INVITATORY
The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.
Lord, + open my lips.
— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
The antiphon is repeated. In individual recitation, the antiphon may be said only at the beginning of the psalm; it need not be repeated after each strophe.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
God, + come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
During the night or at dawn:
Waking in darkness, let us all keep vigil,
ever reflecting on the psalms we utter;
firm and wholehearted, let us sing with sweetness
hymns to our Savior,
That as we praise him, Lord and King most loving,
we may be worthy with his saints to enter
courts of high heaven and enjoy for ever
life blest and happy.
Grant this, we ask you, Godhead ever blessed,
equal and holy Father, Son, and Spirit,
through all creation, age to age reechoes
your wondrous glory. Amen.
Tune: ISTE CONFESSOR (ROUEN/POITIERS) 11 11 11 5
Music: from the Poitiers Antiphoner, 1746
or Mode I, melody 9; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Nocte surgens vigilemus omnes, 8-9th c., © 2023 ICEL
During the day:
God, we beseech you, let your tender mercy:
Listen with favor to our supplications,
heed the petitions of your lowly servants,
as we implore you.
Gazing serenely from your throne most holy,
look down in kindness on the oil we offer;
keep our lamps burning, chase away the shadows
from hearts in darkness.
In your great mercy, free us from our failings,
cleanse our defilement, break apart our fetters,
pardon transgressions, with your right hand raising
all who have fallen.
Glory and power to the eternal Father,
praise to you always, Son and Sole-begotten,
with whom the Spirit, in all things your equal,
reigns through the ages. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: Ad preces nostras deitatis aures, ca. 10th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, let my cry come to you; do not hide your face from me.
Psalm 102
The longings and prayers of an exile.
God comforts us in all our troubles (2 Corinthians 1:4).
I
O Lord, listen to my prayer *
and let my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face from me *
in the day of my distress.
Turn your ear towards me *
and answer me quickly when I call.
For my days are vanishing like smoke, *
my bones burn away like a fire.
My heart is withered like the grass. *
I forget to eat my bread.
I cry with all my strength *
and my skin clings to my bones.
I have become like a pelican in the wilderness, *
like an owl in desolate places.
I lie awake and I moan *
like some lonely bird on a roof.
All day long my foes revile me; *
those who hate me use my name as a curse.
The bread I eat is ashes; *
my drink is mingled with tears.
In your anger, Lord, and your fury *
you have lifted me up and thrown me down.
My days are like a passing shadow *
and I wither away like the grass.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Lord, let my cry come to you; do not hide your face from me.
Ant. 2 Be attentive, Lord, to the prayer of the helpless.
II
But you, O Lord, will endure for ever *
and your name from age to age.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion: *
for this is the time to have mercy;
yes, the time appointed has come †
for your servants love her very stones, *
are moved with pity even for her dust.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord *
and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again *
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; *
he will not despise their prayers.
Let this be written for ages to come *
that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high. *
He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners *
and free those condemned to die.
The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled *
and their race shall endure before you
that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion *
and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,
when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together *
to pay their homage to the Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Be attentive, Lord, to the prayer of the helpless.
Ant. 3 You, O Lord, established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
III
He has broken my strength in mid-course; *
he has shortened the days of my life.
I say to God: “Do not take me away †
before my days are complete, *
you, whose days last from age to age.
Long ago you founded the earth *
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish but you will remain. *
They will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like clothes that are changed. *
But you neither change, nor have an end.”
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, you live in the hearts of your saints, and so have built up Zion. May you always show your greatness through their good works.
Ant. You, O Lord, established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Listen, my people, to my teaching.
— Give ear to the words I speak.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the second letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians
2:12—3:6
Paul, a minister of the new covenant
When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, the door of opportunity was opened wide for me by the Lord. Yet I was inwardly troubled because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went off to Macedonia.
Thanks be to God, who unfailingly leads us on in Christ’s triumphal train, and employs us to diffuse the fragrance of his knowledge everywhere! We are an aroma of Christ for God’s sake, both among those who are being saved and those on the way to destruction; to the latter an odor dealing death, to the former a breath bringing life. For such a mission as this, is anyone really qualified? We at least are not like so many who trade on the word of God. We speak in Christ’s name, pure in motivation, conscious of having been sent by God and of standing in his presence.
Am I beginning to speak well of myself again? Or do I need letters of recommendation to you or from you as others might? You are my letter, known and read by all men, written on your hearts. Clearly you are a letter of Christ which I have delivered, a letter written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh in the heart.
This great confidence in God is ours, through Christ. It is not that we are entitled of ourselves to take credit for anything. Our sole credit is from God, who has made us qualified ministers of a new covenant, a covenant not of a written law but of spirit. The written law kills, but the Spirit gives life.
