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
Mother of Christ, our hope, our Patroness,
Star of the sea, our beacon in distress,
Guide to the shores of everlasting day
God's holy people on their pilgrim way.Virgin by vow but Mother of all grace,
Chosen by God to be his dwelling-place,
Blessed are you: God's word you did believe,
Your "Yes" undid the "No" of sinful Eve.Daughter of God, who bore his holy One,
Dearest of all, the Christ, your loving Son,
Show us his face, O Mother, as on earth,
Loving us all, you gave our Savior birth.
Music: H. Lawes, 1596-1662
Text: Alma Redemptoris
Translator: James Quinn, SJ
Or:
Behold then the joy of the whole universe.
Let the union of God and man in the Son of the Virgin Mary
fill us with awe and adoration.
Let us fear and worship the undivided Trinity
as we sing the praise of the ever-virgin Mary,
the holy temple of God,
and of God himself, her Son and spotless Bridegroom.
To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
PSALMODY
Ant.1 The angel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary, who was engaged to be married to Joseph.
or: Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, for you carried the Creator of the world in your womb.
Psalm 101
Avowal of a good ruler
If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15)
My song is of mercy and justice;
I sing to you, O Lord.
I will walk in the way of perfection.
O when, Lord, will you come?I will walk with blameless heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
whatever is base.I will hate the ways of the crooked;
they shall not be my friends.
The false-hearted must keep far away;
the wicked I disown.The man who slanders his neighbor in secret
I will bring to silence.
The man of proud looks and haughty heart
I will never endure.I look to the faithful in the land
that they may dwell with me.
He who walk in the way of perfection
shall be my friend.No man who practices deceit
shall live within my house.
No man who utters lies shall stand
before my eyes.Morning by morning I will silence
all the wicked in the land,
uprooting from the city of the Lord
all who do evil.
Ant. 2 Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Or: You are the mother of your maker, yet you remain a virgin for ever.
Azariah's prayer in the furnace.
With your whole hearts turn to God and he will blot out your sins. (Acts 3:19.)
Blessed are you, and praiseworthy,
O Lord, the God of our fathers,
and glorious forever is your name.For you are just in all you have done;
all your deeds are faultless, all your ways right,
and all your judgments proper.For we have sinned and transgressed
by departing from you,
and we have done every kind of evil.For your name's sake, do not deliver us up forever,
or make void your covenant.Do not take away your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your beloved,
Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,to whom you promised to multiply their offspring
like the stars of heaven,
or the sand on the shore of the sea.For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation,
brought low everywhere in the world this day
because of our sins.We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,
no holocaust, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
as though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
so let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Ant. 3: Trusting in the Lord's promise, the Virgin Mary conceived a child, and remaining a virgin, she gave birth to the Saviour.
Or: We share the fruit of life through you, O daughter blessed by the Lord.
Psalm 135:1-12
Praise for the wonderful things God does for us
He has won you for himself...and you must proclaim what he has done for you: he has called you out of darkness into his own wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).
Praise the name of the Lord,
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord
in the courts of the house of our God.Praise the Lord for the Lord is good.
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself
and Israel for his own possession.For I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas.He summons clouds from the ends of the earth;
makes lightning produce the rain;
from his treasuries he sends forth the wind.The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
of man and beast alike.
Signs and wonders he worked
in the midst of your land, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.Nations in their greatness he struck
and kings in their splendor he slew.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He let Israel inherit their land;
on his people their land he bestowed.
FIRST READING Philippians 2:6-7
Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance.
Or Sirach 24:1-16
Wisdom sings her own praises,
before her own people she proclaims her glory;
In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
in the presence of his hosts she declares her worth:
"From the mouth of the Most High I came forth,
and mistlike covered the earth.
In the highest heavens did I dwell,
my throne on a pillar of cloud.
The vault of heaven I compassed alone,
through the deep abyss I wandered.
Over waves of the sea, over all the land,
over every people and nation I held sway.
Among all these I sought a resting place;
in whose inheritance should I abide?
"Then the Creator of all gave me his command,
and he who formed me chose the spot for my tent,
Saying, 'In Jacob make your dwelling,
in Israel your inheritance.'
Before all ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and through all ages I shall not cease to be.
In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and in Zion I fixed my abode.
Thus in the chosen city he has given me rest,
in Jerusalem is my domain.
I have struck root among the glorious people,
in the portion of the LORD, his heritage.
"Like a cedar on Lebanon I am raised aloft,
like a cypress on Mount Hermon,
Like a palm tree in En-gedi,
like a rosebush in Jericho,
Like a fair olive tree in the field,
like a plane tree growing beside the water.
Like cinnamon, or fragrant balm, or precious myrrh,
I give forth perfume;
Like galbanum and onycha and sweet spices,
like the odor of incense in the holy place.
I spread out my branches like a terebinth,
my branches so bright and so graceful.
SECOND READING
From a sermon by St. Leo the Great, pope
(Sermo 1 in Nativitate Domini, 2, 3: PL 54, 191-192)
A royal virgin of the house of David is chosen. She is to bear a holy child, one who is both God and man. She is to conceive him in her soul before she conceives him in her body. In the face of so unheard of an event she is to know no fear through ignorance of the divine plan; the angel tells her what is to be accomplished in her by the Holy Spirit. She believes that there will be no loss of virginity, she who is soon to be the mother of God.
Why should she lose heart at this new form of conceiving when she has been promised that it will be effected through the power of the Most High? She believes, and her faith is confirmed by the witness of a previous wonder: against all expectation Elizabeth is made fruitful. God has enabled a barren woman to be with child; he must be believed when he makes the same promise to a virgin.
RESPONSORY
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
- Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
- The Lord is with you.
Glory to the Father...
- Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Or:
After the birth of your Son, you remained a virgin.
- After the birth of your Son, you remained a virgin.
Mother of God, intercede for us;
- you remained a virgin.
Glory to the Father...
- After the birth of your Son, you remained a virgin.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH Luke 1:68-79
Ant. In his great love for us, God sent his Son in the likeness of our sinful nature.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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
We celebrate the beginning of our salvation when the coming of the Lord was announced by the angel. Let us pray with joy in our hearts, saying:
Mary received God's word with joy,
- may joy fill our hearts as we welcome our Saviour.
You looked with love on your lowly servant,
- in your mercy, Father, remember us and all your children.
Mary, the new Eve, was obedient to your word,
- may we echo her loving obedience.
May God's holy Mother help all in distress, encourage the fainthearted, console the sorrowful,
- may she pray for your holy people, for the clergy, and for all women dedicated to your service.
Our Father…
CONCLUDING 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.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
- Amen.