Join us on Saturday, December 19th, 2020 at 6:00 pm in Church or Online on our Facebook or Youtube Channel for our annual Lessons and Carols.
Please follow along with us.
Rev. Father Pedro Repollet
Pastor
Rev. Michael Otuwurunne
Weekend Assistant
Mr. Paul Rajah
Director of Music
19 December 2020
Saturday of the Fourth Sunday of Advent
6 o’clock in the afternoon
Opening Prayer
(please stand)
Officiant: Beloved in Christ be it this Advent-tide our care and delight to prepare ourselves to hear again the message of the angels; in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Let us read and mark in Holy Scripture the tale of the loving purposes of God from the first days of our disobedience unto the glorious Redemption brought us by this Holy Child; and let us make this church, glad with our carols of praise:
But first, let us pray for the needs of His whole world; for peace and goodwill over all the earth; for unity and brotherhood within the Church He came to build, and especially in these United States of America, and within this City and Archdiocese of Newark:
And because this of all things would rejoice His heart, let us at this time remember in His name the poor and the helpless, the cold, the hungry and the oppressed; the sick in body and in mind and them that mourn; the lonely and the unloved; the aged and the little children; all who know not the Lord Jesus, or who love Him not, or who by sin have grieved His heart of love.
Lastly, let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore and in a greater light, that multitude which no man can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom, in this Lord Jesus, we for evermore are one.
These prayers and praises let us humbly offer up to the throne of heaven, in the words which Christ Himself hath taught us:
ALL: Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Officiant: The Almighty God bless us with His grace: Christ give us the joys of everlasting life: and unto the fellowship of the citizens above may the King of Angels bring us all.
ALL: Amen.
Carol: O Come O Come Emmanual
1. O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
2. O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord’rest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.
3. O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height In ancient times didst give the law, In cloud and majesty and awe.
4. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem, From ev’ry foe deliver them That trust thy mighty pow’r to save, And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
7. O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all humankind; Bid thou our sad divisions cease, And be thyself our Prince of Peace.
Text: LM with refrain; ‘O’ Antiphons, Latin, 9th cent.; verses 1, 3–6 para. in Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, Cologne, 1710; tr. by John M. Neale, 1818–1866; verses 2, 7 tr. fr. The Hymnal 1940, alt. Music: Chant, Mode I; Processionale, French, 15th cent.; adapt. by Thomas Helmore, 1811–1890.
First Lesson
God tells sinful Adam that he has lost the life of Paradise and that his seed will bruise the serpent’s head.
– Genesis 3. 8-15, 17-19
When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the snake: Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the animals, tame or wild; On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel. To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it, Cursed is the ground* because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Carol: In the Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter Long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain, Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign: In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day, A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom Angels
Fall down before, The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and Archangels May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air;
But only His Mother In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved With a kiss.
MUSIC: Gustav T. Holst (1874-1934)
WORDS: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Second lesson
God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
– Genesis 22. 15-18
A second time the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by my very self—oracle of the LORD—that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your son, your only one, I will bless you and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants, all the nations of the earth will find blessing because you obeyed my command.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Carol: Ding Dong! Merrily on High
16th century French melody
1. Ding Dong! merrily on high In heav’n the bells are ringing
Ding, dong! verily the sky Is riv’n1 with angel singing
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis
2. E’en so here below, below Let steeple bells be swungen
And i-o, i-o, i-o By priest and people be sungen
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis
Text: George Ratcliffe Woodward, 1848–1934.
Music: melody fr. Orchésographie, 1588, by Thoinot Arbeau, 1519–1595.
Third lesson
The prophet foretells the coming of the Saviour.
– Isaiah 9. 2, 6-7
You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing; They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as they exult when dividing the spoils. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this! The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it falls upon Israel;
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Carol: O Little Town of Bethlehem
1. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.
2. For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above, While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wond’ring love. O morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth! And praises sing to God the King, And peace to all on earth.
3. How silently, how silently, The wonderous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of his heav’n. No ear may hear his coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him, still The dear Christ enters in.
Text: 86 86 76 86; Phillips Brooks, 1835–1893, alt. Music: Lewis H. Redner, 1831–1908.
Fourth lesson
The peace that Christ will bring is foreshown.
– Isaiah 11. 1-4, 6-9
But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall graze, together their young shall lie down; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the viper’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
