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

Liturgy of the Hours


  • Tuesday 30 March 2021

    Tuesday of Holy Week 


    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

    Sing my tongue, the glorious battle,
    Sing the ending of the fray;
    To the Cross, our noble trophy,
    Here a fitting tribute pay,
    Telling how the world’s Redeemer,
    Slain as victim, won the day.

    Tell how, when at length the fullness
    Of the appointed time was come,
    He, the Word, was born of woman,
    Left for us his Father’s home,
    Showed to men the perfect manhood,
    Shone as light amidst the gloom.

    Now the thirty years are ended
    Which on earth he willed to see,
    Willingly he meets his Passion,
    Born to set his people free;
    On the Cross the Lamb is lifted,
    There the sacrifice to be.

    Faithful Cross, above all other,
    One and only noble Tree,
    None in foliage, none in blossom,
    None in fruit thy peer may be;
    Sweet the wood and sweet the iron,
    And the load, most sweet is he.

    Unto God be praise and glory:
    To the Father and the Son,
    To the eternal Spirit, honour
    Now and evermore be done;
    Praise and glory in the highest,
    While the timeless ages run.


    ________

    Psalm 42 (43)
    Longing for the temple


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

    Lord, plead my cause; from deceitful and cunning men rescue me.

    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, plead my cause; from deceitful and cunning men rescue me.


    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, you have defended the cause of my soul; you have redeemed my life, Lord my God.

    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, you have defended the cause of my soul; you have redeemed my life, Lord my God.


    ________

    Psalm 64 (65)
    A solemn thanksgiving


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

    My servant, the Just One, will justify many: he will take their faults on himself.

    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.

    My servant, the Just One, will justify many: he will take their faults on himself.


    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
    Zechariah 12:10-11

    Over the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem I will pour out a spirit of kindness and prayer. They will look on the one whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as for an only son, and weep for him as people weep for a first-born child. When that day comes, there will be great mourning in Judah.


    ________

    Short Responsory

    You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
    – You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
    From every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
    – You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
    – You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.


    ________

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

    Father, glorify me in your own presence, with the glory which I had with you before the world began.

    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.

    Father, glorify me in your own presence, with the glory which I had with you before the world began.


    ________

    Prayers and intercessions

    Let us pray earnestly to Christ our Saviour, who redeemed us by his death and resurrection.
    – Lord, have mercy on us.

    You went up to Jerusalem to endure the passion and enter into glory;
    lead your Church into the paschal feast of eternal life.
    – Lord, have mercy on us.

    Your heart was pierced with a lance;
    heal the wounds of our human weakness.
    – Lord, have mercy on us.

    You made your cross the tree of life;
    share your victory with all the baptized.
    – Lord, have mercy on us.

    You gave salvation to the repentant thief;
    pardon all our sins.
    – Lord, have mercy on us.


    ________

    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.


    ________


    All-powerful, ever-living God,
    may our sacramental celebration of the Lord’s passion
    bring us your forgiveness.
    Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
    who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
    God, for ever and ever.
    Amen.


    ________

    The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
    Amen.


    Copyright © 1996-2021 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.