TODAY’S OFFFICE OF READINGS 31 December 2014 Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas Lord, + open my lips. – And my mouth will proclaim your praise. INVITATORY The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. Psalm 24 The Lord’s entry into his temple Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (Saint Irenaeus). The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, * the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; * on the waters he made it firm. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? * Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, † who desires not worthless things, * who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. He shall receive blessings from the Lord * and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, * seek the face of the God of Jacob. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. O gates, lift high your heads; † grow higher, ancient doors. * Let him enter, the king of glory! Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. Who is the king of glory? † The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, * the Lord, the valiant in war. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. O gates, lift high your heads; † grow higher, ancient doors. * Let him enter, the king of glory! Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. Who is he, the king of glory? † He, the Lord of armies, * he is the king of glory. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. 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. Ant. Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him. (If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used: ) 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. Alleluia. HYMN Songs of praise the angels sang, Heav’n with alleluias rang, When creation was begun, When God spoke and it was done. Songs of praise awoke the morn When the Prince of Peace was born; Songs of praise arose when he Captive led captivity. Heav’n and earth must pass away, Songs of praise shall crown that day; God will make new heav’n and earth, Songs of praise, shall hail their birth. And will voice of man be dumb Till that glorious kingdom come? No, the Church delights to raise Psalms and hymns and songs of praise. Saints below, with hearts and voice, Still in songs of praise rejoice, Learning here, by faith and love, Songs of praise to sing above. Borne upon their final breath, Songs of praise shall conquer death; Then, amidst eternal joy, Songs of praise their powers employ. Or: Virgin-born, we bow before you; Blessed was the womb that bore you; Mary, Mother meek and mild, Blessed was she in her child. Blessed was the maid that fed you; Blessed was the hand that led you; Blessed was the parent’s eye That watched your slumbering infancy. Blessed she by all creation, Who brought forth the world’s salvation; And blessed they forever blest, Who love you most and serve you best. Virgin-born, we bow before you: Blessed was the womb that bore you; Mary, Mother meek and mild, Blessed was she in her Child. PSALMODY Ant. 1 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad in the presence of the Lord, for he has come. Psalm 96 The Lord, king and judge of the world A new theme now inspires their praise of God; they belong to the Lamb (see Revelation 14:3). O sing a new song to the Lord, † sing to the Lord, all the earth. * O sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his help day by day, † tell among the nations his glory * and his wonders among all the peoples. The Lord is great and worthy of praise, † to be feared above all gods; * the gods of the heathens are naught. It was the Lord who made the heavens, † his are majesty and state and power * and splendor in his holy place. Give the Lord, you families of peoples, † give the Lord glory and power, * give the Lord the glory of his name. Bring an offering and enter his courts, † worship the Lord in his temple. * O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the nations: “God is king.” † The world he made firm in its place; * he will judge the peoples in fairness. Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad, * let the sea and all within it thunder praise, let the land and all it bears rejoice, * all the trees of the wood shout for joy at the presence of the Lord for he comes, * he comes to rule the earth. With justice he will rule the world, * he will judge the peoples with his truth. 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. Psalm Prayer Lord, you have renewed the face of the earth. Your Church throughout the world sings you a new song, announcing your wonders to all. Through a virgin, you have brought forth a new birth in our world; through your miracles, a new power; through your suffering, a new patience; in your resurrection, a new hope, and in your ascension, new majesty. Ant. Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad in the presence of the Lord, for he has come. Ant. 2 A light has dawned for the just; joy has come to the upright of heart, alleluia. Psalm 97 The glory of the Lord in his decrees for the world This psalm foretells a world-wide salvation and that peoples of all nations will believe in Christ (Saint Anthanasius). The Lord is king, let earth rejoice, * let all the coastlands be glad. Cloud and darkness are his raiment; * his throne, justice and right. A fire prepares his path; * it burns up his foes on every side. His lightnings light up the world, * the earth trembles at the sight. The mountains melt like wax * before the Lord of all the earth. The skies proclaim his justice; * all peoples see his glory. Let those who serve idols be ashamed, † those who boast of their worthless gods. * All you spirits, worship him. Zion hears and is glad; † the people of Judah rejoice * because of your judgments, O Lord. For you indeed are the Lord † most high above all the earth, * exalted far above all spirits. The Lord loves those who hate evil; † he guards the souls of his saints; * he sets them free from the wicked. Light shines forth for the just * and joy for the upright of heart. Rejoice, you just, in the Lord; * give glory to his holy name. 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. Psalm Prayer Father, you clothe the sky with light and the depths of the ocean with darkness. Among the sons of men you work wonders, and rain terror upon the enemy. Look upon your servants. Do not try us by fire but bring us rejoicing to the shelter of your home. Ant. A light has dawned for the just; joy has come to the upright of heart, alleluia. Ant. 3 The Lord has made known his saving power, alleluia. Psalm 99 Holy is the Lord our God Christ, higher than the Cherubim, when you took our lowly nature you transformed our sinful world (Saint Athanasius). The Lord is king; the peoples tremble. † He is throned on the cherubim; the earth quakes. * The Lord is great in Zion. He is supreme over all the peoples. † Let them praise his name, so terrible and great. * He is holy, full of power. You are a king who loves what is right; † you have established equity, justice and right; * you have established them in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God; † bow down before Zion, his footstool. * He the Lord is holy. Among his priests were Aaron and Moses, † among those who invoked his name was Samuel. * They invoked the Lord and he answered. To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud. † They did his will; they kept the law, * which he, the Lord, had given. O Lord our God, you answered them. † For them you were a God who forgives; * yet you punished all their offenses. Exalt the Lord our God; † bow down before his holy mountain * for the Lord our God is holy. 