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.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Friday of the Third 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 94 (95)

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.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,

let us acclaim God our salvation.

Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,

let us acclaim him with songs.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, 

for he is already close at hand.

For the Lord is a great God,

a king above all gods.

For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

and the peaks of the mountains are his.

For the sea is his: he made it;

and his hands formed the dry land.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, 

for he is already close at hand.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

bend the knee before the Lord who made us;

for he himself is our God and we are his flock,

the sheep that follow his hand.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, 

for he is already close at hand.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice:

“Do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

on the day of Massah in the desert,

when your fathers tested me –

they put me to the test,

although they had seen my works.”

– Come, let us worship the Lord, 

for he is already close at hand.

“For forty years they wearied me,

that generation.

I said: their hearts are wandering,

they do not know my paths.

I swore in my anger:

they will never enter my place of rest.”

– 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 68 (69)

I am consumed with zeal for your house

I am wearied with all my crying as I await my God.

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

I am stuck in bottomless mud;

I am adrift in deep waters

and the flood is sweeping me away.

I am exhausted with crying out, my throat is parched,

my eyes are failing as I look out for my God.

Those who hate me for no reason

are more than the hairs of my head.

They are strong, my persecutors, my lying enemies:

they make me give back things I never took.

God, you know my weakness:

my crimes are not hidden from you.

Let my fate not put to shame those who trust in you,

Lord, Lord of hosts.

Let them not be dismayed on my account,

those who seek you, God of Israel.

For it is for your sake that I am taunted

and covered in confusion:

I have become a stranger to my own brothers,

a wanderer in the eyes of my mother’s children –

because zeal for your house is consuming me,

and the taunts of those who hate you

fall upon my head.

I have humbled my soul with fasting

and they reproach me for it.

I have made sackcloth my clothing

and they make me a byword.

The idlers at the gates speak against me;

for drinkers of wine, I am the butt of their songs.

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.

I am wearied with all my crying as I await my God.

Psalm 68 (69)

For food they gave me poison,

and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

But I turn my prayer to you, Lord,

at the acceptable time, my God.

In your great kindness, hear me,

and rescue me with your faithful help.

Tear me from the mire, before I become stuck;

tear me from those who hate me;

tear me from the depths of the waters.

Do not let the waves overwhelm me;

do not let the deep waters swallow me;

do not let the well’s mouth engulf me.

Hear me, Lord, for you are kind and good.

In your abundant mercy, look upon me.

Do not turn your face from your servant:

I am suffering, so hurry to answer me.

Come to my soul and deliver it,

rescue me from my enemies’ attacks.

You know how I am taunted and ashamed;

how I am thrown into confusion.

You can see all those who are troubling me.

Reproach has shattered my heart – I am sick.

I looked for sympathy, but none came;

I looked for a consoler but did not find one.

They gave me bitterness to eat;

when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

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.

For food they gave me poison,

and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Psalm 68 (69)

Seek the Lord, and he will give life to your soul.

I am weak and I suffer,

but your help, O God, will sustain me.

I will praise the name of God in song

and proclaim his greatness with praises.

This will please the Lord more than oxen,

than cattle with their horns and hooves.

Let the humble see and rejoice.

Seek the Lord, and your heart shall live,

for the Lord has heard the needy

and has not despised his captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that swims in them.

For the Lord will make Zion safe

and build up the cities of Judah:

there they will live, the land will be theirs.

The seed of his servants will inherit the land,

and those who love his name will dwell there.

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.

Seek the Lord, and he will give life to your soul.

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.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.