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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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:
As the cock’rel with his crowing
cleaves the darkness of the night
and relieves the fearful terror
of the night’s most gloomy hour,
we invoke you, God all-loving,
as we pray with humble heart.
While the midnight silence shrouded
and encompassed ev’rything,
while, indeed, all sleeping mortals
showed a likeness to the dead,
you descended, Light and Power,
watchful guardian of our kind,
That, O Christ, you might arouse us
from the sleep of vice and sin,
and release us by your favor
from the prison of our night,
then restore us to your friendship
in your endless light of life.
Praise to you and to the Father,
honor to the Spirit blest,
to the name beyond all sweetness,
to the holy will divine,
God of peace and life and splendor,
wholly One yet perfect Three. Amen.
Tune: PICARDY, 8 7 8 7 8 7
Music: from Julian Tiersot’s Mélodies populaires des provinces de France, 1887
or Mode II, melody 34; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983*
Text: Galli cantu mediante, Gottschalk of Fulda, O. S. B., ca. 808-868, © 2023 ICEL
During the day:
Draw near, Creator of the world
and glory of the Father’s light,
for when your grace is far from us,
our hearts begin to be alarmed.
Lord, may your Spirit fill our breast
to bear and cherish God within,
preserving us from dread deceit
and cunning of the grasping foe,
That in the midst of life’s demands
which claim our actions in this world,
we may be free from ev’ry sin
and live according to your laws.
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: ABENDS, 8 8 8 8
Music: Herbert Stanley Oakley, 1830-1903
or Mode II, melody 43; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Adesto rerum conditor, before 6th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 My God, do not reject my cry for help, assailed as I am by the wicked.
Psalm 55:2-15, 17-24
Against a false friend
Jesus was seized with fear and great distress (Mark 14:33).
I
O God, listen to my prayer, *
do not hide from my pleading,
attend to me and reply; *
with my cares, I cannot rest.
I tremble at the shouts of the foe, *
at the cries of the wicked;
for they bring down evil upon me. *
They assail me with fury.
My heart is stricken within me, *
death’s terror is on me,
trembling and fear fall upon me *
and horror overwhelms me.
O that I had wings like a dove *
to fly away and be at rest.
So I would escape far away *
and take refuge in the desert.
I would hasten to find a shelter *
from the raging wind,
from the destructive storm, O Lord, *
and from their plotting tongues.
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. My God, do not reject my cry for help, assailed as I am by the wicked.
Ant. 2 The Lord himself will free us from hostile and treacherous hands.
II
For I can see nothing but violence *
and strife in the city.
Night and day they patrol *
high on the city walls.
It is full of wickedness and evil; *
it is full of sin.
Its streets are never free *
from tyranny and deceit.
If this had been done by an enemy *
I could bear his taunts.
If a rival had risen against me, *
I could hide from him.
But it is you, my own companion, *
my intimate friend!
How close was the friendship between us. †
We walked together in harmony *
in the house of 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. The Lord himself will free us from hostile and treacherous hands.
Ant. 3 Entrust your cares to the Lord; he will sustain you.
III
As for me, I will cry to God *
and the Lord will save me.
Evening, morning and at noon *
I will cry and lament.
He will deliver my soul in peace *
in the attack against me:
for those who fight me are many, *
but he hears my voice.
God will hear and will humble them, *
the eternal judge:
for they will not amend their ways. *
They have no fear of God.
The traitor has turned against his friends; *
he has broken his word.
His speech is softer than butter, *
but war is in his heart.
His words are smoother than oil, *
but they are naked swords.
Entrust your cares to the Lord *
and he will support you.
He will never allow *
the just man to stumble.
But you, O God, will bring them down *
to the pit of death.
Deceitful and bloodthirsty men *
shall not live half their days.
O Lord, I will trust in you.
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 Jesus, you were rejected by your people, betrayed by the kiss of a friend, and deserted by your disciples. Give us the confidence that you had in the Father, and our salvation will be assured.
Ant. Entrust your cares to the Lord; he will sustain you.
Children, listen to my words of wisdom.
— Pay attention to my counsels.
READINGS
FIRST READIN
G
From the first book of Samuel
25:14-24, 28-39
David and Abigail
Nabal’s wife Abigail was informed of this by one of the servants, who said: “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but he flew at them screaming. Yet these men were very good to us. We were done no injury, neither did we miss anything all the while we were living among them during our stay in the open country. For us they were like a rampart night and day the whole time we were pasturing the sheep near them. Now, see what you can do, for you must realize that otherwise evil is in store for our master and for his whole family. He is so mean that no one can talk to him.”
Abigail quickly got together two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on asses. She then said to her servants, “Go on ahead; I will follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
As she came down through a mountain defile riding on an ass, David and his men were also coming down from the opposite direction. When she met them, David had just been saying: “Indeed, it was in vain that I guarded all this man’s possessions in the desert, so that he missed nothing. He has repaid good with evil. May God do thus and so to David, if by morning I leave a single male alive among all those who belong to him.”
