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

Liturgy of the Hours


  • Monday 20 December 2021

    20 December


    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

    Eternal Father, loving God,
    Who made us from the dust of earth,
    Transform us by the Spirit’s grace,
    Give value to our little worth.

    Prepare us for that day of days
    When Christ from heaven will come with might
    To call us out of dust again,
    Our bodies glorified in light.

    O Godhead, here untouched, unseen,
    All things created bear your trace;
    The seed of glory sown in man
    Will flower when we see your face.

    Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

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    COMPLEMENTARY PSALMS

    You have asked for the psalms of the day to appear now, but today, since you have said that you also usually recite Mid-Morning Prayer (Terce), the psalms of the day have to appear then, and the complementary psalms now.


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    Psalm 125 (126)
    Gladness and hope in the Lord


    “Just as you are sharing in our sufferings, so also will you share our consolations” (2 Cor 1:7).

    Mary was greatly troubled at this greeting and wondered what it might mean. She said, ‘I am to give birth to a King without ceasing to be a virgin.’

    When the Lord delivered Sion from bondage,
    it seemed like a dream.
    Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
    on our lips there were songs.

    The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels
    the Lord worked for them!’
    What marvels the Lord worked for us!
    Indeed we were glad.

    Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
    as streams in dry land.
    Those who are sowing in tears
    will sing when they reap.

    They go out, they go out, full of tears,
    carrying seed for the sowing:
    they come back, they come back, full of song,
    carrying their sheaves.

    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.


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    Psalm 126 (127)
    Without the Lord, we labour in vain


    “You are God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9).

    If the Lord does not build the house,
    in vain do its builders labour;
    if the Lord does not watch over the city,
    in vain does the watchman keep vigil.

    In vain is your earlier rising,
    your going later to rest,
    you who toil for the bread you eat,
    when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.

    Truly sons are a gift from the Lord,
    a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
    Indeed the sons of youth
    are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

    O the happiness of the man
    who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
    He will have no cause for shame
    when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.

    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.


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    Psalm 127 (128)
    Peaceful life in the Lord


    “’May the Lord bless you from Sion’, that is, from his Church” (Arnobius).

    O blessed are those who fear the Lord
    and walk in his ways!

    By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
    You will be happy and prosper;
    your wife like a fruitful vine
    in the heart of your house;
    your children like shoots of the olive,
    around your table.

    Indeed thus shall be blessed
    the man who fears the Lord.
    May the Lord bless you from Sion
    all the days of your life!
    May you see your children’s children
    in a happy Jerusalem!

    On Israel, 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.

    Mary was greatly troubled at this greeting and wondered what it might mean. She said, ‘I am to give birth to a King without ceasing to be a virgin.’


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    Short Reading
    (Ezekiel 34:15-16)

    I will pasture my sheep, I will show them where to rest – it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall be a true shepherd to them.


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    ℣. Come, Lord, and make no delay.
    ℟. Release your people from their sin.


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    Let us pray.

    Lord, at the angel’s message
    Mary, the immaculate Virgin,
    became the temple of God
    and was filled with the light of the Holy Spirit
    when she received your divine Word.
    Grant that, after her example,
    we may humbly and steadfastly follow your will.
    Through Christ our Lord.
    Amen.


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    Let us praise the Lord.
    – Thanks be to God.


    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.