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.
Hymn
Creator of the earth and skies,
To whom the words of life belong,
Grant us thy truth to make us wise;
Grant us thy power to make us strong.
Like theirs of old, our life is death,
Our light is darkness, till we see
The eternal Word made flesh and breath,
The God who walked by Galilee.
We have not known thee: to the skies
Our monuments of folly soar,
And all our self-wrought miseries
Have made us trust ourselves the more.
We have not loved thee: far and wide
The wreckage of our hatred spreads,
And evils wrought by human pride
Recoil on unrepentant heads.
For this, our foolish confidence,
Our pride of knowledge and our sin,
We come to thee in penitence;
In us the work of grace begin.
Psalm 56 (57)
Morning prayer in time of affliction
Awake, lyre and harp: I will awaken the dawn.
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.
My soul flies to you for refuge.
I will hide in the shelter of your wings
until the time of ambush is past.
I will cry to God the Most High,
to the God who cares for me.
He will send help from heaven to set me free.
He will disgrace those who trample me underfoot.
He will send forth his mercy and faithfulness.
My soul lies among lion-cubs
that would devour the children of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues are pointed swords.
May you be exalted above the heavens, O God;
let your glory cover the whole earth.
They prepared a trap for my feet;
my soul was bent double under its burden;
they dug a pit in front of me
– but they fell into it themselves.
My heart is ready, God.
My heart is ready.
I will offer you music and song.
Awake, my glory,
awake, lyre and harp.
I will awaken the dawn.
I will proclaim you among the peoples, Lord,
and make music for you among the nations,
for your mercy reaches as high as the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
May you be exalted above the heavens, O God;
let your glory cover the earth.
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.
Awake, lyre and harp: I will awaken the dawn.
Canticle
Jeremiah 31
The joy of those whom God sets free
Thus says the Lord: my people shall be filled with my good things.
All you nations, listen to the word of the Lord,
proclaim it in the farthest islands:
“He who scattered his people Israel
has brought them back together.
He will care for them as a shepherd tends his flock.”
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and freed him from the hand of his conqueror.
They will come and sing praises on Mount Zion,
they will flood in to receive the good things of the Lord,
grain, and wine, and oil,
and the young of both herd and flock.
Their spirit will be like a richly watered garden,
and they will hunger no more.
The young girl will dance for joy,
young men and old men too.
“I will turn their weeping into gladness,” says the Lord,
“I will comfort them and give them joy after sorrow.
I will overwhelm my priests with rich food,
and my good things will fill my people to overflowing.”
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.
Thus says the Lord: my people shall be filled with my good things.
Psalm 47 (48)
Thanksgiving for the safety of the people
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.
The Lord is great and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain is a beautiful sight,
the joy of all the earth.
Mount Zion is at its northernmost edge,
the city of the great king.
Here among its palaces,
God has shown himself as its refuge.
For the kings assembled,
made alliance against it –
but when they saw it, they were amazed.
Panic took them and they scattered.
Trembling took hold of them,
pain like that of childbirth.
With the east wind
you will destroy the ships of Tarshish.
What we had heard, we saw in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God has founded for ever.
We ponder your mercy, O God,
as we stand in your temple.
Your name, O Lord, and your praise
will reach to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand delivers justice.
Let Mount Zion be glad
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgements.
Go round Zion, see it all,
count every tower.
Feel its strength,
visit its palaces,
so that you can tell the next generation –
Here is God, our God,
here he remains for ever;
and for ever he will lead us and guide 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.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.
Short Reading
(1 Kings 8:51-53)
©
Lord, we are your people and your heritage. Be always watchful for the entreaty of your servant and of your people Israel, and listen to us whenever we call to you. For it was you who set us apart from all the peoples of the earth to be your own heritage.
Short Responsory
It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
And from the evil word.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
If you, evil though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
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.
If you, evil though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
Prayers and intercessions
We give praise to Christ our Lord, the radiant light of the world. He guides our steps in a path of light and we no longer live in darkness. Let us turn to him in confident prayer:
– May your word light up our way.
Christ, our Saviour, may we grow today in your likeness,
may we gain through the second Adam what was lost by the first.
– May your word light up our way.
May your word take flesh in our lives and your truth shine forth in our actions;
may your love burn brightly within us.
– May your word light up our way.
Teach us to work for the good of all, whether the time is right or not;
make your Church a welcome light for the whole human family.
– May your word light up our way.
May we always treasure your friendship and come to know its depth;
may we atone for the sins against your wisdom and love.
– May your word light up our way.
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.
In your bounty, Lord,
give us the Spirit
who alone can teach us to think and do what is right,
so that we, who without you cannot exist,
may live in loving obedience to your will.
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.
