GRADE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

March 22, 2010

BACCALAUREATE MASS

You are enlightened by THE WORD.

Soar high, Josephian!
INTRODUCTION

Student: Today we have completed a phase in our studies marking a new cha
pter in our lives. We must look then with gratitude to our past and thank God, t
he Father the Son and the Holy Spirit, for all the blessings He so lavishly pour
ed upon each of us during the years of our formation. He who filled our days wit
h love, care and full support, will also carry out what He has in store for us i
n the years to come.
Now we shall take the road of life again and live in accordance with our sublim
e vocation. Enlightened by the Word of God and inspired by the virtues of Saint
Joseph, we soar high and reach our dreams. Filled with gratitude in our hearts,
let us proclaim God’s wondrous deeds by singing together the opening song.

OPENING SONG “What is this Place?”

What is this place where we are meeting? Only a room, the earth its floor. Walls
and a roof, refuge for people, windows for eyes, an open door. House which beco
mes a body that lives when we are gathered here, and know that God is near.
Word from the past, stars that are falling, sparks sown among us long ago. Names
for our God, dreams, signs and wonders, voicing the world’s relentless flow. We
are but dust who see and who hear, who speak what we have heard: God’s free res
plendent word.
Table for one, bread that is broken, cup to be shared, one bread, one wine. Wond
er of God: peace among people, ancient yet new this hidden sign. Breaking and sh
aring, how can this be, impossible come true? From death comes life anew.

GREETINGS
Priest: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
All: And also with you.

PENITENTIAL RITE
Priest: In this Eucharistic celebration we beg for God’s healing grace
for all graduates, families, teachers and friends here present.
As we prepare to meet Jesus in this celebration,
let us implore His forgiveness and place ourselves
in the mercy of God, our loving Father.
(Instrumental Music)
Student: For the moments in our lives when we failed to do what was expec
ted of us.
When we intentionally disobeyed our parents and teachers, n
ot minding
anymore how deeply we have hurt them. We failed to be a ble
ssing to our
classmates in times when we backstabbed and bullied them. W
e become so
arrogant and selfish of our talents and skills without real
izing that all these are
ought to be shared. Forgive us Lord.
Parent: For the times in our family life that we failed to become a source of li
fe, truth
and love to our children; instead we become a source of dis
cord, dishonesty
and pain. We did not allow our children to experience God’s
unconditional
love because we were preoccupied with trivial things. Forgi
ve us Lord.
Teacher: For the many chances we failed to reach out and listen t
o our students
especially those in great need because we too were busy wit
h many paper
works and personal concerns. At times when we fret and loos
e our temper, we
were forced to speak unkind words to them. We failed to rea
lize that we are
God’s instrument in molding their minds and hearts to be tr
ue witnesses of
God’s love in words and in deeds. Forgive us Lord.
Priest: May Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.
All: Amen.
Song:
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, have mercy on us
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
OPENING PRAYER

Priest: Let us pray…

God and Father of all gifts,
we praise you, the source of all that we have and all that we ar
e.
Teach us to acknowledge always
the many good things your infinite love has given us.
Help us to love you with all our heart and all our strength.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

GOSPEL BOOK ENTHRONEMENT

Student: “All Scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for
teaching, for
refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and leading the
m to be holy.”
(2 Tim. 3:16)
As we try to find ourselves and discover who we are, as we
search for the
meaning of our lives, the Bible is at hand to reveal our i
dentity and our
ultimate destiny. Jesus himself makes familiarity with God
’s word and
obedience to it is essential for anyone who desires a rela
tionship with him.
“If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disc
iples. You will
learn the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (John.
8: 31)
With heartfelt reverence, let us focus our attention to the livi
ng Word
of God as it is being brought to the altar, in procession
(Procession of the Gospel Book with background music)
 Please be seated.
Open our ears to hear Your Word, Lord, and fill our minds and he
arts
with faith, hope and love.

