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
Antiphon 1: I cried to you Lord, and you healed me; I will praise you forever.
Psalm 30
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord, I cried to you for help and you, my God, have healed me. O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead, restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.
Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his holy name. His anger lasts a moment; his favor all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.
I said to myself in my good fortune: Nothing will ever disturb me. Your favor had set me on a mountain fastness, then you hid your face and I was put to confusion.
To you, Lord, I cried,to my God I made appeal:What profit would my death be, my going to the grave?Can dust give you praise or proclaim your truth?
The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing,
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
So my soul sings psalms to you unceasingly.
O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever. Glory…
.
Psalm Prayer:God our Father, glorious in giving life. and even more glorious in restoring it, when his last night on earth came, your Son shed tears of blood, but dawn brought incomparable gladness. Do not turn away from us, or we shall fall back into dust, but rather turn our mourning into joy by raising us up with Christ. Glory…
Antiphon 1: I cried to you Lord, and you healed me; I will praise you forever.
Antiphon 2. The one who is sinless in the eyes of God is blessed indeed.
Psalm 32
Happy the man whose offense is forgiven,
whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no guile.
I kept it secret and my frame was wasted.
I groaned all day long,
for night and day your hand was heavy upon me.
Indeed my strength was dried up
as by the summer’s heat.
But now I have acknowledged my sins;
my guilt I did not hide.
I said: “I will confess
my offense to the Lord.”
And you, Lord, have forgiven
the guilt of my sin.
So let every good man pray to you
in the time of need.
The floods of water may reach high
but him they shall not reach.
You are my hiding place, O Lord;
you save me from distress.
You surround me with cries of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you
the way you should go;
I will give you counsel
with my eye upon you.
Be not like horse and mule, unintelligent,
needing bridle and bit
else they will not approach you.
Many sorrows has the wicked
but he who trusts in the Lord,
loving mercy surrounds him.
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord,
exult, you just!
O come, ring out your joy,
all you upright of heart. Glory…
Psalm Prayer:You desired, Lord, to keep from us your indignation and so did not spare Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our sins. We are your prodigal children, but confessing our sins we come back to you. Embrace us that we may rejoice in your mercy together with Christ your beloved Son.
Antiphon 2 The one who is sinless in the eyes of God is blessed indeed.
.Antiphon 3 The Father has given Christ all honor, power and kingship; all people will obey him.
Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
Who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
You have begun your reign.
The nations have raged in anger,
But then came your day of wrath
And the moment to judge the dead:
The time to reward your servants the prophets
And the holy ones who revere you,
The great and the small alike.
Now have salvation and power come,
The reign of our God and the authority
Of his Anointed One,
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
Who night and day accused them before God.
They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
And by the word of their testimony;
Love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
And you that dwell therein! Glory…
Antiphon 3 The Father has given Christ all honor, power and kingship; all people will obey him.
Opening Prayer (stand)
Liturgy of the Word
INTERCESSIONSTo Christ, Emmanuel, whom the Virgin conceived and brought forth, let us give praise and pray to him:
Son of the Virgin Mary, hear us.
You gave Mary the joy of motherhood, – give all parents true joy in their children.King of peace, your kingdom is one of justice and peace, – help us to seek the paths of peace.You came to make the human race the holy people of God, – bring all nations to acknowledge the unifying bond of your love.By your birth you strengthened family ties, – help families to come to a greater love for one another.You desired to have born into the days of time, – grant that our departed brothers and sisters may be born into the day of eternity. Presider: O God, who by the Nativity of your Only Begotten Sonwondrously began for your people the work of redemption,grant, we pray, to your servants such firmness of faith,that by his guidance they may attain the glorious prize you have promised.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.
Lord’s Prayer (#860, Breaking Bread Music Issue)
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: We have found Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He is the one of whom Moses and the prophets spoke.
(#825, Breaking Bread – Luke 1: Magnificat by Bernadette Farrell)
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: We have found Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He is the one of whom Moses and the prophets spoke.
Final Blessing and Dismissal