The Fourth Sunday of Advent
THE COLLECT
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus
Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and
reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT: Micah 5:2-5a
You, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule 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 labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred
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 live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.
Reader: The Word of the Lord People: Thanks be to God
THE CANTICLE Canticle 15 Page 91, BCP
The Song of Mary Magnificat Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
THE NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 10:5-10
When Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have
not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin
offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to
do your will, O God’ (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).” When he
said above, “You have 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, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the
first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Reader: The Word of the Lord People: Thanks be to God
THE GOSPEL of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:
Luke 1:39-45(46-55)
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill
country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And
why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as
soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for
joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what
was spoken to her by the Lord.” [And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the
lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me
blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has
shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their
hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the
promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants
forever.”]
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord People: Praise to you, Lord Christ