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Video caelos apertos, et Jesum stantem a dextris virtutis Dei:
Domine Jesu, accipe spiritum meum,
et ne statuas illis hoc peccatum, quia nesciunt quid factiunt.
(Communion Antiphon : Acts 7: 56, 59-60)
Service of Light
Greeting/Invocation
We light the Christmas Candles and say or sing:
Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Lord! ~Thanks be to God!
All the ends of Earth have seen, alleluia! ~The salvation of our God, alleluia!
EVENING HYMN for the CHRISTMAS SEASON
O Christ, Redeemer of our race, And brightness of your Abba’s face,
Of whom and with whom ever One, Ere times and seasons had begun.
You are the very Light from light, Unfailing hope in darkest night,
Hear now the prayers your people pray The wide world o’er this blessed day.
Remember, Lord of life and grace, How once in love you saved our race,
And did our human flesh assume In Mary’s virgin-mother womb.
Your Abba’s love sent you to come, to call us wayward children home.
On Earth let joy and praises ring, as with the saints your birth we sing.
All glory then we sing to you the Promised One the Virgin bore;
To Abba and the Spirit Blest, the Three-in-One forever more.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALM 129/130
Antiphon
With our God there is compassion and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to You!
in your mercy, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading!
If you recorded our sins,
Adonai, who could survive?
But because you are ready to forgive
we stand here in wonder and awe.
My soul is waiting for Adonai
I trust in God’s word.
My soul is longing for Adonai
more than watchmen for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak
and all of us count on Adonai!
Because with God there is compassion
And fullness of redemption.
God indeed will redeem us
From all our iniquity.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
With our God there is compassion and fullness of redemption.
READING — I John 1:5-7
God is light; in God there is no darkness. If we walk in light, as God is the light, we will have fellowship with one another, and the love of the Son Jesus, cleanses us from all sin.
Silent Reflection
Responsory
R. Christ, the image of God, is the Good News of God’s glory; * He has dawned upon us and brought us to light. V. Out of darkness God has made to shine within us the light of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ. *He has dawned upon us and brought us to light.
Canticle of Mary Luke 1:46-55
Devout men buried Stephen, and many were grieved at his death.
It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Gospel Canticle.
My heart + is radiant with the Lord,
My whole being delights in God my Savior.
All people now will call me blessed
For God has loved this humble handmaid.
The Almighty has shown me great favor
Holy is the NAME,
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
From one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God,
Scatters the proud in their own conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones
While lifting up the lowly:
Fills the famished with bounty,
And reveals the emptiness of riches.
Rescues lowly Israel,
Sharing such loving kindness,
As promised to our ancestors
To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.
Glory to the ONE and to WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
Devout men buried Stephen, and many were grieved at his death.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
Let us pray to the One born of Mary: ~reveal again your kindness and compassion.
You are holy, yet wished to be born in the midst of our sins–
the better to pardon us; ~reveal again your kindness and compassion.
You are strong, yet wished to be born as a weak and vulnerable child–
in order to give us strength; ~reveal again your kindness and compassion.
You are immortal, yet emptied yourself into a mortal body–
in order to give us immortality: ~reveal again your kindness and compassion.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
Closing Prayer and Blessing.
God of endless love and compassion, we praise you for creating us in your own image and likeness and even more for restoring us in Christ Jesus, your living Word. As we celebrate his birth, may we live his gospel, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
All may make the sign of the Cross as we say:
May the birth of our God and Savior Jesus Christ + bring all humanity to salvation. Amen.
Let us bless the world with peace. ~And give thanks to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for Christmas.
Marian Antiphon
Loving Mother of our Savior, holding open heaven’s only hope, Star for steerage in this vastness, rise to help us, save the sinking. Nature’s greatest Wonder: you have borne your own true Maker, giving human life to him. Virgin ever, before and after, that Good News from Gabriel, Word of Life for living, tell it now: mercy to all people!
The angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary. ~ And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray. We ask, O Lord, that we who have been privileged to receive the Good News of the Incarnation of Christ, you Son, may be prepared through his passion and cross to approach also the glory of his resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.