Welcome to the ULC Minister's Network

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

Liturgy of the Hours


  • Friday 10 December 2021

    Friday of the 2nd week of Advent 
    or Our Lady of Loreto 


    Vespers (Evening Prayer)

    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

    On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
    Announces that the Lord is nigh;
    Come then and hearken, for he brings
    Glad tidings from the King of kings.

    Then cleansed be every Christian breast,
    And furnished for so great a guest!
    Yea, let us each his heart prepare
    For Christ to come and enter there.

    For thou art our salvation, Lord,
    Our refuge and our great reward;
    Without thy grace our souls must fade,
    And wither like a flower decayed.

    Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
    And make us rise to fall no more;
    Once more upon thy people shine,
    And fill the world with love divine.

    All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
    Whose Advent sets thy people free,
    Whom, with the Father, we adore,
    And Holy Ghost, for evermore.


    ________

    Psalm 114 (116A)
    Thanksgiving


    “We must experience many hardships before we can enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

    Lord, keep my soul from death, my feet from stumbling.

    I love the Lord for he has heard
    the cry of my appeal;
    for he turned his ear to me
    in the day when I called him.

    They surrounded me, the snares of death,
    with the anguish of the tomb;
    they caught me, sorrow and distress.
    I called on the Lord’s name.
    O Lord, my God, deliver me!

    How gracious is the Lord, and just;
    our God has compassion.
    The Lord protects the simple hearts;
    I was helpless so he saved me.

    Turn back, my soul, to your rest
    for the Lord has been good;
    he has kept my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my feet from stumbling.

    I will walk in the presence of the Lord
    in the land of the living.

    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, keep my soul from death, my feet from stumbling.


    Psalm-prayer

    God of power and mercy, through your Son’s passion and resurrection you have freed us from the bonds of death and the anguish of separation from you. Be ever with us on our pilgrimage; then we shall sing rather than weep. Keep our feet from stumbling, so that we may be able to follow you until we come to eternal rest.


    ________

    Psalm 120 (121)
    The guardian of the people


    “They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor the scorching wind will ever plague them” (Rev 7:16).

    My help shall come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

    I lift up my eyes to the mountains:
    from where shall come my help?
    My help shall come from the Lord
    who made heaven and earth.

    May he never allow you to stumble!
    Let him sleep not, your guard.
    No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,
    Israel’s guard.

    The Lord is your guard and your shade;
    at your right side he stands.
    By day the sun shall not smite you
    nor the moon in the night.

    The Lord will guard you from evil,
    he will guard your soul.
    The Lord will guard your going and coming
    both now and for ever.

    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 help shall come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.


    Psalm-prayer

    Lord Jesus Christ, you have prepared a quiet place for us in your Father’s eternal home. Watch over our welfare on this perilous journey, shade us from the burning heat of day, and keep our lives free of evil until the end.


    ________

    Canticle
    Apocalypse 15
    A hymn of adoration

    Your ways are just and true, King of all the ages.

    Great and wonderful are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
    Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the ages!

    Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord?
    For you alone are holy.
    All nations shall come and worship you,
    for your judgements have been revealed.

    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.

    Your ways are just and true, King of all the ages.


    ________

    Short Reading
    2 Peter 3:8-9

    With the Lord, ‘a day’ can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not being slow to carry out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways.


    ________

    Short Responsory

    Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
    – Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
    Let your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
    – Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
    – Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.


    ________

    Canticle
    Magnificat
    My soul rejoices in the Lord

    Joyfully you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

    My soul glorifies the Lord,
    my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.
    He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
    henceforth all ages will call me blessed.

    The Almighty works marvels for me.
    Holy his name!
    His mercy is from age to age,
    on those who fear him.

    He puts forth his arm in strength
    and scatters the proud-hearted.
    He casts the mighty from their thrones
    and raises the lowly.

    He fills the starving with good things,
    sends the rich away empty.

    He protects Israel, his servant,
    remembering his mercy,
    the mercy promised to our fathers,
    to Abraham and his sons for ever.

    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.

    Joyfully you will draw water from the wells of salvation.


    ________

    Prayers and intercessions

    The Lord God said: ‘I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong,’
    – Lord our God, come to save us.

    Lord God, you made us and sustain us with your love:
    help us to recognize that you are in our midst.
    – Lord our God, come to save us.

    You are close to each one of us:
    open our hearts to love you.
    – Lord our God, come to save us.

    We pray for those who find their lives a burden too heavy to bear:
    Lord, be their strength and their hope.
    – Lord our God, come to save us.

    You are Life, and the enemy of death:
    rescue us and all the faithful departed from eternal darkness.
    – Lord our God, come to save 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.


    ________


    Lord, keep us ever alert and watchful
    as we await the coming of your Son,
    so that, faithful to his teaching,
    we may hasten to meet our Saviour with lamps alight.
    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.