Holy Innocents - Readings

Readings
for the Feast of the

HOLY INNOCENTS
Martyrs
December 28

MASS

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Innocentes pro Christo infantes occisi sunt, ipsum sequuntur Agnum sine macula, et dicunt semper: Gloria tibi, Domini.
The innocents were slaughtered as infants for Christ;
spotless, they follow the Lamb
and sing for ever: Glory to you, O Lord.

GLORIA

COLLECT
Deus, cuius hodierna die praeconium Innocentes martyres non loquendo sed moriendo confessi sunt, da, quaesumus, ut fidem tuam, quam lingua nostra loquitur, etiam moribus vita fateatur.
O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed
and proclaimed on this day,
not by speaking but by dying,
grant, we pray,
that the faith in you which we confess with our lips
may also speak through our manner of life.
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.

FIRST READING 1 John 1:5-2:2
Beloved:
This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ
and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, "We are without sin,"
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.

My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8
Anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium.

R. (7) Our soul has been rescued like a bird from a fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us,
when people rose against us,
They would have swallowed us alive,
for their fury blazed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from a fowler's snare.
The waters would have engulfed us,
the torrent overwhelmed us;
seething waters would have drowned us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from a fowler's snare.
The snare was broken
and we escaped.
Our help is the name of the LORD,
the maker of heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from a fowler's snare.

ALLELUIA
Te deum laudamus Te dominum confitemur, te martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

GOSPEL Matthew 2:13-18
When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Suscipe, Domine, quaesumus, devotorum munera famulorum, et eos tuis purifica servientes pietate mysteriis, quibus etiam iustificas ignorantes.
Receive, O Lord, we pray,
the offerings of your devoted servants
and purify us as we faithfully serve these, your mysteries,
by which you grant justification
even to those who lack understanding.
Through Christ our Lord.

PREFACE I OF THE NATIVITY
PREFACE II OF THE NATIVITY
PREFACE III OF THE NATIVITY

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Rev 14: 4
Hi empti sunt ex hominibus, primitae Deo et Agno; hi sequuntur Agnum quocumque ierit.
Behold those redeemed as the first fruits
of the human race for God and the Lamb,
and who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Salvationis abundantiam tribue, Domine, fidelibus in eorum festivitate tua sancta sumentibus, qui, Filium tuum humana necdum voce profitentes, caelesti sunt gratia pro eius nativitate coronati.
Grant, O Lord, abundant salvation to your faithful
as they receive your holy gifts
on the feast day of these, your Saints,
who, though still unable to profess your Son in speech,
were crowned with heavenly grace
on account of his birth.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

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