God, come to my assistance.
 - Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
 -  as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.

Amen. Alleluia.


HYMN

At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess him King of glory now;
’Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,
Who from the beginning was the mighty Word.

Humbled for a season, to receive a name
From the lips of sinners unto whom he came,
Faithfully he bore it, spotless to the last,
Brought it back victorious when from death he passed.

In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue
All that is not holy, all that is not true;
Crown him as your Captain in temptation’s hour;
Let his will enfold you in its light and power

Brothers, this Lord Jesus shall return again,
With His Father’s glory, with his angel train;
For all wreaths of empire meet upon his brow,
And our hearts confess him King of glory now.

Words: C. Noel, 1877

PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: He comes, the desire of all human hearts; his dwelling place shall be resplendent with glory, alleluia.

Psalm 122

Holy city Jerusalem
You have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22)

I rejoiced when I heard them say:
Let us go to God's house.
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel's law it is,
there to praise the Lord's name.
There were set the thrones of judgment
of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
"Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls!
In your palaces, peace!"

For love of my brethren and friends
I say: Peace upon you.
For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good. Glory...

Antiphon 1 He comes, the desire of all human hearts; his dwelling place shall be resplendent with glory, alleluia.

Antiphon 2 Come, Lord, do not delay; free your people from their sinfulness.

Psalm 130
A cry from the depths
He himself will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

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 Come, Lord, do not delay; free your people from their sinfulness.

Antiphon 3 The fullness of time has come upon us at last: God sends his Son into the world.

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not deem equality with God
something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself
and took the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death,
death on a cross!

Because of this,
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
above every other name,  

So that at Jesus' name
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:  
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!   Glory...

Antiphon 3 The fullness of time has come upon us at last: God sends his Son into the world.