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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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:
With weary limbs refreshed once more,
we turn from sleep and rise from bed;
O Father, hear our earnest prayer,
be present to us as we sing.
So let our tongues first sing of you,
let hearts with ardor long for you,
that you, Most Holy One, may be
the font from which our actions flow.
Let darkness yield to dawning light
and night give way to morning sun,
that sin occasioned by the dark
surrender to the gift of light.
We beg you, Lord, with humble prayer
to prune away all harmful things,
that you may be for ever praised
by those who raise their voice in song.
Most loving Father, hear our prayer,
and you, O Christ coequal Son,
who with the Spirit Paraclete
now reign for all eternity. Amen.
Tune: MORNING HYMN, 8 8 8 8
Music: François Barthélémon, 1741-1808
or Mode IV, melody 67; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Somno refectis artubus, 6-7th c., © 2023 ICEL
During the day:
O Godhead, everlasting light,
O undivided Trinity,
though frail, we now confess your name
and beg you, hear our humble prayer.
We place our faith in God most high:
the Father and his Only Son,
and God the Spirit ever blest,
the bond of love uniting both.
O holy truth and charity,
our end and blessed happiness,
give us belief and hope in you
and grant us love to reach the goal.
You are the source and final end,
the font from which creation flows;
true solace dwells in you alone,
firm hope for all believing hearts.
For you alone have caused all things
and you alone suffice for all;
for each you are the one true light,
for those who hope, their great reward.
We ask the Father and the Son
and beg the Spirit of them both:
Sustain us with your loving care,
who reign for ever Three in One. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: Æterna lux, divinitas, unknown author, © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe.
Psalm 6
A suffering man cries to God for mercy
I am filled with dismay . . . Father, save me from this hour (John 12:27).
Lord, do not reprove me in your anger: *
punish me not in your rage.
Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength; †
Lord, heal me, my body is racked; *
my soul is racked with pain.
But you, O Lord . . . how long? *
Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love; †
for in death no one remembers you; *
from the grave, who can give you praise?
I am exhausted with my groaning; *
every night I drench my pillow with tears;
I bedew my bed with weeping. †
My eye wastes away with grief; *
I have grown old surrounded by my foes.
Leave me, all you who do evil; *
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea; *
the Lord will accept my prayer.
All my foes will retire in confusion, *
foiled and suddenly confounded.
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 God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the many wounds of your Church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise.
Ant. Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe.
Ant. 2 The poor are not alone in their distress; God is here to help them.
Psalm 9A
Thanksgiving for victory
You will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; *
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad, *
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
See how my enemies turn back, *
how they stumble and perish before you.
You upheld the justice of my cause; *
you sat enthroned, judging with justice.
You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked; *
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
The foe is destroyed, eternally ruined. *
You uprooted their cities; their memory has perished.
But the Lord sits enthroned for ever. *
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice, *
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold, *
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you; *
you will never forsake those who seek 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.
Ant. The poor are not alone in their distress. God is here to help them.
Ant. 3 I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather.
II
Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion. *
Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples,
for the Avenger of blood has remembered them, *
has not forgotten the cry of the poor.
Have pity on me, Lord, see my sufferings, *
you who save me from the gates of death;
that I may recount all your praise †
at the gates of the city of Zion *
and rejoice in your saving help.
The nations have fallen in the pit which they made, *
their feet caught in the snare they laid.
The Lord has revealed himself, and given judgment. *
The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
Let the wicked go down among the dead, *
all the nations forgetful of God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten *
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.
Arise, Lord, let men not prevail! *
Let the nations be judged before you.
Lord, strike them with terror, *
let the nations know they are but 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
Lord God, when you judge, do not be deaf to the shouts of the poor, bring havoc to the madness of oppressors. Look at our wounds and save us from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion.
Ant. I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather.
Give me insight, Lord, to know your will.
— Then I will cherish it with all my heart.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians
1:13—2:10
The calling and apostleship of Paul
You have heard, I know, the story of my former way of life in Judaism. You know that I went to extremes in persecuting the Church of God and tried to destroy it; I made progress in Jewish observance far beyond most of my contemporaries, in my excess of zeal to live out all the traditions of my ancestors.
But the time came when he who had set me apart before I was born and called me by his favor chose to reveal his Son to me, that I might spread among the Gentiles the good tidings concerning him. Immediately, without seeking human advisers or even going to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me, I went off to Arabia; later I returned to Damascus. Three years after that I went up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, with whom I stayed fifteen days. I did not meet any other apostles except James, the brother of the Lord. I declare before God that what I have just written is true.
