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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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:
The wingèd herald of the day
foretells in song that dawn is near,
and Christ, who rouses souls from sleep,
now summons us to life once more:
“Away with these,” he cries, “away
with beds of sickness, sleep, and sloth;
keep watch, be sober, chaste, and just,
for I am here and close at hand.”
May he, when dawn emits and casts
her shimm’ring breath across the sky,
bestow full strength on all who toil
and make them firm in hope of light.
With sober prayers and fervent tears,
let us stir Jesus with our cries,
for earnest pleas with keen intent
preserve the pure of heart from sleep.
O Christ, dispel and scatter sleep,
break through the bondage of the night,
release us from deep-rooted sin,
and with new light now flood our hearts.
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: Ales diei nuntius, Prudentius, ca. 348-405, © 2023 ICEL
During the day:
Awaken us to love for you,
who grant us pardon for our faults,
that you may have compassion, Lord,
on hearts you cleanse from guilt and sin.
As outcasts here, we come to you
and, exiled, grieve with sighs and tears;
you are our haven and our home:
Lord, guide us to the halls of life.
O Truth, how happy is the love
that thirsts for you, the font of life,
and highly blest the eyes of those
who gaze upon you face to face.
How great the glory of your name,
the wondrous mem’ry of your praise,
which they whose hearts rise from the depths
now celebrate for evermore.
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: Amoris sensus erige, ca. 10th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Their own strength could not save them; it was your strength and the light of your face.
Psalm 44
The misfortunes of God’s people
We triumph over all these things through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
I
We heard with our own ears, O God, *
our fathers have told us the story
of the things you did in their days, *
you yourself, in days long ago.
To plant them you uprooted the nations: *
to let them spread you laid peoples low.
No sword of their own won the land; *
no arm of their own brought them victory.
It was your right hand, your arm *
and the light of your face: for you loved them.
It is you, my king, my God, *
who granted victories to Jacob.
Through you we beat down our foes; *
in your name we trampled our aggressors.
For it was not in my bow that I trusted *
nor yet was I saved by my sword:
it was you who saved us from our foes, *
it was you who put our foes to shame.
All day long our boast was in God *
and we praised your name without ceasing.
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. Their own strength could not save them; it was your strength and the light of your face.
Ant. 2 Turn back to the Lord; he will not hide his face.
II
Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us: *
you no longer go forth with our armies.
You make us retreat from the foe *
and our enemies plunder us at will.
You make us like sheep for the slaughter *
and scatter us among the nations.
You sell your own people for nothing *
and make no profit by the sale.
You make us the taunt of our neighbors, *
the laughing stock of all who are near.
Among the nations, you make us a byword, *
among the peoples a thing of derision.
All day long my disgrace is before me: *
my face is covered with shame
at the voice of the taunter, the scoffer, *
at the sight of the foe and avenger.
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. Turn back to the Lord; he will not hide his face.
Ant. 3 Arise, Lord, do not abandon us for ever.
III
This befell us though we had not forgotten you; *
though we had not been false to your covenant,
though we had not withdrawn our hearts; *
though our feet had not strayed from your path.
Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows *
and covered us with the shadow of death.
Had we forgotten the name of our God *
or stretched out our hands to another god
would not God have found this out, *
he who knows the secrets of the heart?
It is for you that we face death all day long *
and are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep? *
Arise, do not reject us for ever!
Why do you hide your face *
and forget our oppression and misery?
For we are brought down low to the dust; *
our body lies prostrate on the earth.
Stand up and come to our help! *
Redeem us because of your love!
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 foretold that we would share in the persecutions that brought you to a violent death. The Church formed at the cost of your precious blood is even now conformed to your Passion; may it be transformed, now and eternally, by the power of your resurrection.
Ant. Arise, Lord, do not abandon us for ever.
Let the light of your face shine on me, O Lord.
— Teach me your way of holiness.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Daniel
9:1-4a; 18-27
Daniel’s prayer and vision
It was the first year that Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of the race of the Medes, reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans; in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, tried to understand in the Scriptures the counting of the years of which the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah: that for the ruins of Jerusalem seventy years must be fulfilled.
I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. I prayed to the Lord, my God, and confessed, “Give ear, O my God, and listen; open your eyes and see our ruins and the city which bears your name. When we present our petition before you, we rely not on our just deeds, but on your great mercy. O Lord, hear! O Lord, pardon! O Lord, be attentive and act without delay, for your own sake, O my God, because this city and your people bear your name!”
