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.
What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
PSALMODY
Psalm 110:1-5,7
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.
Psalm 130
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.
Canticle – Colossians 1:12-20
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 3 In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.
Gloria (stand)
OPENING PRAYER
All sit for the Liturgy of the Word.
After the Homily:
INTERCESSIONS (Universal Prayer)
Dear friends, let us humbly pray to God the Father who so loved us that he sent us his Son:
May the favor of your Son be with us, Lord.
God of love, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you had mercy on those walking in darkness;
– receive the prayers we offer for the salvation of all people.
Lord, remember your Church spread over the entire world;
– bless your Christian people and give them peace.
You are the Father of all people; graciously grant peace to all,
– direct the eyes of all to your Son, and pour forth the spirit of peace on those who rule them.
You announced peace on earth at the coming of your Son;
– give eternal peace to those who have died.
Presider:
O God, who through the blessed Apostle John
have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word,
grant, we pray,
that we may grasp with proper understanding
what he has so marvelously brought to our ears.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(All are seated for the Liturgy of the Eucharist)
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
After Holy Communion, all stand for the Magnificat.
MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: Virgin Mary, all that the prophets foretold of Christ has been fulfilled through you: as a virgin, you conceived, and after you gave birth, a virgin you remained.
(Luke 1: Magnificat by Bernadette Farrell: Breaking Bread Music Issue #825)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
my spirit sings to God, my saving God,
who on this day above all others favored me
and raised me up, a light for all to see.
Through me great deeds will God make manifest,
and all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
for all who know and praise God´s holy name.
God´s mighty arm, protector of the just,
will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.
Soon will the poor and hungry of the earth
be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
will live in peace throughout the promised land.
All glory be to God, Creator blest,
to Jesus Christ, God´s love made manifest,
and to the Holy Spirit, gentle Comforter,
all glory be, both now and ever more.
Antiphon: Virgin Mary, all that the prophets foretold of Christ has been fulfilled through you: as a virgin, you conceived, and after you gave birth, a virgin you remained.
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