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
Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King!
The heavens are not too high,
his praise may thither fly,
the earth is not too low,
his praises there may grow.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King!
Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King!
The church with psalms must shout,
no door can keep them out;
but, above all, the heart
must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
my God and King!
George Herbert
Psalm 91 (92)
Praise of God, the Creator
It is good to make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning.
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.
It is good to make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning.
Canticle
Ezekiel 36
The Lord will renew his people
I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you.
I will take you from among the Gentiles,
I will bring you together from all the earth,
I will lead you into your own land.
I will pour clean water on you,
and you will be cleansed from your filth:
from all your worship of idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.
I will take the stone heart from your breast and put a heart of flesh in its place.
I will put my spirit among you,
so that you will walk in the paths of my law,
keep my judgements and obey them.
You shall live in the land I gave to your fathers.
You shall be a people for me, and I will be your 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.
I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you.
Psalm 8
The greatness of God, the dignity of man
On the lips of children and of babes you have found praise, Lord.
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.
On the lips of children and of babes you have found praise, Lord.
Short Reading
2 Peter 3:13-15
©
What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved.
Short Responsory
When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
– When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
My tongue shall tell the tale of your justice.
– When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Lord, guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.
Lord, guide our feet into the way of peace.
Prayers and intercessions
God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love, and self-control. With complete confidence we pray:
– Father, send us your Spirit.
Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
in Christ you have given us every spiritual blessing.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary brought Christ into the world:
through the Church, may Christ be born again today in the hearts of men.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
Father, may your Spirit lead us forward out of solitude:
may he lead us to open the eyes of the blind, to proclaim the Word of light, to reap together the harvest of life.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
Let our striving for your kingdom not fall short through selfishness or fear:
may the universe be alive with the Spirit, and our homes be the pledge of a world redeemed.
– Father, send us your Spirit.
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.
All-powerful, eternal God,
splendour of true light and never-ending day:
at this return of the morning hour,
chase away the night of sin
and fill our minds with the glory of your coming.
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.