As soon as Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the ass and, falling prostrate on the ground before David, did him homage. As she fell at his feet she said: “My lord, let the blame be mine. Please let your handmaid speak to you, and listen to the words of your handmaid.
“Please forgive the transgression of your handmaid, for the Lord shall certainly establish a lasting dynasty for my lord, because your lordship is fighting the battles of the Lord, and there is no evil to be found in you your whole life long. If anyone rises to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my Lord be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God; but may he hurl out the lives of your enemies as from the hollow of a sling. And when the Lord carries out for my Lord the promise of success he has made concerning you, and appoints you as commander over Israel, you shall not have this as a qualm or burden on your conscience, my lord, for having shed innocent blood or for having avenged yourself personally. When the Lord confers this benefit on your lordship, remember your handmaid.”
David said to Abigail: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today. Blessed be your good judgment and blessed be you yourself, who this day have prevented me from shedding blood and from avenging myself personally. Otherwise, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come so promptly to meet me, by dawn Nabal would not have had a single man or boy left alive.” David then took from her what she had brought him and said to her: “Go up to your home in peace! See, I have granted your request as a personal favor.”
When Abigail came to Nabal, there was a drinking party in his house like that of a king, and Nabal was merry because he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all before daybreak the next morning. But then, when Nabal had become sober, his wife told him what had happened. At this his courage died within him, and he became like a stone. About ten days later the Lord struck him and he died. On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said: “Blessed be the Lord, who has requited the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and who restrained his servant from doing evil, but has punished Nabal for his own evil deeds.”
RESPONSORY
1 Samuel 25:32, 33; Matthew 5:7
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who has sent you to me today.
— You have held me back today from shedding blood and from
taking revenge into my own hands.
Blessed are the merciful;
they shall obtain mercy.
— You have held me back today from shedding blood
and from taking revenge into my own hands.
SECOND READING
From a homily of Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop
(Orat. 6 De beatitudinibus: PG 44, 1266-1267)
The hope of seeing God
The happiness God promises certainly knows no limits. When one has gained such a blessing, what is left to desire? In seeing God one possesses all things. In the language of Scripture, to see is to have. May you see the good things of Jerusalem is the same as May you possess the good things of Jerusalem. When the prophet says: May the wicked man be carried off and not see the glory of the Lord, he means: May he not share in the glory of the Lord.
One who has seen God has, in the act of seeing, gained all that is counted good: life without end, everlasting freedom from decay, undying happiness, a kingdom that has no end, lasting joy, true light, a voice to sing pleasingly in the spirit, unapproachable glory, perpetual rejoicing, in a word, the totality of blessing.
Such is the wonderful hope held out by the beatitudes. As we have seen, the condition for seeing God is purity of heart, and now once more my mind is in confusion, as from an attack of giddiness, wondering if purity of heart is something impossible, something beyond the capacity of human nature. If the vision of God is dependent on purity of heart, and if Moses and Paul did not attain this vision—they state that neither they nor anyone else can see God—then the promise of the beatitude spoken by the Word seems to be something impossible of realization.
What do we gain from knowing the means by which God may be seen if we have not the power to see him? It is like saying that one is blessed if one is in heaven because in heaven things are seen that are not seen on earth. If we were told beforehand how to get to heaven, it would be helpful to know that one is blessed if one is in heaven. But as long as the way to heaven is impossible what do we gain by knowing about the happiness of heaven? This only saddens and annoys us when we realize the good things we are deprived of, because it is impossible to get there.
Surely the Lord does not encourage us to do something impossible to human nature because the magnitude of what he commands is beyond the reach of our human strength? The truth is different. He does not command those creatures to whom he has not given wings to become birds, nor those to whom he has assigned a life on land to live in water. If then in the case of all other creatures the command is according to the capacity of those who receive it, and does not oblige them to anything beyond their nature, we shall come to the conclusion that we are not to give up hope of gaining what is promised by the beatitude. John and Paul and Moses, then, and any others like them, did not fail to achieve that sublime happiness that comes from the vision of God: not Paul, who said: There is stored up for me a crown of righteousness, which the judge who judges justly will give me, nor John, who leaned on the breast of Jesus, nor Moses, who heard God saying to him, I know you above all others.
If it is clear that those who taught that the contemplation of God was beyond their powers are themselves blessed, and if blessedness consists in the vision of God and is granted to the pure in heart, then purity of heart, leading to blessedness, is certainly not among the things that are impossible.
Hence it can be said that those who with Paul teach that the vision of God is beyond our powers are right in what they say, and that the voice of the Lord does not contradict them when he promises that the pure in heart will see God.
RESPONSORY
Psalm 63:2; 16:15
My soul thirsts for you, my God;
— my flesh longs for you.
In justice I shall behold your face;
and when I awake I shall be filled with the vision of your glory.
— My flesh longs for you.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
guide and protector of your people,
grant us an unfailing respect for your name,
and keep us always in your love.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
Grant, O Lord,
that we may always revere and love your holy name,
for you never deprive of your guidance
those you set firm on the foundation of your love.
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.
— 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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Come, let us praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.
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 praise the Lord; in him is all our delight.