SOLEMNITY
OF THE
EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
CLOSING OF THE HOLY DOOR
AND HOLY MASS
CELEBRATED BY THE HOLY FATHER
JOHN PAUL II
IN SAINT PETER'S SQUARE
HOLY YEAR
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INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The euchological and biblical texts of the Holy Mass correspond to the propers of the Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. The Eucharistic prayer is the II with the preface of the Epiphany in the Roman Missal.
Some significant texts are reported here: the Rite of the Closing of the Holy Door; the proclamation of the days of Easter with a monition from the Holy Father; the Prayers of the Faithful; and the recitation of "Te Deum" in thanksgiving for the Great Jubilee just celebrated.
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RITE OF CLOSING OF THE HOLY DOOR
While the Holy Father, the concelebrants, and the ministers go to the atrium of the Vatican Basilica for the «statio», the schola and the assembly sing:
R. Venite adoremus eum quia ipse est Dominus Deus noster.
PSALM 94
Trinitarian invocation and greeting
The Holy Father:
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
R. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Benedictus Deus Patrum nostrorum,
fidelis et misericors a progenie in progenies:
propter magnum in nos dilectionem
voluit Verbum æternum in tempore manifestari
et carnem fieri, unum e nobis.
R. Benedictus Deus in sæcula.
Blessed be the God of our fathers,
faithful and merciful from generation to generation;
for in His great love for us
He willed that the Eternal Word should be made manifest in time
and become flesh, one like us in all things but sin.
Benedictus Jesus Christus, Dominus noster,
Filius Dei Unigenitus,
propter totius mundi salutem
natus ex Virgine Matre,
qui, paterno adhærens consilio,
omnibus gentibus se revelavit
et annum sempiternum miserationis et gratiæ proclamavit.
R. Benedictus Deus in sæcula.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, our Lord,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
who for the salvation of the whole world
was born of the Virgin Mother;
who, adhering to the will of the Father,
revealed Himself to all nations
and proclaimed the everlasting year of mercy and of grace.
Blessed be God forever.
Benedictus Spiritus Sanctus, lumen cordium,
paschale munus credentibus,
Domini Iesu promissionum plenitudo,
qui in mundo semper adest,
æternam Patris et Filii dilectionem hominibus manifestans
et eos deducens in omnem veritatem.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the light of hearts,
the paschal gift given to believers,
the fullness of the promises of the Lord Jesus;
who is ever present in the world,
making known to humanity the eternal love of the Father and the Son
and leading them into all truth.
Blessed be God forever.
Misericordia Dei Patris,
gratia Domini nostri Iesu Christi,
caritas et lux Spiritus Sancti
sit cum omnibus vobis.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
May the mercy of God the Father,
and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the light, and charity of the Holy Spirit
And with your Spirit.
Monition
The Holy Father:
Brothers and sisters,
the Church, a pilgrim in time on her journey toward eternity,
having celebrated the two-thousandth anniversary
of the birth of the Word, the Lord Jesus,
is now assembled to celebrate solemnly
the mystery of the manifestation of the Son of God to all nations,
the Epiphany of the Lord,
and to bring to its ritual conclusion
the year of the Great Jubilee.
In the light of the star
let us continue to gaze upon Christ,
the mercy and light of the world,
and, like the Virgin Mother,
to show Him forth to all creatures.
Let us unite our voices with that of the whole Church,
with the voices of the pilgrims
who in great numbers have passed through the Holy Door.
Strengthened by the life-giving presence of the Spirit, the Consoler,
let us walk with confidence into the new millennium,
praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
He who was, and who is, and who is to come,
that He may bring all things to fulfillment.
Everyone prays for some time in silence.
Prayer
The Holy Father:
Pater sancte,
qui vitam diligis et vitam omni creaturæ largiris,
dives in misericordia, magnus in dilectione,
respice benignus orantem Ecclesiam,
quæ, expleto bismillesimo anno
a nativitate Filii tui,
finem Magni Iubilæi gratanter celebrat.
Suscipe, Domine, laudis munera
gratesque nostras
pro omnibus donis ac datis,
quæ hoc Anno Sancto
ex tua bonitate accepimus.
