Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1 (Advent I): The Blessed Virgin Mary, Chosen Daughter of Israel

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Chosen Daughter of Israel

Beata Maria Virgo, Electa Israel Progenies

During Advent the Roman Liturgy celebrates the plan of salvation by which the merciful God called the patriarchs, united them to himself in a covenant of love, established the Law through Moses, raised up by the Prophets, and chose David as the one from whose line the Savior of the world was to be born. The books of the Old Testament, in foretelling the coming of Christ, "gradually bring into clearer light the figure of a woman, the Mother of the Redeemer" (Lumen Gentium, n. 55): she is the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the Church proclaims as the joy of Israel and the noble daughter of Zion.

Our Lady, who undid the sin of Eve by her sinlessness, "is by nature the daughter of Adam" (Preface); in believing the message of the angel she conceived the Son of God in her virginal womb: "she is by faith the true child of Abraham" (Pref); "she is by descent the branch from the root of Jesse, bearing the flower that is Jesus Christ our Lord" (Pref).

In her sincere obedience to the Law and her wholehearted acceptance of God's will, she is, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, "exalted among the humble and poor of the Lord, who trustingly hope in him for salvation and from him receive it. After the long period of waiting for the fulfilment of the promise, in her at last the fullness of time is reached, and a new order of providence is begun, when the Son of God takes from her a human nature in order to free the human family from sin through the mysteries of his earthly life" (Lumen Gentium, n. 55).

This Mass in honor of Our Lady, chosen daughter of Israel, recalls and celebrates this mystery of God's mercy and our salvation.

The first reading appropriately commemorates either God's promise to Abraham ("All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you": 1 Read, Genesis 12, 1-7; cf. Luke 1, 55) or God's promise to David through the prophet Nathan ("Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" 1 Read, 2 Samuel 7, 1-5. 8b-11. 16; cf. Luke 1, 32-33). The Gospel reading proclaims the ancestry of Christ (Gos, Matthew 1, 1-17), showing that our Savior is son of David and son of Abraham (cf. Matthew 1, 1).

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Entrance Antiphon cf. Zephaniah 3, 14; Haggai 2, 8
Rejoice and be glad with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem;
the Desired of all nations is coming,
and the house of the Lord will be filled with glory.

Lætare et exsulta in omni corde,

Filia Ierusalem:

ecce venit desideratus cunctis gentibus,

et replebitur gloria domus Domini.

COLLECT
O God, who chose the Blessed Virgin Mary,
foremost among the poor and humble,
to be the Mother of the Savior,
grant, we pray, that following her example,
we may offer you the homage of sincere faith
and place in you all our hope of salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Deus, qui beatam Virginem Mariam,

inter humiles et pauperes præcellentem,

Matrem Salvatoris elegisti,

præsta, quæsumus, ut, eius exempla sectantes,

tibi sinceræ fidei præstemus obsequium

et in te totam spem salutis collocemus.

Per Dominum.

or:

O God, who, fulfilling the promise to our Fathers,
chose the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the noble daughter of Zion,
grant that we may follow her example,
for her humility was pleasing to you
and her obedience profitable to us.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Deus, qui promissa Patribus adimplens,

beatam Virginem Mariam, præcelsam Filiam Sion, elegisti,

concede nobis illius exempla sectari,

quæ humilis tibi placuit,

oboediens nobis profuit.

Per Dominum.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading

Gen 12, 1-7

God spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham and his seed for ever.

A reading from the Book of Genesis

The LORD said to Abram:

   “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk

   and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.

   “I will make of you a great nation,

      and I will bless you;

   I will make your name great,

      so that you will be a blessing.

   I will bless those who bless you

      and curse those who curse you.

   All the communities of the earth

      shall find blessing in you.”

Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot,

   all the possessions that they had accumulated,

   and the persons they had acquired in Haran,

   and they set out for the land of Canaan.

When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land

   as far as the sacred place at Shechem,

   by the terebinth of Moreh.

(The Canaanites were then in the land.)

The LORD appeared to Abram and said,

   “To your descendants I will give this land.”

So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

The word of the Lord.

Or:

2 Sm 7, 1-5. 8ab-11. 11. 16

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David.

A reading from the second Book of Samuel

When King David was settled in his palace,

   and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,

   he said to Nathan the prophet,

“Here I am living in a house of cedar,

   while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”

Nathan answered the king,

   “Go, do whatever you have in mind,

   for the LORD is with you.”

But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:

   “Go tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:

   Should you build me a house to dwell in?

“‘It was I who took you from the pasture

   and from the care of the flock

   to be commander of my people Israel.

I have been with you wherever you went,

   and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.

And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.

I will fix a place for my people Israel;

   I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place

   without further disturbance.

Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,

   since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.

I will give you rest from all your enemies.

The LORD also reveals to you

   that he will establish a house for you.

Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;

   your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

The word of the Lord.

Or:

Ruth 2, 1-2.8-11; 4, 13-17

The Lord enabled her to conceive and bear a son, whom they named Obed; 

he was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

A reading from the Book of Ruth

Naomi had a prominent kinsman named Boaz,

   of the clan of her husband Elimelech.

Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,

   “Let me go and glean ears of grain in the field

   of anyone who will allow me that favor.”

Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter!

Do not go to glean in anyone else’s field;

   you are not to leave here.

Stay here with my women servants.

Watch to see which field is to be harvested, and follow them;

   I have commanded the young men to do you no harm.

When you are thirsty, you may go and drink from the vessels the young men have filled.”

Casting herself prostrate upon the ground, Ruth said to him,

   “Why should I, a foreigner, be favored with your notice?”

Boaz answered her:

   “I have had a complete account of what you have done

   for your mother-in-law after your husband’s death;

   you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth,

   and have come to a people whom you did not know previously.”

