Please open this link to use the ‘booklet’ for the Stations of the Resurrection. Between the Scripture reading and the Prayer, please reflect quietly with your own meditation on the joy of encountering the Risen Christ in today’s world.
GOOD FRIDAY – JESUS CRUCIFIED TODAY
After the Cross is brought forward for Veneration, we reflect upon how we see Christ crucified in today’s world. As each section is read, a Jerusalem Cross is brought forward and placed near the Altar.
1. Jesus is being crucified today when families and communities are victims of barrel bombs and gas and chemical attacks; when barbaric war is waged in Syria and Yemen, in Cameroon and Mali; when in the land of His birth Palestinian rights to freedom and a homeland are violently repressed and walls of division are built between between Palestinian and Israeli.
2. Jesus is being crucified today when we refuse to change our life-style but continue to abuse our beautiful planet, exploiting the earth rather than living in joyful communion with creation; when 20 million people are on the verge of famine because of climate change, war and corruption and 67 million sisters and brothers are forced to flee their homeland and live as refugees.
3. Jesus is being crucified today as thousands die of the Coronavirus, when poor countries with inadequate health systems can do little to care for the sick or combat the pandemic; when millions are locked in their homes and fear being infected; when selfishness ignores the need to isolate in order to protect the whole community.
4. Jesus is being crucified today when our young people have no hope, no jobs and turn to drugs and alcohol; when addiction drives young and old into the dark world of crime and violence; when the poor of our nation have to pay for the excesses of the rich, as benefits are cut for the poorest and most vulnerable, essential social services are reduced, and health care diminished, while we spend £100 billion on nuclear weapons.
5. Jesus is being crucified today when, like Jesus, women and men are wrongfully imprisoned; when others are tortured for their religious beliefs or political aspirations; and when developed nations like the United States and China keep thousands on death-row awaiting execution, and when our own nation imprisons in our Detention Centres the innocent and vulnerable who seek safe asylum among us.
6. Jesus is being crucified today whenever survivors are haunted by memories of the Holocaust and Genocides in Rwanda, the Darfur, Serbia, the Congo, Cambodia or Myanmar, knowing this evil continues today; and minds and hearts are scarred as well as their bodies; when millions die unnoticed in the Congo because we want their minerals for our computers, when both Moslems and Christians live in fear of murder and abduction by extremist groups.
7. Jesus is being crucified today when children and the vulnerable are hurt or abused, especially by members of the Church; when children are deprived of the love they need to grow whole and happy; when adults do not act to protect them from all harm; when people live for decades with inner pain because of past abuse.
8. Jesus is being crucified today when children are raised in a culture of violence, learning to be violent and aggressive to each other; when children and young people are perpetrators and victims of knife crime on our streets; when they are used in ‘County Lines’ or as cheap labour or child soldiers, or for sexual exploitation; when the rights of child refugees are not recognised and respected.
9. Jesus is being crucified today when LBGT+ people are not embraced with love by the Church or are discriminated against and their lives threatened around the world – and blasphemously in the name of God!
10. Jesus is being crucified today when women and men are abused, trafficked and used for sex or slave labour; when women are refused equality and dignity, whether in marriage, in society or in the Church.
11. Jesus is being crucified today when parents grieve the loss of their child, when children die in the womb for whatever reason, when hopes for the future lie shattered through separation or bereavement; when in a wealthy country like ours we cannot value and care adequately for our elderly, and the homeless are given no hope of proper shelter and housing in which to build their lives and raise their families with dignity.
12. Jesus is crucified today when peaceful change is violently repressed by brutal regimes using terror and massacre, and when refugees and asylum-seekers are harshly treated by host countries like our own, detained without trial while innocent of any crime, or perish in the waters of the Mediterranean and crossing mountain ranges or locked out of freedom by razor-wire border fences; when nations build walls of hostility rather than bridges of welcome; when racism goes unchallenged and the victims of racial violence go unheeded.
MAUNDY THURSDAY – COMMUNITY COMMITMENT
After the priest renews his promises of Ordination before the his own community, there follows a Community Commitment to be the ‘Community of the Eucharist’
PRIEST: We are the Community of the Bread:
ALL: And so we commit ourselves to the Ministry of Friendship, building a community that welcomes,
encourages and values one another.