RESPONSORY
2 Corinthians 3:4, 6, 5
Through Christ we have full confidence in God,
— who has made us suitable ministers of his new covenant,
not of a written code but in the Spirit.
We know that we cannot of ourselves take credit for anything,
for all of our sufficiency comes from God.
— Who has made us suitable ministers of his new covenant,
not of a written code but in the Spirit.
SECOND READING
From a letter to the Magnesians by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
(Nn. 10,1—15, 2: Funk 1, 199-203)
You have Christ within you
Let us not be insensible of Christ’s loving kindness. For if he had acted as we do, we would have been lost indeed. Therefore let us become his disciples and learn to live in the Christian way; those who are called by any other name are not of God. Cast out the evil leaven that has become old and sour, and replace it with the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. He must be the salt of your lives, so that none of you may become corrupt, since it is by your wholesomeness that you will be judged. It is absurd to profess Christ with the lips and at the same time to practice Judaism; for Christianity did not develop into faith in Judaism, but Judaism into faith in Christianity. It was in this that men of every tongue believed and were brought together unto God.
I do not write this to you, my dear friends, because I have heard that any one of you is thus disaffected, but because, though I am a lesser man than yourselves, I would have you all guard against falling into the snares of false doctrine. Have a firm faith in the reality of the Lord’s birth, and passion and resurrection which took place when Pontius Pilate was procurator. All these deeds were truly and certainly accomplished by Jesus Christ, who is our hope; may none of you ever be turned away from him!
May you be my joy in all things, if I am worthy of it. For although I am in chains, I do not deserve to be compared with any of you who live in freedom. I know that you are not inflated with pride, for you have Jesus Christ within you. And I know that you blush when I praise you, as the scripture says: The just man is his own accuser. Take care, then, to be firmly grounded in the teachings of the Lord and his apostles so that you may prosper in all your doings both in body and in soul, in faith and in love, in the Son, and in the Father and in the Spirit, in the beginning and in the end, along with your most worthy bishop and his spiritual crown, your presbyters, and with the deacons, who are men of God. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was in the flesh to the Father, and the apostles to Christ and to the Father and to the Spirit, so that there may be unity in flesh and spirit.
I have exhorted you only briefly, for I am aware that you are filled with God. Remember me in your prayers, that I may attain to God. And remember the church in Syria, from which I am unworthy to be called. How I need your united prayer and love in God! Remember, then, the Church in Syria, that it may be strengthened through your prayers.
The Ephesians at Smyrna, where I write these lines, send their greetings. They have come together here like yourselves for the glory of God; they have consoled me in every way and so has Polycarp, their bishop. The other churches, too, greet you for the glory of Jesus Christ. Farewell; may you abide in God’s harmony, possessing that undivided spirit which is Jesus Christ.
RESPONSORY
Ephesians 3:16, 17, 19; Colossians 2:6-7
God grant that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
— If you are rooted and grounded in love,
then you will be filled with the fullness of God.
Live then in Christ Jesus;
you must be rooted and built on him,
and confirmed in the faith you were taught.
— If you are rooted and grounded in love,
then you will be filled with the fullness of God.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord, be merciful to your people.
Fill us with your gifts
and make us always eager to serve you
in faith, hope, and love.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
Show favor, O Lord, to your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful in keeping your commands.
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.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
******
Psalm 24
The Lord’s entry into his temple
Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (Saint Irenaeus).
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, *
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas; *
on the waters he made it firm.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? *
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart, †
who desires not worthless things, *
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord *
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him, *
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Psalm 67
People of all nations will worship the Lord
You must know that God is offering his salvation to all the world (Acts 28:28).
O God, be gracious and bless us *
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth *
and all nations learn your saving help.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Let the nations be glad and exult *
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples, *
you guide the nations on earth.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
The earth has yielded its fruit *
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing *
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Psalm 100
The joyful song of those entering God’s temple
The Lord calls his ransomed people to sing songs of victory (Saint Athanasius).
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. †
Serve the Lord with gladness. *
Come before him, singing for joy.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. †
He made us, we belong to him, *
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, your great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, you rule day and night;
Your justice like mountains high soaring above
Your clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
Life-giving Creator, of both great and small;
Of all life the maker, the true life of all;
We blossom, then wither, as leaves on a tree,
But you live for ever, who is and will be.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Your angels adoring, all veiling their sight;
We too, God invisible, offer our praise;
O light inaccessible, Ancient of Days!
Tune: St. Denio 11.11.11.11
Music: Roberts’ Canaidau y Cyssegr, 1839
Text: Walter C. Smith, 1824-1908, alt.