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
Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky,
Heav’n thunders forth its victor cry:
The glad earth shouts her triumph high,
And groaning hell makes wild reply.
While he, the King of sovereign might,
Treads down death’s strength in death’s despite,
And trampling hell by victor’s right,
Brings forth his sleeping saints to light.
Fast barred beneath the stone of late,
In watch and ward where soldiers wait,
Now shining in triumphant state,
He rises victor from death’s gate.
Hell’s pains are loosed and tears are fled:
Captivity is captive led:
The angel, crowned with light, hath said:
‘The Lord is risen from the dead.’
Author of all, be thou our guide
In this our joy of Eastertide;
Whene’er assaults of death impend,
Thy people strengthen and defend.
To thee who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord, thy people give:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Psalm 42 (43)
Longing for the temple
You have come to Mount Sion, and the city of the living God. Alleluia.
Vindicate me, Lord:
judge my case against an unholy nation,
rescue me from betrayers, from the wicked.
For you are the God of my refuge;
why have you rejected me?
why must I suffer while my enemies torment me?
Send forth your light and your truth;
let them lead me away,
let them lead me up your holy mountain,
up to your sanctuary.
I shall go in to the altar of God,
to the God of my gladness and joy.
I will sing out to you on the lyre,
O God, my 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.
You have come to Mount Sion, and the city of the living God. Alleluia.
Canticle
Isaiah 38
The psalm of Hezekiah on recovering from sickness
Lord, you have kept my soul from destruction. Alleluia.
I said, in the middle of my days
I am going to the gates of the underworld.
Where shall I find the remainder of my years?
I said, I will not see the Lord God in the land of the living,
I will never see another of the inhabitants of the earth.
My dwelling-place is taken away, taken far away from me,
like the tent of a shepherd.
Like a weaver, he has rolled up my life
and cut it off from the loom.
From morning to night,
you have made an end of me.
I cried for help till daybreak;
like a lion, he has crushed all my bones.
From morning to night,
you have made an end of me.
I twitter like a fledgling sparrow,
make noises like a dove.
My eyes are weak
from looking upward.
But you have pulled my soul out of the pit of destruction,
you have put all my sins behind you.
For after all, the underworld will not proclaim you,
nor death praise you;
those who go down there
do not wait in hope for your faithfulness.
It is the living, the living who will proclaim you,
as I do today.
Fathers will pass on to their children
the truth of your faithfulness.
Save me, Lord,
and to the sound of the harp we will sing to you,
all the days of our life,
in the house of the 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.
Lord, you have kept my soul from destruction. Alleluia.
Psalm 64 (65)
A solemn thanksgiving
You care for the earth, you give it water. Alleluia.
To you we owe praise, O God, in Zion;
to you we will fulfil our vows, in Jerusalem.
It is you who answer prayers:
to you must all men come,
because we are sinners;
even if our transgressions overwhelm us,
you will blot them out.
Blessed is the man you have taken up and chosen:
he will live within your halls.
We shall be filled with the good things of your house,
with the holiness of your temple.
Marvellous is the justice with which you listen to us,
God of our salvation,
hope of all the earth and far-off coasts.
You make firm the mountains in their place,
clothed in your power and might.
You make still the roaring of the sea,
the crash of its waves; and the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at the ends of the earth
will tremble at your wonders.
You will fill the east and the west with joy.
You have come to the earth, you have filled it,
saturated it with fruitfulness.
The river of God is filled with water,
as you prepare the harvest:
for thus you have prepared the land,
watering its furrows,
smoothing its roughnesses,
softening it with showers,
blessing the seeds within it.
You have crowned the year with your kindness.
Your footsteps will drip with fruitfulness.
The desert pastures will be soaked,
the hills will be wrapped in rejoicing.
The fields will be clothed with flocks,
the vales overflow with corn.
They will cry out, and sing your praise.
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.
You care for the earth, you give it water. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Acts 13:30-33
©
God raised Jesus from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem: and it is these same companions of his who are now his witnesses before our people. We have come here to tell you the Good News. It was to our ancestors that God made the promise but it is to us, their children, that he has fulfilled it, by raising Jesus from the dead. As scripture says in the second psalm: You are my son: today I have become your father.
Short Responsory
The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
For our sake he died on the cross, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; I am of the house and family of David, bright star of the morning. Alleluia.
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.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; I am of the house and family of David, bright star of the morning. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to God the Father, whose Son became the Lamb without blemish to take away the sins of the world.
– God of life, save us.
Father, be mindful of your Son, who died on the cross and was raised again to life;
hear him interceding for us now.
– God of life, save us.
Let us cast out the leaven of corruption and malice;
let us celebrate Christ’s passover in purity and truth.
– God of life, save us.
May we overcome today all envy and dissension;
help us to take care of our brothers in their every need.
– God of life, save us.
Place deep in our hearts the spirit of the gospel;
may it inspire us to keep your commandments today and always.
– God of life, save 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,
give your Church the grace
to proclaim the power of Jesus, our Risen Lord.
We have received the first fruits of his grace:
prepare us for the full revelation of his gifts.
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.