Thereafter I entered the regions of Syria and Cilicia. The communities of Christ in Judea had no idea what I looked like; they had only heard that “he who was formerly persecuting us is now preaching the faith he tried to destroy,” and they gave glory to God on my account.
Then, after fourteen years, I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, this time taking Titus with me. I went prompted by a revelation, and I laid out for their scrutiny the gospel as I present it to the Gentiles—all this in private conference with the leaders, to make sure the course I was pursuing, or had pursued, was not useless. Not even Titus, who was with me, was ordered to undergo circumcision, despite his being a Greek. Certain false claimants to the title of brother were smuggled in; they wormed their way into the group to spy on the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus and thereby to make slaves of us, but we did not submit to them for a moment. We resisted so that the truth of the gospel might survive intact for your benefit.
Those who were regarded as important, however (and it makes no difference to me how prominent they were—God plays no favorites), made me add nothing.
On the contrary, recognizing that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter as his apostle among the Jews had been at work in me for the Gentiles), and recognizing, too, the favor bestowed on me, those who were the acknowledged pillars, James, Cephas, and John, gave Barnabas and me the handclasp of fellowship, signifying that we should go to the Gentiles as they to the Jews. The only stipulation was that we should be mindful of the poor—the one thing that I was making every effort to do.
RESPONSORY
1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 2:8
By the grace of God, I am what I am.
— His grace in me has not been in vain.
It was the power of God which made Peter an apostle for the Jewish people,
and it was his power which made me an apostle for the Gentiles.
— His grace in me has not been in vain.
SECOND READING
From a short discourse by Saint Bonaventure, bishop
(Prologus: Opera omnia 5, 201-202)
He who knows Jesus Christ can understand all sacred Scripture
The source of sacred Scripture was not human research but divine revelation. This revelation comes from the Father of Light from whom the whole concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives. From him, through Jesus Christ his Son, the Holy Spirit enters into us. Then, through the Holy Spirit who allots and apportions his gifts to each person as he wishes, we receive the gift of faith, and through faith Christ lives in our hearts. So we come to know Christ and this knowledge becomes the main source of a firm understanding of the truth of all sacred Scripture. It is impossible, therefore, for anyone to achieve this understanding unless he first receives the gift of faith in Christ. This faith is the foundation of the whole Bible, a lamp and a key to its understanding. As long as our earthly state keeps us from seeing the Lord, this same faith is the firm basis of all supernatural enlightenment, the light guiding us to it, and the doorway through which we enter upon it. What is more, the extent of our faith is the measure of the wisdom which God has given us. Thus, no one should overestimate his wisdom; instead, he should soberly make his assessment according to the extent of the faith which God has given him.
The outcome or the fruit of reading holy Scripture is by no means negligible: it is the fullness of eternal happiness. For these are the books which tell us of eternal life, which were written not only that we might believe but also that we might have everlasting life. When we do live that life we shall understand fully, we shall love completely, and our desires will be totally satisfied. Then, with all our needs fulfilled, we shall truly know the love that surpasses understanding and so be filled with the fullness of God. The purpose of the Scriptures, which come to us from God, is to lead us to this fullness according to the truths contained in those sayings of the apostles to which I have referred. In order to achieve this, we must study holy Scripture carefully, and teach it and listen to it in the same way.
If we are to attain the ultimate goal of eternal happiness by the path of virtue described in the Scriptures, we have to begin at the very beginning. We must come with a pure faith to the Father of Light and acknowledge him in our hearts. We must ask him to give us, through his Son and in the Holy Spirit, a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, and along with that knowledge a love of him. Knowing and loving him in this way, confirmed in our faith and grounded in our love, we can know the length and breadth and height and depth of his sacred Scripture. Through that knowledge we can come at last to know perfectly and love completely the most blessed Trinity, whom the saints desire to know and love and in whom all that is good and true finds its meaning and fulfillment.
RESPONSORY
Luke 24:27, 25
Beginning with Moses, and going through all the prophets,
— Jesus showed them the meaning of those passages of Scripture
which had been written concerning himself.
How foolish you are and so slow to believe
all that the prophets have said.
— Jesus showed them the meaning of those passages of Scripture
which had been written concerning himself.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
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:
Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. †
He made us, we belong to him, *
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
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. Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.
O God of truth, prepare our minds
To hear and heed your holy word.
Fill every heart that longs for you
With your mysterious presence, Lord.
Almighty Father, with your Son
And blessed Spirit, hear our prayer;
Teach us to love eternal truth
And seek its freedom everywhere.
Tune: Warrington L.M.
Music: R. Harrison, 1748-1810
Text: © Stanbrook Abbey, used with permission