Morning Prayer (Lauds)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
INTRODUCTION
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
The day is filled with splendour
When God brings light from light,
And all renewed creation
Rejoices in his sight.
The Father gives his children
The wonder of the world
In which his power and glory
Like banners are unfurled.
With every living creature,
Awaking with the day,
We turn to God our Father,
Lift up our hearts and pray:
O Father, Son and Spirit,
Your grace and mercy send,
That we may live to praise you
Today and to the end.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
Psalm 83 (84)
Longing for the Lord's temple
They are happy who dwell in your house, Lord.
How delightful is your dwelling-place, Lord of hosts!
My soul is weak with longing for the courts of your palace.
My heart and my body rejoice in the living God.
Even the sparrow finds itself a home,
the swallow a nest to raise her young –
in your altars, O Lord,
Lord of strength, my king and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house:
they will praise you for ever.
Blessed the man whose help comes from you,
who has set his heart on climbing to you.
They pass through the valley of thirst
and make a spring there:
the morning rain will cover it with blessings.
They will go from strength to strength:
they will see the God of gods, in Zion.
Lord God of hosts, listen to my prayer;
hear me, O God of Jacob.
Take notice of us, God our protector,
and look on the face of your anointed one.
One day in the courts of my God
is worth more than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be at the doorstep of the house of my God
than live in the dwellings of sinners.
For the Lord my God is my sun and my shield.
The Lord gives grace and glory.
He will not deny his good things
to those who walk in purity.
Blessed is he who trusts in you,
O Lord of hosts.
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.
They are happy who dwell in your house, Lord.
Canticle
Isaiah 2
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
In the last days, at the end of time,
the mountain of the house of the Lord
will be prepared high above all mountains.
It will be raised above the hills
and all nations will come to it.
And many peoples will come there and say
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
Let him teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion the law will go forth,
from Jerusalem the word of the Lord.
And he will judge the nations
and rebuke many peoples.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into sickles.
Nation will lift sword against nation no longer.
No longer will they go out into battle.
People of Jacob, come:
let us walk in the light 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.
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
Psalm 95 (96)
The Lord, the universal King and judge
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
day after day, proclaim his saving power.
Proclaim his glory to the nations,
proclaim to all peoples the wonders he has done.
For the Lord is great; great is the praise we owe him,
he is to be feared above all gods.
The gods of the nations are foolishness,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Majesty and splendour are all about him,
power and honour in his holy place.
Bring to the Lord, clans of the peoples,
bring to the Lord glory and power,
bring to the Lord the glory that belongs to his name.
Bring your offerings, enter his courts,
worship the Lord in holy attire.
Tremble at his presence, all the earth.
Say to the nations: “The Lord reigns!”
For he has set the world firm, so that it cannot be shaken,
and he will judge the peoples with fairness.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad,
let the sea and its fullness resound.
The fields will rejoice, and all that is in them,
all the trees of the woods will rejoice
at the Lord’s presence – for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge all the world with justice.
He will judge all the peoples with fairness.
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.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Short Reading
James 2:12-13
©
Talk and behave like people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom, because there will be judgement without mercy for those who have not been merciful themselves; but the merciful need have no fear of judgement.
Short Responsory
Blessed be the Lord from age to age.
– Blessed be the Lord from age to age.
He alone has wrought marvellous works.
– Blessed be the Lord from age to age.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Blessed be the Lord from age to age.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, our God.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation
in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,
his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies
and all who hate us,
to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant
and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us,
that we could serve him without fear
– freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him,
for all of our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation,
so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God,
one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness,
who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path 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.
Blessed be the Lord, our God.
Prayers and intercessions
In the life of his incarnate Son, God has shown us the dignity of man’s labour. With this in mind we pray:
– Lord, bless our work.
We bless you, Lord, for bringing us to this day;
we thank you for protecting our lives and giving us what we need.
– Lord, bless our work.
Be with us, Lord, as we take up our daily tasks;
and help us to remember that it is in your world we live and work.
– Lord, bless our work.
You have called us to serve you responsibly in the world:
help us to build a just and Christian society.
– Lord, bless our work.
Stay with us and with everyone we meet this day:
let us give your joy and your peace to the world.
– Lord, bless our work.
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.
King of heaven and earth, Lord God,
rule over our hearts and bodies this day.
Sanctify us,
and guide our every thought, word and deed
according to the commandments of your law,
so that now and for ever
your grace may free and save us.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
