RELIGION AND ART

Prayer before Mass:   Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Lord, in Your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help   to bring me to salvatio n.    May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, and its reality and power.  Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members.  Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your bel

Lord, let the light of your glory shine within us, and lead us through the darkness of this world to the radiant of joy of our eternal home. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.   Prayer of the Church: Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." He went around all of Galilee,  teaching in their synagogues,  proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,  and curing every disease  and illness among the people.  His fame spread to all of Syria,  and they brought to him  all who were sick with various diseases  and racked  with pain,  those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.  And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him Matt. 4:23-25.   Readings