Boaz took Ruth.

When they came together as man and wife,

   the LORD enabled her to conceive and she bore a son.

Then the women said to Naomi,

   “Blessed is the LORD who has not failed

   to provide you today with an heir!

May he become famous in Israel!

He will be your comfort and the support of your old age,

   for his mother is the daughter-in-law who loves you.

She is worth more to you than seven sons!”

Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became his nurse.

And the neighbor women gave him his name,

   at the news that a grandson had been born to Naomi.

They called him Obed.

He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm 
Psalm 113, 1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 7-8

R. (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.

Praise, you servants of the LORD,

   praise the name of the LORD.

Blessed be the name of the LORD

   both now and forever. R.

From the rising of the sun to its setting

   let the name of the LORD be praised.

High above all nations is the LORD;

   above the heavens God’s glory. R.

Who is like the LORD,

   our God enthroned on high,

   looking down on heaven and earth? R.

The LORD raises the needy from the dust,

   lifts the poor from the ash heap,

   seats them with princes, the princes of the people. R.

Or:

1 Sm 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd

R. (2) My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

My heart exults in the LORD,

   my horn is exalted in my God.

I have swallowed up my enemies;

   I rejoice in my victory. R.

The bows of the mighty are broken

   while the tottering gird on strength.

The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,

   while the hungry batten on spoil.

The barren wife bears seven sons,

   while the mother of many languishes. R.

The LORD puts to death and gives life;

   he casts down to the nether world;

   he raises up again.

The LORD make poor and makes rich,

   he humbles, he also exalts. R.

He raises the needy from the dust;

   from the ash heap he lifts up the poor,

To seat them with nobles

   and make a glorious throne their heritage. R.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come, Flower of Jesse’s stem,

sign of God’s love for all peoples:

save us without delay!.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 1, 1-17

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

The book of the genealogy pf Jesus Christ,

   the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,

   whose mother was Tamar.

Perez became the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

   Ram the father of Amminadab.

Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

   Salmon the father of Boaz,

   whose mother was Rahab.

Boaz became the father of Obed,

   whose mother was Ruth.

Obed became the father of Jesse,

   Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,

   whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.

Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asaph.

Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

   Joram the father of Uzziah.

Uzziah became the father of Jotham,

   Jotham the father of Ahaz,

   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,

   Manasseh the father of Amos,

   Amos the father of Josiah.

Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers

   at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,

   Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

   Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.

Abiud became the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

   Azor the father of Zadok.

Zadok became the father of Achim,

   Achim the father of Eliud,

   Eliud the father of Eleazar.

Eleazar became the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of Mary was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Thus the total number of generations

   from Abraham to David

   is fourteen generations;

   from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;

   from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah,

   fourteen generations.

The Gospel of the Lord.

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Accept, O Lord, these offerings,
and by your power change them into the Sacrament of salvation,
in which, fulfilling the sacrifices of the Fathers,
is offered the true Lamb, Jesus Christ your Son,
born of the ever-Virgin Mary in a way beyond all telling.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Accipe, Domine, hæc munera

et tua virtute in sacramentum salutis converte,

in quo, cessantibus figuralibus Patrum hostiis,

verus Agnus offertur, Iesus Christus Filius tuus,

ex intacta Virgine ineffabiliter natus.

Qui vivit.

PREFACE

Our Lady is Daughter of Adam, Child of Abraham, Branch of Jesse

(Sancta Maria filia Adæ, semen Abrahæ, virga Iesse)

The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. 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.

For you chose the Blessed Virgin Mary

as the crown of Israel and the beginning of the Church,

to reveal to all peoples that salvation is born from Israel

and that your new family springs from a chosen root.

She is by nature the daughter of Adam,

who by her sinlessness undid the sin of Eve.

She is by faith the true child of Abraham,

who first believed and so conceived.

She is by descent the branch from the root of Jesse,

bearing the flower that is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through him the Angels of heaven

offer their prayer of adoration

as they rejoice in your presence for ever.

May our voices be one with theirs

in their triumphant hymn of praise:

Vere dignum et iustum est, æquum et salutare,

nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere:

Domine, sancte Pater, omnipotens æterne Deus:

Qui beatam Virginem Mariam constituisti

culmen Israel et Ecclesiæ initium,

ut cunctis populis pateret salutem ex Israel venire

et novam familiam tuam ex electo stipite prodire.

Ipsa enim condicione filia est Adæ,

quæ culpam matris innocentia reparavit;

fide, semen est Abrahæ,

quæ credendo concepit;

stirpe, virga est de radice Iesse,

ex qua flos ascendit Iesus Christus Dominus noster.

Per quem maiestatem tuam adorat exercitus Angelorum,

ante conspectum tuum in æternitate lætantium.

Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti iubeas, deprecamur,

socia exsultatione dicentes:

Holy, Holy, Holy....

Communion Antiphon

Rejoice and be glad, O joy of Israel!

Through the angel you received the world's joy!

Rejoice and be glad, for you brought to birth for us the Bread of Life!

Gaude et lætare, exsultatio Patriarcharum.

Gaude, quæ per angelum gaudium mundi suscepisti.

Gaude, quæ nobis panem vitæ germinasti.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Refreshed, Lord God, by this life-giving Sacrament,

we call out to you and pray

that as we see in Christ, born of the Virgin,

the promise to Israel fulfilled,

so in his Second Coming we may attain

the joyful fulfillment of all our hope.

Through Christ our Lord.

Refecti, Domine, vitalibus sacramentis,

te supplices exoramus,

ut qui in Christo, ex alma Virgine nato,

promissa Patribus profitemur impleta,

in altero eius adventu læti consequamur,

quæ adhuc implenda exspectamus.

Qui vivit.