(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: City of God, you are the source of our life; with music and dance we shall rejoice in you, alleluia.

Psalm 98 (97)
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.

Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy,

at the presence of the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

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

City of God, you are the source of our life; with music and dance we shall rejoice in you, alleluia.

ANT: Like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs in his arms; he shall carry them close to his heart, alleluia.

Psalm 87 (86)
On the holy mountain is his city
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all Jacob's dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!

"Babylon and Egypt I will count among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called 'Mother'
for all shall be her children."

It is he, the Lord Most High, who gives each a place.
In his register of peoples God writes:
"These are her children,"
and while they dance they will sing:
"In you all find their home."

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: Like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs in his arms; he shall carry them close to his heart, alleluia.

READING (Roman 8:10-11)
If Christ is in you the body is dead because of sin, while the spirit lives because of justice. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.

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

ANT: Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me will live for ever, alleluia.

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: Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me will live for ever, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS
As a pillar of fire, God, our Father, you lighted the way for your people in the desert; through his resurrection may Christ be today the light of our life.

Lord Jesus, victor over sin and death, glorious and immortal, be in our midst today and help us.

Our world is wounded by division; transform our hearts and make them one.

We remember in our prayers today our deceased family members and friends.

(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, in this holy season we come to know the full depth of your love. You have freed us from the darkness of error and sin. Help us to cling to your truths with fidelity. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen