The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
A fire prepares his path;
it burns up his foes on every side.
His lightnings light up the world,
the earth trembles at the sight.
The mountains melt like wax
before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
Let those who serve idols be ashamed,
those who boast of their worthless gods.
All you spirits, worship him.
Zion hears and is glad;
the people of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth,
exalted far above all spirits.
The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the souls of his saints;
he sets them free from the wicked.
Light shines forth for the just I It is he who forgives all your guilt, The Lord does deeds of justice, The Lord is compassion and love, For as the heavens are high above the earth As a father has compassion on his sons As for man, his days are like grass; But the love of the Lord is everlasting The Lord has set his sway in heaven Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts, And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had deceived all the world, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him. Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the persecutor, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down. They have triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the witness of their martyrdom, because even in the face of death they would not cling to life. Let the heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth and sea, trouble is coming – because the devil has gone down to you in a rage, knowing that his days are numbered.’ As soon as the devil found himself thrown down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman, the mother of the male child, but she was given a huge pair of eagle’s wings to fly away from the serpent into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after for a year and twice a year and half a year So the serpent vomited water from his mouth, like a river, after the woman, to sweep her away in the current, but the earth came to her rescue; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river thrown up by the dragon’s jaws. Then the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, that is, all who obey God’s commandments and bear witness for Jesus. From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
The word "angel" denotes a function rather than a nature
You, Christ, are the king of glory, V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance; The concluding part of the hymn may be omitted.
and joy for the upright of heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord;
give glory to his holy name.
Antiphon 1: The sea grew turbulent and the earth trembled when Michael the archangel came down from heaven.
Antiphon 2: The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and said: Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion,
who fills your life with good things,
renewing your youth like an eagle's.
gives judgment for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses
and his deeds to Israel's sons.
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
Antiphon 2: The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and said: Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
Antiphon 3: I am the Angel Raphael, I stand in the presence of the Lord; as for you, bless the Lord, and proclaim his wonderful deeds.
III
For he knows of what we are made,
he remembers that we are dust.
he flowers like the flower of the field;
the wind blows and he is gone
and his place never sees him again.
upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children's children
when they keep his covenant in truth,
when they keep his will in their mind.
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word,
who heed the voice of his word.
his servants who do his will.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his works,
in every place where he rules.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord!
Bless the Lord, all his angels.
- Mighty in power and obedient to his word.
FIRST READING
From the book of Revelaton 12:1-17a
Michael's battle with the dragon
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready, for her to be looked after in the twelve hundred and sixty days.
RESPONSORY See Revelation 12:7, 10, 19:1
There was silence in heaven when the dragon fought with Michael the archangel.
- Then I heard a loud voice crying out:
Salvation, glory and power belong to the almighty God.
Now salvation and power have come;
the reign of our God and the authority of Christ are at hand.
- Then I heard a loud voice crying out:
Salvation, glory and power belong to the almighty God.
SECOND READING
(Hom. 34,8-9: PL 76, 1250-1251)
You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels. And so it was that not merely an angel but the archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary. It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of all messages.
Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.”
Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to be like God, saying: "I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High." He will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment. Then, he will fight with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: "A battle was fought with Michael the archangel."
So too Gabriel, who is called God’s strength, was sent to Mary. He came to announce the One who appeared as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers. Thus God’s strength announced the coming of the Lord of the heavenly powers, mighty in battle. Raphael means, as I have said, God’s remedy, for when he touched Tobit’s eyes in order to cure him, he banished the darkness of his blindness. Thus, since he is to heal, he is rightly called God’s remedy.
RESPONSORY See Revelation 8:3,4; Daniel 7:10
An angel stood by the altar, holding a golden censer;
a large quantity of incense was given to him,
- And clouds of incense rose from the hand of the angel in the presence of the Lord.
Thousands upon thousands waited on him,
and myriads upon myriads stood before him.
- And clouds of incense rose from the hand of the angel in the presence of the Lord.
CANTICLE TE DEUM
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
R. govern and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day by day we bless you;
R. we praise your name for ever.
V. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin;
R. have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R. for we put our trust in you.
V. In you, Lord, is our hope;
R. and we shall never hope in vain.
COLLECT
O God, who dispose in marvelous order
ministries both angelic and human,
graciously grant
that our life on earth may be defended
by those who watch over us
as they minister perpetually to you in heaven.
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.
Let us praise the Lord.
- And give him thanks.
The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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