00:00In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, peace be with you.
00:20We acknowledge our sins in this last week of the year as we remember the amazing compassion and love of our God.
00:27You forgive our sins, Lord, have mercy. You call us out of fear into love, Christ, have mercy.
00:36You are constantly with us and your love never ends, Lord, have mercy.
00:40May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and lead us into healing and life everlasting.
00:48Let us pray.
00:49Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion,
00:58they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows.
01:04Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
01:13A reading from the Book of Daniel
01:21King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his noblemen. A thousand of them attended, and he drank wine in company with his thousand.
01:32As he sipped his wine, Belshazzar gave orders for the gold and silver vessels to be brought, which his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had looted from the sanctuary in Jerusalem,
01:45so that the king, his noblemen, his wives, and his singing women could drink out of them.
01:51They drank their wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone.
02:12Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began to write on the plaster of the palace wall, directly behind the lampstand, and the king could see the hand as it wrote.
02:25The king turned pale with alarm, his thigh joints were slack, and his knees began to knock.
02:33Daniel was brought into the king's presence. The king said to Daniel,
02:38Are you the Daniel who was one of the Judean exiles brought by my father, the king from Judah?
02:45I am told that the Spirit of God Most High lives in you, and that you are known for your perception, intelligence, and marvelous wisdom.
02:56As I am told that you are able to give interpretations and to unravel difficult problems.
03:03If you can read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be dressed in purple and have a chain of gold put around your neck and be third in rank in the kingdom.
03:15Then Daniel spoke up in the presence of the king.
03:20Keep your gifts for yourself, he said. I give and give your rewards to others.
03:25I will read the writing to the king without them and tell him what it means.
03:31You have defied the Lord of heaven, and you have had the vessels from this temple brought to you.
03:40And you, your noble men, your wives, and your singing women, have drunk your wine out of them.
03:47You have praised gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which cannot either see, hear, or understand.
03:57But you have given no glory to the God who holds your breath and all your fortunes in his hands.
04:03That is why he has sent the hand which by itself has written these words.
04:10The writing reads, Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parson.
04:15The meaning of the words is this.
04:18Mene, God has measured your sovereignty and put an end to it.
04:23Tekel, you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
04:27Arson, and your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.
04:35The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
04:39Give glory and eternal praise to him. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
04:46Sun and moon bless the Lord. Stars of heaven bless the Lord. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
04:54Showers and dews bless the Lord. Winds all bless the Lord. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
05:02Fire and heat, bless the Lord
05:04Cold and heat, bless the Lord
05:07Give glory and eternal praise to him
05:09Alleluia, alleluia
05:11Be faithful until death, says the Lord
05:14And I will give you the crown of life
05:17Alleluia
05:19The Lord be with you
05:22A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke
05:25Glory to you, O Lord
05:27Jesus said to his disciples
05:30Men will seize you and persecute you
05:32They will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment
05:36And bring you before kings and governors
05:38Because of my name
05:40And death will be your opportunity to bear witness
05:44Keep this carefully in mind
05:46You are not to prepare your defense
05:48Because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom
05:52That none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict
05:56You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers
06:00Relations and friends
06:01And some of you will be put to death
06:04You will be hated by all on account of my name
06:07But not a hair of your head will be lost
06:11Your endurance will win you your lives
06:14The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
06:17Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
06:21We are in that last week of the years to prepare now for Advent
06:26And we are reminded of the constant need of conversion
06:30Listening to the Lord
06:32Who is our life
06:33We are nothing without him
06:35Of growing in that harmony
06:37In union with God
06:39Despite any struggles and challenges
06:42He is always with us
06:44And we are reminded to trust
06:46Trust and to trust
06:48He will never let us down
06:53Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation
07:17For to your goodness we have this bread to offer
07:20Which earth has given human hands have made
07:22It will become for us the bread of life
07:25Blessed be God forever
07:27Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation
07:44For to your goodness we have this wine to offer
07:47Fruit of divine work of human hands
07:49It will become our spiritual drink
07:52Blessed be God forever
07:53Let us pray, brothers and sisters
08:01That my sacrifice and yours
08:03May be acceptable to God our Almighty Father
08:06May the Lord accept the sacrifice at our hands
08:09We praise the glory of God's name
08:11For our good and the good of God's Holy Church
08:14Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings
08:17Which at your bidding we dedicate to your name
08:20And in order that through these gifts
08:22We may become worthy of your love
08:24Grant us unfailing obedience to your commands
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