Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 667
Proper of Seasons: 451
Psalms and canticle as in Evening Prayer II of Christmas, 414

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Proper of Seasons: 165
Psalms and canticle as in Evening Prayer II of Christmas, 147

Evening Prayer for the Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas

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 You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

Psalm 110:1-5, 7
The Messiah, king and priest
Christ’s reign will last until all his enemies are made subject to him (1 Corinthians 15:25).

The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
“Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.”

Ant. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

The Lord will wield from Zion
your scepter of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.

Ant. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

Ant. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.”

Ant. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his great wrath.

Ant. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head.

Ant. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

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. You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.

Ant. 2 With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

Psalm 130
A cry from the depths
He himself will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.

Ant. With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.

Ant. With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.

Ant. With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.

Ant. With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

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. With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

Ant. 3 In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

Canticle — Colossians 1:12-20
Christ the first-born of all creation and the first-born from the dead

Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints
in light.

Ant. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

He rescued us
from the power of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.

Ant. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.

Ant. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

All were created through him;
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.

Ant. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

It is he who is head of the body, the church!
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.

Ant. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.

Ant. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

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. In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.

READING 1 John 1:1-3

This is what we proclaim to you:
what was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have looked upon
and our hands have touched—
we speak of the word of life.
(This life became visible;
we have seen and bear witness to it,
and we proclaim to you the eternal life
that was present to the Father
and became visible to us.)
What we have seen and heard
we proclaim in turn to you
so that you may share life with us.
This fellowship of ours is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

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.

RESPONSORY

The Word was made man, alleluia, alleluia.
— The Word was made man, alleluia, alleluia.

He lived among us.
— alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— The Word was made man, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. The King of heaven humbled himself to be born of a virgin, that he might restore man to the kingdom he had lost.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

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, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The King of heaven humbled himself to be born of a virgin, that he might restore man to the kingdom he had lost.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us ask the Father of mercies who anointed his Son with the Holy Spirit and sent him to preach the good news to the poor:
God of mercy, have mercy on us.

Merciful, ever-living God, you desire all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of your truth. We thank you for giving your only-begotten Son to the world,
— let the whole world rejoice in his birth.
God of mercy, have mercy on us.

You sent him to proclaim the good news to the poor, to announce release to captives and to proclaim a time of favor,
— grant freedom and peace to mankind.
God of mercy, have mercy on us.

You directed the wise men to adore your Son,
— receive the homage of our faith and prayer.
God of mercy, have mercy on us.

After the wise men, you called all people out of the darkness and into your wonderful light, so that at Jesus’ name every knee should bend,
— make us go forth as witnesses of the good news.
God of mercy, have mercy on us.

You made Christ, born in Bethlehem, a light to the nations,
— reveal your glory to our brothers and sisters who have died.
God of mercy, have mercy on us.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

Almighty and invisible God,
who dispersed the darkness of the world
by the coming of your light,
look, we pray, with serene countenance upon us,
that we may acclaim with fitting praise
the greatness of the Nativity of your Only Begotten Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
— Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.