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

Office of Readings


  • Tuesday 12 July 2022

    Tuesday of week 15 in Ordinary Time 


    Office of Readings


    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

    Worship, glory, praise and honour
    To our God, high-throned above:
    We, with many generations
    Join to praise thy name of love.

    In the scriptures, by the Spirit,
    May we see the Saviour’s face,
    Hear his word and heed his calling,
    Know his will and grow in grace.


    ________

    Psalm 67 (68):2-11
    The Lord's triumphal journey


    “When he ascended on high he led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men” (Eph 4:8).

    Let God arise, let those who hate him flee before him.

    Let God arise, let his foes be scattered.
    Let those who hate him flee before him.
    As smoke is blown away so will they be blown away;
    like wax that melts before the fire,
    so the wicked shall perish at the presence of God.

    But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God,
    they shall exult and dance for joy.
    O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;
    make a highway for him who rides on the clouds.
    Rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.

    Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
    such is God in his holy place.
    God gives the lonely a home to live in;
    he leads the prisoners forth into freedom:
    but rebels must dwell in a parched land.

    When you went forth, O God, at the head of your people,
    when you marched across the desert, the earth trembled:
    the heavens melted at the presence of God,
    at the presence of God, Israel’s God.

    You poured down, O God, a generous rain:
    when your people were starved you gave them new life.
    It was there that your people found a home,
    prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor.

    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.

    Let God arise, let those who hate him flee before him.


    ________

    Psalm 67 (68):12-24

    This God of ours is a God who saves. The Lord holds the keys of death.

    The Lord gives the word to the bearers of good tidings:
    ‘The Almighty has defeated a numberless army
    and kings and armies are in flight, in flight
    while you were at rest among the sheepfolds.’

    At home the women already share the spoil.
    They are covered with silver as the wings of a dove,
    its feathers brilliant with shining gold
    and jewels flashing like snow on Mount Zalmon.

    The mountains of Bashan are mighty mountains;
    high-ridged mountains are the mountains of Bashan.
    Why look with envy, you high-ridged mountains,
    at the mountain where God has chosen to dwell?
    It is there that the Lord shall dwell for ever.

    The chariots of God are thousands upon thousands.
    The Lord has come from Sinai to the holy place.
    You have gone up on high; you have taken captives,
    receiving men in tribute, O God,
    even those who rebel, into your dwelling, O Lord.

    May the Lord be blessed day after day.
    He bears our burdens, God our saviour.
    This God of ours is a God who saves.
    The Lord our God holds the keys of death.
    And God will smite the head of his foes,
    the crown of those who persist in their sins.

    The Lord said: ‘I will bring them back from Bashan;
    I will bring them back from the depth of the sea.
    Then your feet will tread in their blood
    and the tongues of your dogs take their share of the foe.’

    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.

    This God of ours is a God who saves. The Lord holds the keys of death.


    ________

    Psalm 67 (68):25-36

    Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord.

    They see your solemn procession, O God,
    the procession of my God, of my king, to the sanctuary:
    the singers in the forefront, the musicians coming last,
    between them, maidens sounding their timbrels.

    ‘In festive gatherings, bless the Lord;
    bless God, O you who are Israel’s sons.’
    There is Benjamin, least of the tribes, at the head,
    Judah’s princes, a mighty throng,
    Zebulun’s princes, Naphtali’s princes.

    Show forth, O God, show forth your might,
    your might, O God, which you have shown for us.
    For the sake of your temple high in Jerusalem
    may kings come to you bringing their tribute.

    Threaten the wild beast that dwells in the reeds,
    the bands of the mighty and lords of the peoples.
    Let them bow down offering silver.
    Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
    Princes will make their way from Egypt:
    Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God.

    Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord
    who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
    He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
    Come, acknowledge the power of God.

    His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies.
    God is to be feared in his holy place.
    He is the Lord, Israel’s God.
    He gives strength and power to his people.
    Blessed be 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.

    Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord.


    Psalm-prayer

    Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe, you have given us joy in your holy meal. Help us to understand the significance of your death and to acknowledge you as the conqueror of death seated at the right hand of the Father.


    Or:

    God our Father, the Exodus foreshadowed the eternal liberation of all peoples from bondage; by the paschal mystery you have rescued us from our former slavery. Bring us rejoicing to the promised land where we shall sing your glory continually.


    ________

    ℣. I will listen to what the Lord has to say.
    ℟. He speaks of peace for his people.


