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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!
Glory to God in the highest
~and peace to all creatures on Earth!
CHRISTMAS EVENING HYMN
A child is born in Bethlehem, alleluia;
O come rejoice, Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.
Refrain:
Let grateful hearts now sing
A song of joy and holy praise
To Christ now let us bring.
Though found within a manger poor, alleluia;
His Reign will last forevermore, alleluia, alleluia.
Refrain:
As brother in the flesh he came, alleluia;
Our Joy whose name we now proclaim, alleluia, alleluia.
Refrain:
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
A Flower has appeared, from the root of Jesse: a Star has risen out of Jacob; a Virgin has given birth to the Savior. Let us praise our God.
Psalm 86/87
On the holy mountain is the city
cherished by Adonai.
Adonai prefers the gates of Zion
to all of Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O City of God!
“Babylon and Egypt I will count
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
These will be her children
and Zion shall be called ‘Mother’
for all shall be her children.”
It is God, Adonai, Most High,
who gives each a place.
In the register of the peoples God writes:
“These are her children.”
and while they dance they will sing:
“In you all find their home.”
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
A Flower has appeared, from the root of Jesse: a Star has risen out of Jacob; a Virgin has given birth to the Savior. Let us praise our God.
Reading I John 5:20
We know the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to recognize the One who is true. And we are in the One who is true, for we are in the Son Jesus Christ, who is both true God and eternal Life.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. The Light has pierced the darkness *and darkness did not prevail.
V. The Word was made flesh * and darkness did not prevail. V. Glory to the Abba, and the Word and the Breath of Life. R. The Light has pierced the darkness *and darkness did not prevail.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
Because of God’s great love for us,
the Word has come to us in the likeness of our broken humanity, alleluia!
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
Because of God’s great love for us,
the Word has come to us in the likeness of our broken humanity, alleluia!
Service of Prayer
Litany of Intercession
Incarnate Word of God and Son of Mary of Nazareth,
~In your compassion, hear our prayer.
You and your parents were refugees
~may we welcome all who flee poverty and war.
Simeon and Anna recognized you in the temple and foretold the suffering your love would entail; ~help us to recognize you in others and comfort those whose hearts are pierced with sorrow.
Your coming on Earth marked the beginning of a new age;
~may this New Year mark the renewal of all creation.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
Holy One, Source of all light and life, you have made known your salvation in the simplicity of Jesus birth and the compassion of his life among us. As we celebrate this ninth day of Christmas and the beginning of a new year, strengthen our resolutions to live by the values of the Gospel. We ask this and all things in the name of your Incarnate Word, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit in the power of love, one God forever and ever. Amen.
May the Word Made Flesh of the Virgin Mary + full of grace and truth, bless us and keep us. 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.