Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 649
Proper of Seasons: 311/351
Psalter: Sunday, Week IV, 1047

Office of Readings for the Fourth Sunday, December 21, in the Season of Advent

God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.

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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

Psalm 24
The Lord’s entry into his temple
Christ opened heaven for us when he assumed humanity (Irenaeus).

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things,
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him .
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory.

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, 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.

Psalm-prayer

When your Son was unjustly condemned, Lord God, and surrounded by the impious, he cried to you, and you set him free. Watch over your people as the treasure of your heart and guide their steps along safe paths that they may see your face.

Ant. This is our heavenly king; he comes with power and might to save the nations, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

Psalm 66
Eucharistic hymn
The Lord is risen and all people have been brought to him by the Father (Hesychius)

I

Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: “How tremendous are your deeds!

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow,
shall sing to you, sing to your name!”

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations:
let rebels not rise against him.

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

O peoples, bless our God;
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling.

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

For you, O God, have tested us,
you have tried us as silver is tried;
you led us, God, into the snare;
you laid a heavy burden on our backs.

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water
but then you brought us relief.

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

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.

Ant. Daughter of Jerusalem, rejoice and be glad; your King will come to you. Zion do not fear; your Savior is on his way.

Ant. 3 Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

II

Burnt offering I bring to your house;
to you I will pay my vows,
the vows which my lips have uttered,
which my mouth spoke in my distress.

Ant. Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

I will offer burnt offerings of fatlings
with the smoke of burning rams.
I will offer bullocks and goats.

Ant. Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

Come and hear, all who fear God,
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.

Ant. Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

If there had been evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has heeded the voice of my prayer.

Ant. Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me.

Ant. Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

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.

Psalm-prayer

Almighty Father, in the death and resurrection of your own Son you brought us through the waters of baptism to the shores of new life. By those waters and the fire of the Holy Spirit you have given each of us consolation. Accept our sacrifice of praise; may our lives be a total offering to you, and may we deserve to enter your house and there with Christ praise your unfailing power.

Ant. Let us cleanse our hearts for the coming of our great King, that we may be ready to welcome him; he is coming and will not delay.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Turn back to us, O Lord, our God.
— Show us your face and we shall be saved.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
48:12-21; 49:9b-13
The new Exodus

Thus says the Lord:
Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I named!
I, it is I who am the first,
and also the last am I.
Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth;
my right hand spread out the heavens.
When I call them,
they stand forth at once.

All of you assemble and listen:
Who among you foretold these things?
The Lord’s friend shall do his will
against Babylon and the progeny of Chaldea.
I myself have spoken, I have called him,
I have brought him, and his way succeeds!
Come near to me and hear this!
Not from the beginning did I speak it in secret;
At the time it comes to pass, I am present:
“Now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit.”

Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.

If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.

Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!
With shouts of joy proclaim this, make it known;
Publish it to the ends of the earth, and say,
“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
They did not thirst
when he led them through dry lands;
Water from the rock he set flowing for them;
he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”

Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
I will cut a road through all my mountains,
and make my highways level.

See, some shall come from afar,
others from the north and the west,
and some from the land of Syene.
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
break forth into song, you mountains.
For the Lord comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.

RESPONSORY Psalm 96:11; Isaiah 49:13; Psalm 72:7

Rejoice, you heavens, and celebrate, O earth;
cry out with praise, you mountains.
for the Lord is coming.
— He will have compassion on his poor.

In his days justice will flourish and peace will abound.
— He will have compassion on his poor.

Second reading
From a commentary on Luke by Saint Ambrose, bishop
Mary visits Elizabeth

When the angel revealed his message to the Virgin Mary he gave her a sign to win her trust. He told her of the motherhood of an old and barren woman to show that God is able to do all that he wills.

When she hears this Mary sets out for the hill country. She does not disbelieve God’s word; she feels no uncertainty over the message or doubt about the sign. She goes eager in purpose, dutiful in conscience, hastening for joy.

Filled with God, where would she hasten but to the heights? The Holy Spirit does not proceed by slow, laborious efforts. Quickly, too, the blessings of her coming and the Lord’s presence are made clear: as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the child leapt in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Notice the contrast and the choice of words. Elizabeth is the first to hear Mary’s voice, but John is the first to be aware of grace. She hears with the ears of the body, but he leaps for joy at the meaning of the mystery. She is aware of Mary’s presence, but he is aware of the Lord’s: a woman aware of a woman’s presence, the forerunner aware of the pledge of our salvation. The women speak of the grace they have received while the children are active in secret, unfolding the mystery of love with the help of their mothers, who prophesy by the spirit of their sons.

The child leaps in the womb; the mother is filled with the Holy Spirit, he fills his mother with the same Spirit. John leaps for you, and the spirit of Mary rejoices in her turn. When John leaps for joy Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, but we know that though Mary’s spirit rejoices she does not need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Her son, who is beyond our understanding, is active in his mother in a way beyond our understanding. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit after conceiving John, while Mary is filled with the Holy Spirit before conceiving the Lord. Elizabeth says: Blessed are you because you have believed.

You also are blessed because you have heard and believed. A soul that believes both conceives and brings forth the Word of God and acknowledges his works.

Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith. Every soul receives the Word of God if only it keeps chaste, remaining pure and free from sin, its modesty undefiled. The soul that succeeds in this proclaims the greatness of the Lord, just as Mary’s soul magnified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior. In another place we read: Magnify the Lord with me. The Lord is magnified, not because the human voice can add anything to God but because he is magnified within us. Christ is the image of God, and if the soul does what is right and holy, it magnifies that image of God, in whose likeness it was created and, in magnifying the image of God, the soul has a share in its greatness and is exalted.

RESPONSORY Luke 1:45, 46; Psalm 66:16

Happy are you who have believed,
because the Lord’s promises will be accomplished in you.
And Mary said:
— My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

Come, and listen,
and I will tell what great things God has accomplished for me.
— My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

TE DEUM

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the King of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.

When you became man to set us free
you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
— Govern and uphold them now and always.

Day by day we bless you.
— We praise your name for ever.

Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
— Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

Lord, show us your love and mercy,
— for we have put our trust in you.

In you, Lord, is our hope:
— And we shall never hope in vain.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Pour forth,
we beseech you, O Lord,
your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may by his Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.