PRIEST: We are the Community of the Cup:
ALL: And so we commit ourselves to sharing one another’s joys and sorrows in ever-deepening love.
PRIEST: We are the Community of the Water and the Towel:
ALL: And so we commit ourselves to serve together the people among whom we live, embracing the challenge of Christ’s Mission.
PRIEST: We are the Community of Ministry:
ALL: And so we commit ourselves to accept the Gifts of the Spirit using them in partnership for the nurturing of our Community in Mission for the Renewal of the Church and for the Healing of the World.
PRIEST: We are the Community of the Eucharist:
ALL: And so we commit ourselves to Love made practical in compassion and passion, in strong justice and gentle caring. We gladly accept to be shaped by the Eucharist we celebrate, and give ourselves to the work of Christ now and forever … Amen!
FEAST OF ST OSCAR ROMERO, MARTYR & BISHOP
This took place after the Homily of the Mass, an alternative ‘Litany of the Saints’
SUMMONING THE MARTYRS Oscar and other names of El Salvadoran martyrs are called, all respond ‘Presente!’
Not long before his death, Oscar Romero said:
‘My Life has been threatened many times. I have to confess that, as a Christian, I don’t believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will rise again in the People of El Salvador. If they carry out their threats, I want you to know that I now offer my blood to God for justice and the resurrection of El Salvador. Martyrdom is a grace of God I do not feel worthy of. But if God accepts the sacrifice of my life, my hope is that my blood will be like a seed of liberty and a sign that our hopes will soon be a reality.’
It is our firm belief as Christians that those who have died in Christ are now fully alive in the Risen Lord, and that they are present with us in the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ that spurs us on to serve the Kingdom even at the cost of our own lives. Let us now, in a manner traditional in Latin America, recognise the living and life-giving presence of the martyrs for Justice in El Salvador and elsewhere in Latin America.
St Oscar Romero Archbishop of San Salvador, Saint of the Americas PRESENTE
Bishop Juan Gerardi of Guatemala, killed for telling the truth PRESENTE
Dom Helder Camara of Brazil, who lived for the Poor PRESENTE
Fr Rutilio Grande, whose death challenged Oscar with reality PRESENTE
Sr Maura Clarke and Sr Ita Ford, Maryknoll Missionaries in El Salvador PRESENTE
Jean Donovan and Sr Dorothy Kazel, who loved the Roses in December PRESENTE
Fr Alfonso Navarro, Fr Rafael Palacios, Fr Alirio Macias and Fr Manuel Reyes,
who were buried by Oscar Romero and the prepared the way for him PRESENTE
The Jesuit Martyrs of the University of Central America, who died because they unmasked the lies:
Fr Ignatio Ellacuria and Fr Segundo Montes PRESENTE
Fr Ignatio Martin-Baro and Fr Amando Lopez PRESENTE
Fr Juan Ramon Moreno and Fr Joaquin Lopez y Lopez PRESENTE
Their co-workers Elba and Celina Ramos, beloved daughters of God PRESENTE
And the 80,000 other men, women and children killed by the politics of terror and the servants of death PRESENTE
ACT OF COMMITMENT Pledge of our Commitment
On this 40th Anniversary of the martyrdom of St Oscar Arnulfo Romero, we stand alongside the people of El Salvador in their rejoicing and their sorrow; we stand alongside the oppressed and impoverished people through Latin America; we stand alongside everyone scattered over the face of our beautiful but unjust world who are dehumanised by injustice, oppression, violence and discrimination; we stand alongside our refugee and sanctuary-seeking sisters and brothers; and we stand alongside Pope Francis as he calls us to be ‘a Church of the Poor, a Church for the Poor’, a ‘field hospital’ for the oppressed.
And as we stand alongside them in this sacred moment of remembering, of solidarity and communion, we wish to renew our commitment to the Gospel as Good News to the Poor, and to humanity clothed in divine dignity.
ALL: We believe in a God who has created all the world and its resources to be shared by all the world’s people…
Therefore we commit ourselves to a life-style that seeks to share more than possess and to struggle for a more just distribution of the world’s resources and wealth.
