Thursday 25 June 2020
Thursday of week 12 in Ordinary Time
Afternoon Prayer (None)
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
Eternal Father, loving God,
Who made us from the dust of earth,
Transform us by the Spirit’s grace,
Give value to our little worth.
Prepare us for that day of days
When Christ from heaven will come with might
To call us out of dust again,
Our bodies glorified in light.
O Godhead, here untouched, unseen,
All things created bear your trace;
The seed of glory sown in man
Will flower when we see your face.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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PSALMS OF THE DAY
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Psalm 118(119): 153-160
Meditating the word of the Lord in the Law
“You have the message of eternal life” (John 6:69)
If you love me, keep my commandments, says the Lord.
See my affliction and save me
for I remember your law.
Uphold my cause and defend me;
by your promise, give me life.
Salvation is far from the wicked
who are heedless of your statutes.
Numberless, Lord, are your mercies;
with your decrees give me life.
Though my foes and oppressors are countless
I have not swerved from your will.
I look at the faithless with disgust;
they ignore your promise.
See how I love your precepts;
in your mercy give me life.
Your word is founded on truth,
your decrees are eternal.
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.
If you love me, keep my commandments, says the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Help us always to rejoice in your promise, Father, and to praise the glory of your deeds. Keep us united in the love of your peace; then we shall have little to fear from the threats of the mighty.
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Psalm 127 (128)
Peaceful life in the Lord
“’May the Lord bless you from Sion’, that is, from his Church” (Arnobius).
May the Lord bless you and may you see peace all the days of your life.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper;
your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Sion
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, 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.
May the Lord bless you and may you see peace all the days of your life.
Psalm-prayer
Give lasting happiness, Lord, to those who reverence your name, so that our life and work may be such as to deserve your commendation, and bring us, laden with good fruit, to our everlasting home.
Or:
You are the new Adam, Lord Jesus, and the father of those who live. From your opened side the Church, your bride, was formed, and she was sanctified in the mystery of your blood. Make your Church like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home and endow her with many children who will rejoice with you at your table.
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Psalm 128 (129)
The renewed faith of an afflicted people
“The Church tells of the sufferings it endures” (St Augustine).
The Lord will destroy your enemies for you.
‘They have pressed me hard from my youth,’
this is Israel’s song.
‘They have pressed me hard from my youth
but could never destroy me.
They ploughed my back like ploughmen,
drawing long furrows.
But the Lord who is just, has destroyed
the yoke of the wicked.’
Let them be shamed and routed,
those who hate Sion!
Let them be like grass on the roof
that withers before it flowers.
With that no reaper fills his arms,
no binder makes his sheaves
and those passing by will not say:
‘On you the Lord’s blessing!
We bless you in the name 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.
The Lord will destroy your enemies for you.
Psalm-prayer
Lord Jesus, living in glory as the Son of Man, remember that when our sins had ploughed long furrows on your back, your death broke the bonds of sin and Satan for ever. Bless your Church, wounded in her members, and strengthen her by your invincible power and grace.
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Short Reading
Hebrews 12:1-2
We should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right of God’s throne.
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℣. My soul is waiting on the Lord.
℟. I count on his word.
________
Let us pray.
Lord, in answer to our prayer
give us patience in suffering hardships
after the example of your Only-Begotten Son,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
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.