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 107 (108)
Praise of the Lord and a plea for help
O God, arise above the heavens. Alleluia.
My heart is ready, O God –
my heart is ready.
I shall sing and make music.
Awake, my glory!
Rise up, harp and lyre!
We will awaken the dawn.
I will proclaim you to the peoples, O Lord,
sing of you to the nations:
for your kindness is great, it reaches the heavens;
great is your faithfulness, high as the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory stretch over the earth.
Give deliverance to your beloved,
let your right hand bring safety – answer my prayer!
God has spoken from his holy place:
“I shall triumph, dividing Shechem,
measuring off the vale of Succoth.
Mine is Gilead, mine is Manasseh;
Ephraim my helmet, Judah my sceptre.
But Moab shall be my wash-basin,
on Edom I will place my sandal;
I will cry in triumph over the Philistine.”
Who shall lead me to the fortified city?
Who shall lead me to Edom?
Surely you, God – although you rejected us.
Will you not come out, O God, with our armies?
Give us help in our troubles,
for vain is the help of man.
With God we shall triumph –
he will trample our enemies.
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.
O God, arise above the heavens. Alleluia.
Canticle
Isaiah 61-62
The prophet rejoices over the new Jerusalem
The Lord will make justice and praise spring up in the sight of the nations. Alleluia.
I will rejoice with joy in the Lord,
and my spirit shall be joyful in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation
and wrapped me round with the robe of justice,
like a bridegroom decked with a crown,
like a bride adorned with her jewels.
Just as the earth sends up its shoots,
and the garden makes its seeds to sprout,
so the Lord God will make justice spring up
and praise before all the nations.
For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still
until her justice comes forth as brightness,
and her salvation is lit up like a torch.
And the Gentiles shall see your justice,
and all the kings see your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
chosen by the mouth of the Lord.
You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer called “Forsaken,”
your land no longer called “Desolate,”
you will be called “My pleasure in her,”
and your land “The Wedded”;
for the Lord has been well pleased with you,
and your land will receive its bridegroom.
For as a young man takes a virgin to wife,
so will your sons take you;
and as a husband takes joy in his spouse,
so your God will rejoice at you.
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 will make justice and praise spring up in the sight of the nations. Alleluia.
Psalm 145 (146)
The blessedness of those who hope in the Lord
The Lord will reign for ever. He is your God, O Sion. Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life,
make music to my God as long as I exist.
Do not trust in princes to save you,
they are only sons of men.
One day their breath will leave them, they will return to the ground;
on that day perish all their plans.
Happy the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth and all that is in them,
who keeps faith for ever,
who gives justice to the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees prisoners,
he gives light to the blind,
he raises the fallen.
The Lord loves the upright, cares for strangers,
sustains orphans and widows;
but the wicked he sends astray.
The Lord will reign for all ages,
your God, O Zion, from generation to generation.
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 will reign for ever. He is your God, O Sion. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Romans 6:8-11
©
We believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
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, the Light, have come into the world, so that whoever believes in me will stay in the darkness no more. 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, the Light, have come into the world, so that whoever believes in me will stay in the darkness no more. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to God, who manifested to the apostles the glory of the risen Christ.
– Glorify us, Lord, with the glory of Christ.
Father, we praise you today with grateful hearts, because you have called us into your own marvellous light;
help us always to see your loving-kindness.
– Glorify us, Lord, with the glory of Christ.
Through your Holy Spirit strengthen and purify men;
give them new heart in their struggle to improve the quality of life.
– Glorify us, Lord, with the glory of Christ.
May we pour out our lives in the service of men:
bless our efforts, that the whole of humanity may become a sacrifice acceptable to you.
– Glorify us, Lord, with the glory of Christ.
At the start of the day fill our hearts with your love;
let the praise of your glory be the joy of our lives.
– Glorify us, Lord, with the glory of Christ.
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.
Lord God, life of those who believe in you,
glory of the humble and happiness of the saints,
listen kindly to our prayer.
We long for what you promise;
fill us from your abundance.
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.
