4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT 

 

 

Blessed is the fruit of your womb.

 

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Saviour.

PENITENTIAL RITE

God chooses persons of humble origin to carry out his plans. Today’s first reading looks to a king of simple origin to restore the Davidic kingdom. The second reading stresses the obedience of Jesus. Mary, the humble handmaid, is the focus of the gospel. What about us? Are we humble so that God can make use of us for his saving purposes? (Pause.)

I confess...

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. Lord fill our hearts with your love, and as you revealed to us by an angel the coming of your Son as man, so lead us through his suffering and death to the glory of his resurrection, for he lives and reigns ...

FIRST READING

(A future king from the house of David will come bringing peace and security.)

A reading from the book of Micah (5:2-5a)

The Lord says this: "You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in travail has brought forth; then the rest of his brethren shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And this shall be peace."

This is the Word of the Lord

PSALM (79)

Response: God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hear us, shine forth from your cherubim throne. O Lord, rouse up your might, O Lord come to our help. R.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see. Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has planted. R.

May your hand be on the man you have chosen, the man you have given your strength. And we shall never forsake you again: give us life that we may call upon your name. R.

SECOND READING

(By the bodily sacrifice of Jesus, the old sacrifices have been abolished and a new and efficacious one has been established.)

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews (10:5-10)

Brethren: When Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book." When he said above, "Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "Lo, I have come to do thy will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

This is the Word of the Lord

ACCLAMATION (Lk 1:38)

Alleluia, alleluia! Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. Alleluia!

GOSPEL

(Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Mary brings joy to Elizabeth and to her child.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to St Luke (1:39-45)

Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

This is the Gospel of the Lord

I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Cel: Let us pray to our God of littleness so that we too may be humble and childlike. Our response: God our Father hear your children’s prayer.

1. We pray for the entire Church that all of us may model ourselves on Jesus who became one of us in everything except sin. R.

2. Let us pray for the civil authorities: may they carry out their responsi-bilities in a spirit of humble service. R.

3. May Mary the humble handmaid be the model for all Christians to become fruitful and holy. R.

4. May all expectant mothers welcome with joy their babies as God’s gift regardless of their gender. R.

(Pause to pray for other intentions.)

Cel: God of life and love, we thank you for the gift of life. Grant us the grace to make our lives fruitful and beautiful in loving service. We ask this….

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Lord, may the power of the Spirit, which sanctified Mary the Mother of your Son, make holy the gifts we place upon this altar. We ask this…

PREFACE (P 2)

Father, all-powerful and ever living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.

His future coming was proclaimed by all the prophets. The virgin mother bore him in her womb with love beyond all telling. John the Baptist was his herald and made him known when at last he came. In his love Christ has filled us with joy as we prepare to celebrate his birth, so that when he comes he may find us watching in prayer, our hearts filled with wonder and praise.

And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON

The Virgin is with child, and shall bear a son, and she will call him Emmanuel.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Lord, in this sacrament we receive the promise of salvation; as Christmas draws near make us grow in faith and love to celebrate the coming of Christ our Saviour, who is Lord for ever and ever.

LITURGY AND LIFE

"If I could give you information of my life, it would be to show how a woman of very ordinary ability has been led by God in strange and unaccustomed paths to do His service, what He has done in her. And if I could tell you all, you would see how God has done all, and I nothing. I have worked hard, very hard – that is all, and I have never refused God anything." These words of Florence Nightingale aptly illustrate today’s readings. God chose a ruler from a little known place to carry out his plans (first reading). For God’s plan of salvation to be realized perfect obedience is required (second reading). Mary, a village girl’s consent is crucial for the salvation history. The untimely born John the Baptist plays his unenviable role. So does his aged mother with her surprisingly belated motherhood. God chooses whom the world considers unfit, terribly ill-equipped. God acts thus so that no human flesh can boast.

There are several instances where God makes use of the little ones for his purpose. Jeremiah expressed his unworthiness to be a prophet: "I am too young; I do not know how to speak" (1:6). When Gideon is given the charge to conquer the Midianites he replied: "My family is the lowest in the tribe of Manasseh" (Jgs 6:15). Saul tells Samuel who is to anoint him king, "My clan is the least among the clans of the tribe of Benjamin" (1 Sam 9:21). David was the youngest son of Jesse. St Paul theologizes when he wrote: "God singled out the weak to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1:27).

All the saints were scrupulous to know the will of God regarding them and to submit themselves to him in the minutest detail. They were keen to do God’s will; they were afraid to indulge in self-will even in small matters.

Because Mary emptied herself, God could fill her with himself. Thus she became a source of joy and blessing. Jesus could never become the Saviour without sacrificing his own will. Humility attracts God to self while pride drives him away. What is a person without God?

Littleness is a kingdom value. Unless we become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of God, says Jesus. The powerful, the rich can hardly get in it. Let us make ourselves little to welcome our God who humbled himself to be born in a manger and be carried in the arms of a young mother.

December 2003

 CALENDAR 

Psalter Week 4

22/Mon (V) 1 Sam 1:24-28; 1 Sam 2; Lk 1:46-56

23/Tue (V) Mal 3:1-4, 23-24; Ps 24; Lk 1:57-66

24/Wed (V) 2 Sam 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 88; Lk 1:67-79

25/Thu (W) CHRISTMAS

Midnight Mass: Is 9:2-4, 6-7; Ps 95; Tit 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14

Dawn Mass: Is 62:11-12; Ps 96; Tit 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20

Day Mass: Is 52:7-10; Ps 97; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18 or 1-5, 9-14

26/Fri (R) St Stephen Ac 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 30; Mt 10:17-22

27/Sat (W) St John, Apostle and Evangelist 1 Jn:1:1-4; Ps 96; Jn 20:2-8