We believe in a God who has made every human person in the divine image and likeness, worthy of an infinite dignity and reverence…
Therefore we commit ourselves to working for justice and challenging everything that dehumanises and brutalises our brothers and sisters.
We believe that human beings are capable of living together in peace and sharing together with equality and justice…
Therefore we commit ourselves to challenging the violence and naming the evil that is war and the arms trade, to live in peace with all people and our creation, and to seek peaceful ways of resolving every conflict.
Inspired by St Oscar Romero and the multitude of unnamed prophets for Justice who have given their lives in the struggle, we commit ourselves to walk the same path of the Kingdom, to live out our lives in solidarity with the poor, in communion with our planet and to build always the ‘civilisation of love’ for all the world’s children.
New Year’s Eve Watchnight Mass
[NB Hymn numbers refer to the ‘Laudate’ Hymnal]
ENTRANCE HYMN No 883
PENITENTIAL RITE Taizé ‘Kyrie’
GLORIA ‘Glory to God…’ (Peruvian Gloria)
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading Acts of the Apostles 2: 42-47
Responsorial Song No 948
Second Reading Philippians c2: vv1-11
Gospel Acclamation African ‘Alleluia!’
Gospel Luke 4: 16-22
Homily
LITURGY OF DEDICATION TO THE MISSION OF CHRIST THIS NEW YEAR
Priest: Last year we concluded our celebration of 170 years of mission, service and presence here in the inner city of Bristol. We gave thanks for the riches of faith and love handed on to us by those who have gone before and are present with us still in the Communion of Saints. As we accept the challenge to continue into a new decade and beyond, to be a light of faith, a vision of hope and a heart of love for the poor, the broken and the excluded of our city and our world we know that we cannot serve God’s Option for the Poor and proclaim the Gospel of Joy without a deep communion with our God Who is Love, an unbreakable communion with the Universal Church and a close communion with each other in our parish family.
Deacon: In this Diocesan Year of Communion we confess with sorrow that too often we have failed to be a ‘Living Parable of Communion’: too often we have not welcomed with a warm and open heart those different from us; too often we have wanted to remain cosy in our own small religious world, while God was calling us to engage compassionately and with the courage of prophets, with the real world of pain and hope, of despair and joy. So we acknowledge that we, the Church in this place, have failed our God, our city and our world.
Priest: As we are about to set foot upon this Year of Our Lord, 2020 (and with it a new decade), we come to affirm our faith in the Living God, Creator, Redeemer, Life-Giver; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nourished as we are by God’s Word and guided by God’s Spirit, we dedicate ourselves anew to the work of the Kingdom, to fill this Year with the Mercy, Compassion and Love of Christ and His Holy Spirit.
So now I ask you, my brothers and sisters,
Will you affirm your faith in the Father, the Creator, the Life-giver?
PEOPLE: I affirm with joy that I am a child of God created in the Divine image,
called and gifted to continue God’s creation of our Universe.
Deacon: Will you affirm your faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God, Brother and Redeemer,
who gives Himself to you in Word and Eucharist?
PEOPLE: I affirm with gratitude that Jesus is my Saving Brother,
speaking Divine Truth to my mind and heart by His Word,
and nourishing His Love in me by the great gift of the Eucharist;
calling me to a life of prayer and contemplation
so that I may live as brother and sister with all people;
challenging me to strive for peace and justice in a broken world,
urging me to proclaim the Good News of Mercy and Healing
by my action, life-style and words.
Priest: Will you affirm your faith in the Holy Spirit, Breath and Flame of God?
PEOPLE: I affirm with profound openness of heart that the Holy Spirit
is the breath of God’s Life and the Fire of God’s Love within me:
bidding me to welcome and use the Spirit’s Power
for deep prayer, radical action and loving community
and so to be part of God’s Renewal of the Face of the Earth.
Deacon: Will you, as we set out together on this New Year,
affirm your faith in the Church of God as a living Bread of Christ
in God’s Hands to be broken and given for the life of the world?
