The Good Shepherd ascended
to the right hand of the Father;
the little flock keeps vigil
with Mary in the Cenacle.
From the splendour of heaven
the prophetic chrism descends
and consecrates the apostles
heralds of the Gospel.
The Good Shepherd ascended…
Come, O Divine Spirit,
with your holy gifts
and make our hearts
a temple of your glory.
The Good Shepherd ascended…
Light of eternal wisdom,
reveal to us the great mystery
of the one and threefold God,
fountain of eternal love.
Amen.

If today you listen to his voice,
do not harden your hearts.
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord,
acclaiming the rock who saves us.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving,
acclaiming him with psalms and songs.
If today…
A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
the sea belongs to him, so does the land.
If today…
Come let us bow low before him,
and kneel before the Lord
who made us.
For he is our God and we are his people;
the people that he pastures,
the flock that he guides.
If today…
If only, if only
you would listen to his voice today and not harden your hearts
as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert,
when your fathers tested me,
when they tried me
though they had seen my deeds.
For forty years I was wearied of that generation
and I said: "They are a people with a crooked heart,
they don't know my ways,
they shall not enter my rest."
If today…

To the paschal victim
we offer today the sacrifice of praise.
The flock is ransomed by the Lamb,
the Innocent has reconciled us sinners to the Father.
Death and life contended
in mighty battle,
the Lord of life was slain,
yet he lives to reign.
Tell us Mary: what did you see upon the way?
The tomb of the Lord empty,
the glory of Christ as he rose,
the angels, the shroud and grave clothes.
For Christ my hope is risen:
he goes before us into Galilee.
He goes before us into Galilee.
Yes, we are sure: Christ is truly risen!
Yes, we are sure: Christ is truly risen!
He goes before us into Galilee.
He goes before us into Galilee.
To the paschal victim…
You, victorious King, give us your salvation!

Acclaim the Lord,
all peoples of the earth;
serve the Lord with gladness!
Come before him
with songs of joy.
Acclaim the Lord…
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him;
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Acclaim the Lord…
Go within his gates, giving thanks;
enter his courts with songs of praise,
give thanks to him and bless his name.
Acclaim the Lord…
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love;
he is faithful from age to age.
Acclaim the Lord…

Console my people
and speak to the heart of Jerusalem,
and shout that her slavery
is ended.
Console my people,
and speak to the heart of Jerusalem,
and shout that her slavery
is ended.
"Oh-ay," a voice in the desert
shouts:
"Prepare the way,
the path to the Lord."
Because the Lord is coming with power,
he brings with him the reward;
like a shepherd gathers the flock,
carrying the lambs on his breast.
Like a shepherd he leads slowly, slowly
the mother ewes.
Like a shepherd, carries on his shoulders
the lost sheep.
Console my people
and speak to the heart of Jerusalem,
and shout that her slavery
is ended.

Let him kiss me
with the kisses of his mouth;
your love is sweeter than wine.
Your name is the fragrance of your perfume:
that’s why
the maidens love you.
Take me with you, let us go out:
draw me towards you, let us run!
We shall praise your love more than wine,
how wonderful it is to love you!
Tell me then, beloved of my heart,
where do you lead your flock to pasture,
so that I may not wander as a vagabond
behind other shepherds?
Tell me then, beloved of my heart,
where do you lead your flock to pasture,
so that I may not wander as a vagabond
behind other shepherds?
If you don’t know this,
O loveliest of women,
follow the tracks of my flock
and take your kids to graze
close by the shepherds’ tents.
Take me with you, let us go out…

You have covered death with shame,
you have thrown hell into mourning,
you have struck iniquity,
you have deprived injustice of her children,
as Moses did to Pharaoh,
as Moses did to Pharaoh.
You have brought us from slavery to freedom,
from darkness to light, from death to life.
You are the passover of our salvation,
you are the lamb born of Mary.
Mary, she-lamb without blemish,
Mary, the innocent she-lamb.
You have been slain in Abel,
you have been bound in Isaac,
sold in Joseph,
abandoned on the waters in Moses,
persecuted in David,
mocked and despised in all the prophets.
You are the lamb who does not open his mouth,
you are the lamb born of Mary.
Mary, she-lamb without blemish…
You were taken from the flock,
led to sacrifice,
slaughtered in the evening,
buried in the night,
your blessed body did not experience corruption.
You rose from death,
and made mankind rise
from the depths of the tomb.
You are the lamb who does not open his mouth,
you are the lamb born of Mary.
Mary, she-lamb without blemish…