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
The dayspring in the golden east
Brings back our solemn yearly feast
When Benedict ascended high
To heavenly mansions in the sky.
How much among the loftiest
He gained, who in the lowliest
Resplendent shone! whose deeds sublime
Illumined earth’s remotest clime.
Thee, gracious father, we beseech
With lowly mind and humble speech
That unto heaven we may rise,
Who, taught of thee, the earth despise.
All laud to God the Father be;
All praise, eternal Son, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete.
Psalm 79 (80)
Lord, tend your vine
Lord, rouse up your might and come to our help.
Shepherd of Israel, listen –
you who take Joseph as your flock.
Shine out before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh –
you who are enthroned upon the cherubim.
Awaken your power and come to us,
come to us and save us.
Bring us back, O God:
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Lord God of hosts –
how long will your anger endure
against the prayers of your people?
You have given us tears for our bread,
abundance of tears for us to drink.
You have made us a mockery among our neighbours,
and our enemies laugh at us.
Bring us back, O God of hosts:
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
planted it, and drove out the nations.
You cleared the ground all about it,
made firm its roots; and it filled the land.
Its shade covered mountains,
its boughs shaded the cedars of God;
its leaves spread as far as the sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
So why did you destroy its wall,
so that anyone could pluck its fruit,
whoever was passing by?
The wild boar of the forest broke it,
every wild beast could graze off it.
Turn back, O God of hosts,
look down from heaven and tend this vine.
Protect the vine, for your right hand planted it;
and the son of man, whom you made strong.
The vine is burnt and dug up;
and they too will perish when they see you rebuke them.
Stretch out your hand over your chosen one
over the son of man, whom you made strong –
and we will not forsake you, and you will give us life;
and we will call on your name.
Bring us back, Lord God of hosts:
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
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.
Lord, rouse up your might and come to our help.
Canticle
Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
The Lord has done marvellous things: let them be made known to the whole world.
I will praise you, Lord, for when you were angry with me
you calmed your rage and turned again to console me.
Behold, God is my salvation:
I will be confident, I will not fear;
for the Lord is my strength and my joy,
he has become my saviour.
And you will rejoice as you draw water
from the wells of salvation.
And then you will say:
“Praise the Lord and call upon his name.
Tell the peoples what he has done,
remember always the greatness of his name.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done great things:
let this be known throughout the world.
Cry out with joy and gladness, you who dwell in Zion.
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
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 done marvellous things: let them be made known to the whole world.
Psalm 80 (81)
Solemn renewal of the covenant
Ring out your joy to God our strength.†
Shout with joy to God our helper,
rejoice in the God of Jacob.
Take up the song, sound the timbrel,
play on the lyre and the harp.
At the start of the month, sound the trumpet,
at the full moon, at our festival.
For this is the law for Israel,
the decree of the God of Jacob.
He gave it to Joseph, for a witness,
when he went out of the land of Egypt;
with words that had never been heard:
“I freed his back from burdens;
his hands were freed from heavy loads.
In your tribulation you called on me and I freed you,
I heard you from the heart of the storm,
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Listen, my people, and I will put my case –
Israel, if you would only hear me!
You shall not have any strange god,
you shall not worship the gods of foreigners.
For I am the Lord, your God,
who led you out of the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I shall fill it.
But my people did not hear my voice:
Israel did not turn to me.
So I let them go on in the hardness of their hearts,
and follow their own counsels.
If my people had heard me,
if only they had walked in my ways –
I would swiftly have crushed their enemies,
stretched my hand over those who persecuted them.
The enemies of the Lord would be overcome with weakness,
Israel’s would be the good fortune, for ever:
I would feed them full of richest wheat
and give them honey from the rock,
to their heart’s content.
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.
Ring out your joy to God our strength.
Short Reading
Romans 12:1-2
©
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
Short Responsory
The just shall rejoice in the sight of God.
– The just shall rejoice in the sight of God.
They shall be filled with gladness.
– The just shall rejoice in the sight of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The just shall rejoice in the sight of God.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
He was a man of venerable life; Saint Benedict, ‘blessed’ in name and with the grace of God.
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.
He was a man of venerable life; Saint Benedict, ‘blessed’ in name and with the grace of God.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us praise Christ, the holy God, and ask that we may serve him in justice and holiness all the days of our life.
– Lord, you alone are holy.
You were tempted in every way that we are, but you did not sin;
Lord Jesus, have mercy on us.
– Lord, you alone are holy.
You have called us to grow in love until there is no longer fear;
Lord Jesus, make us holy.
– Lord, you alone are holy.
You have told us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world;
Lord Jesus, enlighten our minds and hearts.
– Lord, you alone are holy.
In a world of human need it was your will to serve and not to be served;
let us become like you, Lord Jesus, in the humble service of our brothers.
– Lord, you alone are holy.
You are the radiant brightness of God’s glory, the perfect likeness of his nature;
Lord Jesus, let us see the splendour of your face.
– Lord, you alone are holy.
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, you appointed Saint Benedict
to be a wise master in the school of your service.
Give us grace to put your love before all else,
and so to run with joy in the way of your commandments.
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.