Magna et mirabilia fecisti
plebi tuæ ubique terrarum diffusæ:
misericordia et veritas obviaverunt sibi,
iustitia et pax osculatæ sunt,
cum terra nostra dedit fructum suum.
Te laudamus, Domine, tibi benedicimus:
Portam Sanctam huius basilicæ
beato Petro dicatæ,
iam occludi conspicimus;
at pro certo habemus
clementiæ tuæ aditum
numquam iis impediri,
qui amorem tuum credunt
tuamque profitentur misericordiam.
Te supplices exoramus, Domine Deus fidelis:
uberrimos gratiæ tuæ thesauros
usque reseratos ostende;
et concede ut filii tui,
quos ad morum conversionem vocasti,
in novitate vitæ perseverent
et in mundo sint testes spei et reconciliationis auctores.
A Spiritu Sancto roborati
ad cælestem perveniant Civitatem,
ubi fructus edant de arbore vitæ
et de flumine bibant de throno Agni procedente.
Tibi, Pater omnipotens,
per Christum Dominum nostrum,
in Spiritu Sancto omnis honor et gloria,
per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
R. Amen.
Holy Father,
who love life and bestow life upon every creature,
rich in mercy and great in love,
look kindly upon your praying Church,
which, with joy, celebrates the conclusion of the Great Jubilee,
now that the two-thousandth year from the birth of your Son
has been fulfilled.
Accept, O Lord, the offerings of praise
and our thanksgiving
for all the gifts and graces
which, in this Holy Year,
we have received from your goodness.
Great and wonderful are the works you have wrought
for your people spread throughout the world:
mercy and truth have met each other,
justice and peace have embraced,
and our land has yielded its fruit.
We praise you, O Lord, we bless you:
the Holy Door of this basilica,
dedicated to blessed Peter,
we now behold closed;
yet we know with certainty that access to your mercy
is never barred
to those who believe in your love
and profess your mercy.
Humbly we implore you, O Lord, faithful God:
show forth the abundant treasures of your grace,
still opened wide,
and grant that your children,
whom you have called to conversion of life,
may persevere in newness of life
and, in the world, be witnesses of hope and builders of reconciliation.
Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, may they reach the heavenly City,
where they shall eat of the fruit of the tree of life
and drink from the stream flowing from the throne of the Lamb.
To you, almighty Father,
through Christ our Lord,
in the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory,
for ever and ever.
Closing of the Holy Door
The Holy Father moves towards the Holy Door, while the choir sings:
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel, you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
The Holy Father silently climbs the steps, kneels on the threshold and stays there in prayer, then gets up and closes the Holy Door. When the Holy Father has closed the Holy Door, the choir sings the acclamation:
Christus heri et hodie, Finis et Principium; Christus Alpha et Omega. Ipsi gloria in sæcula.
Christ yesterday and today; the beginning and the end; the Alpha and the Omega. To him be glory forever.
The assembly repeats: Christus heri et hodie, Finis et Principium; Christus Alpha et Omega. Ipsi gloria in sæcula.
From the atrium of the Vatican Basilica, the procession moves towards the Altar, while singing:
INNO A CRISTO, SIGNORE DEI MILLENNI
***
EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION
When the Holy Father, the concelebrants, and the ministers arrive before the Confession, the choir and the assembly perform the
Entrance Antiphon
The Schola:
Ecce advenit Dominator Dominus; et regnum in manu eius et potestas et imperium.
Behold, the Lord, the Mighty One, has come, and kingship is in his grasp, and power and dominion.
The assembly repeats: Ecce advenit Dominator Dominus; et regnum in manu eius et potestas et imperium.
PSALM 71
Enthronement of the Book of the Gospels
The deacon places the Book of the Gospels on the appropriate stand next to the altar. Some faithful from various continents place flowers and candles around it. Then the Holy Father incenses the Book of the Gospels.
***
Proclamation of the Day of Easter
The Holy Father:
Dearest brothers and sisters,
according to an ancient tradition,
on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord,
after the proclamation of the Gospel,
the Church announces the date of Easter.
