Morning Prayer: 20 Dec – Luke 1:26-38 ~ the annunciation

Fifth Day Before Christmas

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences:

The Lord is close at hand: come let us worship him.

O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

The upright see and rejoice; they consider the love of the Lord.

A Reading from the Gospels: Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
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Canticle

Show us your saving mercy, Lord, and give us your saving help.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Fill us with the light of the Holy Spirit that, after the example of Mary, we may humbly and steadfastly follow your will.

Blessing:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen