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Arch Bishop Micheal Ralph Vendegna S.O.S.M.A.

Liturgy of the Hours


  • Tuesday 10 March 2020

    Tuesday of the 2nd week of Lent


    Morning Prayer (Lauds)


    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.


    ________

    Hymn

    Creator of the earth and skies,
    To whom the words of life belong,
    Grant us thy truth to make us wise;
    Grant us thy power to make us strong.

    Like theirs of old, our life is death,
    Our light is darkness, till we see
    The eternal Word made flesh and breath,
    The God who walked by Galilee.

    We have not known thee: to the skies
    Our monuments of folly soar,
    And all our self-wrought miseries
    Have made us trust ourselves the more.

    We have not loved thee: far and wide
    The wreckage of our hatred spreads,
    And evils wrought by human pride
    Recoil on unrepentant heads.

    For this, our foolish confidence,
    Our pride of knowledge and our sin,
    We come to thee in penitence;
    In us the work of grace begin.


    ________

    Psalm 42 (43)
    Longing for the temple


    “I, the light, have come into the world” (Jn 12:46).

    Lord, send forth your light and your truth.

    Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
        against a godless nation.
    From deceitful and cunning men
        rescue me, O God.

    Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
        why have you rejected me?
    Why do I go mourning
        oppressed by the foe?

    O send forth your light and your truth;
        let these be my guide.
    Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
        to the place where you dwell.

    And I will come to the altar of God,
        the God of my joy.
    My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
        O God, my God.

    Why are you cast down my soul,
        why groan within me?
    Hope in God; I will praise him still,
        my saviour and my God.

    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, send forth your light and your truth.


    Psalm-prayer

    Almighty Father, source of everlasting light, send forth your truth into our hearts and pour over us the brightness of your light.


    Or:

    Father, your Son was condemned by reason of our sins, but on Easter morning you glorified him with the glory he always had with you. Do not leave us, his members, in the enemy’s hands, but bring us, through our joyful participation at your altar, to your eternal tabernacle on high to adore in spirit and truth.


    ________

    Canticle
    Isaiah 38
    The psalm of Hezekiah on recovering from sickness


    “I was dead and behold, I am alive and I hold the keys of death” (Rev 1:17-18).

    Lord, come to our help all the days of our life.

    I said, In the noontide of my days I must depart;
        I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
        for the rest of my years.

    I said, I shall not see the Lord
        in the land of the living;
    I shall look upon man no more
        among the inhabitants of the world.

    My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
        like a shepherd’s tent;
    like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
        he cuts me off from the loom.

    From day to night you bring me to an end;
        I cry for help until morning;
    like a lion he breaks all my bones;
        from day to night you bring me to an end.

    Like a swallow or a crane I clamour,
        I moan like a dove.
    My eyes are weary with looking upward.
        O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.

    Lo, it was for my welfare
        that I had great bitterness;
    but you have held back my life
        from the pit of destruction,
    for you have cast all my sins
        behind your back.

    For Sheol cannot thank you,
        death cannot praise you;
    those who go down to the pit
        cannot hope for your faithfulness.

    The living, the living, he thanks you,
        as I do this day;
        the father makes known to the children your faithfulness.

    The Lord will save me,
        and we will sing to stringed instruments
    all the days of our life,
        at the house of the Lord.

    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, come to our help all the days of our life.


    ________

    Psalm 64 (65)
    A solemn thanksgiving


    “Sion is to be understood as the heavenly city” (Origen)

    To you our praise is due in Sion, O God.

    To you our praise is due
        in Sion, O God.
    To you we pay our vows,
        you who hear our prayer.

    To you all flesh will come
        with its burden of sin.
    Too heavy for us, our offences,
        but you wipe them away.

    Blessed is he whom you choose and call
        to dwell in your courts.
    We are filled with the blessings of your house,
        of your holy temple.

    You keep your pledge with wonders,
        O God our saviour,
    the hope of all the earth
        and of far distant isles.

    You uphold the mountains with your strength,
        you are girded with power.
    You still the roaring of the seas,
        (the roaring of their waves)
        and the tumult of the peoples.

    The ends of the earth stand in awe
        at the sight of your wonders.
    The lands of sunrise and sunset
        you fill with your joy.

    You care for the earth, give it water,
        you fill it with riches.
    Your river in heaven brims over
        to provide its grain.

    And thus you provide for the earth;
        you drench its furrows;
    you level it, soften it with showers;
        you bless its growth.

    You crown the year with your goodness.
        Abundance flows in your steps,
        in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.

    The hills are girded with joy,
        the meadows covered with flocks,
    the valleys are decked with wheat.
        They shout for joy, yes they sing.

    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.

    To you our praise is due in Sion, O God.


    Psalm-prayer

    Lord God, hope of all the earth, hear the humble prayer of your children as we sing your praises. Pour out your Spirit on us so that our lives may bear fruit abundantly.


    Or:

    Father, you created everything in and for your Son, not because you needed creation, but you wished to make your goodness the source of goodness for others. Abide with your Church and fill her to overflowing through your sacraments that she may give us more abundantly the fruits of your favour which bring fullness of life.


    ________

    Short Reading
    Joel 2:12-13

    Come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning. Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent.


    ________

    Short Responsory

    It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
    – It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
    And from the evil word.
    – It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
    – It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.


    ________

    Canticle
    Benedictus
    The Messiah and the one who was sent before him

    You have only one Teacher, who is in heaven, Christ the Lord.

    Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!
        He has visited his people and redeemed them.

    He has raised up for us a mighty saviour
        in the house of David his servant,
    as he promised by the lips of holy men,
        those who were his prophets from of old.

    A saviour who would free us from our foes,
        from the hands of all who hate us.
    So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
        and his holy covenant remembered.

    He swore to Abraham our father to grant us,
        that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes,
    we might serve him in holiness and justice
        all the days of our life in his presence.

    As for you, little child,
        you shall be called a prophet of God, the Most High.
    You shall go ahead of the Lord
        to prepare his ways before him,

    To make known to his people their salvation
        through forgiveness of all their sins,
    the loving-kindness of the heart of our God
        who visits us like the dawn from on high.

    He will give light to those in darkness,
        those who dwell in the shadow of death,
        and guide us into the way 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.

    You have only one Teacher, who is in heaven, Christ the Lord.


    ________

    Prayers and intercessions

    Let us pray to God the Father, who gave his own Son, the Word made flesh, to be our bread of life.
    – May the message of Christ, in all its richness, live in our hearts.

    Father, may we hear your voice this Lent and pass with Christ from death to life;
        may we celebrate his Easter feast with great joy and love.
    – May the message of Christ, in all its richness, live in our hearts.

    Teach us to live by your Spirit,
        and help us to bring faith to those who doubt.
    – May the message of Christ, in all its richness, live in our hearts.

    May the knowledge of Christ penetrate our minds and our hearts;
        may it find expression in all our ways of living.
    – May the message of Christ, in all its richness, live in our hearts.

    Purify your Church in these days of salvation;
        make her the living witness of your presence in the world.
    – May the message of Christ, in all its richness, live in our hearts.


    ________

    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.


    ________


    Watch over your Church, Lord, with unfailing compassion,
        and since, left to ourselves, we are prone to evil,
    by your grace turn us away from all that is harmful
        and direct us into the way of salvation.
    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.


    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.