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. Psalm Prayer God, you are the source of all holiness. Though no one can see you and live, you give life most generously, and in an even greater way restore it. Sanctify your priests through your life-giving Word, and consecrate your people in his blood until our eyes see your face. Ant. The Lord has made known his saving power, alleluia. In these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. – The Word through whom he made all things. READINGS FIRST READING From the letter of the apostle Paul to the Colossians 2:4-15 Our faith in Christ I tell you all this so that no one may delude you with specious arguments. I may be absent in body but I am with you in spirit, happy to see good order among you and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Continue, therefore, to live in Christ Jesus the Lord, in the spirit in which you received him. Be rooted in him and built up in him, growing ever stronger in faith, as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one deceives you through any empty, seductive philosophy that follows mere human traditions, a philosophy based on cosmic powers rather than on Christ. In Christ the fullness of deity resides in bodily form. Yours is a share of this fullness, in him who is the head of every principality and power. You were also circumcised in him, not with the circumcision administered by hand but with Christ’s circumcision which strips off the carnal body completely. In baptism you were not only buried with him but also raised to life with him because you believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead. Even when you were dead in sin and your flesh was uncircumcised, God gave you new life in company with Christ. He pardoned all our sins. He canceled the bond that stood against us with all its claims, snatching it up and nailing it to the cross. Thus did God disarm the principalities and powers. He made a public show of them and, leading them off captive, triumphed in the person of Christ. RESPONSORY Colossians 2:9, 10, 12 The fullness of divinity lives in Christ’s humanity; – he is the head over every power and authority. In baptism we were buried with Christ, and in baptism we have risen to a new life with him through our faith in the power of God. – He is the head over every power and authority. SECOND READING From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope (Sermo 6 in Nativitate Domini, 2-3, 5: PL 54, 213-216) The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace! Although the state of infancy, which the majesty of the Son of God did not disdain to assume, developed with the passage of time into maturity of manhood, and although after the triumph of the passion and the resurrection all his lowly acts undertaken on our behalf belong to the past, nevertheless today’s feast of Christmas renews for us the sacred beginning of Jesus’ life, his birth from the Virgin Mary. In the very act in which we are reverencing the birth of our Savior, we are also celebrating our own new birth. For the birth of Christ is the origin of the Christian people; and the birthday of the head is also the birthday of the body. Though each and every individual occupies a definite place in this body to which he has been called, and though all the progeny of the church is differentiated and marked with the passage of time, nevertheless as the whole community of the faithful, once begotten in the baptismal font, was crucified with Christ in the passion, raised up with him in the resurrection and at the ascension placed at the right hand of the Father, so too it is born with him in this Nativity, which we are celebrating today. For every believer regenerated in Christ, no matter in what part of the whole world he may be, breaks with that ancient way of life that derives from original sin, and by rebirth is transformed into a new man. Henceforth he is reckoned to be of the stock, not of his earthly father, but of Christ, who became Son of Man precisely that men could become sons of God; for unless in humility he had come down to us, none of us by our own merits could ever go up to him. Therefore the greatness of the gift which he has bestowed on us demands an appreciation proportioned to its excellence; for blessed Paul the Apostle truly teaches: We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. The only way that he can be worthily honored by us is by the presentation to him of that which he has already given to us. But what can we find in the treasure of the Lord’s bounty more in keeping with the glory of this feast than that peace which was first announced by the angelic choir on the day of his birth? For that peace, from which the sons of God spring, sustains love and mothers unity; it refreshes the blessed and shelters eternity; its characteristic function and special blessing is to join to God those whom it separates from this world. Therefore, may those who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God, offer to the Father their harmony as sons united in peace; and may all those whom he has adopted as his members meet in the firstborn of the new creation who came not to do his own will but the will of the one who sent him; for the grace of the Father has adopted as heirs neither the contentious nor the dissident, but those who are one in thought and love. The hearts and minds of those who have been reformed according to one and the same image should be in harmony with one another. The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace, as Paul the Apostle says: For he is our peace, who has made us both one; for whether we be Jew or Gentile, through him we have access in one Spirit to the Father. RESPONSORY Ephesians 2:13-14, 17 You were once far away from God, but now you have been brought very near through the blood of Christ. – He himself is our peace who has made us all one. Christ came to proclaim the good news to us: peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. – He himself is our peace who has made us all one. 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 spurn 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. V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance. R. Govern and uphold them now and always. V. Day by day we bless you. R. We praise your name for ever. V. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin. R. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. V. Lord, show us your love and mercy; R. for we put our trust in you. V. In you, Lord, is our hope: R. and we shall never hope in vain. The concluding part of the hymn may be omitted. CONCLUDING PRAYER Let us pray. Ever-living God, in the birth of your Son our religion has its origin and its perfect fulfillment. Help us to share in the life of Christ for he is the salvation of mankind, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. – Amen. ACCLAMATION Let us praise the Lord. – And give him thanks.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 11:53:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015