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
Sing my tongue, the glorious battle,
Sing the ending of the fray;
To the Cross, our noble trophy,
Here a fitting tribute pay,
Telling how the world’s Redeemer,
Slain as victim, won the day.
Tell how, when at length the fullness
Of the appointed time was come,
He, the Word, was born of woman,
Left for us his Father’s home,
Showed to men the perfect manhood,
Shone as light amidst the gloom.
Now the thirty years are ended
Which on earth he willed to see,
Willingly he meets his Passion,
Born to set his people free;
On the Cross the Lamb is lifted,
There the sacrifice to be.
Faithful Cross, above all other,
One and only noble Tree,
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be;
Sweet the wood and sweet the iron,
And the load, most sweet is he.
Unto God be praise and glory:
To the Father and the Son,
To the eternal Spirit, honour
Now and evermore be done;
Praise and glory in the highest,
While the timeless ages run.
Psalm 41 (42)
Longing for the Lord and his temple
Jesus said: ‘My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and keep awake with me.’
Like a deer that longs for springs of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God:
when shall I come and stand before the face of God?
My tears are my food, by day and by night,
and everyone asks, “where is your God?”.
I remember how I went up to your glorious dwelling-place
and into the house of God:
the memory melts my soul.
The sound of joy and thanksgiving,
the crowds at the festival.
Why are you so sad, my soul,
and anxious within me?
Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still,
my saviour and my God.
My soul is sad within me,
and so I will remember you
in the lands of Jordan and Hermon,
on the mountain of Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
in your rushing waters:
and all your torrents, all your waves
have flowed over me.
By day the Lord sends his kindness upon me;
by night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to God:
“You are my support, why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go in mourning, while the enemy persecutes me?.”
As my bones break,
my persecutors deride me,
all the time saying “where is your God?.”
Why are you so sad, my soul,
and anxious within me?
Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still,
my saviour and my 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.
Jesus said: ‘My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and keep awake with me.’
Canticle
Ecclesiasticus 36
A prayer for Jerusalem, the holy city
Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.
God of all, have mercy on us, take notice of us,
and show us the light of your mercies.
Make the nations fear you, who have not sought you out,
make them know that there is no God except you,
let them tell of your wonders.
Lift up your hand over foreign nations, that they may see your power –
for just as in their sight you have been sanctified in us,
so in our sight you will be magnified in them.
Lift up your hand so that they may know, as we know,
that there is no God but you, Lord.
Bring forth new signs and repeat your wonders;
glorify your hand, show the strength of your arm.
Gather together all the tribes of Jacob,
give them back the inheritance they had from the beginning.
Take pity on your people, over whom we invoke your name,
and on Israel, whom you have made equal to your firstborn.
Take pity on the city you have sanctified,
Jerusalem, the place of your rest.
Fill Zion with your majesty;
fill your temple with your glory.
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.
Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.
Psalm 18 (19)
Praise of God the creator
Jesus leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and has taken his seat at God’s right hand.
The skies tell the story of the glory of God,
the firmament proclaims the work of his hands;
day pours out the news to day,
night passes to night the knowledge.
Not a speech, not a word,
not a voice goes unheard.
Their sound is spread throughout the earth,
their message to all the corners of the world.
At the ends of the earth he has set up
a dwelling place for the sun.
Like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
it rejoices like an athlete at the race to be run.
It appears at the edge of the sky,
runs its course to the sky’s furthest edge.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
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.
Jesus leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and has taken his seat at God’s right hand.
Short Reading
Jeremiah 11:19-20
©
I was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!’ But you, Lord of Hosts, who pronounce a just sentence, who probe the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you.
Short Responsory
You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
– You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
From every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
– You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– You have redeemed us, Lord, by your blood.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, because it was you that sent me.
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.
Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, because it was you that sent me.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray earnestly to Christ our Saviour, who redeemed us by his death and resurrection.
– Lord, have mercy on us.
You went up to Jerusalem to endure the passion and enter into glory;
lead your Church into the paschal feast of eternal life.
– Lord, have mercy on us.
Your heart was pierced with a lance;
heal the wounds of our human weakness.
– Lord, have mercy on us.
You made your cross the tree of life;
share your victory with all the baptized.
– Lord, have mercy on us.
You gave salvation to the repentant thief;
pardon all our sins.
– Lord, have mercy on us.
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,
grant that we who are constantly betrayed by our own weakness
may draw the breath of new life
from the passion and death of your Only-Begotten 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.
