ENTRANCE RITE

Entrance Antiphon (Introit)

Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior. (based on Isaiah 45:8)

Entrance Song

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

My brother and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the mysterier, let us call to mind our sins.

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,

OPENING PRAYER

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord,
your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may by his Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. 
Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of the prophet Micah

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. (5:1-4a)

   Thus says the LORD:
    You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
        too small to be among the clans of Judah,
    from you shall come forth for me
        one who is to be ruler in Israel;
    whose origin is from of old,
        from ancient times.
    Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
        when she who is to give birth has borne,
    and the rest of his kindred shall return
        to the children of Israel.
    He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
        by the strength of the LORD,
        in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
    and they shall remain, for now his greatness
        shall reach to the ends of the earth;
        he shall be peace.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

( Ps 80 )

Response: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
    from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
    and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
    look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
    and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

May your help be with the man of your right hand,
    with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
    give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

SECOND READING

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews

Behold, I have come to do Thy will. (10:5-10)

Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the world, he said:
    “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
        but a body you prepared for me;
    in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
    Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
    behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“
First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings, 
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, :Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,”  we have been consecrated 
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word. ( Luke 1:38 )
Alleluia.

GOSPEL

“And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” ( 1:39-45 )

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, Lord.

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah, 
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb, 
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 
cried out in a loud voice and said, 
“Blessed are you among women, 
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, 
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, 
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

PROFESSION OF FAITH

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
(at the words that follow up to and including and became man, all bow)
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

Our response is: Lord, hear our prayer.

For the Church – that all the baptized will be bearers of Christ in all we do. Lord, hear our prayer.

For national and international leaders – that they will create a climate in which peace and understanding will grow among people of different religions or of no religion. Lord, hear our prayer.

For national and international leaders – that they will create a climate in which peace and understanding will grow among people of different religions or of no religion. Lord, hear our prayer.

For national and international leaders – that they will create a climate in which peace and understanding will grow among people of different religions or of no religion. Lord, hear our prayer.

For people who are travelling at this time of year – that their journey will be safe, that they will consciously maintain the safety of others, and that their journey will bring them joy and lasting peace. Lord, hear our prayer.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Offertory Song

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

May the Holy Spirit, O Lord,
sanctify these gifts laid upon your altar,
just as he filled with his power the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

PREFACE and EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Preface II of Advent

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For all the oracles of the prophets foretold him,
the Virgin Mother longed for him
with love beyond all telling,
John the Baptist sang of his coming
and proclaimed his presence when he came.
It is by his gift that already we rejoice
at the mystery of his Nativity,
so that he may find us watchful in prayer
and exultant in his praise.
And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts…

COMMUNION RITE

Communion Antiphon

Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and his name will be called Emmanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Having received this pledge of eternal redemption,
we pray, almighty God,
that, as the feast day of our salvation draws ever near-er,
so we may press forward all the more eagerly
to the worthy celebration of the mystery of your Son’s Nativity.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. 
Amen.

Final Song