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

Liturgy of the Hours


  • Tuesday 21 July 2020

    Tuesday of week 16 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

    Like the Terce and Sext hymns, this hymn was written prior to the 6th century. In it we are invited to remain firm in our faith as was the lame man who was cured by St Peter (cf. Acts 3:1ff.).


    Ternis horárum términis
    volútis, dante Dómino,
    trinum perfécte et únicum
    ipsum devóti psállimus.

    Sacrum Dei mystérium
    puro tenéntes péctore,
    Petri magístri régula
    signo salútis pródita,

    Et nos psallámus spíritu,
    hæréntes sic apóstolis,
    ut plantas adhuc débiles
    Christi virtúte dírigant.

    Deo Patri sit glória
    eiúsque soli Fílio
    cum Spíritu Paráclito,
    in sempitérna sǽcula. Amen.


    As the afternoon’s third hour rolls on,
    Granted by the Lord,
    We devotedly sing the praises
    Of him who is perfectly Three and One,

    Guarding in a pure heart
    The sacred mystery of God,
    With the approval of Peter our teacher
    Bestowed as a mark of salvation,

    May we too give praise with [our] spirit
    Clinging fast to the apostles
    So that they may set right, by the power of Christ,
    Our still weak feet.

    Glory be to God the Father
    And to his only Son
    With the Spirit Paraclete
    For ever and ever. Amen.


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    PSALMS OF THE DAY

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    Psalm 118(119): 137-144
    Meditating the word of the Lord in the Law


    “Happy are those who read this prophecy and treasure all that it says” (Apoc 1:3)

    Since you know the will of God, act according to it and you will be blessed.

    Lord, you are just indeed;
    your decrees are right.
    You have imposed your will with justice
    and with absolute truth.

    I am carried away by anger
    for my foes forget your word.
    Your promise is tried in the fire,
    the delight of your servant.

    Although I am weak and despised,
    I remember your precepts.
    Your justice is eternal justice
    and your law is truth.

    Though anguish and distress have seized me,
    I delight in your commands.
    The justice of your will is eternal:
    if you teach me, I shall live.

    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.

    Since you know the will of God, act according to it and you will be blessed.


    Psalm-prayer

    You are just indeed, Lord, and your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbour as ourselves.


    ________

    Psalm 87 (88)
    The prayer of one gravely ill


    “This is your hour; this is the reign of darkness” (Lk 22:53).

    Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.

    Lord my God, I call for help by day;
    I cry at night before you.
    Let my prayer come into your presence.
    O turn your ear to my cry.

    For my soul is filled with evils;
    my life is on the brink of the grave.
    I am reckoned as one in the tomb:
    I have reached the end of my strength,

    like one alone among the dead;
    like the slain lying in their graves;
    like those you remember no more,
    cut off, as they are, from your hand.

    You have laid me in the depths of the tomb,
    in places that are dark, in the depths.
    Your anger weighs down upon me:
    I am drowned beneath your waves.

    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.

    Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.


    ________

    Psalm 87 (88)

    To you, Lord, I call for help: do not hide your face from me.

    You have taken away my friends
    and made me hateful in their sight.
    Imprisoned, I cannot escape;
    my eyes are sunken with grief.

    I call to you, Lord, all the day long;
    to you I stretch out my hands.
    Will you work your wonders for the dead?
    Will the shades stand and praise you?

    Will your love be told in the grave
    or your faithfulness among the dead?
    Will your wonders be known in the dark
    or your justice in the land of oblivion?

    As for me, Lord, I call to you for help:
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
    Lord, why do you reject me?
    Why do you hide your face?

    Wretched, close to death from my youth,
    I have borne your trials; I am numb.
    Your fury has swept down upon me;
    your terrors have utterly destroyed me.

    They surround me all the day like a flood,
    they assail me all together.
    Friend and neighbour you have taken away:
    my one companion is darkness.

    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, Lord, I call for help: do not hide your face from me.


    Psalm-prayer

    Lord Jesus, redeemer of all and author of our salvation, for us you went down to the realm of death and became free of death. Hear the prayers of your family and lift us from our slavery to evil, that we may be redeemed by you and see your Father’s glory.


    Or:

    Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to suffer and be overwhelmed by death in order to open the gates of death in triumph. Stay with us to help us on our pilgrimage; free us from all evil by the power of your resurrection. In the company of your saints, and constantly remembering your love for us, may we sing of your wonders in our Father’s house.


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    Short Reading
    Isaiah 55:10-11

    Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’


    ________

    ℣. The Lord has sent out his word to the earth.
    ℟. His command runs swiftly.


    ________

    Let us pray.

    Almighty God,
    we recall how you sent your angel to the centurion Cornelius
    to show him the way of salvation.
    Open our hearts to work more zealously for the salvation of the world,
    so that your Church may bring us and all men into your presence.
    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.