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ing and it is wonderful in our eyes. Alleluia, Al leluia,. V. The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself with might. Alleluia. GOSPEL. Luke ii. 15, 20. At that time: The shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to And they pass which the Lord hath shewed to us. came with haste and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in a manger. And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to And all that heard them concerning this child. wondered: and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these words, And the shepherds pondering them in her heart. returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. THE CREED.

OFFERT. Ps. xcii. The Lord hath establish ed the world, which shall not be moved: thy throne, 0 Lord, is prepared from of old, thou art from ever. lasting.

SECRET. May the offerings, O Lord, we make, be agreeable to the mystery of this day's birth, and always pour forth peace upon us; that as be, who

though born man, shewed himself also God: so may this earthly substance give us that which is divine.

SECRET of St. Anastasia. Graciously receive, O Lord, we beseech thee, our offerings, and grant, by the merits of blessed Anastasia the martyr, that

they may avail to our salvation. Thro'.

COMM. Zach. ix. Rejoice, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king will come to thee the just and Saviour of the

world.

P. COMM. Hujus nos. May we, O Lord, al ways receive new light from this sacrament, which reneweth to us the memory of that wonderful birth, which destroyed the old man.

Thro'

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P. COMM. of St. Anast.

Thou hast fed, O Lord, thy family with these sacred oblations: ever therefore comfort us with her intercession, whose feast we celebrate. Thro'.

III. MASS. On Christmas Day, at mid-day.
INTROIT. Isaias ix. Puer, natus, &c.
A Child is born to us, and a Son is given to uș,
and the government is upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called the Angel of the great Council.
Ps. Sing to the Lord a new canticle, for he hath
done wonderful things. V. Glory.

COLLECT. Concede. Grant, we beseech thee,
O Almighty God, that we who groan under the old
captivity of sin, may be freed therefrom by the birth
of thy only begotten Son. Thro'

EPISTLE. Heb. i. 1, 12. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in those days, hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appoint. ed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world: who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high: being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee?" And again: "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son ?" And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith: "And let all the angels of God adore him." to the angels indeed he saith: "He that maketh his angels, spirits: and his ministers a flame of fire." But to the Son: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity :

And

therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." And: "Thou, in the beginning, O Lord didst found the earth': and the works of thy hands are the heavens. They shall perish but thou shalt continue: and they shall all grow old as a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the self-same, and thy years shall not fail." GRAD. Ps. xcvii. All the ends of the earth hath seen the salvation of our God: sing joyfully to the Lord all the earth. V. The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles. Alleluia.

V. A sanctified day hath shone upon us: come, ye Gentiles, and adore the Lord, for this day a great light is come down upon the earth. Alleba GOSPEL. John i. In the beginning, &c. as in the Ordinary of the Mass.

OFFERT. Ps. lxxxviii. Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth; the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded: Justice and judgment are the preparatiou of thy throne.

SECRET. Sanctify, O Lord, our offering, by the new birth of thy only begotten Son, and cleanse us from the stains of our sins. Thro' the same.

COMMUNICANTES, till the Circumcision.

BEING united in communion, and celebrating this most sacred day, [in the 1st Mass, sacred night,] on which the spotless virginity of the blessed Mary brought forth a Saviour to this world, moreover honouring in the first place, the memory of the same

glorious V. M. &c. as in the ordinary.

COMM. Ps. xcvii. The whole earth hath seen

the salvation of our God.

P. COMM. Præsta, quæsumus. Grant we be seech thee, O Almighty God, that as the Saviour of the world, who was born this day, procured for us

STEPHE

INTRO

divine birth, he may also bestow on us immortality.

Who liveth.

At the end of this Mass is said the Gospel of the
Epiphany, p. 2.

St. STEPHEN the first Martyr.

INTROIT. Ps. cxviii.

Ps.

PRINCES sat, and spoke against me: and sinners
persecuted me: help me, O Lord my God, for thy
servant hath practised thy commandments.
Blessed are the undefiled in the way: who walk in
the law of the Lord. V. Glory.

COLLECT. Da nobis. Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that we may imitate him whose memory we celebrate, so as to learn to love even our enemies, because we now solemnize his martyrdom, who knew how to pray, even for his persecutors, to our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son. Who liveth. Commem. of Christmas, by the Collect, Secret, and P. Comm. of the III. Mass, p. 27& 28. LESSON. Acts vi. 8, 10. vii. 54, 69. In those days: Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people. Now there arose some of that which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them that were of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke. Chap. vii. 54. Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth at him. But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up stedfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said: Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. And they, crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and with one accord ran violently upon him. And casting him forth without the city, they stoned kim: and the witnesses laid down their garments at

the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul. And
they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying: Lord
Jesus receive my spirit. And falling on his knees,
he cried with a loud voice, saying: Lord lay not this
sin to their charge. And when he said this he fell
asleep in the Lord.

GRAD. Ps. cxviii. Princes sat, and spoke against
V. Help me,
me: and the wicked persecuted me.
O Lord my God.: save me for thy mercies sake.
Alleluia, Alleluia.

V. I see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of the power of God. Alleluia.

and

even on

GOSPEL. Matt. xxiii. 34, 39. At that time: Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees: Behold! send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death, and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, to the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Amen. I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together th children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not? Behold, your house shall be left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth till you say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

THE CREED.

Lord

OFFERT. Acts vi. 7. The Apostles chose Stephen, a Levite, full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost, whom the Jews stoned, praying and saying: Jesus, receive my spirit. Alleluia. SECRET. Receive, O Lord, these offerings in memory of thy saints: and as their sufferings have

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