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 83 (84)
Longing for the Lord's temple
My heart and my soul ring out their joy to the living God. Alleluia.
How delightful is your dwelling-place, Lord of hosts!
My soul is weak with longing for the courts of your palace.
My heart and my body rejoice in the living God.
Even the sparrow finds itself a home,
the swallow a nest to raise her young –
in your altars, O Lord,
Lord of strength, my king and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house:
they will praise you for ever.
Blessed the man whose help comes from you,
who has set his heart on climbing to you.
They pass through the valley of thirst
and make a spring there:
the morning rain will cover it with blessings.
They will go from strength to strength:
they will see the God of gods, in Zion.
Lord God of hosts, listen to my prayer;
hear me, O God of Jacob.
Take notice of us, God our protector,
and look on the face of your anointed one.
One day in the courts of my God
is worth more than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be at the doorstep of the house of my God
than live in the dwellings of sinners.
For the Lord my God is my sun and my shield.
The Lord gives grace and glory.
He will not deny his good things
to those who walk in purity.
Blessed is he who trusts in you,
O Lord of hosts.
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 and my soul ring out their joy to the living God. Alleluia.
Canticle
Isaiah 2
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Great is the Temple of the Lord: all the nations will go there to worship, alleluia.
In the last days, at the end of time,
the mountain of the house of the Lord
will be prepared high above all mountains.
It will be raised above the hills
and all nations will come to it.
And many peoples will come there and say
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
Let him teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion the law will go forth,
from Jerusalem the word of the Lord.
And he will judge the nations
and rebuke many peoples.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into sickles.
Nation will lift sword against nation no longer.
No longer will they go out into battle.
People of Jacob, come:
let us walk in the light 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.
Great is the Temple of the Lord: all the nations will go there to worship, alleluia.
Psalm 95 (96)
The Lord, the universal King and judge
Proclaim to the nations, ‘God is king,’ alleluia.
Sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
day after day, proclaim his saving power.
Proclaim his glory to the nations,
proclaim to all peoples the wonders he has done.
For the Lord is great; great is the praise we owe him,
he is to be feared above all gods.
The gods of the nations are foolishness,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Majesty and splendour are all about him,
power and honour in his holy place.
Bring to the Lord, clans of the peoples,
bring to the Lord glory and power,
bring to the Lord the glory that belongs to his name.
Bring your offerings, enter his courts,
worship the Lord in holy attire.
Tremble at his presence, all the earth.
Say to the nations: “The Lord reigns!”
For he has set the world firm, so that it cannot be shaken,
and he will judge the peoples with fairness.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad,
let the sea and its fullness resound.
The fields will rejoice, and all that is in them,
all the trees of the woods will rejoice
at the Lord’s presence – for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge all the world with justice.
He will judge all the peoples with fairness.
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.
Proclaim to the nations, ‘God is king,’ alleluia.
Short Reading
Romans 10:8-10
©
The word is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart: the word, that is, of the faith we proclaim. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved.
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
Work not for the food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life. 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.
Work not for the food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
The Father has glorified Jesus and handed over to him the whole of creation. Let us praise him in our morning prayer.
– Lord, save us through your victory.
Lord Jesus, you have broken the power of hell, destroying sin and death;
do not let us be defeated in our struggle with temptation.
– Lord, save us through your victory.
You have ended death for ever and given us new life;
guide our steps today along the path that leads to God.
– Lord, save us through your victory.
You rose from the dead to renew all men;
grant eternal life to everyone we meet.
– Lord, save us through your victory.
The disciples rejoiced when you came back from the grave;
fill the hearts of your servants with overflowing joy.
– Lord, save us through your victory.
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.
God and Father,
to those who go astray
you reveal the light of your truth
and enable them to return to the right path.
Grant that all who have received the grace of baptism
may strive to be worthy of their Christian calling
and reject everything opposed to it.
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.
