PRAYER OF THE DAY

O Antiphon for December 21

O Dawn of the East,

Brightness of the Light Eternal and Sun of Justice,

come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Oriens,

splendor lucis æternæ,

et sol justitiæ:

veni,

et illumina sedentes in tenebris,

et umbra mortis.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Reading

Sg 2:8-14

Hark! my lover--here he comes

springing across the mountains,

leaping across the hills.

My lover is like a gazelle

or a young stag.

Here he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattices.

My lover speaks; he says to me,

"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,

and come!

"For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

"O my dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret recesses of the cliff,

Let me see you,

let me hear your voice,

For your voice is sweet,

and you are lovely."

Or Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!

Sing joyfully, O Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has removed the judgment against you,

he has turned away your enemies;

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,

you have no further misfortune to fear.

On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

and renew you in his love,

He will sing joyfully because of you,

as one sings at festivals.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21

R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.

Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;

with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.

Sing to him a new song;

pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.

R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.

But the plan of the LORD stands forever;

the design of his heart, through all generations.

Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.

R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.

Our soul waits for the LORD,

who is our help and our shield,

For in him our hearts rejoice;

in his holy name we trust.

R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.

Gospel

Lk 1:39-45

Mary set out in those days

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

"Most blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled."

SAINT OF THE DAY

December 21

St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597)

The energetic life of Peter Canisius should demolish any stereotypes we may have of the life of a saint as dull or routine. Peter lived his 76 years at a pace which must be considered heroic, even in our time of rapid change. A man blessed with many talents, Peter is an excellent example of the scriptural man who develops his talents for the sake of the Lord’s work.

He was one of the most important figures in the Catholic Reformation in Germany. His was such a key role that he has often been called the “second apostle of Germany” in that his life parallels the earlier work of Boniface (June 5).

Although Peter once accused himself of idleness in his youth, he could not have been idle too long, for at the age of 19 he received a master’s degree from the university at Cologne. Soon afterwards he met Peter Faber, the first disciple of Ignatius Loyola, who influenced Peter so much that he joined the recently formed Society of Jesus.

At this early age Peter had already taken up a practice he continued throughout his life—a process of study, reflection, prayer and writing. After his ordination in 1546, he became widely known for his editions of the writings of St. Cyril of Alexandria and St. Leo the Great. Besides this reflective literary bent, Peter had a zeal for the apostolate. He could often be found visiting the sick or prisoners, even when his assigned duties in other areas were more than enough to keep most people fully occupied.

In 1547 Peter attended several sessions of the Council of Trent, whose decrees he was later assigned to implement. After a brief teaching assignment at the Jesuit college at Messina, Peter was entrusted with the mission to Germany—from that point on his life’s work. He taught in several universities and was instrumental in establishing many colleges and seminaries. He wrote a catechism that explained the Catholic faith in a way which common people could understand—a great need of that age.

Renowned as a popular preacher, Peter packed churches with those eager to hear his eloquent proclamation of the gospel. He had great diplomatic ability, often serving as a reconciler between disputing factions. In his letters (filling eight volumes) one finds words of wisdom and counsel to people in all walks of life. At times he wrote unprecedented letters of criticism to leaders of the Church—yet always in the context of a loving, sympathetic concern.

At 70 Peter suffered a paralytic seizure, but he continued to preach and write with the aid of a secretary until his death in his hometown (Nijmegen, Netherlands) on December 21, 1597.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Come, let us worship the Lord, for he is already close at hand.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, for he is already close at hand.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, for he is already close at hand.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, for he is already close at hand.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts for ever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, for he is already close at hand.

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.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, for he is already close at hand.

Hymn

The Advent of our God

With eager prayers we greet

And singing haste up on the road

His glorious gift to meet.

The everlasting Son

Scorns not a Virgin’s womb;

That we from bondage may be won

He bears a bondsman’s doom.

Daughter of Zion, rise

To meet thy lowly King;

Let not thy stubborn heart despise

The peace he deigns to bring.

In clouds of awful light,

As Judge he comes again,

His scattered people to unite,

With them in heaven to reign.

Let evil flee away

Ere that dread hour shall dawn.

Let this old Adam day by day

God’s image still put on.

Praise to the Incarnate Son,

Who comes to set us free,

With God the Father, ever One,

To all eternity.

Psalm 102 (103)

Praise of the compassionate Lord

My soul, give thanks to the Lord, and never forget all his blessings.

My soul, bless the Lord!

All that is in me, bless his holy name.

My soul, bless the Lord!

Never forget all he has done for you.

The Lord, who forgives your wrongdoing,

who heals all your weaknesses.

The Lord, who redeems your life from destruction,

who crowns you with kindness and compassion.

The Lord, who fills your age with good things,

who renews your youth like an eagle’s.

The Lord, who gives fair judgements,

who gives judgement in favour of the oppressed.

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.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord, and never forget all his blessings.

Psalm 102 (103)

As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

The Lord is compassion and kindness,

full of patience, full of mercy.

He will not fight against you for ever:

he will not always be angry.

He does not treat us as our sins deserve;

he does not pay us back for our wrongdoing.

As high as the sky above the earth,

so great is his kindness to those who fear him.

As far as east is from west,

so far he has put our wrongdoing from us.

As a father cares for his children,

so the Lord cares for those who fear him.

For he knows how we are made,

he remembers we are nothing but dust.

Man – his life is like grass,

he blossoms and withers like flowers of the field.

