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
Who are these like stars appearing,
these, before God’s throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing;
who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! Hark, they sing,
praising loud their heavenly King.
Who are these of dazzling brightness,
clothed in God’s own righteousness?
These, whose robes of purest whiteness,
shall their lustre still possess,
still untouched by time’s rude hand?
Whence came all this glorious band?
These are they who have contended
for their Saviour’s honour long,
wrestling on till life was ended,
following not the sinful throng;
these who well the fight sustained,
triumph through the Lamb have gained.
These are they whose hearts were riven,
sore with woe and anguish tried,
who in prayer full oft have striven
with the God they glorified;
now, their painful conflict o’er,
God has bid them weep no more.
These, the Almighty contemplating,
did as priests before him stand,
soul and body always waiting
day and night at his command:
now in God’s most holy place
blest they stand before his face.
Psalm 91 (92)
Praise of God, the Creator
Lord, we proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night.
It is good to praise the Lord,
and to sing psalms to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your mercy in the morning
and your faithfulness by night;
on the ten-stringed lyre and the harp,
with songs upon the lyre.
For you give me joy, Lord, in your creation:
I rejoice in the work of your hands.
How great are your works, O Lord,
how immeasurably deep your thoughts.
The fool does not hear,
the slow-witted do not understand.
When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and the doers of evil are in full bloom,
it will come to nothing, for they will perish for ever and ever;
but you, Lord, are the Highest eternally.
For behold, Lord, your enemies, how your enemies will perish,
how wrongdoers will be scattered.
You will give me strength as the wild oxen have;
I have been anointed with the purest oil.
I will look down upon my enemies,
and hear the plans of those who plot evil against me.
The just will flourish like the palm tree,
grow tall like the cedar of Lebanon.
They will be planted in the house of the Lord;
in the courts of our God they will flourish.
They will bear fruit even when old,
fresh and luxuriant through all their days.
They will proclaim how just is the Lord, my refuge,
for in him there is no unrighteousness.
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, we proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night.
Canticle
Deuteronomy 32
The things God has done for his people
Proclaim the greatness of our God.
Listen, heavens to what I say;
earth, hear the words of my mouth!
Let my teaching fall like the rain,
my speech descend like the dew,
like a shower on the grass,
like rain on the wheat.
For I shall call on the name of the Lord:
give praise to the greatness of our God!
His works are like a rock: they are perfect,
for all his ways are just.
God is faithful, he can do no wrong:
he is just and upright.
They have sinned against him, they are no children of his –
this filthy generation, wicked and perverse.
Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and witless people?
Is he not your father, who took charge of you,
created you and made you exist?
Remember the days of old: think upon each generation.
Ask your father and he will tell you;
ask your ancestors, and they will let you know.
When the Most High divided the peoples,
when he was separating the children of Adam,
he laid down the boundaries of the people
according to the number of the children of Israel:
the Lord’s own portion was his people,
Jacob the measure of his inheritance.
He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror,
in the howling wilderness.
He protected him, looked after him,
guarded him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle teaching its chicks to fly, hovering close above them,
he spread out his wings and lifted him up,
carried him on his back.
The Lord alone led Jacob; no foreign god was with him.
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.
Proclaim the greatness of our God.
Psalm 8
The greatness of God, the dignity of man
How great is your name, Lord, through all the earth.
How wonderful is your name over all the earth,
O Lord, our Lord!
How exalted is your glory
above the sky!
Out of the mouths of children and infants you have brought praise,
to confound your enemies, to destroy your vengeful foes.
When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars, which you set in their place –
what is man, that you should take thought for him?
what is the son of man, that you should look after him?
You have made him but one step lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honour;
you have set him over the works of your hands.
You have put everything beneath his feet,
cattle and sheep and the beasts of the field,
the birds in the air and the fish in the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the waters.
How wonderful is your name above all the earth,
O Lord, our 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.
How great is your name, Lord, through all the earth.
Short Reading
Hebrews 13:7-9
©
Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever. Do not let yourselves be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines.
Short Responsory
I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
They will never cease to tell of the name of the Lord, by day and by night.
– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Proclaim the Gospel, insist on it in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, do all with patience and in a manner that will teach men.
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.
Proclaim the Gospel, insist on it in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, do all with patience and in a manner that will teach men.
Prayers and intercessions
Christ, the good shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep. Let us praise him with grateful hearts, as we pray:
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
Christ our Lord, in the holy pastors you reveal your love for us;
may we never be deprived of the care you show through them.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
Through your sacred ministers you are present in our midst as the shepherd of our souls;
never cease to guide us through their teaching and encouragement.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
In the saints who lead your people, you manifest your power of healing souls and bodies;
remain always with us to renew our lives in holiness.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
By the example of the saints you instruct your faithful in the ways of wisdom and love;
through our pastors, help us grow to the full stature of perfection.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
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.
Almighty God,
you endowed Saint Timothy and Saint Titus with power to preach your word.
Grant that, living a life of integrity and holiness in this world,
we may, through their prayers, come to our true home in heaven.
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.
