(Make the sign of the cross with your right thumb on your lips, saying:)

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

INVITATORY: Come, let us worship the Lord.
He is the King who is to come.

Psalm 138 (137)
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart,
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.

All the rulers on earth shall thank you
when they hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the Lord's ways:
"How great is the glory of the Lord!"

The Lord is high yet he looks on the lowly
and the haughty he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of affliction
you give me life and frustrate my foes.

You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.

Glory be 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

Come, let us worship the Lord.
He is the King who is to come.

ANT: Sing out your love to the Lord. It is he who brought you into being.

Psalm 33 (32)
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.

For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.

By his word the heavens were made,
by the breath of his mouth all the stars.
He collects the waves of the ocean;
he stores up the depths of the sea.

Let all the earth fear the Lord,
all who live in the world revere him.
He spoke and it came to be.
He commanded and it sprang into being.

He frustrates the designs of the nations,
he defeats the plans of the peoples.
His own designs will stand for ever,
the plans of his heart from age to age.

They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
From the heavens the Lord looks forth,
he sees all the peoples of the earth.

From the place where he dwells he gazes
on all the dwellers on the earth;
he who shapes the hearts of them all
and considers all their deeds.

A king is not saved by his army,
nor a warrior preserved by his strength.
a vain hope for safety is the horse;
despite its power it cannot save.

The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name.

May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.

Glory be 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

ANT: Sing out your love to the Lord. It is he who brought you into being.

READING (Genesis 49:10)
The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people's homage.

[Reflect on the Reading, applying it to your life today.]

ANT: From the root of Jesse a flower will blossom. All creation will see God's saving power.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH (Luke 1:68-79)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham;
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory be 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

ANT: From the root of Jesse a flower will blossom. All creation will see God's saving power.

INTERCESSIONS

God the almighty Father we pray to you in the "Our Father", may your kingdom come. Make us, through our faith, a part of that kingdom. We pray to the Lord.

Lord, grant that our works of penance may please you, and our penance may atone for our sins. We pray to the Lord.

Lord, help to see your presence in all the people we meet today. We pray to the Lord.

May all of our deceased loved ones be brought home to your eternal presence in heaven. We pray to the Lord

(Pray for your special intentions.)

OUR FATHER
And now we pray to God the Father in the words that Jesus taught us.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen

PRAYER
God of mercy and consolation, help us in our weakness and free us from sin. Hear our prayers that we may rejoice at the coming of your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen