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.
1 Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th’angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Refrain:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King”
2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel. [Refrain]
3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth. [Refrain]
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)
God the compassionate Father anointed his Son with the Holy Spirit and sent him to bring good news to the poor. Let us ask him, then:
God of compassion, take pity on us.
Compassionate and ever-living God, you want all men to be saved and come to knowledge of your truth. We thank you for having given this world your only-begotten Son:
– may the whole earth rejoice at his nativity.
You sent your Son to bring the good news to the poor, to announce freedom for captives and proclaim the time of grace:
– grant to mankind the gifts of liberty and peace.
You guided the wise men of the Gentiles to see your Son and worship him:
– accept the worship of our faithful prayer.
After them, you call all men out of the shadows and into your light, so that at the name of Jesus every knee may bend:
– send us out into the world as witnesses of your Gospel.
You made Christ, born in Bethlehem, a light to enlighten the gentiles:
– let the light of your face shine on our departed brethren.
Presider:
Almighty and invisible God,
who dispersed the darkness of this world
by the coming of your light,
look, we pray, with serene countenance upon us,
that we may acclaim with fitting praise
the greatness of the Nativity of your Only Begotten Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
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: The king of heaven humbled himself to be born of a virgin, that he might restore us to the kingdom we had lost.
(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: The king of heaven humbled himself to be born of a virgin, that he might restore us to the kingdom we had lost. .