CHRISTMAS

Evening Prayer II

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

A Child is born in Bethlehem, alleluia;
O come, rejoice Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.

Refrain:
Let grateful hearts now sing,
A song of joy and holy praise
To Christ the new-born King.

Though found within a manger poor, alleluia,
His Kingdom shall for e'er endure, alleluia, alleluia.

Refrain

As brother in the flesh he came, alleluia,
Our King whose name we now proclaim, alleluia, alleluia.

Refrain

Melody: Gregorian, Mode I; Music: Traditional, Gregorian; Text: Puer Natus in Bethlehem; Translator: J.W. Hewitt, 1959, alt.


PSALMODY

Antiphon: You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.


Psalm 110:1-5,7    

The Lord's revelation to my Master:
"Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet."

The Lord will wield from Zion
your scepter of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.

A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
"You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedeck of old."

The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head. Glory...

Antiphon:You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.


Antiphon: With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

Psalm 130

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: With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.


Antiphon: In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.


Canticle                                                      Colossians 1:12-20

Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints
in light.

He rescued us
from the power of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.

All were created through him;
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.

It is he who is head of the body, the church;
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.

It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross. Glory...

Antiphon: In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.


READING                                                      1 John 1:1-3
This is what we proclaim to you:
what was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and our hands have touched -
we speak of the word of life.
(This life became visible;
we have seen it and bear witness to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father
and became visible to us.)
What we have seen and heard
we proclaim in turn to you
so that you may share life with us.
This fellowship of ours is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.



RESPONSORY
The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
 - The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
He lived among us.
 - Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
 - The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.


MAGNIFICAT
(Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon:Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Savior has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels' joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia.


INTERCESSIONS
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.


Our Father…


COLLECT
O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature
and still more wonderfully restored it,
grant, we pray,
that we may share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
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.

 
Home

Liturgy Archive

Liturgical Year

Daily Devotionals

Prayers

Bibles & Reference

The
Saints

Other Reading

Links





 

shopify site analytics