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

Now thank we all our God,
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms
Has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

O may this gracious God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us;
Preserve us in his grace,
And guide us in distress;
And free us from all sin,
Till heaven we possess.

All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given;
The Son and Spirit blest
Who reigns in highest heaven;
Eternal, Triune God,
Whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.
Text: Martin Rinkart, circa 1636; Music: Nun Danket, attributed to Johann Crüger, 1647; Midi: Cyberhymnal


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Rejoice, Jerusalem, let your joy overflow; your Savior will come to you, (Alleluia.)

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set them in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children. Glory...

Psalm Prayer: Lord Jesus, Word of God, surrendering the brightness of your glory you became man so that we may be raised from the dust to share your very being. May there be innumerable children of the Church to offer homage to your name from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Antiphon 1 Rejoice, Jerusalem, let your joy overflow; your Savior will come to you, (Alleluia.)


Antiphon 2 I, the Lord, am coming to save you; already I am near; soon I will free you from your sins.

I trusted, even when I said:
I am sorely afflicted,
and when I said in my alarm:
No man can be trusted.

How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord's name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill
before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord's name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem. Glory...

Psalm Prayer: Father, precious in your sight is the death of the saints, but precious above all is the love with which Christ suffered to redeem us. In this life we will fill up in our own flesh what it is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ; accept this as our sacrifice of praise, and we shall even now taste the joy of the new Jerusalem.

Antiphon 2 I, the Lord, am coming to save you; already I am near; soon I will free you from your sins.


Antiphon 3 Lord, send the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the rock in the desert to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.

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 Lord, send the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the rock in the desert to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.


READING     1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls us is trustworthy, therefore he will do it.


RESPONSORY
Lord, show us your mercy and love.
 - Lord, show us your mercy and love.
And grant us your salvation,
 - your mercy and love.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
 - Lord, show us your mercy and love.


MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: See the Lord coming from afar. His splendor fills the earth.


INTERCESSIONS
Jesus Christ is the joy and happiness of all who look forward to his coming. Let us call upon him and say:

              Come, Lord, and do not delay!

In joy, we wait for your coming;
 - come, Lord Jesus.

Before time began, you shared life with the Father;
 - come now and save us.

You created the world and all who live in it;
 - come to redeem the work of your hands.

You did not hesitate to become man, subject to death;
 - come to free us from the power of death.

You came to give us life to the full;
 - come and give us your unending life.

You desire all people to live in love in your kingdom;
 - come and bring together those who long to see you face to face.


Our Father...


COLLECT
O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
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.


May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.


The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.