MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - December 24, 2022

 

Saturday - December 24, 2022 - CHRISTMAS EVE

December 24, 2022

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Mass in the Morning
Lectionary: 200

 

Reading 1                                                     2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

 

When King David was settled in his palace,

and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,

he said to Nathan the prophet,

“Here I am living in a house of cedar,

while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”

Nathan answered the king,

“Go, do whatever you have in mind,

for the LORD is with you.”

But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:

“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:

Should you build me a house to dwell in?

 

“‘It was I who took you from the pasture

and from the care of the flock

to be commander of my people Israel.

I have been with you wherever you went,

and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.

And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.

I will fix a place for my people Israel;

I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place

without further disturbance.

Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,

since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.

I will give you rest from all your enemies.

The LORD also reveals to you

that he will establish a house for you.

And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,

I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,

and I will make his Kingdom firm.

I will be a father to him,

and he shall be a son to me.

Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me;

your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

 

R.    (2)  For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

 

The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;

    through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.

For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;

    in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.

R.    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.

 

“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.

 

Alleluia                                                                     

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Radiant Dawn,

splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:

come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 1:67-79

 

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

 

    “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

        for 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 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 hand 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.”

 

***********************************

Zechariah’s Canticle as a Victory Prayer

The following prayer uses Zechariah’s Canticle from this Saturday’s Gospel reading, adapting it to bring victory to your life, your family or difficult situations. Visit it on our website to download a printable copy.

It can be used in private prayer or with family members or your prayer group.

Each verse includes time for a response (R) where you fill in the blanks.

Let us pray:

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel because he has visited and ransomed his people.
(R) He has visited me [us] in _________ [name a recent joyful or difficult situation] and I am [we are] grateful that he has given us freedom and victory.

He has raised a horn of saving strength for us in the house of David his servant.
(R) He has revealed his power to us, and our household [parish] will serve him; I [we] dedicate this family to the Christ child and ask him to bless us with unity and ________.

As he promised through the mouths of his holy ones, the prophets of ancient times: Salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all our foes.
(R) He has shown his loving power in my [our] difficulties, and I [we] thank him, with grateful hearts, especially for _______.

He has dealt mercifully with our fathers and remembered the holy covenant he made, the oath he swore to Abraham our father he would grant us: that, rid of fear and delivered from the enemy, we should serve him devoutly, and through all our days, be holy in his sight.
(R) He has shown his love for the world by becoming one of us, born on that first Christmas in the humility of a child to bring us the Good News of holy living, and to die for us, delivering us from the power of our sins, and delivering us from _______.

Rid of fear and delivered from the enemy, we can serve him devoutly, and be holy in his sight.
(R) In him, we having nothing to fear; in him, we will live forever in heaven, in peace, in joy, and in love; and I [we] choose to serve him here on earth, in imitation of the humble Christ child, especially in the service/ministry of _______.

And you, O child, shall be called prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the Lord to prepare straight paths for him, giving his people a knowledge of salvation in freedom from their sins.
(R) O Lord, make me your prophet, too. I dedicate my life to you — my days and my hours, to prepare the way before you in the hearts of those I serve in my home, in my parish, in my community, and in the world around me.

All this is the work of the kindness of our God; he, the Dayspring, shall visit us in his mercy to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
(R: take a minute of silence to offer to God those you know who are in darkness, who are facing death, and who are living in turmoil, division, or war.)

All this is the work of the kindness of our God; he, the Dayspring, shall visit us in his mercy to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
(R) Yes Lord! Let it be as you say! Amen!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”