INVITATORY
The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.
Lord, + open my lips.
— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
The antiphon is repeated. In individual recitation, the antiphon may be said only at the beginning of the psalm; it need not be repeated after each strophe.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Redeemer of the nations, come;
reveal yourself by virgin birth.
Let ev’ry age with wonder know
that such a birth befits our God.
Conceived not from the seed of man
but by the Spirit’s wondrous breath,
the Word of God is now made flesh,
as Mary’s womb brings forth its fruit.
The Virgin’s womb grows great with child,
this cloister is for ever pure;
the banners of her virtues gleam,
for in this temple God resides.
From bridal chamber let him come,
from royal Virgin, palace chaste,
with two-fold nature God and man,
a champion swift to run his course.
The eternal Father’s Equal, come,
bind on the trophy of our flesh,
and strengthen with your lasting pow’r
the weakness of our mortal frame.
Your manger now with splendor shines
and night breathes forth new radiant light,
which no night may corrupt or dim:
so let it shine through constant faith.
To you, O Christ, most loving King,
and to the Father, glory be,
one with the Spirit Paraclete,
from age to age for evermore. Amen.
Tune: BRESLAU, 8 8 8 8
Music: first appeared in As Hymnodus Sacer, Leipzig, 1625, adapted by Felix Mendehssohn Bartholdy, 1809-1847
or Mode II, melody 46; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Veni, redemptor gentium, Saint Ambrose, 340-397, © 2023 ICEL.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Wherever you are, Lord, there is mercy, there is truth.
Psalm 89:2-38
God’s favors to the house of David
According to his promise, the Lord has raised up Jesus, a Savior, from the family of David (Acts 13:22, 23).
I
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord; *
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever, *
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
“With my chosen one, I have made a covenant; *
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever *
and set up your throne through all ages.”
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord; *
the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with the Lord *
or who is like the Lord among the sons of God?
A God to be feared in the council of the holy ones, *
great and dreadful to all around him.
O Lord God of hosts, who is your equal? *
You are mighty, O Lord, and truth is your garment.
It is you who rule the sea in its pride; *
it is you who still the surging of its waves.
You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it, *
scattering your foes with your mighty arm.
The heavens are yours, the world is yours. *
It is you who founded the earth and all it holds;
it is you who created the North and the South. *
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.
Yours is a mighty arm, O Lord; *
your hand is strong, your right hand ready.
Justice and right are the pillars of your throne, *
love and truth walk in your presence.
Happy the people who acclaim such a king, *
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name, *
who make your justice the source of their bliss.
For you, O Lord, are the glory of their strength; *
by your favor it is that our might is exalted:
for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord; *
our king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.
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. Wherever you are, Lord, there is mercy, there is truth.
Ant. 2 When the Son of God came into this world, he was born of David’s line.
II
Of old you spoke in a vision. *
To your friends the prophets you said:
“I have set the crown on a warrior, *
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found David my servant *
and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him *
and my arm shall make him strong.
The enemy shall never outwit him *
nor the evil man oppress him.
I will beat down his foes before him *
and smite those who hate him.
My truth and my love shall be with him; *
by my name his might shall be exalted.
I will stretch out his hand to the Sea *
and his right hand as far as the River.
He will say to me: ‘You are my father, *
my God, the rock who saves me.’
And I will make him my first-born, *
the highest of the kings of the earth.
I will keep my love for him always; *
for him my covenant shall last.
I will establish his dynasty for ever, *
make his throne endure as the heavens.
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. When the Son of God came into this world, he was born of David’s line.
Ant. 3 Once for all I swore to my servant David: his dynasty shall never fail.
III
“If his sons forsake my law *
and refuse to walk as I decree
and if ever they violate my statutes, *
refusing to keep my commands;
then I will punish their offenses with the rod, *
then I will scourge them on account of their guilt.
But I will never take back my love: *
my truth will never fail.
I will never violate my covenant *
nor go back on the word I have spoken.
Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness. *
‘I will never lie to David.
His dynasty shall last for ever. *
In my sight his throne is like the sun;
like the moon, it shall endure for ever, *
a faithful witness in the skies.’”
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
God, you anointed your servant Jesus with holy oil and raised him higher than all kings on earth. In this you fulfilled the promise made to David’s descendants, and established a lasting covenant through your first-born Son. Do not forget your holy covenant, so that we, who are signed with the blood of your Son through the new sacraments of faith, may sing of your mercies for ever.
Ant. Once for all I swore to my servant David: his dynasty shall never fail.
The Lord proclaims his word to Jacob.
— His laws and decrees to Israel.
READINGS
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah
45:1-13
The salvation of Israel through Cyrus
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
Subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
Opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
I will go before you
and level the mountains;
Bronze doors I will shatter,
and iron bars I will snap.
I will give you treasures out of the darkness,
and riches that have been hidden away,
That you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the Lord and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
men may know that there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, there is no other;
I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make well-being and create woe;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the skies drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let justice also spring up!
I, the Lord, have created this.
Woe to him who contends with his Maker;
a potsherd among potsherds of the earth!
