Collect
Shepherd of Israel,
you gently support the one who is with child
and call forth the Lamb who dances in the womb. Stir our hearts to recognize Christ’s coming,
as Elizabeth recognized his presence
in Mary’s radiant obedience to your desire,
and open our souls to receive the one
who came to love your flock. Amen.
Readings
Micah 5: 2-5a
Canticle—Luke 1: 46-55
Hebrews 10: 5-10
Luke 1: 39-45
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and ex- claimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’