Liturgical Leaflet for an Active Participation in the Celebration of the Eucharist

21 December 2016 CHRISTMAS NOVENA – Sixth Day Year A

In Praise of Mary,
The Mother of the Lord

T oday’s Gospel brings us to meditate on the second Joyful

Mystery: Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth. The two holy women
have been the recipients of God’s special favor: the gift of
a child. For Elizabeth, her child is a most unexpected gift in her
old age; for Mary, her child is an even more precious gift: the
very Son of God.
Together with Elizabeth, we greet and proclaim Mary as
“the Mother of our Lord” and “the Woman of Faith.” In this
Eucharistic celebration, let us open our hearts to welcome Jesus,
who is brought to us by his Most Holy Mother to be our Brother,
Savior, and Model.

INTRODUCTORY
RITES
Entrance Antiphon
(To be recited only when no Entrance
Hymn is sung.)
The Lord and Ruler will
be coming soon, and his
name will be called Emman-
uel, because he will be God-
with-us.
Greeting
P –Blessed be God our Fa-
ther who gave us His only
Son through the Blessed Vir-
gin Mary. May His grace and
peace be with you all!
All – And with your spirit!
Penitential Act
P –The Lord Jesus wants
to come to us as he went to
Elizabeth through the Virgin
Mary. Let us examine our-
selves and see if we are prop-
erly disposed to receive him.
(Pause)
P –Lord Jesus, your pres-
ence brought joy to Eliz-
abeth and her son, John.
Lord, have mercy!
All –Lord, have mercy!
P –Lord Jesus, at your visit,
Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit. Christ,
have mercy!
All –Christ, have mercy!
P –Lord Jesus, you are our
Lord and Savior. Lord,
have mercy!
All –Lord, have mercy!
P –May almighty God have
mercy on us, forgive us our
sins and bring us to everlast-
ing life.
All –Amen!
Gloria
All–Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace
to people of good will. We
praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify
you, we give you thanks
for your great glory, Lord
God, heavenly King, O God,
almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only
Begotten Son, Lord God,
Lamb of God, Son of the Fa-
ther, you take away the sins
of the world, have mercy on
us; you take away the sins
of the world, receive our
prayer; you are seated at the
right hand of the Father, have
mercy on us. For you alone
are the Holy One, you alone
are the Lord, you alone are
the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the
glory of God the Father.
Amen!
Collect (Opening Prayer)
P –Hear in kindness, O
Lord, the prayers of your
people, that those who rejoice
at the coming of your Only
Begotten Son in our flesh,
may, when at last he comes
in glory, gain the reward of
eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son,who lives
and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever.
All –Amen!

LITURGY OF
THE WORD
1st Reading Zep 3:14-18
The happiness of Jerusalem
originated from the presence of
the Lord. This foreshadowed
the joy experienced by Eliza-
beth in receiving the visit of
Mary Most Holy who was car-
rying in her womb the Savior
of the world.
R –A proclamation from
the Book of the Prophet
Zephaniah
Shout for joy, O daughter
Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your
heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has removed the
judgment against you, he has
turned away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord,
is in your midst, you have no
further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be
said to Jerusalem: Fear not,
O Zion, be not discouraged!
The Lord, your God, is in your
midst, a mighty savior. He will
rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love. He
will sing joyfully because of
you, as one sings at festivals.
The Word of the Lord!
All – Thanks be to God!
Responsorial Psalm Ps 33
R – Exult, you just, in the
Lord! Sing to him a new
song!
R. M. Velez
F C/E Dm Dm/C
    
