O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 23 (24)
Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
– Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all who live in it.
He himself founded it upon the seas
and set it firm over the waters.
– Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord
and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
– Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of might and power.
The Lord, strong in battle.
– Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts
– he is the king of glory.
– Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
– Christ has been born for us: come, let us worship him.
Hymn
Jesu, the Ransomer of man,
Who, ere created light began,
Didst from the sovereign Father spring,
His power and glory equalling!
Salvation’s Author, call to mind
How, taking form of humankind,
Born of a Virgin undefiled,
Thou in man’s flesh becam’st a Child.
The heavens above, the rolling main
And all that earth’s wide realms contain,
With joyous voice now loudly sing
The glory of their newborn King.
And we who, by thy precious Blood
From sin redeemed, are marked for God,
On this the day that saw thy birth,
Sing the new song of ransomed earth.
All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesus, Virgin-born, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Hymn to God the Creator
Psalm 103 (104)
Lord God, how great you are, clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in light as in a robe. Alleluia.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are robed in majesty and splendour;
you are wrapped in light as in a cloak.
You stretch out the sky like an awning,
you build your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot,
you walk upon the wings of the wind.
You make the breezes your messengers,
you make burning fire your minister.
You set the earth upon its foundation:
from age to age it will stand firm.
Deep oceans covered it like a garment,
and the waters stood high above the mountains;
but you rebuked them and they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror.
They rise to the mountains or sink to the valleys,
to the places you have decreed for them.
You have given them a boundary they must not cross;
they will never come back to cover the earth.
You make springs arise to feed the streams,
that flow in the midst of the mountains.
All the beasts of the field will drink from them
and the wild asses will quench their thirst.
Above them will nest the birds of the sky,
from among the branches their voices will sound.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Lord God, how great you are, clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in light as in a robe. Alleluia.
Psalm 103 (104)
The Lord brought forth bread from the earth and wine, to cheer man’s heart. Alleluia.
From your palace you water the mountains,
and thus you give plenty to the earth.
You bring forth grass for the cattle,
and plants for the service of man.
You bring forth bread from the land,
and wine to make man’s heart rejoice.
Oil, to make the face shine;
and bread to make man’s heart strong.
The trees of the Lord have all that they need,
and the cedars of Lebanon, that he planted.
Small birds will nest there,
and storks at the tops of the trees.
For wild goats there are the high mountains;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys.
He made the moon so that time could be measured;
the sun knows the hour of its setting.
You send shadows, and night falls:
then all the beasts of the woods come out,
lion cubs roaring for their prey,
asking God for their food.
When the sun rises they come back together
to lie in their lairs;
man goes out to his labour,
and works until evening.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord brought forth bread from the earth and wine, to cheer man’s heart. Alleluia.
Psalm 103 (104)
God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Alleluia.
How many are your works, O Lord!
You have made all things in your wisdom,
and the earth is full of your creatures.
The sea is broad and immense:
sea-creatures swim there, both small and large,
too many to count.
Ships sail across it;
Leviathan lives there, the monster;
you made him to play with.
All of them look to you
to give them their food when they need it.
You give it to them, and they gather;
you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
But turn away, and they are dismayed;
take away their breath, and they die,
once more they will turn into dust.
You will send forth your breath, they will come to life;
you will renew the face of the earth.
Glory be to the Lord, for ever;
let the Lord rejoice in his works.
He turns his gaze to the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
as long as I exist, I will sing songs to God.
May my praises be pleasing to him;
truly I will delight in the Lord.
Let sinners perish from the earth,
let the wicked vanish from existence.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Alleluia.
Happy are your eyes, because they see.
– Happy are your ears, because they hear.
Reading
Colossians 2:16-3:4
From now onwards, never let anyone else decide what you should eat or drink, or whether you are to observe annual festivals, New Moons or sabbaths. These were only pale reflections of what was coming: the reality is Christ. Do not be taken in by people who like grovelling to angels and worshipping them; people like that are always going on about some vision they have had, inflating themselves to a false importance with their worldly outlook. A man of this sort is not united to the head, and it is the head that adds strength and holds the whole body together, with all its joints and sinews – and this is the only way in which it can reach its full growth in God.
If you have really died with Christ to the principles of this world, why do you still let rules dictate to you, as though you were still living in the world? ‘It is forbidden to pick up this, it is forbidden to taste that, it is forbidden to touch something else’; all these prohibitions are only concerned with things that perish by their very use – an example of human doctrines and regulations! It may be argued that true wisdom is to be found in these, with their self-imposed devotions, their self-abasement, and their severe treatment of the body; but once the flesh starts to protest, they are no use at all.
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
Responsory
You have been raised to life with Christ. Set your hearts, then, on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth.
Your heart will always be where your riches are. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth.
Reading
St Basil the Great on the Holy Spirit
The Lord gives life to the body in the Spirit
Someone who no longer lives according to the flesh, but, being led by the Spirit of God, is called a Son of God and is conformed to the image of the Son of God, is described as spiritual. As is the power of seeing in the healthy eye, so is the operation of the Spirit in the purified soul.
The word exists in the soul sometimes as a thought in the heart and at other times as speech uttered by the tongue. So too the Holy Spirit sometimes adds his witness to that of our spirit and cries in our hearts Abba, Father, sometimes speaks on our behalf, as it is said, It is not you that speak, but the Spirit of our Father who speaks in you.
Again, the Spirit is conceived of, in relation to the distribution of gifts, as a whole in different parts. For we are all part of one another, having different gifts according to the grace that God has given us.
So the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; nor the head to the feet, I have no need of you, but all come together to make up the whole Body of Christ in the unity of the Spirit. From the gifts that have been given them they each give the others whatever service is needed.
For God has arranged the parts of the body, each of them in the place he chose for it. And the various parts have the same care for one another, in the spiritual unity that comes from the inborn affections that they have been given. Therefore when one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; when one part is honoured, all share its joy. To summarise, our relations in the Spirit are the same as the relation of the part to the whole, because we were all baptized in one body into one spirit.
Just as the Father is seen in the Son, so is the Son seen in the Spirit. To speak of spiritual worship is to speak of the action of our intelligence made visible. This can be learned from the words that were spoken to the woman of Samaria. She was deceived by the customs of her country into the belief that worship was local but our Lord corrected her by saying that worship ought to be offered in Spirit and in truth, clearly meaning that he himself was the Truth.
We speak of the worship offered in the Son, meaning worship offered in the image of God the Father. In the same way we can speak of worship offered in the Spirit, the one who shows in himself the divinity of the Lord.
So it is right, and in accordance with the true nature of things, that the illumination of the Spirit should allow us to glimpse the splendour of the glory of God. We move from the imprint of a seal to the One whose exact and perfect seal it is.
Responsory
Instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.
The mystery of Christ, unknown to past generations, has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.
Hymn
Te Deum
God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!
You, the Father, the eternal –
all the earth venerates you.
All the angels, all the heavens, every power –
The cherubim, the seraphim –
unceasingly, they cry:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”
The glorious choir of Apostles –
The noble ranks of prophets –
The shining army of martyrs –
all praise you.
Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.
– Father of immeasurable majesty,
– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,
– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.
You, Christ:
– You are the king of glory.
– You are the Father’s eternal Son.
– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.
– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.
– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.
– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.
And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.
Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.
Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.
Rule them and lift them high for ever.
Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.
Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.
In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.
Let us pray.
Almighty, ever-living God, light of every faithful soul,
fill the world with your glory
and reveal to all nations the splendour of your presence.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.
