Lord, open my lips.
 - And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Psalm 95 is the traditional Invitatory Psalm. Psalm 24, 67, or 100 may be substituted.

Antiphon: Christ is born for us. Come let us adore him.

Psalm 95

Psalm 24

Psalm 67

Psalm 100

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
From Heaven high I come to you
Go tell it on the mountain
Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
Songs of praise the angels sang
Virgin-born, we bow before you
What Child is this
A Child is born in Bethlehem


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Awake, lyre and harp, with praise let us awake the dawn.

Psalm 57
Morning prayer in affliction
This psalm tells of our Lord's passion (St. Augustine).

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.

I call to you God the Most High,
to you who have always been my help.
May you send from heaven and save me
and shame those who assail me.

O God, send your truth and your love.

My soul lies down among lions,
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharpened sword.

O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

They laid a snare for my steps
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path
but fell in it themselves.

My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies. Glory...

Antiphon 1 Awake, lyre and harp, with praise let us awake the dawn.


Antiphon 2 My people, says the Lord, will be filled with my blessings.

Canticle  -  Jeremiah 31:10-14
The happiness of a people who have been redeemed
Jesus was to die...to gather all of God's scattered children into one fold (John 11:51).

The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.

Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the Lord's blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen;
They themselves shall be like watered gardens,
never again shall they languish.

Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
I will lavish choice portions upon the priests,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings,
says the Lord.  Glory...

Antiphon 2 My people, says the Lord, will be filled with my blessings.


Antiphon 3 The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.

Psalm 48
Thanksgiving for the people's deliverance.
He took me up a high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, God's holy city (Revelation 21:10)

The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King's city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.

For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.

A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.

As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts
which God upholds for ever.

O God, we ponder your love
within your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name
reaches the ends of the earth.

With justice your right hand is filled.
Mount Zion rejoices;
the people of Judah rejoice
at the sight of your judgments.

Walk through Zion, walk all round it;
count the number of its towers.
Review all its ramparts,
examine its castles,

that you may tell the next generation
that such is our God,
our God for ever and always.
It is he who leads us. Glory...

Antiphon 3 The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.


READING      - Wisdom 7:26-30
Wisdom is the refulgence of eternal light,
  the spotless mirror of the power of God,
  the image of his goodness.  
And she, who is one, can do all things,
  and renews everything while herself perduring;
And passing into holy souls from age to age,
  she produces friends of God and prophets.  
For there is nought God loves,
  be it not one who dwells with Wisdom.
For she is fairer than the sun
  and surpasses every constellation of the stars.
Compared to light, she takes precedence;
  for that, indeed, night supplants,
  but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom.


RESPONSORY
The Lord has made known, alleluia, alleluia.
    -    The Lord has made known, alleluia, alleluia.
His saving power.
    -    Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
    -    The Lord has made known, alleluia, alleluia.


BENEDICTUS (Canticle of Zechariah)
Antiphon: The Lord God has come to his people and set them free.


INTERCESSIONS
Christ embodied the wisdom of God, his justice, his holiness and his saving power.  Let us praise him and call upon him confidently:

                        Lord, save us by your birth.

King of the world, the shepherd found you wrapped in swaddling clothes,
 - make us willing participants in your poverty and simplicity.

Lord of heaven, from your royal throne you came down to the world,
 - teach us to respect our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

Christ, light eternal, when you assumed our nature your did not take on its stain,
 - help your faithful people to use the good things of the earth for your honor and glory.

You are the divine spouse of your Church; you stand in its midst as an impregnable tower,
 - help the faithful to persevere in your Church toward salvation.


Our Father...


COLLECT
O God, who by the Nativity of your Only Begotten Son
wondrously 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.


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