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
O God, you search me, and you know me
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze
When I walk or lie down, you are before me
‘Ever the maker and keeper of my days
You know my resting and my rising
You discern my purpose from afar
And with love everlasting, you besiege me
In ev′ry moment of life or death, you are
Before a word is on my tongue, Lord
You have known its meaning through and through
You are with me beyond my understanding
God of my present, my past and future, too
Although your Spirit is upon me
Still I search for shelter from your light
There is nowhere on Earth I can escape you
Even the darkness is radiant in your sight
For you created me and shaped me
Gave me life within my mother’s womb
For the wonder of who I am, I praise you
Safe in your hands, all creation is made new
PSALMODY
Antiphon 1: The Lord, the mighty God, will come forth from Zion to set his people free.
Psalm 139:1-18,23-24
I
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
Before ever a word is on my tongue
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
Behind and before you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.
O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
If I say: “Let the darkness hide me
and the light around me be night,”
even darkness is not dark for you
and the night is as clear as the day. Glory…
Antiphon 1: The Lord, the mighty God, will come forth from Zion to set his people free.
Antiphon 2:I shall not cease to plead with God for Zion until he sends his Holy One in all his radiant beauty.
Psalm 127
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
Already you knew my soul
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret
and molded in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw all my actions,
they were all of them written in your book;
every one of my days was decreed
before one of them came into being.
To me, how mysterious your thoughts,
the sum of them not to be numbered!
If I count them, they are more than the sand;
to finish, I must be eternal, like you.
O search me, God, and know my heart.
O test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path
and lead me in the path of life eternal. Glory…
Psalm Prayer: You watch over heaven and earth, Lord Jesus. Your death brought light to the dead; your resurrection gave joy to the saints; your ascension made the angels rejoice. Your power exceeds all power. Lead us to life eternal, and watch over us with your love. May your friends be filled with honor and join you in heaven.
Antiphon 2: I shall not cease to plead with God for Zion until he sends his Holy One in all his radiant beauty.
.Antiphon 3: The Spirit of the Lord rests upon me; he has sent me to preach his joyful message to the poor..
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: The Spirit of the Lord rests upon me; he has sent me to preach his joyful message to the poor.
OPENING PRAYER (stand)
All sit for the Liturgy of the Word.
After the Homily:
INTERCESSIONS
We humbly pray to Jesus Christ, who rescues us from the darkness of sin, and in faith we cry out:
Come, Lord Jesus!
Lord, gather together all the people of the earth,
– and establish with them your everlasting covenant.
Lamb of God, you came of old to take away the sin of the world,
– purge us from the dregs of our guilt.
You came to recover what was lost,
– come once again in your mercy lest you punish what you have recovered.
Our faith seeks you out,
– let us find everlasting joy with you when you come.
You will judge the living and the dead,
– graciously gather the dead into the ranks of the blessed.
Presider: Hear in kindness, O Lord, the prayers of your people, that those who rejoice at the coming of your Only Begotten Son in our flesh may, when at last he comes in glory, gain the reward of eternal life. 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
MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
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: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.