Saturday 24 July 2021
Saturday of week 16 in Ordinary Time
or Saint Charbel Makhlouf, Priest
or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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.
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Hymn
Sing, all creation, sing to God in gladness!
Joyously serve him, singing hymns of homage!
Chanting his praises, come before his presence!
Praise the Almighty!
Know that our God is Lord of all the ages!
He is our maker; we are all his creatures,
People he fashioned, sheep he leads to pasture!
Praise the Almighty!
Great in his goodness is the Lord we worship;
Steadfast his kindness, love that knows no ending!
Faithful his word is, changeless, everlasting!
Praise the Almighty!
James Quinn SJ
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Psalm 91 (92)
Praise of God, the Creator
“The deeds of God’s only Son are praised” (St Athanasius).
It is good to make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches of the night,
on the ten-stringed lyre and the lute,
with the murmuring sound of the harp.
Your deeds, O Lord, have made me glad;
for the work of your hands I shout with joy.
O Lord, how great are your works!
How deep are your designs!
The foolish man cannot know this
and the fool cannot understand.
Though the wicked spring up like grass
and all who do evil thrive,
they are doomed to be eternally destroyed.
But you, Lord, are eternally on high.
See how your enemies perish;
all doers of evil are scattered.
To me you give the wild ox’s strength;
you anoint me with the purest oil.
My eyes looked in triumph on my foes;
my ears heard gladly of their fall.
The just will flourish like the palm-tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
Planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
In him, my rock, there is no wrong.
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 good to make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning.
Psalm-prayer
Take our shame away from us, Lord, and make us rejoice in your saving works. May all who have been chosen by your Son always abound in works of faith, hope and love in your service.
Or:
Lord Jesus Christ, you taught your disciples that the Father is glorified by good works. Uproot your enemies even if they should grow as thick as weeds, and make us flourish in your courts and always remain in you as you are in the Father. May we bring forth a rich harvest in the radiance of your light.
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Canticle
Ezekiel 36
The Lord will renew his people
“They shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them” (Rev 21:3).
I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you.
I will take you from the nations,
and gather you from all the countries,
and bring you into your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you,
and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
A new heart I will give you,
and a new spirit I will put within you;
and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes
and be careful to observe my ordinances.
You shall dwell in the land
which I gave to your fathers;
and you shall be my people,
and I will be your 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.
I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you.
________
Psalm 8
The greatness of God, the dignity of man
“He has put all things under his feet, and appointed him to be the head of the whole Church” (Eph 1:22).
On the lips of children and of babes you have found praise, Lord.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Your majesty is praised above the heavens;
on the lips of children and of babes
you have found praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.
When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind,
mortal man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than a god;
with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand,
put all things under his feet.
All of them, sheep and cattle,
yes, even the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and fish
that make their way through the waters.
How great is your name, O Lord our God
through all the earth!
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.
On the lips of children and of babes you have found praise, Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty Lord, how wonderful is your name. You have made every creature subject to you; make us worthy to give you service.
Or:
Lord, creator of all that is, you made your Son one of us, a little less than the angels. When you crowned him with honour and glory, you raised the dignity of man beyond the skies. Always care for us, your royal children in your Son, the new Adam, so that one day we may be radiant with his splendour.
________
Short Reading
2 Peter 3:13-15
What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved.
________
Short Responsory
When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
– When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
My tongue shall tell the tale of your justice.
– When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
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Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
Lord, guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.
Lord, guide our feet into the way of peace.
________
Prayers and intercessions
God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love, and self-control. With complete confidence we pray:
– Father, send us your Spirit.
Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
in Christ you have given us every spiritual blessing.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary brought Christ into the world:
through the Church, may Christ be born again today in the hearts of men.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
Father, may your Spirit lead us forward out of solitude:
may he lead us to open the eyes of the blind, to proclaim the Word of light, to reap together the harvest of life.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
Let our striving for your kingdom not fall short through selfishness or fear:
may the universe be alive with the Spirit, and our homes be the pledge of a world redeemed.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
________
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, eternal God,
splendour of true light and never-ending day:
at this return of the morning hour,
chase away the night of sin
and fill our minds with the glory of your coming.
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.