(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, worship our new-born King.

Psalm 65 (64)
To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows,
you who hear our prayer.

To you all flesh will come with its burden of sin.
Too heavy for us, our offences,
but you wipe them away.

Blest are those whom you choose and call to dwell in your courts.
We are filled with the blessings of your house,
of your holy temple.

You keep your pledge with wonders, O God our savior,
the hope of all the earth and of far distant isles.

You uphold the mountains with your strength,
you are girded with power.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples.

The ends of the earth stand in awe
at the sight of your wonders.
The lands of sunrise and sunset you fill with your joy.

You care for the earth, give it water;
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain.

And thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows;
you level it, soften it with showers;
you bless its growth.

You crown the year with your good-ness.
Abundance flows in your steps;
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.

The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

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, worship our new-born King.

ANT: His name is Prince of Peace.

Psalm 54 (53)
O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.

For the proud have risen against me,
ruthless foes seek my life.
They have no regard for God.

But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
Let the evil recoil upon my foes;
you who are faithful, destroy them.

I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good;
for you have rescued me from all my distress
and my eyes have seen the downfall of my foes.

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: His name is Prince of Peace.

READING (1 John 4:9)
God's love was revealed in our midst in this way: he sent his only Son to the world that we might have life through him.

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

ANT: Mary's own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people.

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: Mary's own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people.

INTERCESSIONS

Lord Jesus, may we all share the new life you brought into the world and respect all life - both born and unborn. We pray to the Lord.

That all who work the land may be blessed and that their labor may produce sustenance for all. We pray to the Lord.

That the leaders of all the churches foster understanding and peace among all Christians. We pray to the Lord.

May all of our deceased loved ones be brought into the peace of God's kingdom. 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
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our glory is to stand before the world as your own sons and daughters. May the simple beauty of Jesus' birth summon us always to love what is most deeply human, and to see your Word made flesh reflected in those whose lives we touch. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen