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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and 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. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
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:
O Christ, you share the Father’s light,
yourself, the Light from Light, our day;
we interrupt the night with song:
come help us, Lord, and hear our prayer.
Remove the darkness from our minds,
and hordes of demons put to flight;
drive far from us all drowsy sleep,
lest sluggish hearts be overcome.
And so, O Christ, be merciful
to us and all believing hearts,
that what we ask in psalm and hymn
may profit us, who sing your praise.
O Christ, to you, most loving King,
and to the Father glory be,
one with the Spirit Paraclete,
from age to age for evermore. Amen.
Tune: ALFRETON, 8 8 8 8
Music: from the Supplement to the New Version of Psalms, 1708
or Mode IV, melody 67; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983*
Text: Consors paterni luminis, 6-7th c., © 2023 ICEL
During the day:
O God, most holy Trinity,
who order all that you have made,
assigning daylight hours to work,
appointing night for quiet rest,
We sing to you at dawn and dusk,
by night, by day we praise your name;
preserve us in your glory, Lord,
through ev’ry season, ev’ry hour.
Behold your servants bowing low,
who come to worship and adore;
unite our thanks and humble prayers
to hymns of praise from heaven’s choirs.
Most loving Father, hear our prayer,
and you, O Christ coequal Son,
who with the Spirit Paraclete
now reign for all eternity. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: O sacrosancta Trinitas, 10-11th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The Lord is just; he will defend the poor.
Psalm 10
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are the poor; the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Luke 6:20).
I
Lord, why do you stand afar off *
and hide yourself in times of distress?
The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked: *
he is caught in the schemes that others have made.
For the wicked man boasts of his heart’s desires; *
the covetous blasphemes and spurns the Lord.
In his pride the wicked says: “He will not punish, *
There is no God.” Such are his thoughts.
His path is ever untroubled; †
your judgment is far from his mind. *
His enemies he regards with contempt.
He thinks: “Never shall I falter: *
misfortune shall never be my lot.”
His mouth is full of cursing, guile, oppression, *
mischief and deceit under his tongue.
He lies in wait among the reeds; *
the innocent he murders in secret.
His eyes are on the watch for the helpless man. *
He lurks in hiding like a lion in his lair;
he lurks in hiding to seize the poor; *
he seizes the poor man and drags him away.
He crouches, preparing to spring, *
and the helpless fall beneath his strength.
He thinks in his heart: “God forgets, *
he hides his face, he does not see.”
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. The Lord is just; he will defend the poor.
Ant. 2 Lord, you know the burden of my sorrow.
II
Arise then, Lord, lift up your hand! *
O God, do not forget the poor!
Why should the wicked spurn the Lord *
and think in his heart: “God will not punish?”
But you have seen the trouble and sorrow, *
you note it, you take it in hand.
The helpless trusts himself to you; *
for you are the helper of the orphan.
Break the power of the wicked and the sinner! *
Punish his wickedness till nothing remains!
The Lord is king for ever and ever. *
The heathen shall perish from the land he rules.
Lord, you hear the prayer of the poor; *
you strengthen their hearts; you turn your ear
to protect the rights of the orphan and oppressed *
so that mortal man may strike terror no more.
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
Rise up, Lord, in defense of your people; do not hide your face from our troubles. Father of orphans, wealth of the poor, we rejoice in making you known; may we find comfort and security in times of pain and anxiety.
Ant. Lord, you know the burden of my sorrow.
Ant. 3 The words of the Lord are true, like silver from the furnace.
Psalm 12
A cry for God’s help against powerful opponents
The Father sent his Son into the world to defend the poor (Saint Augustine).
Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished; *
truth has gone from the sons of men.
Falsehood they speak one to another, *
with lying lips, with a false heart.
May the Lord destroy all lying lips, *
the tongue that speaks high-sounding words,
those who say: “Our tongue is our strength; *
our lips are our own, who is our master?”
“For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan †
I myself will arise,” says the Lord. *
“I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst.”
The words of the Lord are words without alloy, *
silver from the furnace, seven times refined.
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care *
and protect us for ever from this generation.
See how the wicked prowl on every side, *
while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men.
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
Your light is true light, Lord, and your truth shines like the day. Direct us to salvation through your life-giving words. May we be saved by always embracing your word.
Ant. The words of the Lord are true, like silver from the furnace.
The Lord teaches the humble his way.
— He guides the gentle-hearted along the right path.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Ezekiel
36:16-36
God’s people will be restored in body, heart and spirit
Thus the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their conduct and deeds. In my sight their conduct was like the defilement of a menstruous woman. Therefore I poured out my fury upon them [because of the blood which they poured out on the ground, and because they defiled it with idols]. I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to their conduct and deeds I judged them. But when they came among the nations [wherever they came], they served to profane my holy name, because it was said of them: “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave their land.” So I have relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came. I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
I will save you from all your impurities; I will order the grain to be abundant, and I will not send famine against you. I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields; thus you shall no longer bear among the nations the reproach of famine. Then you shall remember your evil conduct, and that your deeds were not good; you shall loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. Not for your sakes do I act, says the Lord God—let this be known to you! Be ashamed and abashed because of your conduct, O house of Israel.
Thus says the Lord God: When I purify you from all your crimes, I will repeople the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt; the desolate land shall be tilled, which was formerly a wasteland exposed to the gaze of every passer-by. “This desolate land has been made into a garden of Eden,” they shall say. “The cities that were in ruins, laid waste, and destroyed are now repeopled and fortified.” Thus the neighboring nations that remain shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have promised, and I will do it.
RESPONSORY
Ezekiel 11:19-20, 19
I will take away the heart of stone from their bodies
and give them a heart of flesh,
— so that they may walk in my ways;
and they shall be my people and I shall be their God.
I will give them a new heart
and put a new spirit within them.
— So that they may walk in my ways;
and they shall be my people and I shall be their God.
SECOND READING
From a sermon On Pastors by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Sermo 46, 18-19: CCL 41, 544-546)
The Church, like a vine, spreads everywhere in her growth
They were scattered on every mountain, and on every hill and over the entire face of the earth. What is the meaning of the phrase: They were scattered over the entire face of the earth? Some men continually strive for all the goods of the world, the goods that are so evident on the face of the earth; yes, they love and prize them. They do not want to die, to have their lives buried in Christ. Over the entire face of the earth such men love earthly things; moreover such straying sheep are to be found over the entire face of the earth. They dwell in different places, but one mother, pride, has given birth to them all, just as one mother, our Catholic Church, has given birth to all faithful Christians scattered over the entire world.
Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, and binds up the injured. They may not know one another, but she knows all of them because she reaches out to all her sheep.
Thus she is like a vine that is spread out everywhere in its growth. The straying sheep are like useless branches which because of their sterility are deservedly cut off, not to destroy the vine but to prune it. When these branches were cut down, they were left lying there. But the vine grew and flourished, and it knew both the branches that remained upon it and those that had been cut off and left lying beside it.
She calls the stray sheep back, however, because the Apostle said in reference to the broken branches: God has the power to graft them on again. Call them sheep straying from the flock or branches cut off from the vine, God is equally capable of calling back the sheep or of grafting the branches on again, for he is equally the chief shepherd and the true farmer. And they were scattered over the entire face of the earth, and there was no one to search for them, no one to call them back, that is to say, no one among those wicked shepherds. There was no one to search for them, that is, no one among men.
Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: I live, says the Lord God. Notice the beginning of this passage; it is as if God were taking an oath, giving testimony to his own life. I live, says the Lord. The shepherds are dead, but the sheep are safe, for the Lord lives. I live, says the Lord God. Which shepherds are dead? Those who seek what is theirs and not what is Christ’s. But will there be shepherds who seek what is Christ’s and not what is theirs, and will they be found? There will indeed be such shepherds, and they will indeed be found; they are not lacking, nor will they be lacking in the future.
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.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
guide us, as you guide creation
according to your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
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:
O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and 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. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and 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. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
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 our mighty King and Lord.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Come, let us worship our mighty King and 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. Come, let us worship our mighty King and Lord.
Lord, your word abiding
And our footsteps guiding,
Gives us joy for ever,
Shall desert us never.
Who can tell the pleasure,
Who recount the treasure,
By your word imparted
To the simplehearted?
Word of mercy giving
Succor to the living;
Word of Life supplying
Comfort to the dying.
O that we, discerning
Its most holy learning,
Lord may love and fear you,
Evermore be near you.
Tune: Ravenshaw 66.66
Music: Ave Hierarchia, M. Weisse, 1480-1534, adapted by W. H. Monk, 1823-1889
Text: Henry Williams Baker, 1821-1877, adapted by Anthony G. Petti