FIRST READING: Daniel 13: 41 - 62

RESPONSORIAL PSALM:
I Love the Lord
I Love the Lord, He is full of compassion.
He turned to me on the day that I called.
From the snares of the dark,
O Lord, save my life, be my strength

Student: Please all stand to honor the Gospel.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:
Gospel Verse: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man,
says the Lord, but rather in his conversion,
that he may live.”
GOSPEL: John 8:31-42
HOMILY:
Priest: Let us now profess our faith in God
who is the Father, Son and Spirit.
CREED: I believe in God....

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL:

Priest: With faith and confidence to the loving God,
we bring together all our intentions
believing that God will listen and grant our prayers. For
every petition we sing:
“HEAR US LORD, HEAR US LORD, OH HEAR US LORD”

Student: Graced by the Spirit of the Lord, may the leaders of the church,
our
Pope, bishops, priests, and lay missionaries be filled with joy
and hope
as they continue proclaiming the Good News to the world.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Student: Renewed by the Love of Christ, may our government leaders be tru
ly
inspired to live the unconditional love that our people need to
experience
and that they may always uphold justice, peace, integrity and ho
nesty.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Student: Inspired by dedication and fidelity to one’s commitment, may par
ents
continue to give inspiration through their undying love and sacr
ifices
to their children.
Let us pray to the Lord.

Student: Led by trust and confidence in God’s providential care, may the
least
of our brethren especially the poor, the sick and the unemployed
find
refuge and consolation in the suffering Lord.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Student: Strengthened by the power of responsibility, may our school
Administrators, teachers and staff continue to inspire and respo
nd to
the needs of their students.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Student: Guided by the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, may our dear g
raduates be enlightened by the Word of God so that they may continu
e soaring high in reaching their dreams and understand the
ir role as witnesses of Christ’s love to the world.
Let us pray to the Lord.

Priest: Lord Jesus, obedient unto death,

raised to the height of glory, you who
live to intercede for us with the Father,
listen to our prayer and grant our humble petitions
You who lives and reigns forever and ever.

All: Amen.

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Student: Please be seated.

We are now going to offer all our gifts to the Lord, symbols of
our
joys and sadness, successes and failures, hopes and despairs. As
we
offer our gifts to God the Father, as sign of our deep gratitude
, let us
express our sincere offering of ourselves by singing our offerto
ry
hymn.
OFFERTORY SONG “Blessed are You Lord”
Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness
we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and huma
n hands have made. It will be come for us the bread of life.
Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness
we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human h
ands. It will be come for us the cup of life.
Blessed be God! Blessed be God! Blessed be God for ever. (2x)

Priest: Pray brethren that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God,

The Almighty Father.
All: May the Lord accept ...

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Priest: Lord,
We offer you this sacrifice of praise
for all you have given us
even though we are unworthy of your love.
May we always use our gifts
to bring glory to your name.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
Priest: God our loving Father,
we are glad to give you thanks and praise because you love us.
With Jesus we sing your praise.
All: Glory to God in the highest.
Priest: Because you love us,
you gave us this great and beautiful world.
With Jesus we sing your praise.
All: Glory to God in the highest.
Priest: For such great love we thank you
with angels and saints as they praise
you and sing.

SANCTUS
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory,
Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna in the highest, ah!

Priest: Blessed be Jesus, whom you sent

to be the friend of children and of the poor.
He came to show us
how we can love You, Father,
by loving one another.
He came to take away sin,
which keeps us from being friends
and hate, which makes us all unhappy.
He promised to send the Holy Spirit,
to be with us always
so that we can live as your children

God our Father,

we now ask you
to send your Holy Spirit
to change these gifts of bread and wine
into the Body + and Blood
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The night before he died,
Jesus your Son showed us how much you love us.
When He was at supper with His disciples,
He took bread,
and gave you thanks and praise.
Then, He broke the bread,
gave it to His friends, and said:

Take this, all of you, and eat it:

This is my body which will be given up for you.

