PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31)

Saint Sylvester I

Prayer for the Morning

Jesus Christ is our joy:

come, let us sing to him in praise, alleluia!

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

From heav’n above to earth I come,

To bear good news to ev’ry home;

Glad tidings of great joy I bring,

Whereof I now will say and sing:

To you this night is born a Child

Of Mary, chosen Mother mild;

This little Child of lowly birth

Shall be the joy of all the earth.

My heart now leaps for very joy;

My lips your praises now employ;

I too must raise with joyful tongue

That sweetest ancient cradle song:

“Glory to God in highest heav’n

Who unto us his Son has giv’n!”

While angels sing with pious mirth

A glad new year to all the earth.

PSALM 108:2-6

Sing to him, sing his praise,/ proclaim all his wondrous deeds. (1 Chr 16:9)

Christmas is a season for song, for God’s love reaches from heaven to earth and earth to heaven in the Incarnation. Let us spend this last day of the year in profound thanksgiving and praise for the extra­ordinary gift of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

My heart is ready, O God;

I will sing, sing your praise.

Awake, my soul;

awake, lyre and harp.

I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,

among the nations I will praise you,

for your love reaches to the heavens

and your truth to the skies.

O God, arise above the heavens;

may your glory shine on earth!

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (John 3:16)

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Cor 9:15)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

He is the image of the invisible God,/ the firstborn of all creation. (Col 1:15)

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

To Christ, our salvation, we pray:

R/You are our song, O Lord!

At your birth, the prophet’s promise of the coming of the Prince of Peace was kept:

– bring the world to peace in time to come. R/

At your birth, angels sang and shepherds worshiped:

– grant the joy of your coming to the jaded, the indifferent, the weary. R/

At your birth, the new and final age came into being:

– bring to completion the work of salvation. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

Lord Jesus Christ, in you all times and all seasons reach their fullness. On this last day of the year, renew your people’s hope for the fullness of freedom, peace, and love, who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.