Antiphon
Cf. Is 9: 5; Ps 72 (71): 17
A child shall be born for us,
and he will be called God, the Almighty;
every tribe of the earth shall be blest in him.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God,
as we see how the Nativity of your Son
according to the flesh draws near,
we pray that to us, your unworthy servants,
mercy may flow from your Word,
who chose to become flesh of the Virgin Mary
and establish among us his dwelling,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Friday of the Fourth Week in Advent
Reading
ML 3:1-4, 23-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by.
Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 25:4-5AB, 8-9, 10 AND 14
R. Lift up your heads and see;
your redemption is near at hand.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Lift up your heads and see;
your redemption is near at hand.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Lift up your heads and see;
your redemption is near at hand.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Lift up your heads and see;
your redemption is near at hand.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 1:57-66
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
December 23
Saint John Cantius (1390 - 1473)
Patron saint of Poland and Lithuania, also called John of Kanti or John of Kenty.
He was born in Kanti, Poland, and was ordained after studies at the University of Cracow. John was appointed a lecturer on Scriptures and was a popular preacher and parish priest for a few years before retaming to his university position. Attacks had been made by jealous associates about his abilities.
Famous for his austerities and care for the poor, he was canonized in 1767 and was declared a patron of Poland and Lithuania by Pope Clement XII in 1737.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!
Psalm 95
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
Come, let us sing to the Lord
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship,
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker,
For he is our God and we are his people,
the flock he shepherds.
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness,
when at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all of my works.
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
Forty years I endured that generation.
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.
So I swore in my anger,
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Lord is close at hand;
come let us worship him.
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 for ever.
Amen.
HYMN
Sing praise to our Creator,
O sons of Adam’s race;
God’s children by adoption,
Baptized into His grace.
Praise the Holy Trinity,
Undivided Unity;
Holy God, Mighty God,
God Immortal, be adored.
To Jesus Christ give glory,
God’s co-eternal Son;
As members of His Body
we live in Him as one.
Praise the Holy Trinity,
Undivided Unity;
Holy God, Mighty God,
God Immortal, be adored.
Now praise the Holy Spirit,
poured forth upon the earth;
Who sanctifies and guides us,
Confirmed in our rebirth.
Praise the Holy Trinity,
Undivided Unity;
Holy God, Mighty God,
God Immortal, be adored.
Melody: Mainz 76.76 with Refrain;
Text: Omer Westendorf, 1961
PSALMODY
Antiphon 1:
Our fathers have told us of the Lord’s power;
they have recounted for us his marvelous deeds.
Psalm 78:1-39
Salvation history reveals the goodness of God and the faithfulness of his people
These events are recalled as a warning to us.
(1 Corinthans 10:6)
I
Give heed, my people, to my teaching;
turn your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable
and reveal hidden lessons of the past.
The things we have heard and understood,
the things our fathers have told us,
these we will not hide from their children
but will tell them to the next generation:
the glories of the Lord and his might
and the marvelous deeds he has done,
the witness he gave to Jacob,
the law he established in Israel.
He gave a command to our fathers
to make it known to their children
that the next generation might know it,
the children yet to be born.
They too should arise and tell their sons
that they too should set their hope in God
and never forget God's deeds
but keep every one of his commands,
so that they might not be like their fathers,
a defiant and rebellious race,
a race whose heart was fickle,
whose spirit was unfaithful to God.
The sons of Ephraim, armed with the bow,
turned back in the day of battle.
They failed to keep God's covenant
and would not walk according to his law.
They forgot the things he has done,
the marvelous deeds he had shown them.
He did wonders in the sight of their fathers,
in Egypt, in the plains of Zoan.
He divided the sea and led them through
and made the waters stand up like a wall.
By day he led them with a cloud,
by night, with a light of fire.
He split the rocks in the desert.
He gave them plentiful drink as from the deep.
He made streams flow out from the rock
and made waters run down like rivers.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
- as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
Antiphon 1
Our fathers have told us of the Lord’s power; they have recounted for us his marvelous deeds.
Antiphon 2
The children of Israel ate the manna and drank from the spiritual rock which followed after them.
II
Yet still they sinned against him;
they defied the Most High in the desert.
In their heart they put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
They even spoke against God.
They said: Is it possible for God
to prepare a table in the desert?
It was he who struck the rock,
water flowed and swept down in torrents.
But can he also give us bread?
Can he provide meat for his people?"
When he heard this the Lord was angry.
A fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger rose against Israel
for having no faith in God;
for refusing to trust in his help.
Yet he commanded the clouds above
and opened the gates of heaven.
He rained down manna for their food,
and gave them bread from heaven.
Mere men ate the bread of angels.
He sent them abundance of food;
he made the east wind blow from heaven
and roused the south wind by his might.
He rained food on them like dust,
winged fowl like the sands of the sea.
He let it fall in the midst of their camp
and all around their tents.
So they ate and had their fill;
and he gave them all they craved.
But before they had sated their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
God's anger rose against them.
He slew the strongest among them,
struck down the flower of Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
- as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
Antiphon 2
The children of Israel ate the manna and drank from the spiritual rock which followed after them.
Antiphon 3
They remembered that God was their helper and redeemer.
III
Despite this they went on sinning;
they had no faith in his wonders:
so he ended their days like a breath
and their years in sudden ruin.
When he slew them then they would seek him,
return and seek him in earnest.
They would remember that God was their rock,
God the Most High their redeemer.
But the words they spoke were mere flattery;
they lied to him with their lips.
For their hearts were not truly with him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
Yet he who is full of compassion
forgave them their sin and spared them.
So often he held back his anger
when he might have stirred up his rage.
He remembered they were only men,
a breath that passes never to return.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
- as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
Psalm Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, shepherd of your church, in order to strengthen our faith and to lead us to the kingdom, you renewed and far surpassed the marvels of the old law.
Through the uncertainties of this earthly journey, lead us home to the everlasting pastures.
Antiphon 3
They remembered that God was their helper and redeemer.