PEOPLE: I affirm with deep love that,
despite its many failures and profound inadequacies,
the Church will always remain God’s gift
proclaiming the Gospel down the centuries, calling me to prayer,
challenging me to live community with love, to heal every disunity,
to share my gifts and insights,
to foster Christian freedom and mission
and to be Bread in God’s Hands broken to give life to the world.
Priest: At the turning of the Year may this affirmation deepen our faith,
envision our hope and enlarge our love;
as this Year of our Lord 2020 and this New Decade begins
may the Holy Trinity continue always to empower
our Mission of Mercy and Healing to our torn world.
PEOPLE: AMEN! AMEN! ALLELUIA!
Renewal of our Allegiance to Jesus Christ No 777 & Song of Africa
[each one is invited to approach the Baptismal Water, bless themselves and then be anointed with Blessed Oil for the Mission of Christ in this New Year]
Bidding Prayers People’s Response ‘Renew the Face of the Earth’
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Offertory Hymn No 858
Eucharistic Acclamations
Sanctus No 553
Memorial No 761 [v1]
Our Father said
Peace ‘Let there be love…’
Communion Hymn No 633 (Eat this Bread)
African
No 932
Recessional No 854 [Final Blessing and Hymn after all have processed outside the church to greet the New Year in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ]
ASSEMBLING OFTHE CRIB (during Midnight Mass)
[PRIEST] We come to bless our crib … by that we mean to ask God to bless everyone who will come to pray, with wonder, awe and love, before this visual image of the poverty and simplicity of our Saviour’s birth. St Francis of Assisi, who lived over 800 years ago, was the first to make a crib … then he used live animals and people: today we use figures to help us celebrate and ponder the mystery of God’s love appearing in human form.
[READER – the Ox] For the People of God the Ox was a symbol of strength, ruggedness and power, all of which is to be harnessed to the service of humankind and the Kingdom of God.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, help us to harness our power and gifts to Your Service.
[READER – the Donkey] The Donkey’s wandering is a symbol of freedom and choice. It is also a reminder that our forebears, the People of Israel, wandered aimlessly away from God and His Covenant. An uncommon animal in Israel, and ritually unclean, yet it was good enough to carry Mary to Bethlehem, and later to carry Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to face His Passion.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, never let us wander away from You, but help us use our freedom to carry your love to the world.
[READER – the Shepherds] Shepherds, especially the night watch, were among the lowest paid workers of the time. Despised, placed on the margins of society and religion, without power or influence, these men of poverty were the first to hear the Good News that ‘Today a Saviour has been born to you’.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, give us the love and the insight to welcome the poor into our hearts and homes and then discover that we have welcomed Christ Jesus.
[READER -Joseph] Joseph, the man of dreams, and strong gentle man of faith: silent in the background, but ready to do whatever God might ask of him.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, come and gentle our strength; deepen in each of us the strong faith and tender love of Joseph that we may dream Your Kingdom, and serve its Coming.
[READER – Mary] Behold the handmaid of the Lord…the one who bore Jesus in her heart’s love before ever in her body’s womb. Blessed is she who believed the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, fill us with grace that we may always say ‘YES’ to Your Word and overshadowing Spirit, that Jesus may ever take flesh in our lives.
[READER ] Now all is ready. We will sing one verse of ‘Away in a Manger’, as the Christ Child is carried to the Crib.
[PRIEST] Let us now dedicate our Crib, and pray God’s Blessing upon all who gaze with wonder and pray with love before our God made man, Jesus!
Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation. Through all ages you prepared a people as Your own. When the time was ripe, You sent us a Saviour, conceived by the Spirit and born of the Virgin, a man like us in all things but sin. Loving Father, we pray, bless this our Crib + that we may marvel at Your goodness, imitate Your love, and journey in Your light, until the great day of Jesus coming in Glory, when we will live for ever and ever…AMEN!
BLESSING OF CHRISTMAS TREE
READER: The erecting and decorating of Christmas Trees originated in Germany some three hundred years ago, and came to this country during the reign of Queen Victoria. It’s meaning comes from the story of the Fall in the Garden of Eden which we find in the Book of Genesis. It was originally called the ‘Paradise Tree’, symbolising the Tree of Life in the Garden. It was decorated by apples (and we have some apples on our tree), symbolic of the fruit of the tree of Good and Evil that the first Eve and the first Adam ate in disobedience to God. It also carried candles – lights to express the Jesus Light of the World, Light of Forgiveness scattering the darkness. And it was decorated on Christmas Eve – the traditional Feast of Adam and Eve in the Eastern Church.
