Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *Antiphon: Helpless, he lay in a manger; glorious, he shone in the heavens. Humbled, he lived among us; eternal, he dwelt with the Father.
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Let us direct our prayers to Christ, the heavenly man and the new Adam, who became a life-giving spirit:
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, Sun of Justice, you revealed your glory in our human nature
in order to bring to perfection the old covenant,
- we ask you to pour out your light upon us.
Christ, you were glorified by the angels, announced by the shepherds,
confessed and proclaimed by Simeon and Anna,
- let your Gospel be accepted by the people of the promise.
Christ, when you were born,
angels sang glory to God in the highest and peace on earth,
- we ask you to spread your peace throughout the world.
Christ, as the new Adam you gave new life to the old man
and prepared for us a dwelling place in your kingdom,
- may those overwhelmed by evil be encouraged by hope in you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saints |
|
|||||||||