DECEMBER 18
MASS AND READINGS
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Rex noster advéniet Christus, quem Ioánnes prædicávit Agnum esse ventúrum.
Christ our King is coming, he is the Lamb foretold by John.
[–» Greeting]
COLLECT
Grant, we· pray, almighty God, that we who are weighed down from of old by slavery beneath the yoke of sin may be set free by the newness of the long-awaited Nativity of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you.
READING I
Jer 23:5–8
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: “The Lord our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the Lord, when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”; but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north”— and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Florébit in diébus eius iustítia et abundántia pacis in ætérnum.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment. R
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save. R.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory. R.
ALLELUIA
Come, Leader of ancient Israel, giver of the Law of Moses on Sinai: rescue us with your mighty power.
Dux domus Israel, qui Móysi in Sina legem dedísti: veni ad rediméndum nos in brácchio exténto.
GOSPEL
Mt 1:18–25
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
SEE AS WELL: https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.org/christmas-novena-2-dec-18-god-showed-his-love-through-his-son/
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
May the sacrifice to be offered to you, O Lord, make us acceptable to your Name, that we may merit for all eternity to be the companions of Christ, by whose Death our own mortality was healed. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
[–» 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. He it is who grants our anticipating with joy the mystery of his birth, 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, as we sing the hymn of your glory without end we acclaim:
[–» Holy, holy, holy…]
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
Vocábunt nomen eius Emmánuel, quod est interpretátum Nobíscum-Deus.
His name will be called Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.
[–» Communion]
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
May we receive your mercy in the midst of your temple, O Lord, and show fitting honor to the coming solemnities of our redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
[–» Concluding Rite]
FOR DEC. 19 MASS AND READINGS, CLICK HERE.
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