So, as we draw close to Christmas Eve, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Second Adam, gift of the Second Eve, Mary, we put in place the symbols of the First Adam and Eve. This reminds us that Mary’s loving obedience ‘untied the knot’ of Eve’s disobedience, and that Jesus, the New Adam, came to be the One who saves us from the First Adam’s sin. The Tree that brought death is transformed by the Cross of Jesus Christ into the Tree of Everlasting Life. For tomorrow, Christmas Day, we do indeed greet the Saviour!
DEACON: O God, who by the Power of Your Word and Hovering Spirit
did create all things and made them good
and created men and women in your own image and likeness:
pour your blessing upon this Paradise Tree …
PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!
DEACON: May it be a sign for us children of Adam of our need of a Saviour
and of the sublime gift of Jesus Christ who recreates us
in the glorious image of the Second Adam …
PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!
DEACON: May it be a sign for us of the Tree of the Redeeming Adam, Jesus,
who embraced the Wood of the Cross for our Salvation and Healing …
PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!
PRIEST: We bless and dedicate, O God, this Tree to your Honour and Glory
that it might shine with Light where once there was darkness,
that it might express the fruit of Redemption where once sin held the sway,
that it might stand to remind us that Jesus came as the Saviour
who died on the Tree so that the Tree of the Cross might ever give Life
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER + AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PEOPLE: AMEN!
ASSEMBLING AND BLESSING CRIB
[PRIEST] We come to bless our crib … by that we mean to ask God to bless everyone who will come to pray, with wonder, awe and love, before this visual image of the poverty and simplicity of our Saviour’s birth. St Francis of Assisi, who lived over 800 years ago, was the first to make a crib … then he used live animals and people: today we use figures to help us celebrate and ponder the mystery of God’s love appearing in human form.
[READER – the Ox] For the People of God the Ox was a symbol of strength, ruggedness and power, all of which is to be harnessed to the service of humankind and the Kingdom of God.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, help us to harness our power and gifts to Your Service.
[READER – the Donkey] The Donkey’s wandering is a symbol of freedom and choice. It is also a reminder that our forebears, the People of Israel, wandered aimlessly away from God and His Covenant. An uncommon animal in Israel, and ritually unclean, yet it was good enough to carry Mary to Bethlehem, and later to carry Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to face His Passion.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, never let us wander away from You, but help us use our freedom to carry your love to the world.
[READER – the Shepherds] Shepherds, especially the night watch, were among the lowest paid workers of the time. Despised, placed on the margins of society and religion, without power or influence, these men of poverty were the first to hear the Good News that ‘Today a Saviour has been born to you’.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, give us the love and the insight to welcome the poor into our hearts and homes and then discover that we have welcomed Christ Jesus.
[READER – Joseph] Joseph, the man of dreams, and strong gentle man of faith: silent in the background, but ready to do whatever God might ask of him.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, come and gentle our strength; deepen in each of us the strong faith and tender love of Joseph that we may dream Your Kingdom, and serve its Coming.
[READER – Mary] Behold the handmaid of the Lord…the one who bore Jesus in her heart’s love before ever in her body’s womb. Blessed is she who believed the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
[CONGREGATION] Lord God, fill us with grace that we may always say ‘YES’ to Your Word and overshadowing Spirit, that Jesus may ever take flesh in our lives.
[READER ]
Now all is ready. We will sing one verse of ‘Away in a Manger’, as the Christ Child is carried to the Crib.
[PRIEST] Let us now dedicate our Crib, and pray God’s Blessing upon all who gaze with wonder and pray with love before our God made man, Jesus!
Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation. Through all ages you prepared a people as Your own. When the time was ripe, You sent us a Saviour, conceived by the Spirit and born of the Virgin, a man like us in all things but sin. Loving Father, we pray, bless this our Crib + that we may marvel at Your goodness, imitate Your love, and journey in Your light, until the great day of Jesus coming in Glory, when we will live for ever and ever…AMEN!
