PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24)

Prayer for the Morning

Jesus Christ is Son of God and Son of Man:

come, let us adore him.

Glory 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. Alleluia!

HYMN

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light triumphant breaks;

When beauty gilds the eastern hills,

And life to joy awakes.

O brighter than that glorious morn

Shall this fair morning be,

When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,

And we his face shall see.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And earth’s dark night is past;

O haste the rising of that morn,

The day that aye shall last.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light and beauty brings:

Hail, Christ the Lord! Thy people pray,

Come quickly, King of kings.

CANTICLE (Daniel 3:52-57)

Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform wonders among you. (Jos 3:5)

“Tomorrow” is the Church’s cry of faith as we look forward in joy to the coming of the Lord. Our faith is based on the promise of salvation kept in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; our faith is sustained by our annual remembrance of that mystery; our faith is deepened by the years of our preparation for Christ’s coming in glory.

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,

praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;

And blessed is your holy and glorious name,

praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.

Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,

praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.

Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,

praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

Blessed are you who look into the depths

from your throne upon the cherubim,

praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,

praiseworthy and glorious forever.

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,

praise and exalt him above all forever.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Galatians 4:4-7)

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

The Lord himself will give you this sign:

the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,

and shall name him Immanuel. (Is 7:14)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

This sign shall take place tomorrow. (Ex 8:19)

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 to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

On the threshold of Christmas, let us pray:

R/Come and reward your people’s hope!

You are the gift of God’s ever-present love:

– renew in this holy season the love for which all hearts long. R/

You are the bond that cannot be broken:

– reunite in this season of peace those who have broken bonds of relationship with one another. R/

You are our peace:

– restore in this holy season peace in our own hearts, our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities, and our warring world. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the peace that binds the human race in one. As we prepare to celebrate with joy the feast of your birth, renew in all hearts the love of God and neighbor that is the true sign of your Kingdom come, who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.