The wind blows and carries him away:

no trace of him remains.

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.

As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

Psalm 102 (103)

Give thanks to the Lord, all his works.

The Lord has been kind from the beginning;

to those who fear him his kindness lasts for ever.

His justice is for their children’s children,

for those who keep his covenant,

for those who remember his commandments

and try to perform them.

The Lord’s throne is high in the heavens

and his rule shall extend over all.

Bless the Lord, all his angels,

strong in your strength, doers of his command,

bless him as you hear his words.

Bless the Lord, all his powers,

his servants who do his will.

Bless the Lord, all he has created,

in every place that he rules.

My soul, bless the Lord!

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.

Give thanks to the Lord, all his works.

Lord our God, turn us round.

– Show us your face and we shall be saved.

Reading

Isaiah 48:12-21,49:9-13

Listen to me, Jacob,

Israel whom I have called:

I am the first,

I am also the last.

My hand laid the foundations of earth

and my right hand spread out the heavens.

I summon them

and they all come forward together.

Assemble, all of you, and listen;

which of them has foretold this?

‘My beloved will perform my pleasure

with Babylon and the offspring of the Chaldaeans.’

I, yes I myself, have spoken and summoned him,

brought him and prospered his plans.

Come near and listen to this:

from the beginning I have never spoken to you obscurely,

and all the time these things have been happening, I have been present.

–And now the Lord, with his spirit,

sends me.

Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,

I lead you in the way that you must go.

If only you had been alert to my commandments,

your happiness would have been like a river,

your integrity like the waves of the sea.

Your children would have been numbered like the sand,

your descendants as many as its grains.

Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.

Go away from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldaeans!

Declare this with cries of joy and proclaim it,

send it out to the ends of the earth.

Say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.’

Those he led through the deserts never went thirsty;

he made water spring for them from the rock,

he split the rock and water flowed.

On every roadway they will graze,

and each bare height shall be their pasture.

They will never hunger or thirst,

scorching wind and sun shall never plague them;

for he who pities them will lead them

and guide them to springs of water.

I will make a highway of all the mountains,

and the high roads shall be banked up.

Some are on their way from afar,

others from the north and the west,

others from the land of Sinim.

Shout for joy, you heavens; exult, you earth!

You mountains, break into happy cries!

For the Lord consoles his people

and takes pity on those who are afflicted.

Responsory

Shout for joy, you heavens; exult, you earth! You mountains, break into happy cries, for our Lord is coming, and he will take pity on those who are afflicted.

In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails; and he will take pity on those who are afflicted.

Reading

St Ambrose's commentary on St Luke's Gospel

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The angel Gabriel had announced the news of something that was as yet hidden and so, to buttress the Virgin Mary’s faith by means of a real example, he told her also that an old and sterile woman had conceived, showing that everything that God willed was possible to God.

When Mary heard this she did not disbelieve the prophecy, she was not uncertain of the message, she did not doubt the example: but happy because of the promise that had been given, eager to fulfil her duty as a cousin, hurried by her joy, she went up into the hill country.

Where could she hurry to except to the hills, filled with God as she was? The grace of the Holy Spirit does not admit of delays. And Mary’s arrival and the presence of her Son quickly show their effects: As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting her child leapt in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

See the careful distinction in the choice of words. Elizabeth was the first to hear the voice but her son John was the first to feel the effects of grace. She heard as one hears in the natural course of things; he leapt because of the mystery that was there. She sensed the coming of Mary, he the coming of the Lord — the woman knew the woman, the child knew the child. The women speak of grace while inside them grace works on their babies. And by a double miracle the women prophesy under the inspiration of their unborn children.

The infant leapt and the mother was filled with the Spirit. The mother was not filled before her son: her son was filled with the Holy Spirit and in turn filled his mother. John leapt and so did Mary’s spirit. John leapt and filled Elizabeth with the Spirit; but we know that Mary was not filled but her spirit rejoiced. For the Incomprehensible was working incomprehensibly within his mother. Elizabeth had been filled with the Spirit after she conceived, but Mary before, at the moment the angel had come. “Blessed are you,” said Elizabeth, “who believed”.

You too, my people, are blessed, you who have heard and who believe. Every soul that believes — that soul both conceives and gives birth to the Word of God and recognises his works.

Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you, to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of you, to rejoice in God. According to the flesh only one woman can be the mother of Christ but in the world of faith Christ is the fruit of all of us. For every soul can receive the Word of God if only it is pure and preserves itself in chastity and modesty.

The soul that has been able to reach this state proclaims the greatness of the Lord just as Mary did and rejoices in God its saviour just like her.

The Lord’s greatness is proclaimed, as you have read elsewhere, where it says Join me in magnifying the Lord. This does not mean that anything can be added to the Lord’s greatness by human words, but that he is magnified in us. Christ is the image of God and so any good or religious act that a soul performs magnifies that image of God in that soul, the God in whose likeness the soul itself was made. And thus the soul itself has some share in his greatness and is ennobled.

Responsory

’Blessed are you who have believed, because what has been promised to you by the Lord will be fulfilled.’ And Mary said, My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

Come and hear: I will tell what God has done for my soul. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

Let us pray.

In your goodness, Lord,

listen to your people’s prayer.

As we rejoice in the coming of your Son

in flesh and blood like ours,

grant that when he comes again in glory

we may receive the gift of eternal life.

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.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.