Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us.
Agios o theos, agios ischyros, agios athanatos,
eleison imas.
Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortális,
miserére nobis.
Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing;
You reign now in splendor with Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
PSALMODY
Antiphon:
The Virgin Mary came forth from the root of Jesse, / and the Spirit of the Most High came to dwell in her heart (alleluia).
Psalm
120
Ad Domine
I called to the LORD, and he answered me.
and from the deceitful tongue.
O you deceitful tongue?
along with hot glowing coals.
and dwell among the tents of Kedar!
among the enemies of peace.
but when I speak of it, they are for war.
Psalm
121
Levavi oculos
from where is my help to come?
the maker of heaven and earth.
and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
shall neither slumber nor sleep;
the LORD is your shade at your right hand,
nor the moon by night.
it is he who shall keep you safe.
from this time forth for evermore.
Psalm
122
Laetatus sum
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
that is at unity with itself;
the tribes of the LORD, *
the assembly of Israel,
to praise the Name of the LORD.
the thrones of the house of David.
"May they prosper who love you.
and quietness within your towers.
I pray for your prosperity.
I will seek to do you good."
Antiphon:
The Virgin Mary came forth from the root of Jesse, / and the Spirit of the Most High came to dwell in her heart (alleluia).
READING Ephesians 1:9b-10
God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
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.
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.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us.
Agios o theos, agios ischyros, agios athanatos,
eleison imas.
Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortális,
miserére nobis.
In heaven, the blessed your glory proclaim;
On earth we, your children, invoke your sweet name.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
Angelus
The Angel of the Lord brought tidings to Mary,
And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
Let it be to me according to thy word.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
And the Word was made flesh
And dwelt among us.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Lord, pour your grace into our hearts
that as we have known the Incarnation of your Son, Jesus Christ,
by the message of an angel,
so by His Cross(+) and Passion
we may be brought to the glory of His Resurrection,
through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon:
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, / and he shall be called Emmanuel (alleluia).
Psalm
123
Ad te levavi oculos meos
to you enthroned in the heavens.
and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
until he show us his mercy.
for we have had more than enough of contempt,
and of the derision of the proud.
Psalm
124
Nisi quia Dominus
let Israel now say;
when enemies rose up against us;
in their fierce anger toward us;
and the torrent gone over us;
have gone right over us.
he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm
125
Qui confidunt
which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.
so does the LORD stand round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.
the just, *
so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.
and to those who are true of heart.
the LORD will lead them away with the evildoers; *
but peace be upon Israel.
Antiphon:
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, / and he shall be called Emmanuel (alleluia).
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.
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.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us.
Agios o theos, agios ischyros, agios athanatos,
eleison imas.
Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortális,
miserére nobis.
We pray for the Church, our true Mother on earth,
And beg you to watch o'er the land of our birth.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!
PSALMODY
Antiphon: The holy Mother of God is exalted in glory, above the choirs of angels in the kingdom of heaven.
Psalm
126
In convertendo
then were we like those who dream.
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
"The LORD has done great things for them."
and we are glad indeed.
like the watercourses of the Negev.
will reap with songs of joy.
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.
Psalm
127
Nisi Dominus
their labor is in vain who build it.
in vain the watchman keeps his vigil.
vain, too, to eat the bread of toil,
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
and the fruit of the womb is a gift.
are the children of one's youth.
he shall not be put to shame
when he contends with his enemies in the gate.
Psalm
128
Beati omnes
and who follow in his ways!
happiness and prosperity shall be yours.
your children like olive shoots round about your table.
shall thus indeed be blessed.
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of
your life.
may peace be upon Israel.
Antiphon: They will sing his praises to the ends of the earth, / and he will be their peace (alleuia).
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).
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.
Saints