    ________


    Readings (official one-year cycle)

    First Reading
    1 Kings 19:1-9,11-21
    The Lord reveals himself to Elijah

    When Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had put all the prophets to the sword, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods do this to me and more, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the life of one of them!’ He was afraid and fled for his life. He came to Beersheba, a town of Judah, where he left his servant. He himself went on into the wilderness, a day’s journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were dead. ‘O Lord,’ he said ‘I have had enough. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down and went to sleep. But an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked round, and there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
    There he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of Hosts, because the sons of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left and they want to kill me.’
    ‘Go,’ the Lord said ‘go back by the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as prophet to succeed you. Anyone who escapes the sword of Hazael will be put to death by Jehu; and anyone who escapes the sword of Jehu will be put to death by Elisha. But I shall spare seven thousand in Israel: all the knees that have not bent before Baal, all the mouths that have not kissed him.’
    Leaving there, he came on Elisha son of Shaphat as he was ploughing behind twelve yoke of oxen, he himself being with the twelfth. Elijah passed near to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left his oxen and ran after Elijah. ‘Let me kiss my father and mother, then I will follow you’ he said. Elijah answered, ‘Go, go back; for have I done anything to you?’ Elisha turned away, took the pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He used the plough for cooking the oxen, then gave to his men, who ate. He then rose, and followed Elijah and became his servant.


    Responsory
    Ex 33:20-22; Jn 1:18

    ℟. The Lord said to Moses: While my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by;* for no mortal man may see God and live.
    ℣. No-one has ever seen God, but God’s only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, has made him known;* for no mortal man may see God and live.


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    Second Reading
    From the treatise "On the Mysteries" by St Ambrose, bishop
    The many prefigurations of baptism in Scripture

    Listen to the Apostle’s teaching: For all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Moreover, Moses himself sings in triumph You sent your Spirit and the sea covered them. As you see, holy baptism was prefigured even then at the crossing of the sea, where the Egyptians perished but the Hebrews escaped. What else, after all, are we daily taught about baptism? That with the immersion in water, guilt is swallowed up and error done away with, but that virtue and innocence remain unharmed.
    You hear that our fathers were under the cloud, a kindly cloud which cooled the heat of carnal passions. That kindly cloud overshadows those whom the Holy Spirit visits. Finally it came upon the Virgin Mary, and the Power of the Most High overshadowed her, when she conceived Redemption for the race of men. The miracle worked by Moses was a prefiguration of this miracle. But then – if the Spirit was in the figure, how can he not be present in the reality? As Scripture says, The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
    Marah was a spring of unendurably bitter water: Moses threw wood into it and it became sweet. For you see: water without the preaching of the Cross of the Lord is of no use for future salvation, but, after it has been consecrated by the mystery of the wood of the saving Cross, it is made suitable for the use of the spiritual cleansing and of the cup of salvation. So as Moses (that is, the prophet) threw wood into that fountain, so the priest utters over this font the proclamation of the Lord’s cross, and the water is made sweet for the purpose of grace.
    You must not trust, then, wholly to your bodily eyes. What is not seen is in reality seen more clearly; for what we see with our eyes is temporal whereas what is eternal (and invisible to the eye) is discerned by the mind and spirit.
    There is a final lesson to be learned from the book of the Kings which we have just been reading. Naaman was a Syrian, and suffered from leprosy, and there was no-one who could cleanse him. Then a maiden from among the captives said that there was a prophet in Israel, who could cleanse him from the defilement of the leprosy. And it is said that, having taken silver and gold, Naaman went to the king of Israel. And the king, when he heard why Naaman had come, tore his garments, saying that this was an attempt to put him in the wrong, since healing leprosy was not in the power of kings. Elisha, however, sent word to the king that he should send the Syrian to him, so that he might know there was a God in Israel. And when he had come, he told him to dip himself seven times in the river Jordan.
    Naaman doubted until the time when he was cleansed; but you are cleansed by now, and so you should not have doubts.


    Responsory

    ℟. The Lord led out his own people like sheep. He led them in safety and they were not afraid,* and the sea closed over their enemies.
    ℣. They all received baptism into the fellowship of Moses in cloud and sea,* and the sea closed over their enemies.


    ________

    Let us pray.

    God and Father,
    to those who go astray
    you reveal the light of your truth
    and enable them to return to the right path.
    Grant that all who have received the grace of baptism
    may strive to be worthy of their Christian calling
    and reject everything opposed to it.
    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.


    ________

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


    Copyright © 1996-2022 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.

     

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