(Make the sign of the cross, saying:)

God, come to my assistance,
Lord, make haste to help me.
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: God has crowned his Christ with victory.

Psalm 20 (19)
May the Lord answer in time of trial;
may the name of Jacob's God protect you.

May he send you help from his shrine
and give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings
and receive your sacrifice with favor.

May he give you your heart's desire
and fulfill every one of your plans.
May we ring out our joy at your victory
and rejoice in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your prayers.

I am sure now that the Lord
will give victory to his anointed,
will reply from his holy heaven
with the mighty victory of his hand.

Some trust in chariots or horses,
but we in the name of the Lord.
They will collapse and fall,
but we shall hold and stand firm.

Give victory to the king, O Lord,
give answer on the day we call.

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: God has crowned his Christ with victory.

ANT: We celebrate your mighty works with songs of praise, O Lord.

Psalm 21 (20)
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king;
how your saving help makes him glad!
You have granted him his heart's desire;
you have not refused the prayer of his lips.

You came to meet him with the blessings of success;
you have set on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked you for life and this you have given,
days that will last from age to age.

Your saving help has given him glory.
You have laid upon him majesty and splendor,
you have granted your blessings to him for ever.
You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence.

The king has put his trust in the Lord;
through the mercy of the Most High
he shall stand firm.
His hand will seek and find all his foes,
his right hand find out those that hate him.

You will burn them like a blazing furnace
on the day when you appear.
And the Lord shall destroy them in his anger;
fire will swal-low them up.

You will wipe out their offspring from the earth
and their children from among its peo-ples.
Though they plan evil against you,
though they plot, they shall not prevail.

For you will force them to retreat;
at them you will aim with your bow.
O Lord, arise in your strength;
we shall sing and praise your power.

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: We celebrate your mighty works with songs of praise, O Lord.

READING (1 John 3:1a,2)
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
in letting us be called children of God!
Yet that is what we are.
Dearly beloved,
we are God's children now;
what we shall later be has not yet come to light.
We know that when it comes to light
we shall be like him as he is.

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

ANT: My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

CANTICLE OF MARY (Lk 1:46-55)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

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: My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

INTERCESSIONS
Let us praise Christ the Lord, who lives among us,
the people he redeemed, and let us say:
Lord, hear our prayer.

Lord, king and ruler of nations, be with all your people and their governments,
inspire them to pursue the good of all according to your law.

You made captive our captivity,
to our brothers who are enduring bodily or spiritual chains,
grant the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.

May our young people be concerned with remaining blameless in your sight,
and may they generously follow your call.

May our children imitate your example, and grow in wisdom and grace.

Accept our dead brothers and sisters into your eternal kingdom,
where we hope to reign with you.

[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
Almighty God, we give you thanks
for bringing us safely to this evening hour.
May this lifting up of our hands in prayer
be a sacrifice pleasing in your sight.
We ask this through out Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.