When supper was ended,

Jesus took the cup that was filled with wine.
He thanked you, gave it to his friends, and said:

Take this all of you, and drink from it:

this is the cup of my blood,
 the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all
so that sins may be forgiven,
do this in memory of me.

Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith.

MEMORIAL ACCLAMATION
Christ has died,
Christ has risen,
Christ will come again,
Christ will come again
Priest: And so, loving Father,
we remember that Jesus died and rose again to
save the world.
He put himself into our hands
to be the sacrifice we offer you.
All: We praise you, we bless you, we thank you.

Priest: Lord our God,

listen to our prayer.
Send the Holy Spirit
to all of us who share in this meal.
May this Spirit bring us closer together
in the family of the Church,
with Benedict XVI our Pope,
Jesse, our bishop,
all other bishops,
and all who serve your people.
All: We praise you, we bless you, we thank you.
Priest: Remember, Father, our families
and all those we do not love as we should.
Remember those who have died (...).
Bring them home to you
to be with you for ever.
All: We praise you, we bless you, we thank you.
Priest: Gather us all together into your kingdom.
There we shall be happy for ever
with the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother.
There, all the friends
of Jesus the Lord
will sing a song of joy.
All: We praise you, we bless you, we thank you.
Priest: Through Him, with Him,
and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
Almighty Father, for ever and ever.
GREAT AMEN: (to be sung)
COMMUNION RITE
LORD’S PRAYER:
Priest: Jesus taught us to call God our Father,
and so with confidence we say:
SONG: Our Father...
Our Father who art in heaven holy be your name,
your kingdom come your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins as we forgive
those who sins against us and lead us not
into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Priest: Deliver us, Lord from every evil,

and grant us Peace in our day.
In your mercy keep us free from sin
and protect us from all anxiety
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

DOXOLOGY
For the kingdom and the power
and the glory are yours.
Now and Forever

GREETINGS OF PEACE:
Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles:
I leave you peace, my peace I give you.
Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,
and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom
where you live for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Priest: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
All: And also with you.
Student: Fellow graduating students,
though our grade school days
are now about to end,
let our fellowship last through the years.
As we offer each other the sign of peace,
let us always be united in the love of Christ.

Priest: Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

(Pupils will be given a chance to approach their parents
to give the sign of peace.)

LAMB OF GOD
Lamb of God, you take away
the sins of the world have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away
the sins of the world have mercy on us
Lamb of God you take away
the sins of the world, grant us thy peace,
grant us thy peace, grant us thy peace.
Priest: This is the Lord Jesus
the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world
happy are we who are called to His supper.
All: Lord I am not worthy...
COMMUNION SONG
ON EAGLE’S WINGS
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
who abide in his shadow for life, say to the Lord:
“My refuge, my rock in whom I trust”.
Refrain:
And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of his hand.
The snare of the fowler will never capture you,
and famine will bring you no fear; under his wings your refuge,
his faithfulness your shield.
You need not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day; though thousands fall about you,
near you it shall not come. (ref)
For to his angels he’s given a command to guard you
in all of your ways; upon their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone. (ref)

I GIVE YOU MY HEART

This is my desire to honor you
Lord with all my heart I worship you
All I have within me I give you praise
All that I adore is in you
Lord I give you my heart
I give you my soul
I live for you alone every
breath that I take
Every moment I’m awake
Lord have your way in me
POST COMMUNION PRAYER
Student: Graduates please stand.

THANKSGIVING PRAYER AND PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

All: Loving Father, You are the giver of life, the source of our stre
ngth, the
fountain of our love. With grateful hearts we thank You for givi
ng us
Your Son Jesus – The bread of life and for allowing us to share
and
experience His salvific love. It is in His own life and love tha
t we are
able to live fully and love unconditionally.
We thank You for the gift of Your Spirit who always guides us to
wards
goodness, keeps our hearts burning and makes us pliant instrumen
ts of
Your love.
We thank You very sincerely for the gift of our parents. You all
ow us
to experience your immense and compassionate love through them.
They are our source of joy in weaving our aspirations and dreams
.
They are the greatest heroes of all times.
We thank You also for our beloved teachers and administrators. T
hey
are Your instruments in molding our hearts and minds to make us
better Christians. They never ceased to love and support us.
Like Jesus, help us to trust and be grateful to You who is the s
ource of
every good thing.
Loving Father, as we go and proclaim the Spirit of St. Joseph to
the
world, inspire us always to be Christ-like in our words and acti
ons.
We commit ourselves to you in the spirit of love and service by
fulfilling our mission to the world amidst chaos and uncertainti
es.
All this we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song: Now Thank We All Our God

Student: Please all stand
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Priest: Let us pray.
God our Father,
In this spiritual food
you have given back to us the sacrifice we offered you in
thanksgiving, the saving sacrament of Christ you Son.
By these gifts of strength and joy sustain us in your service
and bring us to your gift of eternal life.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH

Student: Saint Joseph, spouse of our dear beloved Mother, the Virgin Mary
,
and the foster father of our Savior, Jesus Christ, humbly accept
ed what
God asked of him and this makes him the model of trust, faithful
ness,
hope and love. As graduates of St. Joseph’s Academy, we give hon
or
and reverence to our patron, Saint Joseph, by consecrating ourse
lves to
him.

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH

All: God, our loving Father...

BLESSING OF DIPLOMAS, MEDALS AND CERTIFICATES

Student: Reverend Father,
we, the graduating students, present with joy
these diplomas, medals, and other school awards
for which we worked during our grade school years.
We ask you to pray
that they will always remind us of our duty
to serve God and country with zeal and loyalty.

Priest: God our Father,

You are the fountain of knowledge and virtue.
Grant that these your sons and daughters
whom you filled with divine and human gifts
may dedicate themselves to you and the people
with unfailing generosity and love.
Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
(the priest makes the sign of the cross on the graduation symbols
and sprinkles them with holy water.)

CONCLUDING RITE

School Principal: Reverend Father,

as these students will begin a new stage in life,
we ask you to invoke God’s blessing upon them
and upon their parents, guardian and teachers.
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.

FINAL BLESSING
Priest: Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.
Father of all creations,
you have made us in your image and likeness.
May we continue to be the reflections
of your love and goodness to one another.
All: Amen.
Priest: Lord Jesus,
you gave us an example of an unwavering faith
by offering your whole self to the father.
May we also learn to trust you
and to deny ourselves for the sake of others.
All: Amen.
Priest: Holy Spirit source of our strength,
may you enrich us with your gifts of love and service,
so that we may live according to God’s will,
as we go and become witnesses of God’s love
in word and in deed.
All: Amen.
Priest: May Almighty God bless you,
the Father,† the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Amen.

DISMISSAL
Priest: The Mass has been offered,
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING SONG “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness”

Sing of the Lord’s goodness, Father of all wisdom, come to Him and bless his nam
e. Mercy he has shown us, his love is for ever, faithful to the end of days.
Refrain:
Come then all you nations, sing of your Lord’s goodness, melodies of praise and
thanks to God. Ring out the Lord’s glory, praise him with your music. Worship hi
m and bless his name.
Power he was wielded, honour is his garment, risen from the snares of death. His
Word he has spoken, one bread he has broken, new life he now gives to all. (ref
)

Courage in our darkness, comfort in our sorrow, Spirit of our God most high; sol
ace for the weary, pardon for the sinners, splendour of the living God. (ref)
Praise him with your singing, praise him with the trumpet, praise God with the l
ute and harp; praise him with the cymbals, praise him with your dancing, praise
God till the end of days. (ref)