Tuesday 21 April 2020
Tuesday of the 2nd week of Eastertide
or Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Bishop, Doctor
Office of Readings
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.
________
Hymn
Love’s redeeming work is done,
fought the fight, the battle won.
Lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er!
Lo, he sets in blood no more!
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal!
Christ has burst the gates of hell;
death in vain forbids him rise;
Christ has opened paradise.
Lives again our victor King;
where, O death, is now thy sting?
Dying once, he all doth save;
where thy victory, O grave?
Soar we now where Christ has led,
following our exalted Head;
made like him, like him we rise,
ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!
Praise to thee by both be given:
thee we greet triumphant now;
hail, the Resurrection thou!
________
Psalm 36 (37)
The fate of the evil and the righteous
“Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage” (Mt 5:5).
Commit your life to the Lord, and he will act on your behalf. Alleluia.
Do not frét becáuse of the wícked; *
do not énvy thóse who do évil,
for they wíther quíckly like gráss *
and fáde like the gréen of the fíelds.
If you trúst in the Lórd and do góod, *
then you will líve in the lánd and be secúre.
If you fínd your delíght in the Lórd, *
he will gránt your héart’s desíre.
Commít your lífe to the Lórd, *
trust in hím and hé will áct,
so that your jústice breaks fórth like the líght, *
your cáuse like the nóon-day sún.
Be stíll before the Lórd and wait in pátience; *
do not frét at the mán who próspers;
a mán who makes évil plóts *
to bríng down the néedy and the póor.
Calm your ánger and forgét your ráge; *
do not frét, it ónly leads to évil.
For thóse who do évil shall pérish; *
the pátient shall inhérit the lánd.
A little lónger – and the wícked shall have góne. *
Lóok at his pláce, he is not thére.
But the húmble shall ówn the lánd *
and enjóy the fúllness of péace.
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.
Commit your life to the Lord, and he will act on your behalf. Alleluia.
________
Psalm 36 (37)
Turn away from evil and do good: the Lord will support the just. Alleluia.
The wícked man plóts against the júst *
and gnáshes his téeth agáinst him;
but the Lórd láughs at the wícked *
for he sées that his dáy is at hánd.
The swórd of the wícked is dráwn, *
his bow is bént to sláughter the úpright.
Their swórd shall píerce their own héarts *
and their bóws shall be bróken to píeces.
The júst man’s féw posséssions *
are bétter than the wícked man’s wéalth;
for the pówer of the wícked shall be bróken *
and the Lórd will suppórt the júst.
He protécts the líves of the úpright, *
their héritage will lást for éver.
They shall nót be put to sháme in evil dáys, *
in time of fámine their fóod shall not fáil.
But áll the wícked shall pérish *
and áll the énemies of the Lórd.
Théy are like the béauty of the méadows, *
they shall vánish, they shall vánish like smóke.
The wícked man bórrows without repáying, *
but the júst man is génerous and gíves.
Those bléssed by the Lórd shall own the lánd, *
but thóse he has cúrsed shall be destróyed.
The Lórd guides the stéps of a mán *
and makes sáfe the páth of one he lóves.
Though he stúmble he shall néver fáll *
for the Lórd hólds him by the hánd.
I was yóung and nów I am óld, †
but I have néver seen the júst man forsáken *
nor his chíldren bégging for bréad.
All the dáy he is génerous and lénds *
and his chíldren becóme a bléssing.
Then túrn away from évil and do góod *
and yóu shall have a hóme for éver;
for the Lórd lóves jústice *
and will néver forsáke his fríends.
The unjúst shall be wíped out for éver *
and the chíldren of the wícked destróyed.
The júst shall inhérit the lánd; *
thére they shall líve for éver.
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.
Turn away from evil and do good: the Lord will support the just. Alleluia.
________
Psalm 36 (37)
Wait for the Lord, keep to his way. Alleluia.
The júst man’s móuth utters wísdom *
and his líps spéak what is ríght;
the láw of his Gód is in his héart, *
his stéps shall be sáved from stúmbling.
The wícked man wátches for the júst *
and séeks occásion to kíll him.
The Lórd will not léave him in his pówer *
nor lét him be condémned when he is júdged.