   
E--xult, you just, in the Lord!
Bb C F

    
Sing to him a new song!
* Give thanks to the Lord on
the harp; with the ten-stringed
lyre chant his praises. Sing
to him a new song; pluck the
strings skillfully, with shouts
of gladness. R.
* But the plan of the Lord
stands forever; the design of
his heart, through all genera-
tions. Blessed the nation whose
21 December 2016
God is the Lord, the people he
has chosen for his own inheri-
tance. R.
* Our soul waits for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield,
for in him our hearts rejoice; in
his holy name we trust. R.
Gospel Acclamation
All –Alleluia! Alleluia!
O Emmanuel, our King
and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our
God!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Gospel Lk 1:39-45
We continue our medita-
tion on the Joyful Mysteries of
our salvation. Today’s Gospel
passage makes us reflect on the
preciousness of God’s gift to
us in the person of Jesus, the
“blessed fruit” of the womb of
the Virgin Mary.
P –The Lord be with you!
All – And with your spirit!
P –A proclamation from the
holy Gospel according to
Luke
All – Glory to you, O Lord!
Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill coun-
try in haste to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house
of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth
heard Mary’s greeting, the
infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the
Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud
voice and said, “Most blessed
are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your
womb. And how does this hap-
pen to me, that the mother of
my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound
of your greeting reached my
ears, the infant in my womb
leaped for joy. Blessed are
you who believed that what
was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
The Gospel of the Lord!
All – Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ!
Homily
Prayer of the Faithful
P –As we meditate on the
joyful mystery of the Visi-
tation, our attention turns to
Mary Most Holy and Eliza-
beth, with Jesus as the source
of their shared joy. Together
with them, let us pray:
All – Lord, open our hearts to
You!
C –For the Universal
Church: May she ever more
appreciate the role of women
in the Christian community
and constantly defend their
dignity. Let us pray! R.
C –For all wives: May they
be instruments of sanctifica-
tion for their husbands and
promoters of harmony and
joy in the home. Let us pray!
R.
C –For all mothers: May
they raise their children in
the holy fear and love of the
Lord, and be an inspiration to
them in the fulfillment of their
duties. Let us pray! R.
C –For all the women who
have vowed their lives to the
Lord: May they always be
faithful to their commitments
and mirror to the lay faithful
the splendor of an undivided
love. Let us pray! R.
C –For all girls: May they
be loving daughters to their
parents, treasure purity and
a spirit of dedication to the
good of others. Let us pray! R.
C –Let us pray in silence for
our personal intentions.
(Pause) Let us pray! R.
P –Lord God, may we pre-
pare ourselves for the coming
Christmas the way Elizabeth
prepared herself for the birth
of John, and Mary for the
birth of Jesus, our Lord and
Savior who lives and reigns
for ever and ever.
All –Amen!
LITURGY OF
THE EUCHARIST
Preparation of the Gifts
P –Pray, brethren . . .
All –May the Lord accept the
sacrifice at your hands, for the
praise and glory of his name,
for our good and the good of
all his holy Church.
 Prayer over the Offerings
P –Be pleased, O Lord, to
accept the offerings of your
Church, for in your mercy
you have given them to be of-
fered and by your power you
transform them into the mys-
tery of our salvation.
Through Christ our Lord.
All – Amen!
Preface of Advent II
P –The Lord be with you!
All –And with your spirit!
P –Lift up your hearts!
All –We lift them up to the
Lord!
P –Let us give thanks to the
Lord our God!
All –It is right and just!
P –It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to
give you thanks, Lord, holy
Father, almighty and eter-
nal God, through Christ our
Lord.
For all the oracles of
the prophets foretold him,
the Virgin Mother longed
for him with love beyond
all telling, John the Baptist
sang of his coming and pro-
claimed his presence when
he came.
It is by his gift that already
we rejoice at the mystery of
his Nativity, so that he may
find us watchful in prayer and
exultant in his praise.
And so, with Angels and
Archangels, with Thrones
and Dominions, and with all
the hosts and Powers of heav-
vide enduring protection for
COMMUNION your people, so that, being
RITE
subject to your glorious maj-
esty in dedicated service, they
All – Our Father . . . may know abundant health in
P –Deliver us, Lord …
mind and body.
All – For the kingdom, the Through Christ our Lord.
power, and the glory are
All –Amen!
yours, now and for ever.
Sign of Peace CONCLUDING
RITES
Breaking of the Bread
All – Lamb of God, you take P –The Lord be with you.
away the sins of the world: All – And with your spirit!
have mercy on us. (2×)
Lamb of God, you take P –Bow your heads and
pray for God’s blessing.
away the sins of the world:
grant us peace. (Pause)
May almighty God keep
Communion you from all harm and
P –Behold the Lamb of God, bless you with every
behold him who takes away the good gift.
sins of the world. Blessed are All –Amen!
those called to the supper of P –May His grace strengthen
the Lamb. you to withstand the hard-
All – Lord, I am not worthy ships of life.
that you should enter under All –Amen!
my roof, but only say the P –May He make you stead-
word and my soul shall be fast in faith, joyful in
healed. hope, and untiring in
love all the days of your
Communion Antiphon life.
(To be recited only when no Com-
munion Hymn is sung.) All –Amen!
Blessed are you who have P –May almighty God bless
believed, that what was spo- you: the Father, and the
ken to you by the Lord would Son, and the Holy Spirit.
be fulfilled. All –Amen!
P –Go in peace to love and
Prayer after Communion serve the Lord in your
P –Lord, may participation neighbor as Mary did.
in this divine mystery pro- All – Thanks be to God!
S P E C I A L

WALL
en, we sing the hymn of your
glory, as without end we ac-
claim:
All – Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of hosts. Heaven and
earth are full of your glory.
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2017 CALENDAR

3 4 5 6 7 With readings and saints of the day!

