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
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
And crown him Lord of all.
Psalm 100 (101)
The declaration of a just ruler
I will sing to you, O Lord, and I will walk in the way of perfection.
I will sing of kindness and justice –
to you, Lord, will I sing.
My thoughts shall follow the way of perfection:
when will you come to me, Lord?
I will walk with an innocent heart
through the halls of my palace.
I will allow no evil thing in my sight.
I will hate the man who retreats from perfection:
he may not stay near me.
The wicked of heart must leave me;
the plotter of evil I will not acknowledge.
The man who plots against his neighbour in secret:
I will suppress him.
The haughty of eye, the puffed-up and proud –
I will not support them.
I will turn my eyes to the faithful of the land:
they shall sit with me.
Whoever walks in the way of perfection –
he shall be my servant.
The haughty shall not live in my palace;
the slanderer shall not stand in my sight.
Each morning I will suppress
all the wicked of the land.
I will rid the city of the Lord
of all that do evil.
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.
I will sing to you, O Lord, and I will walk in the way of perfection.
Canticle
Daniel 3
The prayer of Azariah in the furnace
O Lord, do not withdraw your favour from us.
Blessed are you, Lord God of our fathers:
your name is glorious for ever
for you are just in all you have done to us.
For we have sinned and done wrong, we have deserted you
and done all things wrong.
Do not give us up for ever, for your name’s sake we beg you,
do not dissolve your covenant.
Take not your loving kindness from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your beloved;
and Isaac your servant,
and Israel your holy one.
You told them you would multiply their seed
like the stars of the sky
like the sand on the shores of the sea.
But we, Lord, are made the least of all nations.
Today we are brought low over all the earth
on account of our sins.
Today there is no prince
no prophet, no leader,
no holocaust, no sacrifice.
No offering, no incense,
no first-fruits offered to you
– no way to obtain your mercy.
But in our contrite souls,
in a spirit of humility,
accept us, Lord.
Like a holocaust of rams and bulls,
like fat sheep in their thousands,
let our sacrifice be like these before you today.
Bring to fruition the quest of those who follow you,
for those who trust in you can never be confounded.
And now we follow you with all our heart
and we revere you and seek your face.
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 Lord, do not withdraw your favour from us.
Psalm 143 (144)
For victory and peace
I will sing a new song to you, O God.
Blessed be the Lord, my help,
who trains my hands for battle,
my fingers for war.
The Lord is kindness and strength,
my refuge and my liberator.
He is my shield, and I trust in him –
he places my people under his rule.
Lord, what is man, that you should take notice of him?
The son of man, that you should give him respect?
For man is as nothing,
his day is like a shadow that passes.
Lord, descend from your heavens,
touch the mountains so that they smoke.
Brandish your lightnings and scatter my enemies,
fire your arrows, sow confusion among them.
Send down your power from above,
raise me and free me from the flooding waters,
from the power of those of foreign race,
whose speeches are not to be trusted,
who lift up their hands in perjury.
I will sing a new song to you, God:
I will sound your praise on the ten-stringed harp.
You give victory to kings,
you rescue David your servant
from the swords of his enemies.
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.
I will sing a new song to you, O God.
Short Reading
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
©
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow.
Short Responsory
God is her help; she will not be moved.
– God is her help; she will not be moved.
The Lord is with her.
– God is her help; she will not be moved.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– God is her help; she will not be moved.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
With joy and rejoicing as though to a feast Agatha went to prison, and she offered her sufferings to God with many prayers.
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.
With joy and rejoicing as though to a feast Agatha went to prison, and she offered her sufferings to God with many prayers.
Prayers and intercessions
Through the martyrs who were slain for God’s word, let us give glory to our Saviour, the faithful and true witness.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who bore witness to your love,
set us free to live for you.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who proclaimed your saving death,
give us a deep and constant faith.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who took up your cross,
grant us courage for every trial.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, washed in the blood of the Lamb,
give us grace to conquer our weakness.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
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 God, let Saint Agatha,
who became precious in your sight through her pure life and valiant martyrdom,
plead for our forgiveness.
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.
