(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: Christ is born for us. Come, let us adore him.

Psalm 99 (98)
The Lord is king, the peoples tremble.
He is throned on the cherubim, the earth quakes.
The Lord is great in Zion.

He is supreme over all the peoples.
Let them praise his name, so terrible and great,
he is holy, full of power.

You are a king who loves what is right;
you have established equity, justice, and right;
you have established them in Jacob.

Exalt the Lord our God;
bow down before Zion, his footstool.
He the Lord is holy.

Among his priests were Aaron and Moses,
among those who invoked his name was Samuel.
They invoked the Lord and he answered.

To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud.
They did his will, they kept the law,
which he, the Lord, had given.

O Lord our God, you answered them.
For them you were a God who forgives;
yet you punished all their offenses.

Exalt the Lord our God;
bow down before his holy mountain
for the Lord our God is holy.

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

Christ is born for us. Come, let us adore him.

ANT: Fullness of peace will dawn on the day of the Lord, and he will be our King.

Psalm 147 (146)
Praise the Lord for he is good;
sing to our God for he is loving;
to him our praise is due.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel's exiles,
he heals the broken-hearted,
he binds up all their wounds.
He fixes the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name.

Our Lord is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the lowly;
he humbles the wicked to the dust.
O sing to the Lord, giving thanks;
sing psalms to our God with the harp.

He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares the rain for the earth,
making mountains sprout with grass
and with plants to serve our needs.
He provides the beasts with their food
and young ravens that call upon him.

His delight is not in horses,
nor his pleasure in warriors' strength.
The Lord delights in those who revere him,
in those who wait for his love.

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: Fullness of peace will dawn on the day of the Lord, and he will be our King.

READING (Isaiah 9:6)
A child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

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

ANT: The shepherds said to one another: Let us make our way to Bethlehem and see for ourselves this thing which the Lord has revealed to us.

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: The shepherds said to one another: Let us make our way to Bethlehem and see for ourselves this thing which the Lord has revealed to us.

INTERCESSIONS

Prince of Peace, may all civil leaders work to bring your peace to the troubled world. We pray to the Lord.

Prince of Peace, bring your peace to our community and family. We pray to the Lord.

Prince of Peace, help us to become an instrument of your peace to all we meet. We pray to the Lord.

Prince of Peace, grant your eternal peace to all our deceased loved ones. 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
All-powerful and unseen God, the coming of your light into our world has made the darkness vanish. Teach us to proclaim the birth of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen