The Liturgy of the Word
Entrance Hymn
Second Sunday of Christmas
4th January 2026 COLLECT
Almighty ever-living God,
splendour of faithful souls,
graciously be pleased to fill the world
with your glory, and show yourself to
all peoples by the radiance of your
light.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your
Son, who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for
ever and ever.
Amen.
Priest: In the name of the Father and
of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.
People: Amen.
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And with your spirit.
The absolution by the priest follows:
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
PENITENTIAL ACT
Brethren (Brothers and sisters),
let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to
celebrate the sacred mysteries.
I confess to almighty God and to
you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I
have failed to do,
Striking your breast as you say:
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary
ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
SIT
O come, all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
come and behold him,
born the king of angels
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels,
sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above:
glory to God in the highest:
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
born this happy morning,
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
now in flesh appearing: 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
Father,
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.
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Wis 18: 14-15
When a profound silence covered
all things and night was in the
middle of its course, your
all-powerful Word, O Lord,
bounded from heaven’s royal
throne.
GLORIA
FIRST READING 24:1-2, 8-12
A reading from the book of
Ecclesiasticus
Wisdom speaks her own praises, in
the midst of her people she glories in
herself.
She opens her mouth in the assembly
of the Most High, she glories in
herself in the presence of the Mighty
One:
‘Then the Creator of all things
instructed me, and he who created
me fixed a place for my tent. He
said, “Pitch your tent in Jacob,
make Israel your inheritance.”
‘From eternity, in the beginning, he
created me, and for eternity I shall
remain.
‘I ministered before him in the holy
tabernacle, and thus I was
established in Zion.
‘In the beloved city he has given me
rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my
authority.
‘I have taken root in a privileged
people, in the Lord’s property, in his
inheritance.’
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Ps147: 12-15, 19-20. Jn1:14
R. The Word was made flesh,
and lived among us.
1. O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of
your gates,
he has blessed the children within you.
R.
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PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial
with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
(All bow during the next three lines)
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
Raising the host, the priest says:
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all
creation,
for through your goodness we have
received the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human
hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God for ever.
The priest pours wine and a little water
into the chalice, saying quietly:
By the mystery of this water and wine
may we come to share in the divinity
of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our
humanity.
Raising the chalice, the priest says:
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all
creation,
for through your goodness we have
received the wine we offer you:
fruit of the vine and work of human
hands,
it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God for ever.
Bowing the priest says quietly:
With humble spirit and contrite heart
may we be accepted by you, O Lord,
and may our sacrifice in your sight this
day be pleasing to you, O Lord.
Then the priest washes his hands, saying quietly:
Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity;
and cleanse me from my sin.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and
the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is
adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and
apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the
forgiveness of sins and I look forward
to the resurrection
of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
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PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Liturgy of the Eucharist
2. He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with the finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command. R.
3. He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with
other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees. R.
GOSPEL 1:1-5, 9-14 •Shorter Form
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy
Gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but
through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not
overpower.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not
accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children
of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of
the father,
full of grace and truth.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
ACCLAMATION Col3:15.16
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to you, O Christ,
proclaimed to the pagans;
Glory be to you, O Christ,
believed in by the world.
Alleluia.
SECOND READING 1:3-6, 15-18
A reading from the letter of St Paul
to the Ephesians
Blessed be God the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all the spiritual blessings of
heaven in Christ. Before the world
was made, he chose us, chose us in
Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to
live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become
his adopted sons, through Jesus
Christ, for his own kind purposes, to
make us praise the glory of his grace,
his free gift to us in the Beloved.
That will explain why I, having once
heard about your faith in the Lord
Jesus, and the love that you show
towards all the saints, have never
failed to remember you in my prayers
and to thank God for you. May the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, give you a spirit of
wisdom and perception of what is
revealed, to bring you to full
knowledge of him. May he enlighten
the eyes of your mind so that you can
see what hope his call holds for you,
what rich glories he has promised the
saints will inherit.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Sanctify, O Lord, the offerings we
make on the Nativity of your Only
Begotten Son,
for by it you show us the way of truth
and promise the life of the heavenly
Kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER II
PREFACE OF Nativity of The Lord II
The Lord be with you.
And with your Spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and
our salvation, always and everywhere to
give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal
God, through Christ our Lord.
For on the feast of this awe-filled
mystery, though invisible in his own
divine nature, he has appeared visibly in
ours; and begotten before all ages,
he has begun to exist in time;
so that, raising up in himself all that was
cast down, he might restore unity to all
creation and call straying humanity back
to the heavenly Kingdom.
And so, with all the Angels, we praise
you, as in joyful celebration we acclaim:
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Facing the people the priest says:
Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters),
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven . . .
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus
Christ.
For the kingdom, the power and the
glory are yours, now and for ever.
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.
You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
the fount of all holiness.