On this day, as the Great Jubilee is brought to its close,
this announcement confirms in our hearts and minds
that the year of grace opened by our Lord Jesus
in the synagogue of Nazareth continues in the annual cycle
by which the Church celebrates the work of salvation,
as she awaits the return of her Lord in glory.
The Deacon:
Gloria Domini nobis manifestata est, fratres carissimi, et semper manifestabitur donec veniat.
Per anni tempora et dierum adiuncta nostræ salutis mysteria commemorando vivimus.
Totius anni liturgici centrum est Triduum paschale passionis, sepulturæ, resurrectionis Domini, cuius culmen, Dominicam Paschatis, die decima quinta Aprilis cum gaudio cеlebrabimus.
Sancta Ecclesia hoc maximum Paschatis mysterium, quo Christus peccatum et mortem devicit, singulis hebdomadis, die Dominico, qui est primordialis dies festus, sacris ritibus celebrat et præsens efficit.
E Pascha omnes dies sancti manant: die vigesima octava Februarii, dies Cinerum, initium sacratissimæ Quadragesimæ, die vigesima quarta Maii, gloriosa Ascensio Domini; die tertia Iunii, festum Pentecostes; die secunda Decembris, Dominica prima Adventus.
In festis quoque sanctæ Dei Genetricis, Apostolorum, Martyrum atque Sanctorum, necnon in Commemoratione fidelium defunctorum Ecclesia in terris peregrina Domini Pascha proclamat.
Christo, qui erat, qui est, qui venturus est, temporum Domino et sæculorum Iudici, laus perennis et gloria sempiterna.
Amen.
Beloved brothers and sisters, the glory of the Lord has been manifested among us and always will be until his return.
Within the rhythms and events of time, we remember and live out the mysteries of salvation.
The Triduum of the crucified, buried, and risen Lord is the center of the entire liturgical year, which will culminate on Easter Sunday, 15 April.
On each Sunday, the weekly Easter, the holy Church makes present this great event, by which Christ conquered sin and death.
From Easter flow all holy days: Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, on 28 February; the Ascension of the Lord, on 24 May; Pentecost, on 3 June; and the first Sunday of Advent, on 2 December.
The pilgrim Church on earth proclaims the Easter of her Lord also on the feasts of the holy Mother of God, of the apostles and saints, and on the commemoration of all the faithful departed.
To Christ, who was, who is and who is to come, the Lord of time and history, be everlasting praise for ever and ever. Amen.
The Schola:
Christus heri et hodie, Finis et Principium; Christus Alpha et Omega. Ipsi gloria in sæcula.
Christ yesterday and today; the beginning and the end; the Alpha and the Omega. To him be glory forever.
The assembly repeats: Christus heri et hodie, Finis et Principium; Christus Alpha et Omega. Ipsi gloria in sæcula.
The Holy Father delivers the homily.
Prayers of the faithful
The Holy Father:
Brothers and sisters,
enlightened by the glory of the Lord,
let us implore the God of our fathers,
that the Lord Jesus, presented by Mary to the Magi,
may be a gift for every man and woman
who seeks the truth with a sincere heart;
and that those who, during the Jubilee Year,
have welcomed mercy and forgiveness,
having once for all abandoned the former way of life,
may persevere in the new path that leads toward the light.
The cantor: Dominum oremus. R. Kyrie eleison.
The assembly repeats: Kyrie eleison.
1. Indonesian
"Engkaulah Kristus, Putera Allah yang hidup! Gereja memberiMu salam dan bersama Dikau hendak masuk ke dalam milenium ketiga."
Untuk Gereja-gereja Timur dan Barat: dengan diterangi cahaya yang datang dari atus dan diteguhkan oleh anugerahanugerah yang diterima selama Yubilium Agung ini, semoga mereka mengerti untuk melanjutkan langkah kembali dari Kristus, harapan kita, dengan ketangguhan dan keberanian yang diperbahatui.
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“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! The Church greets you and with you she wishes to enter the third millennium.”
(John Paul II, Homily at the Mass during the Night, Christmas 1999)
— For the Churches of East and West: enlightened by the light that comes from on high and strengthened by the benefits received during the Great Jubilee, may they know how to set out anew from Christ, our hope, with renewed vigor and courage.
