Prayer for the Evening
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
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
O Mary, Mistress of the world,
And Queen of heaven’s blissful court,
O gleaming Star on life’s wide sea,
And Virgin Mother, pure as snow.
To our poor earth, fair daughter, come,
In all your virgin glory, shine,
For you will bear most noble Flow’r,
When God the Son comes down as man.
Your birth from David’s chosen stem
We venerate with joy this day.
You form our hope of Light to come,
To gladden and relieve our woe.
We dwell on earth, but through your prayer
Access to heaven we can win,
Once ransomed by the sacrifice
Of Christ your Son in which we share.
PSALM 113
It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you. (Dt 7:7-8a)
From the flesh of a lowly, unnoticed daughter of Israel, a people small and unimportant in the vast stretches of the Roman Empire, was born the One who would deliver the entire world from the bondage of sin and reign for ever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Romans 9:4-5)
They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen.
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion!/
See, your king shall come to you.
(cf. Zec 9:9)
CANTICLE OF MARY
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,/ too small to be among the clans of Judah,/ From you shall come forth for me/ one who is to be ruler in Israel. (Mi 5:1)
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 to the Father…
INTERCESSIONS
From humility is born salvation. Humbly let us pray:
R/Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
You chose the lowly of this world to bring salvation to all nations:
– grant your people the wisdom to seek your love rather than worldly honor. R/
You chose the faithful to bring forth the fruit of your promise:
– strengthen us in fidelity amid the uncertainties of our day. R/
You chose the unexpected to bring forth the gift of life:
– grant us freedom of spirit to rejoice in your work in every circumstance. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
May the God in whose ways/ our fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,/ The God who has been our shepherd/ from our birth to this day,/ The Angel who has delivered us from all harm,/ bless us and keep us in peace. Amen. (cf. Gn 48:15-16)
MARIAN ANTIPHON
Antiphon for the Feast of the Nativity
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
8 September
With joy let us celebrate the nativity of blessed Mary,
that she may intercede for us
before the Lord Jesus Christ.
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, O most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
