ANNUNCIATION
Office of Readings
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: The Word was made flesh; come let us worship him (alleluia)
God, come to my assistance. The heavens proclaim the glory of God, No speech, no word, no voice is heard There he has placed a tent for the sun; At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun;
- 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
The angel Gabriel from Heaven came,
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
"All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady," Gloria!
"For know a blessèd mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee,
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favored lady," Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,
"My soul shall laud and magnify His holy Name."
Most highly favored lady, Gloria!
Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say—
"Most highly favored lady," Gloria!
Tune: Gabriel's Messagel Words: Basque carol; translated to English by Sabine Baring Gould 1834-1924).
PSALMODY
Antiphon 1: In the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, / that we might become his adopted children (alleluia).
Psalm 2
Quare fremuerunt gentes
among peoples this useless murmuring?
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
come, let us cast off their yoke."
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
his rage will strike them with terror.
my holy mountain."
The Lord said to me: You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
shatter them like a potter's jar."
take warning, rulers of the earth;
and trembling, pay him your homage
for suddenly his anger will blaze.
Blessed are they who put their trust in God. Glory...
Antiphon 1: In the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, / that we might become his adopted children (alleluia).
Antiphon 2: When he came into this world, he said: You have prepared a body for me; / behold I come to do your will, O God (alleluia).
Psalm 19A
Caeli enarrant
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent,
rejoices like a champion to run its course.
to the furthest end of the sky is its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat. Glory...
Antiphon 3: In this we have come to know God's love for us: / God sent his only Son, that we might live through him (alleluia)..
Psalm 45
Eructavit cor meum
My heart overflows with noble words.
To the king I must speak the song I have made,
my tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe.
You are the fairest of the children of men
and graciousness is poured upon your lips:
because God has blessed you for evermore.
O mighty one, gird your sword upon your thigh;
in splendor and state, ride on in triumph
for the cause of truth and goodness and right.
Take aim with your bow in your dread right hand.
Your arrows are sharp, peoples fall beneath you.
The foes of the king fall down and lose heart.
Your throne, O God, shall endure for ever.
A scepter of justice is the scepter of your kingdom.
Your love is for justice; your hatred for evil.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above other kings:
your robes are fragrant with aloes and myrrh.
From the ivory palace you are greeted with music.
The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.
On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
forget your own people and your father's house.
So will the king desire your beauty:
He is your lord, pay homage to him.
And the people of Tyre shall come with gifts,
the richest of the people shall seek your favor.
The daughter of the king is clothed with splendor,
her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.
She is led to the king with her maiden companions.
They are escorted amid gladness and joy;
they pass within the palace of the king.
Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers:
you will make them rulers over all the earth.
May this song make your name for ever remembered.
May the peoples praise you from age to age. Glory...
Antiphon 3: In this we have come to know God's love for us: / God sent his only Son, that we might live through him (alleluia)..
The Word was made flesh (alleluia).
- He lived among us (alleluia).
FIRST READING
From the first book of Chronicles 17:1-15
A prophecy about the Son of David
Now when David settled in his house, David said to the prophet Nathan, 'I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.' Nathan said to David, 'Do all that you have in mind, for God is with you.'
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: You shall not build me a house to live in. For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought out Israel to this very day, but I have lived in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies before you; and I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall wear them down no more, as they did formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will subdue all your enemies.
Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne for ever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom for ever, and his throne shall be established for ever. In accordance with all these words and all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
RESPONSORY See Luke 1: 26-32
The angel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary who was betrothed to Joseph.
The light filled her with fear,
but the angel said to her:
Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
- Behold you shall conceive and bear a son,
and he will be called the Son of the Most High, alleluia.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
- Behold you shall conceive and bear a son,
and he will be called the Son of the Most High, alleluia.
SECOND READING
From a letter by Saint Leo the Great, pope
(Epist. 28 ad Flavianum 3-4: PL 54, 763-767)
The mystery of man's reconciliation with God
Lowliness is assured by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other.
He who is true God was therefore born in the complete and perfect nature of a true man, whole in his own nature, whole in ours. By our nature we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from the beginning, and took to himself in order to restore it.
For in the Saviour there was no trace of what the deceiver introduced and man, being misled, allowed to enter. It does not follow that because he submitted to sharing in our human weakness he therefore shared in our sins.
He took the nature of a servant without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity. He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was the condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself.
Thus the Son of God enters this lowly world. He comes down from the throne of heaven, yet does not separate himself from the Father's glory. He is born in a new condition, by a new birth.
He was born in a new condition, for, invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death.
He who is true God is also true man. There is no falsehood in this unity as long as the lowliness of man and the pre-eminence of God coexist in mutual relationship.
As God does not change by his condescension, so man is not swallowed up by being exalted. Each nature exercises its own activity, in communion with the other. The Word does what is proper to the Word, the flesh fulfils what is proper to the flesh.
One nature is resplendent with miracles, the other falls victim to injuries. As the Word does not lose equality with the Father's glory, so the flesh does not leave behind the nature of our race.
One and the same person – this must be said over and over again – is truly the Son of God and truly the son of man. He is God in virtue of the fact that "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He is man in virtue of the fact that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
RESPONSORY See Luke 1: 31,42
Receive, O Virgin Mary, the word
which the Lord has made known to you by the message of the angel:
You will conceive and give birth to a son, both God and man,
- and you will be called blessed among women (alleluia).
A virgin, you will indeed bear a son;
ever chaste and holy, you will be the mother of our Savior.
- And you will be called blessed among women (alleluia).
CANTICLE TE DEUM
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R. govern and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day by day we bless you;
R. we praise your name for ever.
V. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin;
R. have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R. for we put our trust in you.
V. In you, Lord, is our hope;
R. and we shall never hope in vain.
The concluding part of the hymn may be omitted.
PRAYER
God our Father,
your Word became flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary.
May we become more like Jesus Christ,
whom we acknowledge as our redeemer, God and man.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who live and reigns with you and Holy Spirit
One God, forever and ever, Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
- And give him thanks.
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.
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