Introductory Rite:
God, come to my assistance R/ Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
R/ as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Angels we have heard on high,
Singing sweetly through the night,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their brave delight.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why these songs of happy cheer?
What great brightness did you see?
What glad tiding did you hear?
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the new-born King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
See him in a manger laid
Whom the angels praise above;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While we raise our hearts in love.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
PSALMODY
Antiphon 1:You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you..
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
”Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.”
The Lord will wield from Zion
your scepter of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedeck of old.”
The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his wrath.
He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head. Glory…
Antiphon 1: You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.
Antiphon 2 With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity. Glory…
Antiphon 2 With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.
.Antiphon 3 In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.
Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints
in light.
He rescued us
from the power of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him;
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church;
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross. Glory…
Antiphon 3In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.
READING 2: Peter 1:3-4
The divine power of Christ has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
RESPONSORY
The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
He lived among us.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: We sing your praises, holy Mother of God: you gave birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ; watch over all who honor you.
(Tune to Amazing Grace/New Britain)
My soul proclaims the Lord my God My spirit sings his praiseHe looks on me, he lifts me upAnd gladness fills my days
All nations now will share my joy His gifts he has outpoured
His little ones he has made great I magnify the Lord
His mercy is forever moreHis name I praise againHis strong right arm puts down the proud And raises lowly men
He fills the hungry with good things The rich he sends awayThe promise made to AbrahamIs filled by him each day
Antiphon: We sing your praises, holy Mother of God: you gave birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ; watch over all who honor you.
INTERCESSIONS
Let us acclaim Christ, born at Bethlehem in Judaea, for he gives nourishment and guidance to his people:
Lord, may your grace rest upon us.
Christ our Saviour, all peoples yearn for you. Spread your good news to every place that has not yet received the word of life,
– and draw all men to yourself.
Christ our Lord, extend your church, spread out its tents
– to cover every nation and every tongue.
King of kings, guide the hearts and souls of rulers:
– seeking justice, may they bring peace and freedom to all peoples.
Omnipotent ruler, strengthener of those who are vulnerable: when people are tempted, keep them strong; when they fall, raise them up; when they go into danger, protect them.
– Console the broken and despairing and give faith to those who doubt.
Consoler of the sad, comfort the dying
– and lead them to the springs of your living water.
Lord’s Prayer
Pater noster, qui es in cælis
Sanctificétur nomen tuum
Advéniat regnum tuum
Fiat volúntas tua
Sicut in cælo et in terra
Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie
Et dimítte nobis débita nostra
Sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris
Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem
Sed libera nos a malo
Amen
COLLECT
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that the newness of the Nativity in the flesh
of your Only Begotten Son may set us free,
for ancient servitude holds us bound
beneath the yoke of sin.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.