Wednesday 22 January 2020
Wednesday of week 2 in Ordinary Time
Mid-Morning Prayer (Terce)
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
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.
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Hymn
Come, Holy Spirit, live in us
With God the Father and the Son,
And grant us your abundant grace
To sanctify and make us one.
May mind and tongue made strong in love
Your praise throughout the world proclaim,
And may that love within our hearts
Set fire to others with its flame.
Most blessèd Trinity of love,
For whom the heart of man was made,
To you be praise in timeless song,
And everlasting homage paid.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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PSALMS OF THE DAY
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Psalm 118(119): 57-64
Meditating the word of the Lord in the Law
“You are a letter from Christ, written not on stone tablets but on the tablets of your living hearts” (2 Cor 3:3)
I have pondered over my ways and returned to your will.
My part, I have resolved, O Lord,
is to obey your word.
With all my heart I implore your favour;
show the mercy of your promise.
I have pondered over my ways
and returned to your will.
I made haste and did not delay
to obey your commands.
Though the nets of the wicked ensnared me
I remembered your law.
At midnight I will rise and thank you
for your just decrees.
I am a friend of all who revere you,
who obey your precepts.
Lord, your love fills the earth.
Teach me your statutes.
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 have pondered over my ways and returned to your will.
Psalm-prayer
Father, may the fulfilment of your law be our aim in life, so that you yourself may be our inheritance, and we your chosen possession for ever.
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Psalm 54 (55)
Against a faithless friend
“Jesus began to feel a sudden fear and great distress” (Mk 14:33).
Trembling and fear fall upon me: turn to me, Lord, and listen to my cry.
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.
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.
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.
Trembling and fear fall upon me: turn to me, Lord, and listen to my cry.
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Psalm 54 (55)
I will cry to God and the Lord will save me.
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.
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 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 cry to God and the Lord will save me.
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.
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Short Reading
Deuteronomy 1:16-17
At that time I told your judges: You must give your brothers a fair hearing and see justice done between a man and his brother or the stranger who lives with him. You must be impartial in judgement and give an equal hearing to small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for the judgement is God’s.
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℣. The Lord is just, he loves just ways.
℟. The upright shall see his face.
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Let us pray.
Lord, holy Father, faithful to your promise
you sent your Spirit to bring together a people divided by sin.
Give us the grace to foster unity
and peace among men.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
Copyright © 1996-2020 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.