Prayer for the Evening
Jesus Christ has opened the gates of heaven:
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
O come, thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
R/Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Psalm 24:7-10
Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Mt 25:34)
Through Jesus Christ, God’s firstborn son, we have ourselves become God’s children. But not merely children, beloved but unimportant: each of us is the firstborn son, that is, the one who receives the full inheritance!
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God. Revelation 3:7-8
The holy one, the true,/ who holds the key of David,/ who opens and no one shall close,/ who closes and no one shall open,
says this:…
“Behold, I have left an open door before you, which no one can close.”
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
(Mt 16:19)
Canticle of Mary
O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel; who open and none can shut; who shut and none can open: come and lead to freedom the prisoner who sits in darkness and the shadow of death.
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
Before the gate, we stand and pray in hope to the One whose coming unlocks the way to life:
R/Come, Lord Jesus!
The ancient doors to God’s presence stood closed and barred until your coming:
– lead us out of darkness and the shadow of death. R/
The ancient doors to our prison stood closed and barred by sin:
– lead us from all our enslavements into your freedom. R/
The ancient doors that lead from death to life stood closed and barred before us:
– lead our beloved dead into the joy of eternal life and light. R/
Personal intentions
Our Father….
May the Lord guard our coming and going/ both now and forever. Amen. (cf. Ps 121:8)
Marian Antiphon
O Mary, ever Virgin, rejoice,
you who were worthy to bear Christ,
the Creator of heaven and earth;
for from your womb
you brought forth the Savior of the world, alleluia.
Alma Redemptoris Mater, quæ pervia cæli
porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,
surgere qui curat, populo: tu quæ genuisti,
natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.
Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us, poor sinners.
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PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20)
Cardinal Newman’s translation of the Church’s Advent hymn