2. Russian
«Примирившиеся, наконец, христиане, да смогут вернурься на совместный путь, как единый народ Божий, который готов с радостью повторить возобновл-енное братство. Благословен Бог!».
Помолимся 0 братьях сёстрах разных христианских вероисповеданий, дабы созн-прощения не «до семи, но до седмиждЫ ание очищения памяти и долга семидесяти раз » соделало человечество свобо-дным и плодотворным, спо-собным обрести вновь звезду, ведущую его к единству и общ-ению, в общем стремлении к преображению земли.
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“Christians will at last be reconciled and be able to walk together again as one people… who can repeat with one voice and in the joy of renewed brotherhood: ‘Blessed be God.’”
(John Paul II, Homily for the Opening of the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, 18 January 2000)
— For our brothers and sisters of the various Christian confessions: may an awareness of the purification of memory and of the duty to forgive not seven times but seventy-seven times make them a free and creative humanity, capable of rediscovering the star that leads to unity and communion, through a shared commitment to transfigure the earth.
3. Quechua
"Tayta Apu, cawsaqcunapaq, suyaqcunapaq! Jammi wuaqcharuna-cunata jampicunky. Allin sungo Apu! Hongoqhuisto manan caipy tucuyruna, runacunaqa jamungaqm jamcaqtaq."
Rayku waujiqcunapaq, rayku pañaycunapaq unqohuistocanki: Ayllu cristianicuna, hoc runacunana ya-chaycuy sumasumaqta, niraq huak-chayrunacuna chullallampi qhapag kay: jampicucuy, monaicucuy, suyucucuy sumasumaqta, paycunaja posamonmi songonconapi, qoy hanaq pacha.
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“Lord of life and hope! Every human limitation is ransomed and redeemed in you. Thanks to you, disability is not the last word on life.”
(John Paul II, Homily for the Jubilee of the Disabled Community, 3 December 2000)
— For our brothers and sisters with disabilities: may Christian communities and individual believers grow in the certainty that the person with a disability, unique and unrepeatable in dignity, requires not only care but above all love, recognition, respect, and integration, so that the often unseen gifts with which they are endowed may be brought to fullness.
4. Swahili
"Wazazi wote kwa pamoja tanga-zeni hadhi ya familia na ya maisha."
Kwa akina baba na akina mama wa familia: ili waweze kufuata mfano wa Maria, Yesu na Yosefu, ili waweze kutimiza mapenzi ya Mungu, aliye msaada wa kila familia katika kuboresha upendo katika familia, na katika mama kanisa ili kutoa mwangaza wa hadhi ya maisha, huduma, na heshima kwa kila mmoja wetu.
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“Together proclaim the value of the family and of life.”
(John Paul II, Address for the Jubilee of Families, 14 October 2000)
— For fathers and mothers, and for families: may drawing inspiration from Mary, Jesus, and Joseph in carrying out the will of the Father help every family to grow in love and, as a small domestic Church, to radiate the values of life, service, and mutual respect.
5. Samoan
"Tali IOE ia Kerisa. O le tou tali IOE foi lea i o outon faamoemoega ma mafaufauga silisili ona lelei ma faalagolago i le Alii, aua tou taua ... te fefefe e tuu lafoai atu outou ia te ia."
Mo tupulaga talavou, teine ma tama o le senetuli ua amatalia nei. O outou o "leoleo i le tafa o ata" o le mileniuma lona tolu. Ia malosi lo otou faatuatua ma talitonu ia Iesu, le na fanau mai mo lo tatou faaolataga. Ia outou tetee atu i aga ma tu faassaua ma le matautia a le lalolagi. Taumafai e galulue malolosi i galuega mo le filemu, ina ia mafai ai ona avea pea le lalolagi o se nofoaga mo tagata uma.
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“In saying “yes” to Christ, you say “yes” to all your noblest ideals… Have no fear of entrusting yourselves to him.”
