THE COLLECT.
WE beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE LESSON. Isaiah 7. 10.

MOREOVER, the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

THE GOSPEL. S. Luke 1. 26.

AND in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee. And she was troubled at this saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest;
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her,

The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee,
And the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee
Shall be called the Son of God.

And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren: for with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

INTROIT. Ps 45:10-15
10 HEARKEN, O daughter, consider, and incline thine ear; / forget also thine own people and thy father's house;
11 So shall the king have pleasure in thy beauty; / since he is thy lord, bow thou down to him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift: / even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour.
13 The king's daughter within the palace is all glorious; / her clothing is of wrought gold.
14 She is brought to the king in raiment of needlework: / the virgins that be her fellows bear her company, and are brought unto thee.
15 With joy and gladness are they led along, / as they enter into the king's palace.
Glory be.

GRADUAL. Ps 131
LORD, I am not high-minded: / I have no proud looks.
2 I do not exercise myself in great matters, / which are too high for me.
3 But I calm my soul and keep it quiet, like weaned child with his mother: / yea, my soul is even as a weaned child.
4 O Israel, trust in the LORD, / from this time forth for evermore.