Tuesday 5 January 2021
Saint John Neumann, Bishop
on Tuesday after Epiphany Sunday
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. Alleluia.
________
Hymn
Who are these like stars appearing,
these, before God’s throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing;
who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! Hark, they sing,
praising loud their heavenly King.
Who are these of dazzling brightness,
clothed in God’s own righteousness?
These, whose robes of purest whiteness,
shall their lustre still possess,
still untouched by time’s rude hand?
Whence came all this glorious band?
These are they who have contended
for their Saviour’s honour long,
wrestling on till life was ended,
following not the sinful throng;
these who well the fight sustained,
triumph through the Lamb have gained.
These are they whose hearts were riven,
sore with woe and anguish tried,
who in prayer full oft have striven
with the God they glorified;
now, their painful conflict o’er,
God has bid them weep no more.
These, the Almighty contemplating,
did as priests before him stand,
soul and body always waiting
day and night at his command:
now in God’s most holy place
blest they stand before his face.
________
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
Hebrews 13:7-9
Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever. Do not let yourselves be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines.
________
Short Responsory
I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
They will never cease to tell of the name of the Lord, by day and by night.
– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
It is not you who speak: the Spirit of your Father speaks in you.
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.
It is not you who speak: the Spirit of your Father speaks in you.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Christ, the good shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep. Let us praise him with grateful hearts, as we pray:
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
Christ our Lord, in the holy pastors you reveal your love for us;
may we never be deprived of the care you show through them.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
Through your sacred ministers you are present in our midst as the shepherd of our souls;
never cease to guide us through their teaching and encouragement.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
In the saints who lead your people, you manifest your power of healing souls and bodies;
remain always with us to renew our lives in holiness.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
By the example of the saints you instruct your faithful in the ways of wisdom and love;
through our pastors, help us grow to the full stature of perfection.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
________
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.
________
Almighty God,
you called Saint John Neumann to a life of service, zeal and compassion
for the guidance of your people in the new world.
By his prayers help us to build up the community of the Church
through our dedication to the Christian education of youth
and through the witness of our brotherly love.
We ask this 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.