(John Paul II, Address for the Vigil of the Fifteenth World Youth Day, 19 August 2000)
— For the young men and women of the century now beginning: as sentinels of the morning at the dawn of the third millennium, strong in faith in Jesus, born for our salvation and redemption, may they not resign themselves to a world of violence and destruction, but strive with all their strength to work for peace and to make this earth ever more a home for all.
6. French
"En toi seul, ô Christ, est offerte à l'homme la possibilité d'être une "créature nouvelle""
Pour notre assemblée et pour tous les pèlerins qui, en union avec nous par la radio et la télévision, évoquent leur jubilé: qu'en faisant mémoire des témoins de la foi du XXe siècle, soit ravivé en tous et en chacun le désir de vivre dans le Christ comme des créatures nouvelles, et d'être pour les autres un pain qui nourrit et un vin qui donne la joie.
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“In you, o Christ, only in you, is humanity offered the chance to become "a new creation."”
(John Paul II, Christmas Message, Christmas 2000)
— For our assembly and for all the pilgrims who, united with us through radio and television, recall their own Jubilee: through the remembrance of the Witnesses of the faith of the twentieth century, may the desire be renewed in each and in all to live in Christ as new creatures and to be for others bread that nourishes and wine that gladdens the heart.
The Holy Father:
Holy Father,
with hearts filled with gratitude
for sharing in the promise
offered to all peoples through the Gospel,
we pray to you, in communion with Mary,
that the blessed fruit of her womb
may be recognized and welcomed
by the present generation and by those yet to come.
Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
***
CONCLUDING RITES
Te Deum
The Holy Father:
Brothers and sisters,
with the words of an ancient tradition
let us praise and glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
for the Eucharist now celebrated
and for the extraordinary gifts of the year of the Great Jubilee.
I invite all to give praise:
be yourself the praise of your song;
become an echo of the countless voices, supplicating and praying,
which in the Holy Year were raised up
in the City and throughout the World.
Sing, yet walk.
Let your song be the seal of thanksgiving
and the threshold from which to set out anew.
Set out again from Christ, you who have found mercy.
Set out again from Christ, you who have forgiven and have welcomed forgiveness.
Set out again from Christ, you who know pain and suffering.
Set out again from Christ, you who are tempted by lukewarmness:
the year of grace is boundless in time.
Set out again from Christ, the Church of the new millennium.
Sing and walk.
The Schola:
Te Deum laudámus: te Dóminum confitémur.
Christ yesterday and today; the beginning and the end; the Alpha and the Omega. To him be glory forever.
The assembly repeats: Te Deum laudámus: te Dóminum confitémur.
Te æternum Patrem, omnis terra veneratur. Tibi omnes angeli, tibi cæli et universæ potestates: tibi cherubim et seraphim incessabili voce proclamant. R.
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. R.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra maiestatis gloriæ tuæ. R.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, te prophetarum laudabilis numerus, te martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus. Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia. R.
Patrem immensæ maiestatis; venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium; Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum. R.
Tu rex gloriæ, Christe. Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius. Tu, ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum. Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna calorum. Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes in gloria Patris. Iudex crederis esse venturus. R.
Te ergo quæsumus, tuis famulis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. Æterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari. R.
Everlasting Father, all the world bows down before you. All the angels sing your praise, the host of heaven and all the angelic powers, all the cherubim and seraphim call out to you in unending song.
Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of angel hosts!
The heavens and the earth are filled with your majesty and glory.
The glorious band of apostles, the noble company of prophets, the white-robed army who shed their blood for Christ, all sing your praises. And to the ends of the earth your holy Church proclaims her faith in you.
Father, whose majesty is boundless, your true and only Son, who is to be adored, the Holy Spirit sent to be our advocate.
You, Christ, are the King of glory, Son of the eternal Father. When you took our nature to save mankind, you did not shrink from birth in the Virgin's womb. You overcame the power of death opening the Father's kingdom to all who believe in you. Enthroned at God's right hand in the glory of the Father, you will come in judgment according to your promise.
You redeemed your people by your precious blood. Come, we implore you, to our aid. Grant us with the saints a place in eternal glory.
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Texts taken from "Magnum Iubilæum. Trinitati Canticum"
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