Dare the clay say to its modeler, “What are you doing?”
or, “What you are making has no hands”?
Woe to him who asks a father, “What are you begetting?”
or a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”
Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, his maker:
You question me about my children,
or prescribe the work of my hands for me!
It was I who made the earth
and created mankind upon it;
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens;
I gave the order to all their host.
It was I who stirred up one for the triumph of justice;
all his ways I make level.
He shall rebuild my city
and let my exiles go free
Without price or ransom,
says the Lord of hosts.
RESPONSORY
Isaiah 45:8; see 16:1
Let the heavens drop down gentle showers,
let the clouds rain down the Just One,
— and let the earth bring forth a Savior.
Lord, send the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the Rock in the desert to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
— And let the earth bring forth a Savior.
SECOND READING
From a letter by Saint Leo the Great, pope
(Ep. 31, 2-3: PL 54, 791-793)
The mystery of our reconciliation with God
To speak of our Lord, the son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as true and perfect man is of no value to us if we do not believe that he is descended from the line of ancestors set out in the Gospel. Matthew’s gospel begins by setting out the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham, and then traces his human descent by bringing his ancestral line down to his mother’s husband, Joseph. On the other hand, Luke traces his parentage backward step by step to the actual father of mankind, to show that both the first and the last Adam share the same nature.
No doubt the Son of God in his omnipotence could have taught and sanctified men by appearing to them in a semblance of human form as he did to the patriarchs and prophets, when for instance he engaged in a wrestling contest or entered into conversation with them, or when he accepted their hospitality and even ate the food they set before him. But these appearances were only types, signs that mysteriously foretold the coming of one who would take a true human nature from the stock of the patriarchs who had gone before him. No mere figure, then, fulfilled the mystery of our reconciliation with God, ordained from all eternity. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon the Virgin nor had the power of the Most High overshadowed her, so that within her spotless womb Wisdom might build itself a house and the Word become flesh. The divine nature and the nature of a servant were to be united in one person so that the Creator of time might be born in time, and he through whom all things were made might be brought forth in their midst.
For unless the new man, by being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, had taken on himself the nature of our first parents, unless he had stooped to be one in substance with his mother while sharing the Father’s substance and, being alone free from sin, united our nature to his, the whole human race would still be held captive under the dominion of Satan. The Conqueror’s victory would have profited us nothing if the battle had been fought outside our human condition. But through this wonderful blending the mystery of new birth shone upon us, so that through the same Spirit by whom Christ was conceived and brought forth we too might be born again in a spiritual birth; and in consequence the evangelist declares the faithful to have been born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
RESPONSORY
See Isaiah 11:10; Luke 1:32
Behold the root of Jesse will come down to save the people,
the nations will entreat him;
— and his name will be held in reverence.
The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob for ever.
— And his name will be held in reverence.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
creator and redeemer of mankind,
you decreed, and your Word became man,
born of the Virgin Mary.
May we come to share the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share our human nature,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature,
who willed that your Word should take flesh
in an ever-virgin womb,
look with favor on our prayers,
that your only Begotten Son,
having taken to himself our humanity,
may be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
******
Make a Christmas gift to iBreviary!
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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Psalm 67
People of all nations will worship the Lord
You must know that God is offering his salvation to all the world (Acts 28:28).
O God, be gracious and bless us *
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth *
and all nations learn your saving help.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Let the nations be glad and exult *
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples, *
you guide the nations on earth.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
The earth has yielded its fruit *
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing *
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Psalm 100
The joyful song of those entering God’s temple
The Lord calls his ransomed people to sing songs of victory (Saint Athanasius).
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. †
Serve the Lord with gladness. *
Come before him, singing for joy.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. †
He made us, we belong to him, *
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship 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. The Lord is close at hand; come, let us worship him.
The advent of our King
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must hymns of welcome sing
In strains of holy joy.
The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant’s form puts on,
To set his servants free.
Daughter of Sion, rise
To meet thy lowly King;
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace he comes to bring.
As judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And his true members all unite
With him in heaven to reign.
All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.
Tune: Optatus Votis Omnium SM
Music: Anonymous, Songs of Sion, 1910
Text: Charles Coffin, 1676-1749
Translation: John Chandler, 1806-1876, alt.
Or:
The people that in darkness walked
Have seen a glorious light;
The light has shone on them who dwelt
In death’s surrounding night.
To hail you, Son of righteousness,
The gathering nations come;
Rejoicing as when reapers bear
Their harvest treasures home.
To us a child of hope is born,
To us a son is given;
And on his shoulder ever rests
All power in earth and heaven.
His name shall be the Prince of peace,
For evermore adored;
The Wonderful, the Counselor,
The great and mighty Lord.
His peace and righteous government
Shall over all extend;
On judgement and on justice based,
His reign shall never end.
Tune: Credition, CM
Music: Thomas Clark, 175-1859, A Second Set of Psalm Tunes (for) Country Choirs, C. 1807
Text: Paraphrase of Isaiah 9:2-8, John Morison, 1750-1798, Scottish Translations Paraphrases, 1781, alt.