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 76 (77)
Remembering the works of the Lord
Your ways, O God, are holy: what god is as great as our God?
I cried out loud to the Lord,
cried out to God, and he turned to me.
In my time of trouble I sought for God,
my hands stretched out all night long,
tireless in supplication.
My soul will not be consoled:
I think of God, and I sigh;
I meditate, and my spirit fails.
You have kept me awake, my eyes open;
in my distress, I did not speak.
I pondered on the days of old,
thought through the immemorial years.
In the night I meditated in my heart.
I was troubled, and I asked my soul:
Will God reject you for ever,
will he never again take you into his favour?
Has his kindness ended for ever,
his word come to an end for all generations?
Will God forget to show mercy,
will he lock up his mercies in his anger?
And I said, “I am wounded indeed,
that the Most High has changed.”
I will remember the works of the Lord.
I will remember your wonders, from the beginning.
I will ponder on all you have done,
think deeply through all your great deeds.
O God, your ways are holy:
what god is as great as our God?
You are God, you work wonders,
you made known your strength to your people.
By your own action you redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and of Joseph.
The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and writhed,
stirred up even to their depths.
The clouds poured down water,
the clouds sounded their voice,
your arrows shot forth.
Your voice thundered in the whirlwind,
your lightnings lit up the world,
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way led through the sea,
your paths through the great waters,
your steps left no trace behind them.
You led your people like a flock,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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.
Your ways, O God, are holy: what god is as great as our God?
Canticle
1 Samuel 2
The song of Hannah, mother of Samuel
My heart exults in the Lord: he humbles and he exalts.
My heart rejoices in the Lord,
my strength is raised up in the name of my God.
I cry out in triumph over my enemies
as I rejoice in your deliverance.
No-one is like the Lord, for he is holy;
no-one is like our God, for he is strong.
Do not pile boasting upon boasting:
keep proud words far from your mouth,
for the Lord is the God of all knowledge
and the judge of all actions.
The bow of the mighty is broken,
and the weak are clothed in strength.
Those who fed well must hire themselves out, for bread;
but the hungry are hungry no longer.
The barren woman has given birth to many;
but she who had many sons is left desolate.
The Lord brings death and brings life;
he leads down to the underworld and rescues from it.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he lays low and raises up.
He lifts the needy from the dust and the poor from the dunghill
to sit among princes
to sit on the throne of glory.
To the Lord belong the poles of the earth;
from them he has suspended the world.
He will keep safe the feet of his chosen,
but the impious will be silent in the darkness
– for it is not by his own strength that a man becomes strong.
The Lord grinds down his enemies:
he will thunder on them from the heavens.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
give dominion to his king,
and raise up the standard of his anointed one.
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.
My heart exults in the Lord: he humbles and he exalts.
Psalm 96 (97)
The glory of God in his judgements
The Lord is king, let earth rejoice.
The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice,
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and dark mist surround him,
his throne is founded on law and justice.
Fire precedes him,
burning up his enemies all around.
His lightnings light up the globe;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains flow like wax at the sight of the Lord,
at the sight of the Lord the earth dissolves.
The heavens proclaim his justice
and all peoples see his glory.
Let them be dismayed, who worship carved things,
who take pride in the images they make.
All his angels, worship him.
Zion heard and was glad,
the daughters of Judah rejoiced
because of your judgements, O Lord.
For you are the Lord, the Most High over all the earth,
far above all other gods.
You who love the Lord, hate evil!
The Lord protects the lives of his consecrated ones:
he will free them from the hands of sinners.
A light has arisen for the just,
and gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord
and proclaim his holiness.
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 king, let earth rejoice.
Short Reading
Deuteronomy 7:6,8-9
©
It is you that the Lord our God has chosen to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth. It was for love of you and to keep the oath he swore to your fathers that the Lord brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know then that the Lord your God is God indeed, the faithful God who is true to his covenant and his graciousness for a thousand generations towards those who love him and keep his commandments.
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
The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
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.
The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us give thanks to God the Father, who cleanses our hearts and strengthens us in love through the Holy Spirit.
– Give us, Lord, your Holy Spirit.
May we always be grateful for all the goodness you have shown us,
and may we bear our trials with patience.
– Give us, Lord, your Holy Spirit.
In the life of Jesus you have shown us the way of love:
teach us to follow this way in the great and small events of life.
– Give us, Lord, your Holy Spirit.
Grant us a spirit of self-denial,
and move us to help our brothers in their need.
– Give us, Lord, your Holy Spirit.
Let us bear witness in our bodies to the death of your Son,
for in his body you have brought us to life.
– Give us, Lord, your Holy 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.
Protect your family, Lord,
trained as it is by the constant exercise of good works.
Strengthen us with your consoling presence,
and lead us to the joys of 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.
