The Nativity of the Lord (Vigil Mass)
Solemnity
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
God In His Humanity
The Human Face Of God
A God With Whom We Can Identify
Greeting (See First Reading)
You are no longer forsaken
nor your land abandoned,
but you shall be called “My Delight.”
As the bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
so will your God rejoice in you.
The bridegroom coming to us is Jesus.
May the Lord Jesus stay with you always.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
God in his humanity
1. Christmas, God becoming one of us, can you imagine what that means? Too often we think of Jesus as the mighty God, even when we look at him as the Santo Nino. Now here he takes on our human flesh and blood through his Mother, the Virgin Mary. Jesus is God, yes, but also one of us who is weak, vulnerable, sharing in our life, in our joys and our afflictions, dying like us and with us and for us. And all this to be near and very close to us. He is like us in all things except sin. He is also already risen from the dead. This is now a God who understands us and accepts us the way we are. Let us welcome Jesus among us.
The human face of God
2. Christmas is indeed our assurance that God is with us. What a way to be with us: God showing himself with a human face in Jesus, one of us, born of Mary in all our human frailty, except sin. Here God shows that he accepts us, that he gives us a future, for he binds himself to us for ever. In his Son we can overcome evil in all its forms and live for God and one another. Let there be joy in our hearts and hope in our eyes, for tonight God will show us again that he is close to us with his forgiveness, his light, and his love.
Greeting (see the Gospel)
The Virgin will give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name that means “God is with us.”
This God-with-us is Jesus.
May the Lord Jesus be with you always.
R/ And also with you.
1 and 2: Penitential Act
It is to take our sins away that Jesus came,
and to bring us light and life.
Let us ask him to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, we welcome you
as the human face of God
approachable and one of us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, we welcome you as our hope and future.
You will walk with us the road of life:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, we welcome you.
In you we are born of God;
in you we see what we have to become:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
give us the strength to do
what you expect us to do and to become.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/Amen.
A God With Whom We Can Identify
How can we see God as close to us, someone of whom we are not to be afraid, but whom we can rely on and love? This evening we celebrate how Jesus came among us as God with a human face, a descendant of a long line of human beings, good people and sinners alike. In Jesus God identifies with us and we can identify with him: he is one of ours. Let us thank him and welcome him, all of us as belonging to him: He is ours, we are his.
Greeting (See First Reading)
You are no longer to be named “Forsaken,”
But you shall be called “My Delight”
for the Lord delights in you.
As the bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so will your God rejoice in you.
May Jesus, our joy, be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Penitential Act
Jesus is like us, but without sin.
Let us ask forgiveness from hi
that sin may no longer separate us from him.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, son of David, you came among people
to take our sins away:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, Son of Mary, you came to make us
sons and daughters of the Father:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, Son of God, you are here with us
as the human face of God:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Do not forsake us, Lord,
but in your loving mercy, forgive us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray
that God’s light may shine on us
in Jesus, his Son.
(pause)
Our God and Father,
we have come before you
with great expectations.
Show that you are our God-with-us;
let Jesus your Son take from our hearts
the sadness of sin
and fill us with his light and love.
Let him walk by our side
and share our pains and hopes,
as he leads us to you,
our God forever and ever. R/ Amen.
First Reading
We Are The People God Loves: To his people deported to a foreign country, God promises: I will make you again my beloved people, bound to me in a covenant. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus.
For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her victory like a burning torch.
Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
you shall be called by a new name
pronounced by the mouth of the LORD.
You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem held by your God.
No more shall people call you “Forsaken,”
or your land “Desolate,”
but you shall be called “My Delight,”
and your land “Espoused.”
For the LORD delights in you
and makes your land his spouse.
As a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
He shall say of me, “You are my father,
my God, the rock, my savior.”
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Second Reading
God Is Faithful: Paul shows how God has always remained faithful to his people, from the time of their liberation from Egypt to John the Baptist announcing the definitive Savior, Jesus Christ.
When Paul reached Antioch in Pisidia and entered the synagogue,
he stood up, motioned with his hand, and said,
“Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the
land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out of it.
Then he removed Saul and raised up David as king;
of him he testified,
‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.’
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’”
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Tomorrow the wickedness of the earth will be destroyed:
the Savior of the world will reign over us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray with great expectations to God, the Father of him who was, is, and is to come, our Lord Jesus Christ, and let us say:
R/ Stay with your people, Lord.
For the Church, the new people of God, that it may always proclaim to the world the message that God loves us and stays with us, let us pray:
R/ Stay with your people, Lord.
For hearts filled with gratitude, because God wanted to become human to be near to us with his light and love, let us pray:
R/ Stay with your people, Lord.
For eyes open to the signs of God’s presence in the world and in people, let us pray:
R/ Stay with your people, Lord.
For hands and minds capable of building up God’s world of truth, integrity and justice, let us pray:
R/ Stay with your people, Lord.
For peace in this torn world, for human dignity and freedom for all, for a spirit of responsibility and belief in the destiny of our people and country, let us pray:
R/ Stay with your people, Lord.
For trust in God and love of people, for faith in God’s future and in one another, for unity in our homes and communities, let us pray:
R/Stay with your people, Lord.
Lord God, as you wanted to be near to us in Jesus your Son, make us near to one another on account of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer Over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in this bread and this wine,
your gifts to us and our gifts to you,
you let us encounter you
When they become Jesus, your Son.
As we experience your lasting love in him,
help us to share this love with one another
and to serve you in people.
Change us into new people
whom you love in Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Savior for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With great hope, we are waiting for the fuller coming and growing among us of Jesus our Lord. The Father gives us Jesus in this Eucharist as a sign he is with us through Jesus. Let us thank the Father with joy and love.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, God’s Son, our God-with-us.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat his bread of life
and to share his peace with one another.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
by the food and drink of your Son
make our hearts new, fresh and young,
open to the continuous coming
of Jesus your Son among people.
Let him stay with us always
to be our light and life
and the person whom we love and serve
in one another,
for he is our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharist we have celebrated
the fulfillment of our hopes
in the coming of Jesus among his people.
He wanted to be with us because we were weak and little.
Isn’t this for us a sign too
that we should stand by the side
of all those who are weak and helpless?
May Almighty God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace and take the Lord with you
on the way to one another. R/ Thanks be to God.