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.


Opening Processional Chant:

The angel said to Mary, + Rejoice most favored one!
The Lord is with you.

God has been gracious to you, Mary; + you will conceive and bear a son,
and you shall give him the name Jesus.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, + and the power of the Most High will overshadow you:
therrefore the holy child to be born will be called Son of God.

Mary said, + I am the Lord's servant;
as you have spoken so be it.

God's blessing is on you + above all women,
and his blessing is on the fruit of your womb.


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 we proclaim to you the eternal life
that was present to the Father
and became visible to us. - 1 John 1:1-2


VESPERS HYMN:

Agnoscat omne saeculum venisse vitae praemium; post hostis asperi iugum apparuit redemptio. Isaias quae praecinit completa sunt in Virgine; annuntiavit Angelus, Sanctus replevit Spiritus. Maria ventre concipit verbi fidelis semine; quem totus orbis non capit, portant puellae viscera. Adam vetus quod polluit, Adam novus hoc abluit; tumens quod ille deicit, humillimus hic erigit. Christo sit omnis gloria, Dei Parentis Filio, quem Virgo felix concipit Sancti sub umbra Spiritus.

Let all ages acknowledge that he is come who is the reward of life. After the enemy's cruel yoke Our Redemption appeared. What Isaias foretold, has been fulfilled in the Virgin; an Angel announced the mystery to her, and filled her with the Holy Spirit Mary conceived in her womb. The Word, the faithful Seed whom the whole world cannot contain was carried in the Virgin's womb. What the old Adam polluted the new Adam has washed; His sores he cast aside, and raises the humble. All glory be to Christ, the Son of God the Father whome the happy Virgin conceived under the shadow of the Holy Spirit.

Or:

The God, whose will by moon and sun
and all things in due course is done,
is nourished at a maiden's breast
by fullest heavenly grace possessed.

How blessed that Mother, in whose shrine
the world's Creator, Lord divine,
whose hand contains the earth and sky,
once deigned, as in his ark, to lie.

Blessed in the message Gabriel brought,
blessed by the work the Spirit wrought;
from whom the great Desire of earth
took human form and human birth.

O Jesus, virgin-born, we raise
to you our hymn of grateful praise;
and to the Father tribute bring
as by the Spirit here we sing.

O Lord, the Virgin-born, to thee
eternal praise and glory be,
whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Ghost for evermore.



PSALMODY


Antiphon: A shoot shall spring forth from the stock of Jesse, and a flower will blossom from his root. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him.

Psalm 8    
Domine, Dominus noster

1

O LORD our Lord, *
     how exalted is your Name in all the world!

2

Out of the mouths of infants and children *
     your majesty is praised above the heavens.

3

You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
     to quell the enemy and the avenger.

4

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
     the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

5

What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
     the son of man that you should seek him out?

6

You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
     you adorn him with glory and honor;

7

You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
     you put all things under his feet:

8

All sheep and oxen, *
     even the wild beasts of the field,

9

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
     and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

10

O LORD our Lord, *
     how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Antiphon: A shoot shall spring forth from the stock of Jesse, and a flower will blossom from his root. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him.


Antiphon: The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign for ever.

1

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart; *
     before the gods I will sing your praise.

2

I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise your Name, *
     because of your love and faithfulness;

3

For you have glorified your Name *
     and your word above all things.

4

When I called, you answered me; *
     you increased my strength within me.

5

All the kings of the earth will praise you, O LORD, *
     when they have heard the words of your mouth.

6

They will sing of the ways of the LORD, *
     that great is the glory of the LORD.

7

Though the LORD be high, he cares for the lowly; *
     he perceives the haughty from afar.

8

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *
     you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
     your right hand shall save me.

9

The LORD will make good his purpose for me; *
     O LORD, your love endures for ever;
     do not abandon the works of your hands.

Antiphon: The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign for ever.


Antiphon: The eternal Word, born of the father before time began, today emptied himself for our sake and became man.

1

Hallelujah!
Give praise, you servants of the LORD; *
     praise the Name of the LORD.

2

Let the Name of the LORD be blessed, *
     from this time forth for evermore.

3

From the rising of the sun to its going down *
     let the Name of the LORD be praised.

4

The LORD is high above all nations, *
     and his glory above the heavens.

5

Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high, *
     but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?

6

He takes up the weak out of the dust *
     and lifts up the poor from the ashes.

7

He sets them with the princes, *
     with the princes of his people.

8

He makes the woman of a childless house *
     to be a joyful mother of children.

So that at Jesus' name
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! Glory...


Second Reading
Galatians 4:1-7
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.


RESPONSORY
A flower has sprung from Jesse's stock and a star has risen from Jacob.
- A flower has sprung from Jesse's stock and a star has risen from Jacob.
The Virgin has conceived a Saviour,
- and a star has risen from Jacob.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
- A flower has sprung from Jesse's stock and a star has risen from Jacob.


MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: The angel Gabriel was sent from God + to a town in Galilee call Nazareth, / to a virgin whose name was Mary.


INTERCESSIONS
On this day the eternal Father sent his angel to bring Mary the good news of our salvation. Let us turn to God and pray with confidence:

Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

You chose the Virgin Mary as the mother of your Son,
- have mercy on all who look for your gift of salvation.

You sent Gabriel to give Mary your message of peace and joy,
- give to the whole world the joy of salvation and your gift of true peace.

Mary gave her consent, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and your Word came to dwell among us,
- touch our hearts that we may welcome Christ as Mary did.

You look with love on the humble, and fill the hungry with your gifts,
- raise up the downcast, help all in need, comfort and strengthen the dying.

Lord our God, you alone work wonders and with you all things are possible,
- give us the fullness of salvation when you raise up the dead on the last day.


Our Father…


COLLECT
O God, who willed that your Word
should take on the reality of human flesh
in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray,
that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man,
may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature.
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.