to walk in newness of life

and to please him in all things.
Let us proceed to our penitential walk.

R./ Thanks be to God.

Then the Celebrant venerates the altar as usual with a kiss, as at the beginning. After making a
profound bow with the ministers, he withdraws.
 20

CLOSING LITURGY
Santuario de San Pedro Bautista

Presider:
FR. CIELITO R. ALMAZAN, OFM
AMRSP Co-Chairperson

The presider enters the sanctuary

Presider:

Lord Jesus after having reflected

on your passion, death and resurrection,
through this devotion called the Way of the Cross.
We thank you, Lord, for being our model of consecrated life.

R./ We give thanks, O Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for your forgiving heart.

R./ We give thanks, O Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for preaching your love in word and deed.

R./ We give thanks, O Lord.

Guide and lead us, Lord, to life everlasting.

R./ Amen.

Let us pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory to the Father.

 21

Presider:
Lord Jesus Christ,
your passion and death is the sacrifice
that unites earth and heaven
and reconciles all people to you.
May we who have faithfully reflected on these mysteries
follow in your steps and so come to share your glory in heaven
where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit
one God, for ever and ever.

R./ Amen.

Let us bring solace to our Blessed Mother,

the Mother of Sorrows

The community sings the Stabat Mater

At the cross her station keeping,

Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,

All his bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword had passed.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed

Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole begotten One!

Christ above in torment hangs,

She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,

‘Whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
 22

Can the human heart refrain

From partaking in her pain,
In that mother’s pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,

She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.

O sweet Mother! font of love,

Touch my spirit from above,
Make my heart with yours accord.

Make me feel as you have felt;

Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.

Let me share with you his pain,

Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with you,

Mourning him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.

Let me to my latest breath,

In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of yours.