The Priest joins his hands and, holding them
extended over the offerings, says:
Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we
pray,
by sending down your Spirit upon
them like the dewfall,
so that they may become for us
the Body X and Blood of our Lord,
Jesus Christ.
At the time he was betrayed
and entered willingly into his Passion,
he took bread and, giving thanks,
broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT
OF IT,
FOR THIS IS MY BODY,
WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.
In a similar way, when supper was
ended,
he took the chalice
and, once more giving thanks,
he gave it to his disciples, saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND
DRINK FROM IT,
FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY
BLOOD,
THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND
ETERNAL COVENANT,
WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR
YOU AND FOR MANY
FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
The mystery of faith:
Save us, Saviour of the world,
for by your Cross and Resurrection
you have set us free.
Then the Priest, with hands extended, says:
Therefore, as we celebrate the
memorial of his Death and
Resurrection,
we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life
and the Chalice of salvation,
giving thanks that you have held us
worthy to be in your presence and
minister to you.
Humbly we pray
that, partaking of the Body and Blood
of Christ,
we may be gathered into one by the
Holy Spirit.
Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world,
and bring her to the fullness of
charity,
together with Leo our Pope and
N. our Bishop, his assistant
Bishop(s),
and all the clergy.
Remember also our brothers and
sisters who have fallen asleep in the
hope of the resurrection,
and all who have died in your mercy:
welcome them into the light of your
face.
Have mercy on us all, we pray,
that with the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God,
with blessed Joseph, her Spouse,
with the blessed Apostles,
and all the Saints who have pleased
you throughout the ages,
we may merit to be coheirs to eternal
life, and may praise and glorify you
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
The Priest takes the chalice and the paten
with the host and, elevating both, he says:
Through him, and with him, and in
him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Communion Rite
Communion Hymn
Private Prayer after Communion
Concluding Rites
Recessional Hymn
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Jesus, eternal wisdom,
you have come forth from the mouth
of the Most High:
you are the Word of God made flesh:
you have pitched your tent among your
privileged people. And from fullness I
have received grace upon grace.
In you is life: all things were made
through you.
In this Holy Communion you want to
give me a share in your life and bring
me to the abundance of grace and truth.
You are the true light shining now in the
darkness of my soul; it is you who make
the Father known to me:
it is you who give me the power to
become a child of God.
How can I thank you for all your
goodness to me?
You come into my heart to cleanse it;
you come into my mind to enlighten it;
you touch my lips so that I may speak
no word which would hurt another;
you come to me when I am sad so as to
comfort me;
you come to me when I am tired so as
to refresh me;
you come to me when I am lonely so as
to cheer me.
In you I have been blessed with every
spiritual blessing.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Cf. Jn 1: 12
To all who would accept him,
he gave the power to become
children of God.
The peace of the Lord be with you
always.
And with your Spirit.
The priest may add these or similar words.
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.
The priest places a small piece of the host in
the chalice saying quietly:
May this mingling of the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
bring eternal life to us who receive it.
Meanwhile the people sing or say:
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world: grant us peace.
May the Body of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.
The Priest reverently consumes the Body of
Christ.
Then he takes the chalice and says quietly:
May the Blood of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.
The priest says quietly:
May the receiving of your Body and
Blood, Lord Jesus Christ,
not bring me to judgement and
condemnation, but through your loving
mercy be for me protection in mind
and body, and a healing remedy.
Raising the host the priest says:
Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of
the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper
of the Lamb.
And together with the people he says once:
Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Solemn Blessing – The Beginning of the Year
May God, the source and origin of all
blessing, grant you grace,
pour out his blessing in abundance,
and keep you safe from harm
throughout the year. Amen.
May he give you integrity in the faith,
endurance in hope,
and perseverance in charity
with holy patience to the end. Amen
May he order your days and your
deeds in his peace,
grant your prayers in this and in every
place, and lead you happily to eternal
life. Amen
And may the blessing of almighty God
the Father, and the Son,and the Holy
Spirit, come down on you and remain
with you forever.
Amen.
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
Thanks be to God.
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 thy years
are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth;
for Christ is born of Mary;
and gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.
Once in Royal David’s city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a Mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed:
Mary was that Mother mild
Jesus Christ her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven,
who is God and Lord of all,
and his shelter was a stable
and his cradle was a stall;
with the poor, and mean, and lowly,
lived on earth our Saviour holy.
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Lord our God, we humbly ask you,
that, through the working of this
mystery, our offences may be
cleansed and our just desires fulfilled.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Priest raises a host slightly and shows it
to each of the communicants, saying:
The Body of Christ.
Amen.
Imprimi Potest: Concordat Cum Originali: @ Most Rev. Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor. Nihil Obstat: Excerpts from the
English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy corporation. Origination and printing
by Shanway Press, email: info@shanway.com T: 028 9022 2070