Then wáit for the Lórd, keep to his wáy. *
It is hé who will frée you from the wícked,
raise you úp to posséss the lánd *
and sée the wícked destróyed.
I have séen the wícked triúmphant, *
tówering like a cédar of Lébanon.
I pássed by agáin; he was góne. *
I séarched; he was nówhere to be fóund.
See the júst man, márk the úpright, *
for the péaceful man a fúture lies in stóre,
but sínners shall áll be destróyed. *
No fúture lies in stóre for the wícked.
The salvátion of the júst comes from the Lórd, *
their strónghold in tíme of distréss.
The Lórd hélps them and delívers them *
and sáves them: for their réfuge is in hím.
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.
Wait for the Lord, keep to his way. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
You proclaimed the poor to be blessed, Lord Jesus, for the kingdom of heaven is given to them. Fill us generously with your gifts. Teach us to put our trust in the Father and to seek his kingdom first of all rather than imitate the powerful and envy the rich.
________
℣. Christ has risen from the dead: he will never die again, alleluia.
℟. No more has death any power over him, alleluia.
________
Readings (official one-year cycle)
First Reading
Apocalypse 2:1-11
To the churches at Ephesus and Smyrna
Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say, “Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who lives surrounded by the seven golden lamp-stands: I know all about you: how hard you work and how much you put up with. I know you cannot stand wicked men, and how you tested the impostors who called themselves apostles and proved they were liars. Know, too, that you have patience, and have suffered for my name without growing tired. Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have less love now than you used to. Think where you were before you fell; repent, and do as you used to at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place. It is in your favour, nevertheless, that you loathe as I do what the Nicolaitans are doing. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: those who prove victorious I will feed from the tree of life set in God’s paradise.”
Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, “Here is the message of the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again: I know the trials you have had, and how poor you are – though you are rich – and the slanderous accusations that have been made by the people who profess to be Jews but are really members of the synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you: I tell you, the devil is going to send some of you to prison to test you, and you must face an ordeal for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: for those who prove victorious there is nothing to be afraid of in the second death.”
Responsory
Rv 2:10-11; Si 4:28
℟. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you the crown of life:* those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death, alleluia.
℣. Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will fight on your side:* those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death, alleluia.
________
Second Reading
From a book addressed to Monimus by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop
The sacrament of unity and love
The spiritual building up of the body of Christ is achieved through love. As Saint Peter says: Like living stones you are built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And there can be no more effective way to pray for this spiritual growth than for the Church, itself Christ’s body, to make the offering of his body and blood in the sacramental form of bread and wine. For the cup we drink is a participation in the blood of Christ, and the bread we break is a participation in the body of Christ. Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, since we all share the same bread. And so we pray that, by the same grace which made the Church Christ’s body, all its members may remain firm in the unity of that body through the enduring bond of love.
We are right to pray that this may be brought about in us through the gift of the one Spirit of the Father and the Son. The holy Trinity, the one true God, is of its nature unity, equality and love, and by one divine activity sanctifies its adopted sons. That is why Scripture says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit he has given us. The Holy Spirit, who is the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, produces in those to whom he gives the grace of divine adoption the same effect as he produced among those whom the Acts of the Apostles describes as having received the Holy Spirit. We are told that the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, because the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is one God, had created a single heart and soul in all those who believed.
This is why Saint Paul in his exhortation to the Ephesians says that this spiritual unity in the bond of peace must be carefully preserved. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, he writes, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, with all humility and meekness and with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit.
God makes the Church itself a sacrifice pleasing in his sight by preserving within it the love which his Holy Spirit has poured out. Thus the grace of that spiritual love is always available to us, enabling us continually to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to him for ever.
Responsory
℟. I pray for them, that they may all be one, that they too may be one in us, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you. I have given them the glory which you gave to me:* that they should all be one as we are one, alleluia.
℣. You have sent me into the world, and I have sent them into the world,* that they should all be one as we are one, alleluia.
________
Let us pray.
Almighty God,
give your Church the grace
to proclaim the power of Jesus, our Risen Lord.
We have received the first fruits of his grace:
prepare us for the full revelation of his gifts.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
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.