BLESSING OF CHRISTMAS TREE
READER: The erecting and decorating of Christmas Trees originated in Germany some three hundred years ago, and came to this country during the reign of Queen Victoria. It’s meaning comes from the story of the Fall in the Garden of Eden which we find in the Book of Genesis. It was originally called the ‘Paradise Tree’, symbolising the Tree of Life in the Garden. It was decorated by apples (and we have some apples on our tree), symbolic of the fruit of the tree of Good and Evil that the first Eve and the first Adam ate in disobedience to God. It also carried candles – lights to express the Jesus Light of the World, Light of Forgiveness scattering the darkness. And it was decorated on Christmas Eve – the traditional Feast of Adam and Eve in the Eastern Church.
So, as we draw close to Christmas Eve, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Second Adam, gift of the Second Eve, Mary, we put in place the symbols of the First Adam and Eve. This reminds us that Mary’s loving obedience ‘untied the knot’ of Eve’s disobedience, and that Jesus, the New Adam, came to be the One who saves us from the First Adam’s sin. The Tree that brought death is transformed by the Cross of Jesus Christ into the Tree of Everlasting Life. For tomorrow, Christmas Day, we do indeed greet the Saviour!
DEACON: O God, who by the Power of Your Word and Hovering Spirit
did create all things and made them good
and created men and women in your own image and likeness:
pour your blessing upon this Paradise Tree …
PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!
DEACON: May it be a sign for us children of Adam of our need of a Saviour
and of the sublime gift of Jesus Christ who recreates us
in the glorious image of the Second Adam …
PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!
DEACON: May it be a sign for us of the Tree of the Redeeming Adam, Jesus,
who embraced the Wood of the Cross for our Salvation and Healing …
PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!
PRIEST: We bless and dedicate, O God, this Tree to your Honour and Glory
that it might shine with Light where once there was darkness,
that it might express the fruit of Redemption
where once sin held the sway,
that it might stand to remind us that Jesus came as the Saviour
who died on the Tree so that the Tree of the Cross might ever give Life
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER + AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PEOPLE: AMEN!
St Nicholas Blessing of Bread and Consecrating Icon
BLESSING OF ST NICHOLAS BREAD
READER:
As a child, St Nicholas went to the homes of the poor with his parents to bring food, clothes and comfort;
as an Augustinian novice he gave the Priory’s food away to the poor and converted his brothers to generosity;
as a priest he organised the distribution of food to poor families during time of famine;
as God’s servant of healing Nicholas blessed bread and placed it on the lips of a dead child who came to life;
and every day he broke the bread of the Word and the bread of life for God’s people.
PRIEST:
Hear our prayer O Lord and with the intercession of St Nicholas of Tolentino bless this bread that it might bring healing and strength to Your People today, encouraging us to share with love, touch with gentleness and speak with courage so that we might be Good News to the Poor, Bread in your hands to be broken for a New World of justice and equality
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
AMEN!
CONSECRATION OF THE ICON OF ST NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO
READER:
Our Icon beautifully expresses so much of our Patron Saint’s life, prayer and mission:
his birth was God’s gift to his then childless parents who dedicated him to God;
he grew up with both a love for the poor and and a love for the Eucharist;
he heard God’s call to join the Augustinians to live a life of prayer and service;
he prayed often for the ‘Holy Souls’ – the dead journeying into God’s presence;
he overflowed with God’s healing and love to the wounded and broken;
he preached with great power to convert his listeners to holiness;
he struggled against evil of every kind;
he gave bread and more to the hungry, poor and starving.
PRIEST:
O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity of Love and source of Life,
we dedicate and consecrate this Icon of our Patron, St Nicholas of Tolentino.
St Nicholas so overflowed with Your love, healing and generosity that
we behold You shining like a great light through him, guiding us to yourself.
May Your presence and Light shine upon us through this Sacred Icon,
drawing our parish community and all who gaze upon it ever deeper
into the mystery of Your Love and Your Option for the Poor
which St Nicholas so joyously lived.
And so we consecrate this Icon with the sacred Oil of Chrism
In the Name of the Father…and of the Son…and of the Holy Spirit…
ALL SING: ALLELUIA…