Latin Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 705 N. Waterloo Street, Jackson, MI 49202 US - December 23, 2007

ST. JOSEPH CHURCH, 705 N. WATERLOO, JACKSON

Every Sunday at 10:00 AM 

December 23, 2007 A.D.

MEDITATION BEFORE MASS:  The liturgy reminds us of the time during which the world was without Jesus.  This Mediator we now await, and since we can go to God only through Him, we implore Him to hasten His coming (Collect).  "Come O Lord, and tarry not"  (Alleluia).  "The Lord is nigh"  (Gradual).  It is Mary who is about to give Him to us.  The Offertory and the Communion are consecrated to her praises.  In the Offertory especially we find the AVE MARIA, in which the Church in a single salutation combines the words of the Angel Gabriel and those of St. Elizabeth, which were given us in the Gospel.  Allusion is made in the Gospel to the coming of mercy proclaimed by St. John the Baptist, and in the Epistle to the coming of justice at the end of time. 

ENTRANCE HYMN N0. 1 CREATOR ALME SIDERUM 

INTROIT  Isaiah 45:9.  Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.  Let the earth be opened and bud forth a Saviour.  Ps. 18:2.  The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.  Glory be to the Father... 

COLLECT  Stir up Thy power and come, we pray Thee, O Lord, and with great might help us;  that the good which our sins impede, by the help of Thy grace and the forgiveness of thy mercy, may speedily deliver us.  Who lives and reigns, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.  Amen. 

EPISTLE  1 Corinthians 4:4-7  Brethren:  Let a man so account us, as ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God.  Here now it is required among the dispensers that a man be found faithful.  But to me it is a very small matter to be judged by you or by man's tribunal:  but neither do I judge my own self.  For I have nothing on my conscience, yet I am not thereby justified;  but He who judges me is the Lord.  Therefore, judge not before the time, until the Lord come;  Who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts:  and then shall everyone have praise from God. 

GRADUAL  Psalm 144:18,21.  The Lord is nigh unto all who call upon Him:   to all who call upon Him in truth.  My lips shall speak the praise of the Lord; let all flesh bless His holy name.

  Alleluia, alleluia. Come, O Lord, and tarry not:  forgive the sins of Thy people Israel.  Alleluia. 

GOSPEL  Luke 3:1-6.  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother was tetrarch of the district of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of the district of Abiline, under the high priests Annas and Caiphas:  the word of God came to John, the son of Zachary, in the desert.  And he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaias the prophet:  The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  Prepare ye the way of the Lord:  make straight His paths:  every valley shall be filled:  and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth:  and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 

OFFERTORY  Luke 1:28,42.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

SECRET  Look down favorably upon these sacrifices, O Lord, we beseech Thee;  that they may be profitable to our devotion and salvation.  Through our Lord... 

COMMUNION HYMN NO. 101 ADORO TE DEVOTE 

COMMUNION  Isaiah 7:14  Behold a Virgin shall conceive and shall bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel. 

POSTCOMMUNION  Having received Thy gifts, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that the work of our salvation may increase with our frequentation of this sacrament.  Through our Lord... 

CLOSING HYMN NO. 142 ALMA REDEMPTORIS MATER

According to the law of the Church, only practicing Catholics who are in the state of grace may receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion.  In the custom of the Tridentine Rite, Our Lord is received kneeling and on the tongue.  The communicant does not say “Amen”.

Use this leaflet with the Mass Booklet:

The Mass booklet contains the unchanging parts of the Mass, called the Ordinary; this leaflet contains the parts proper to today's feast, which do change and are called the Proper.  Used in conjunction, these two items give you the total liturgy.

Any men or boys interested in serving at this Mass or anyone needing a Mass Booklet, please call 517-784-1612.