I was still occupied with my prayer, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, presenting my petition to the Lord, my God, on behalf of his holy mountain—I was still occupied with this prayer, when Gabriel, the one whom I had seen before in vision, came to me in rapid flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me in these words: “Daniel, I have now come to give you understanding. When you began your petition, an answer was given which I have come to announce, because you are beloved. Therefore, mark the answer and understand the vision.
“Seventy weeks are decreed
for your people and for your holy city:
Then transgression will stop and sin will end,
guilt will be expiated,
Everlasting justice will be introduced,
vision and prophecy ratified,
and a most holy will be anointed.
“Know and understand this:
From the utterance of the word
that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt
Until one who is anointed and a leader,
there shall be seven weeks.
During sixty-two weeks
it shall be rebuilt,
With streets and trenches,
in time of affliction.
After the sixty-two weeks
an anointed shall be cut down
when he does not possess the city;
And the people of a leader who will come
shall destroy the sanctuary.
Then the end shall come like a torrent;
until the end there shall be war,
the desolation that is decreed.
“For one week he shall make
a firm compact with the many;
Half the week
he shall abolish sacrifice and oblation;
On the temple wing shall be the horrible abomination
until the ruin that is decreed
is poured out upon the horror.”
RESPONSORY
Baruch 2:16; Daniel 9:18; Psalm 80:20
Look down on us from your holy dwelling place, O Lord,
and think of us.
Turn your ear toward us, my God, and listen;
— open your eyes and look on our distress.
O Lord of hosts, restore us;
let your face shine upon us,
and we shall be saved.
— Open your eyes and look on our distress.
SECOND READING
From a homily written in the second century
(Cap 13,2—14,5: Funk 1, 159-161)
The living Church is the body of Christ
My name is constantly blasphemed by unbelievers, says the Lord. Woe to the man who causes my name to be blasphemed. Why is the Lord’s name blasphemed? Because we say one thing and do another. When they hear the words of God on our lips, unbelievers are amazed at their beauty and power, but when they see that those words have no effect in our lives, their admiration turns to scorn, and they dismiss such words as myths and fairy tales.
They listen, for example, when we tell them that God has said: It is no credit to you if you love those who love you, but only if you love your enemies, and those who hate you. They are full of admiration at such extraordinary virtue, but when they observe that we not only fail to love people who hate us, but even those who love us, they laugh us to scorn, and the Name is blasphemed.
Therefore, brothers, if we do the will of God the Father, we shall be members of the first spiritual Church that was created before the sun and the moon; but if we fail to do the will of the Lord, we shall be among those to whom it is said in Scripture: My house has been made into a robbers’ den. We must choose then, if we want to be saved, to be members of the Church of life.
You surely cannot be ignorant of the fact that the living Church is the body of Christ; for Scripture says: God made man male and female. Now the male signifies Christ, and the female signifies the Church, which, according to both the Old and the New Testament, is no recent creation, but has existed from the beginning. At first the Church was purely spiritual, even as our Jesus was spiritual, but it appeared in the last days to save us.
For the spiritual Church was made manifest in the body of Christ, in order to show us that if we uphold its honor in the outward, visible form, and do not defile it, we shall, through the Holy Spirit be made its members in the true, spiritual sense. For the body of the Church is a copy of the Spirit, and no one who defaces the copy can have any part in what the copy represents. In other words, brothers, you must preserve the honor of the body in order to share in the Spirit. For if we say that the body is the Church and the Spirit is Christ, it follows that anyone who dishonors his body, dishonors the Church. Such a man will have no part in the Spirit, which is Christ. But if the Holy Spirit is joined to it, this body can receive an immortal life that is wonderful beyond words, for the blessings God has made ready for his chosen ones surpass all human powers of description.
RESPONSORY
Jeremiah 7:3; James 4:8
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says this:
Reform your ways and your deeds,
— and I will live with you in this place.
Draw near and he will draw near to you;
cleanse your hands and purify your hearts.
— And I will live with you in this place.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
God of power and mercy,
protect us from all harm.
Give us freedom of spirit
and health in mind and body
to do your work on earth.
We ask 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:
Almighty and merciful God,
graciously keep from us all adversity,
so that, unhindered in mind and body alike,
we may pursue in freedom of heart
the things that are yours.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
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 into the Lord’s presence singing for joy.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast
And our eternal home;
Beneath the shadow of your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in your sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be now our guide while life shall last,
And our eternal home.
Tune: Saint Anne C.M.
Music: William Croft, 1708
Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748, alt. by Rev. William Bauman