Gregory Nazianzen

1 2
JANUARY FEBRUARY
S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
W W W W W W W 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Nm 6:22-27 1 Jn 2:22-28 1 Jn 2:29-3:6 • Jn 1:29-34 1 Jn 3:7-10 1 Jn 3:11-21 1 Jn 5:5-13 1 Jn 5:14-21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

P –The mystery of faith!

Gal 4:4-7 • Lk 2:16-21 Jn 1:19-28 or Phil 2:1-11 • Lk 2:21-24 Jn 1:35-42 Jn 1:43-51 Mk 1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-38 Jn 2:1-11 29 30 31 26 27 28

EPIPHANY BAPTISM OF OUR LORD St. Peter Orseolo St. Modestus St. Marguerite Bourgeoys St. Hilary St. Felix of Nola MARCH APRIL
OF OUR LORD St. Theodosius

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 1

Personalized pictures for

W W G G G G G 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
W W 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
26 27 28 29 30 31 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Is 60:1-6 • Eph 3:2-3a.5-6 Is 42:1-4.6-7 • Acts 10:34-38 Heb 2:5-12 Heb 2:14-18 Heb 3:7-14 Heb 4:1-5.11 Heb 4:12-16 30
Mt 2:1-12 Mt 3:13-17 Mk 1:21-28 Mk 1:29-39 Mk 1:40-45 Mk 2:1-12 Mk 2:13-17

All – When we eat this Bread

MAY JUNE
STO. NIÑO St. Marcellus I, Pope St. Anthony, Abbot Bl. Christina Ciccarelli St. Mario St. Fabian St. Agnes, Virgin Martyr
St. Sebastian S M T W T F S S M T W T F S

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
W G W G G G R 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
R 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30

bulk orders.
Is 9:1-6 • Eph 1:3-6.15-18 Heb 5:1-10 Heb 6:10-20 Heb 7:1-3.15-17 Heb 7:25-8:6 Heb 8:6-13 Heb 9:2-3.11-14
Mt 18:1-5.10 Mk 2:18-22 Mk 2:23-28 Mk 3:1-6 Mk 3:7-12 Mk 3:13-19 Mk 3:20-21 JULY AUGUST

and drink this Cup, we

S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
3RD SUNDAY IN O.T. St. Ildefonsus of Toledo St. Francis de Sales CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL Sts. Timothy & Titus St. Angela Merici St. Thomas Aquinas 1 1 2 3 4 5

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9 10 11 12 13 14 15 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
G G W W W G W
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 27 28 29 30 31
W 30 31

Is 8:23-9:3 • 1 Cor 1:10-13.17 Heb 9:15.24-28 Heb 10:1-10 Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 2 Tim 1:1-8 or Ti 1:1-5 Heb 10:32-39 Heb 11:1-2.8-19 OCTOBER
SEPTEMBER
Mt 4:12-23 Mk 3:22-30 Mk 3:31-35 Mk 16:15-18 Lk 10:1-9 Mk 4:26-34 Mk 4:35-41

proclaim your Death,

S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
4TH SUN. IN O.T. St. Mutien-Marie Wiaux St. John Bosco First Last DECEMBER 2016 FEBRUARY 2017 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Quarter Quarter

29 30 31
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
Jan. 5 Jan. 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
G G W 29 30 31
Full New 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Moon Moon 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 NOVEMBER DECEMBER

ORDER NOW!
Zep 2:3; 3:12-13 Heb 11:32-40 Heb 12:1-4 • Mk 5:21-43 Jan. 12 Jan. 27
1 Cor 1:26-31 • Mt 5:1-12a Mk 5:1-20 or Phil 4:4-9 • Mt 18:1-5 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 26 27 28 S M T W T F S
S M T W T F S
1 2

O Lord, until you come

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
IMPORTANT NON-LITURGICAL/CIVIL EVENTS OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 New Year’s Day / World Peace Day 28 Chinese New Year 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
15 Holy Childhood Day 31 National Bible Sunday 26 27 28 29 30 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
18-25 Week of Prayer for the Unity of All Christians 31
25-31 National Bible Week

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again!

