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.
God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
When we were gone astray
Refrain:
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same,
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name. (Refrain)
The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind,
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find. (Refrain)
But when to Bethlehem they came,
Whereat this infant lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray. (Refrain)
PSALMODY
Antiphon 1: Lord, lay your healing hand upon me, for I have sinned.
Psalm 41
Happy the man who considers the poor and the weak.
The Lord will save him in the day of evil,
will guard him, give him life, make him happy in the land
and will not give him up to the will of his foes.
The Lord will help him on his bed of pain,
he will bring him back from sickness to health.
As for me, I said: Lord, have mercy on me,
heal my soul for I have sinned against you.”
My foes are speaking evil against me.
how long before he dies and his name be forgotten?
They come to visit me and speak empty words,
their hearts full of malice, they spread it abroad.
My enemies whisper together against me.
They all weigh up the evil which is on me.
Some deadly thing has fastened upon him,
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
Thus even my friend, in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has turned against me.
But you, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let me rise once more and I will repay them.
By this I shall know that you are my friend,
if my foes do not shout in triumph over me.
If you uphold me I shall be unharmed
and set in your presence for ever more. Glory…
Psalm Prayer: Lord Jesus, healer of soul and body, You said: Blessed are the merciful, they will obtain mercy. Teach us to come to the aid of the needy in a spirit of love, that we in turn may be received and strengthened by you.
Antiphon 1:Lord, lay your healing hand upon me, for I have sinned.
Antiphon 2. The mighty Lord is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Psalm 46
God is for us a refuge and strength,
a helper close at hand, in time of distress,
so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,
though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea;
even though its waters rage and foam,
even though the mountains be shaken by its waves.
The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within, it cannot be shaken;
God will help it at the dawning of the day.
Nations are in tumult, kingdoms are shaken:
he lifts his voice, the earth shrinks away.
The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come, consider the works of the Lord,
the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.
He puts an end to wars over all the earth;
the bow he breaks, the spear he snaps.
He burns the shields with fire.
“Be still and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Glory…
Psalm Prayer: All-powerful Father, the refuge and strength of your people, you protect in adversity and defend in prosperity those who put their trust in you. May they persevere in seeking your will and find their way to you through obedience.
Antiphon 2 The mighty Lord is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
.Antiphon 3 All nations will come and worship before you, O Lord.
Canticle – Revelation 15:3-4
Mighty and wonderful are your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Righteous and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who would dare refuse you honor,
or the glory due your name, O Lord?
Since you alone are holy,
all nations shall come
and worship in your presence.
Your mighty deeds are clearly seen. Glory…
.
Antiphon 3 All nations will come and worship before you, O Lord.
Opening Prayer
All sit for the Liturgy of the Word.
After the Homily:
INTERCESSIONS (Universal Prayer)
At the birth of Jesus, angels proclaimed peace to the world. We worship him now with joy, and we pray with hearts full of faith:
May your birth bring peace to all.
Lord, fill your holy people with whatever good they need,
- let the mystery of your birth be the source of our peace. You came as chief shepherd and guardian of our lives,
- let the pope and bishops be faithful channels of your many gifts of grace. King from all eternity, you desired to be born within time and to experience the day-to-day life of men and women,
- share your gift of unending life with us, weak people doomed to death. Awaited from the beginning of the world, you came only in the fullness of time,
- now reveal your presence to those who are expecting you. You became one of us and gave new life to our human condition in the grip of death,
- now give the fullness of life to all who have died.
- now reveal your presence to those who are expecting you. You became one of us and gave new life to our human condition in the grip of death,
- share your gift of unending life with us, weak people doomed to death. Awaited from the beginning of the world, you came only in the fullness of time,
- let the pope and bishops be faithful channels of your many gifts of grace. King from all eternity, you desired to be born within time and to experience the day-to-day life of men and women,
Presider:
Cast your kindly light upon your faithful, Lord, we pray,
and with the splendor of your glory
set their hearts ever aflame,
that they may never cease to acknowledge their Savior
and may truly hold fast to him.
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: From heaven the Father’s voice proclaimed: you are my Son, my beloved, in whom I take delight.
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: From heaven the Father’s voice proclaimed: you are my Son, my beloved, in whom I take delight.
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold!
Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From heaven’s all gracious King!
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing.
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.
Yet with te woes of sin and strife
The world hath suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.
For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When, with the ever-circling years,
Shall come the Age of Gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And all the world give back the song
Which now the angels sing.