Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Christmas Day, Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayer I

EVENING PRAYER I

The season of Christmas begins iwth the First EP of the feast, which contains antiphons of great beauty and mystery. The psalms are proper to this service.

(1) He comes in splendor, the King who is our peace;
the whole wolrd longs to see him. (sung with Psalm 113)
(2) He sends forth his Word to the earth,
and his command spreads swiftly through the land (Psalm 147:12-20)
(3) The eternal Word, born of the Father before time began,
today emptied himself for our sake and became man. (NT Cant: Phil. 2:6-11)

The Reading is Gal. 4:3-7, "When the designated time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman." The Responsory is sung only on this evening: "Today you will know that the Lord is coming, and in the morning you shall see his glory!"

Evening Prayer comes to its climax with the singing of the Magnificat, which is paired with this antiphon:

When the sun rises in the morning sky,
you will see the King of Kings coming forth from the Father,
like a radiant bridegroom from the bridal chamber.

The Intercessions and the Prayer are from the Proper for today.

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