Christmas Novena – Sixth Day

 ELIZABETH, THE FIRST OF MARY’S DEVOTEES

M ary’s visit to Elizabeth was quite a pleasant

surprise for the elderly lady who had “barricaded”
herself within her house from the moment she had
discovered that she had gotten pregnant in her old age.
That was her second pleasant surprise in six months.
(The first, of course, had been her discovery that she
was expecting a child, despite her being beyond the
normal age of childbearing, and especially because she
had been barren all her life.)
But Elizabeth’s greatest surprise came from learn-
ing that her young relative had been chosen by God
to be the mother of the promised Messiah. Probably,
like just about everybody else, Elizabeth was convinced
that the Messiah would be born of some queen and in a
royal palace, while Mary was a simple, poor village girl
who lived in a despised corner of Northern Palestine.
But rather than lead to doubt or deny the fact that
Mary had indeed received such a sublime privilege and
mission, Mary’s “Good News” brought Elizabeth to greet
her young cousin with the enthusiastic acclaim: “You
are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is
the Child that you bear in your womb!” That was not
a simple human conclusion. It was the Holy Spirit who
had enabled Elizabeth to realize the loftiness of the
dignity which such motherhood bestowed on Mary.
In her humility, the elderly lady just could not under-
stand how the Mother of the Messiah had deigned to
honor her with her visit. But that was beside the point,
for she knew full well, by now, that the Lord’s ways
are inscrutable. What mattered was Mary. And for her,
Elizabeth had still another compliment: “Blessed are
you because you believed that what was spoken to
you by the Lord would be fulfilled!”
These few sentences, uttered by Elizabeth under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, make of her the first
and most enthusiastic of Mary’s devotees. Her words
were not an empty compliment but the humble and
God-inspired acknowledgment of Mary’s dignity and
worth.
Those who claim to believe that the Bible is the
word of God should take the episode of the Visitation
very seriously. Unfortunately, most of them fail to do so.
They actually systematically ignore this episode as if it
were one of the many “apocrypha” which are the fruit of
popular exaggeration. Clearly, these poor brothers and
sisters are blinded by prejudice against Mary Most Holy,
the Mother of the Lord. This is a very serious handicap.
We should pray that the same Holy Spirit who inspired
Elizabeth may also work on them and bring them to
repeat with love what old Elizabeth proclaimed with joyful
admiration, and which the Church has been praying for
the past two thousand years. – Jess P. Balon

Advent/Christmas Trivia

MISA DE GALLO: What is it?

The Misa de gallo is a liturgical hybrid. The Liturgy
prefers celebrations by octaves, or by eight consecu-
tive days. In fact, the second phase of Advent, 17-24
December, is precisely that. It is an octave meant to
heighten the awareness of the first com-
ing of the Messiah some two millennia
ago. The Misa de gallo keeps this basic
“preparation for Christmas” orientation
but lengthens itself into a novena, begin-
ning on the 16th of December.
The tradition was begun by the Span-
ish frailes. The nine-day Masses were a
golden opportunity to catechize the faith-
ful, many of whom – like those of today
– were not so regular for Sunday Mass.
More importantly, the novena Masses
were in thanksgiving for the gift of faith
for these islands which alone had been
converted to it. The Misa de gallo was a national
petition to remain steadfast in the Catholic faith.
The Misa de gallo fits in well with the Filipino
inclination towards sacrificial suffering. Not that we
are a sadistic people. But we treasure more gifts
obtained through some pain – ‘yung pinaghirapan!
Thus we are fond of dawn processions and the
penitential celebrations of the Semana
Santa.
Participation in these novena
Masses has always been popular. In
fact, to allow the farmers who usually
would have to till the soil at a very
early hour, the Spanish padres held
these Masses early enough so as
not to interfere with the farmers’ daily
schedule. So it was that as the cock
crowed on the first watch, the village
church’s campanillas called the faithful
for the 4:00 AM Mass. Thus the novena
Masses got their name – Misa de gallo!
Source: Bajo las Campanas
Fr. John Cabrido, SDB

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