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 forever. Amen.
HYMN
Mary occupies a place in the Church which is highest after Christ
and yet very close to us,
for you chose her to give the world
that very Life which renews all things,
Jesus Christ your Son and our Lord.And so we praise you, Mary, virgin and mother.
After the Savior himself, you alone are all holy,
free from the stain of sin,
gifted by God from the first instant of your conception
with a unique holiness.Mary, free from all sin and led by the Holy Spirit,
you embraced God's saving will with a full heart,
and devoted yourself totally as a handmaid of the Lord
to the fulfillment of His will in your life,
and to the mystery of our redemption.Mary, your privileged and grace-filled origin
is the Father's final step in preparing humanity
to receive its Redeemer in human form.
Your fullness of grace is the Father's sign of His favor to the Church
and also His promise to the Church
of its perfection as the Bride of Christ,
radiant in beauty.
Your holiness in the beginning of your life
is the foreshadowing of that all-embracing holiness
with which the Father will surround his people
when his Son comes at the end of time to greet us.
Or:
Mary, we turn with confidence to you
who are always ready to listen with a mother's affection
and powerful assistance.
Consoler of the afflicted,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
grant us comfort in tribulation,
relief in sickness,
and liberating strength in our weakness.You who are free from sin, lead us to combat sin.
Obtain for us the victory of hope over anguish,
of joy and beauty over boredom and disgust,
of eternal visions over temporal ones,
of life over death.
Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you.
PSALMODY
Ant 1: The angel of the Lord brought tidings to Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Or: Blessed are you, O Mary, for the world's salvation came forth through you. Now in glory, you rejoice forever with the Lord.
Psalm 137:1-6
By the rivers of Babylon
The Babylonian captivity is a type of our spiritual captivity (Saint Hilary).
By the rivers of Babylon
there we sat and wept,
remembering Zion;
on the poplars that grew there
we hung up our harps.For it was there that they asked us,
our captors, for songs,
our oppressors, for joy.
Sing to us, they said,
one of Zion's songs.O how could we sing
the song of the Lord
on alien soil?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth
if I remember you not,
if I prize not Jerusalem
above all my joys!
Ant. 2 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.
Or: The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning. He has taken her to live with him.
Psalm 138
Thanksgiving
The kings of the earth will bring his glory and honor into the holy city. (see Revelation 21:24).
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who take delight in all his commands.
His sons shall be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm for ever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honor.
The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever.He has no fear of evil news;
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
he will see the downfall of his foes.Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.The wicked man sees and is angry,
grinds his teeth and fades away;
the desire of the wicked leads to doom.
Ant 3: Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.
Or: The Lord made you so glorious that your praise will never cease to resound among men.
Canticle Revelation 4:11; 5:9, 10, 12
Redemption hymn
O Lord our God, you are worthy
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you have created all things;
by your will they came to be and were made.Worthy are you, O Lord
to receive the scroll and break open its seals.For you were slain;
with your blood you purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue,
of every people and nation.You made them a kingdom,
and priests to serve our God,
and they shall reign on earth."Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches,
wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and praise.
FIRST READING 1 John 1:1-2
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life--
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us.
OR Ephesians 2:12-22
You were strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
SECOND READING
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Sermo 25, 7-8: PL 46, 937-938))
Stretching out his hand over his disciples, the Lord Christ declared: "Here are my mother and my brothers; anyone who does the will of my Father who sent me is my brother and sister and my mother." I would urge you to ponder these words. Did the Virgin Mary, who believed by faith and conceived by faith, who was the chosen one from whom our Savior was born among men, who was created by Christ before Christ was created in her – did she not do the will of the Father?
Indeed the blessed Mary certainly did the Father's will, and so it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ's disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb him whom she would obey as her master.
RESPONSORY
The Word was made flesh and lived among us.
- The Word was made flesh and lived among us.
He was in the beginning with God.
- and lived among us.
Glory to the Father...
- The Word was made flesh and lived among us.
Or:
The Lord has chosen her,
his loved one from the beginning.
- The Lord has chosen her,
his loved one from the beginning.
He has taken her to live with him,
- his loved one from the beginning.
Glory to the Father...
- The Lord has chosen her,
his loved one from the beginning.
CANTICLE OF MARY Luke 1:46-55
Ant: The angel Gabriel said to Mary in greeting: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
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.
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:
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…
CONCLUDING PRAYERGod 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.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
- Amen.