Morning Prayer (Lauds)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
INTRODUCTION
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
Hymn
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
And crown him Lord of all.
Psalm 107 (108)
Praise of the Lord and a plea for help
My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
My heart is ready, O God –
my heart is ready.
I shall sing and make music.
Awake, my glory!
Rise up, harp and lyre!
We will awaken the dawn.
I will proclaim you to the peoples, O Lord,
sing of you to the nations:
for your kindness is great, it reaches the heavens;
great is your faithfulness, high as the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory stretch over the earth.
Give deliverance to your beloved,
let your right hand bring safety – answer my prayer!
God has spoken from his holy place:
“I shall triumph, dividing Shechem,
measuring off the vale of Succoth.
Mine is Gilead, mine is Manasseh;
Ephraim my helmet, Judah my sceptre.
But Moab shall be my wash-basin,
on Edom I will place my sandal;
I will cry in triumph over the Philistine.”
Who shall lead me to the fortified city?
Who shall lead me to Edom?
Surely you, God – although you rejected us.
Will you not come out, O God, with our armies?
Give us help in our troubles,
for vain is the help of man.
With God we shall triumph –
he will trample our enemies.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
Canticle
Isaiah 61-62
The prophet rejoices over the new Jerusalem
The Lord has clothed me in a garment of justice and salvation.
I will rejoice with joy in the Lord,
and my spirit shall be joyful in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation
and wrapped me round with the robe of justice,
like a bridegroom decked with a crown,
like a bride adorned with her jewels.
Just as the earth sends up its shoots,
and the garden makes its seeds to sprout,
so the Lord God will make justice spring up
and praise before all the nations.
For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still
until her justice comes forth as brightness,
and her salvation is lit up like a torch.
And the Gentiles shall see your justice,
and all the kings see your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
chosen by the mouth of the Lord.
You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer called “Forsaken,”
your land no longer called “Desolate,”
you will be called “My pleasure in her,”
and your land “The Wedded”;
for the Lord has been well pleased with you,
and your land will receive its bridegroom.
For as a young man takes a virgin to wife,
so will your sons take you;
and as a husband takes joy in his spouse,
so your God will rejoice at you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord has clothed me in a garment of justice and salvation.
Psalm 145 (146)
The blessedness of those who hope in the Lord
I will praise my God all my days.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life,
make music to my God as long as I exist.
Do not trust in princes to save you,
they are only sons of men.
One day their breath will leave them, they will return to the ground;
on that day perish all their plans.
Happy the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth and all that is in them,
who keeps faith for ever,
who gives justice to the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees prisoners,
he gives light to the blind,
he raises the fallen.
The Lord loves the upright, cares for strangers,
sustains orphans and widows;
but the wicked he sends astray.
The Lord will reign for all ages,
your God, O Zion, from generation to generation.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
I will praise my God all my days.
Short Reading
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
©
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow.
Short Responsory
These were holy men: they will live for ever!
– These were holy men: they will live for ever!
The Lord himself is their reward.
– These were holy men: they will live for ever!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– These were holy men: they will live for ever!
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation
in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,
his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies
and all who hate us,
to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant
and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us,
that we could serve him without fear
– freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him,
for all of our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation,
so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God,
one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness,
who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path of peace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Prayers and intercessions
Through the martyrs who were slain for God’s word, let us give glory to our Saviour, the faithful and true witness.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who bore witness to your love,
set us free to live for you.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who proclaimed your saving death,
give us a deep and constant faith.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who took up your cross,
grant us courage for every trial.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, washed in the blood of the Lamb,
give us grace to conquer our weakness.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Lord God, source of strength to all the saints,
you called your martyrs Paul and his companions to undergo the cross that they might enter into life.
Let their prayer help us to keep the faith to the end of our days.
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.
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
