TODAY’S OFFICE OF READINGS 1 January 2015 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God Lord, + open my lips. – And my mouth will proclaim your praise. INVITATORY (The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.) Ant. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. 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. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. Know that he, the Lord, is God. † He made us, we belong to him, * we are his people, the sheep of his flock. Ant. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. Go within his gates, giving thanks. † Enter his courts with songs of praise. * Give thanks to him and bless his name. Ant. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. Indeed, how good is the Lord, † eternal his merciful love. * He is faithful from age to age. Ant. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be forever. Amen. Ant. Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. (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 forever. Amen. Alleluia. HYMN Virgin-born, we bow before you: Blessed was the womb that bore you; Mary, Mother meek and mild, Blessed was she in her Child. Blessed was the breast that fed you; Blessed was the hand that led you; Blessed was the parent’s eye That watched your slumbering infancy. Blessed she by all creation, Who brought forth the world’s salvation, And blessed they, forever blest, Who love you most and serve you best. Virgin-born, we bow before you; Blessed was the womb that bore you; Mary, Mother meek and mild, Blessed was she in her Child. PSALMODY Ant. 1 Lift high the ancient portals. The King of glory enters. When Psalm 24 is used as the invitatory psalm, psalm 95, above, is used as the first psalm at Morning Prayer. Psalm 24 The Lord’s entry into his temple Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (Saint Iranaeus). 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. 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. 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. O gates, lift high your heads; † grow higher, ancient doors. * Let him enter, the king of glory! Who is the king of glory? † The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, * the Lord, the valiant in war. O gates, lift high your heads; † grow higher, ancient doors. * Let him enter, the king of glory! Who is he, the king of glory? † He, the Lord of armies, * he is the king of glory. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be forever. Amen. Psalm Prayer When your Son was unjustly condemned, Lord God, and surrounded by the impious, he cried to you, and you set him free. Watch over your people as the treasure of your heart and guide their steps along safe paths that they may see your face. Ant. Lift high the ancient portals. The King of glory enters. Ant. 2 The Lord Most High has founded a city, and all people will be called its children. Psalm 87 Jerusalem is mother of us all The heavenly Jerusalem is a free woman; she is our mother (Galatians 4:26). On the holy mountain is his city * cherished by the Lord. The Lord prefers the gates of Zion * to all 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 he, the Lord Most High, * who gives each his place. In his register of peoples he writes: * “These are her children,” and while they dance they will sing: * “In you all find their home.” Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be forever. Amen. Psalm Prayer Lord God, your only Son wept over ancient Jerusalem, soon to be destroyed for its lack of faith. He established the new Jerusalem firmly upon rock and made it the mother of the faithful. Make us rejoice in your Church, and grant that all people may be reborn into the freedom of your Spirit. Ant. The Lord Most High has founded a city, and all people will be called its children. Ant. 3 Begotten of the Father, before the daystar shone or time began, the Lord and Savior has humbled himself to be born for us today. Psalm 99 Holy is the Lord our God Christ, higher than the Cherubim, when you took our lowly nature you transformed our sinful world (Saint Athanasius). The Lord is king; the peoples tremble. † He is throned on the cherubim; the earth quakes. * The Lord is great in Zion. He is supreme over all the peoples. † Let them praise his name, so terrible and great. * He is holy, full of power. You are a king who loves what is right; † you have established equity, justice and right; * you have established them in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God; † bow down before Zion, his footstool. * He the Lord is holy. Among his priests were Aaron and Moses, † among those who invoked his name was Samuel. * They invoked the Lord and he answered. To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud. † They did his will; they kept the law, * which he, the Lord, had given. O Lord our God, you answered them. † For them you were a God who forgives; * yet you punished all their offenses. Exalt the Lord our God; † bow down before his holy mountain * for the Lord our God is holy. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be forever. Amen. Psalm Prayer God, you are the source of all holiness. Though no one can see you and live, you give life most generously, and in an even greater way restore it. Sanctify your priests through your life-giving Word, and consecrate your people in his blood until our eyes see your face. Ant. Begotten of the Father, before the daystar shone or time began, the Lord and Savior has humbled himself to be born for us today. The Word was made man, alleluia. – And lived among us, alleluia. READINGS FIRST READING From the letter to the Hebrews 2:9-17 Christ is like his brothers in every way We see Jesus crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death: Jesus, who was made for a little while lower than the angels, that through God’s gracious will he might taste death for the sake of all men. Indeed, it was fitting that when bringing many sons to glory God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make their leader in the work of salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are consecrated have one and the same Father. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will announce your name to my brothers, I will sing your praise in the midst of the assembly”; and, “I will put my trust in him”; and again, “Here am I, and the children God has given me!” Now, since the children are men of blood and flesh, Jesus likewise had a full share in ours, that by his death he might rob the devil, the prince of death, of his power, and free those who through fear of death had been slaves their whole life long. Surely he did not come to help angels, but rather the children of Abraham; therefore he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God on their behalf, to expiate the sins of the people. RESPONSORY Luke 1:28 How blessed are you, Virgin Mary, for you carried within you the Lord, the Creator of the world. – Mother of your Maker, you remain a virgin forever. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. – Mother of your Maker, you remain a virgin forever. SECOND READING From a letter by Saint Athanasius, bishop (Epist. Ad Epicetum, 5-9; PG 26, 1-58, 1062, 1066) The Word took our nature from Mary The Apostle tells us: The Word took to himself the sons of Abraham, and so had to be like his brothers in all things. He had then to take a body like ours. This explains the fact of Mary’s presence: she is to provide him with a body of his own, to be offered for our sake. Scripture records her giving birth, and says: She wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Her breasts, which fed him, were called blessed. Sacrifice was offered because the child was her firstborn. Gabriel used careful and prudent language when he announced his birth. He did not speak of “what will be born in you” to avoid the impression that a body would be introduced into her womb from outside; he spoke of “what will be born from you” so that we might know by faith that her child originated within her and from her. By taking our nature and offering it in sacrifice, the Word was to destroy it completely and then invest it with his own nature, and so prompt the Apostle to say: This corruptible body must put on incorruption; this mortal body must put on immortality. This was not done in outward show only, as some have imagined. This is not so. Our Savior truly became man, and from this has followed the salvation of man as a whole. Our salvation is in no way fictitious, nor does it apply only to the body. The salvation of the whole man, that is, of soul and body, has really been achieved in the Word himself. What was born of Mary was therefore human by nature, in accordance with the inspired Scriptures, and the body of the Lord was a true body: It was a true body because it was the same as ours. Mary, you see, is our sister, for we are all born from Adam. The words of Saint John: The Word was made flesh, bear the same meaning, as we may see from a similar turn of phrase in Saint Paul: Christ was made a curse for our sake. Man’s body has acquired something great through its communion and union with the Word. From being mortal it has been made immortal; though it was a living body it has become a spiritual one; though it was made from the earth it has passed through the gates of heaven. Even when the Word takes a body from Mary, the Trinity remains a Trinity, with neither increase nor decrease. It is for ever perfect. In the Trinity we acknowledge one Godhead, and thus one God, the Father of the Word, is proclaimed in the Church. RESPONSORY O pure and holy Virgin, how can I find words to praise your beauty? – The highest heavens cannot contain God whom you carried in your womb. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. – The highest heavens cannot contain God whom you carried in your womb. TE DEUM You are God: we praise you; You are the Lord: we acclaim you; You are the eternal Father: All creation worships you. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When you became man to set us free you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb. You overcame the sting of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. We believe that you will come, and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting. V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance. R. Govern and uphold them now and always. V. Day by day we bless you. R. We praise your name for ever. V. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin. R. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. V. Lord, show us your love and mercy; R. for we put our trust in you. V. In you, Lord, is our hope: R. and we shall never hope in vain. The concluding part of the hymn may be omitted. CONCLUDING PRAYER Let us pray. God our Father, may we always profit by the prayers of the Virgin Mother Mary, for you bring us life and salvation through Jesus Christ her Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. – Amen. Or: O God, who through the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary bestowed on the human race the grace of eternal salvation, grant, we pray, that we may experience the intercession of her, through whom we were found worthy to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. – Amen. ACCLAMATION Let us praise the Lord. – And give him thanks.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 11:57:16 +0000
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