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
Jesu, the world’s Redeemer, hear;
Thy Bishop’s fadeless Crown, draw near;
Accept with gentlest love today
The prayers and praises that we pay.
Grant then that we, most gracious God,
May follow in the steps he trod;
And at his prayer thy servants free
From stain of all iniquity.
To thee, O Christ, our loving King,
All glory, praise, and thanks we bring:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Psalm 42 (43)
Longing for the temple
Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
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.
Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
Canticle
Isaiah 38
The psalm of Hezekiah on recovering from sickness
Lord, come to our help all the days of our life.
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, come to our help all the days of our life.
Psalm 64 (65)
A solemn thanksgiving
To you our praise is due in Sion, O God.†
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.
To you our praise is due in Sion, O God.
Short Reading
Wisdom 7:13-14
©
What I learned without self-interest, I pass on without reserve; I do not intend to hide her riches. For she is an inexhaustible treasure to men, and those who acquire her win God’s friendship, commended as they are to him by the benefits of her teaching.
Short Responsory
The people tell about the wisdom of the saints.
– The people tell about the wisdom of the saints.
The Church sings their praises.
– The people tell about the wisdom of the saints.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The people tell about the wisdom of the saints.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
The chosen pastor Gregory passed on an example by the life he led as a pastor and he also left us a rule.
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 chosen pastor Gregory passed on an example by the life he led as a pastor and he also left us a rule.
Prayers and intercessions
Christ, the good shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep. Let us praise him with grateful hearts, as we pray:
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
Christ our Lord, in the holy pastors you reveal your love for us;
may we never be deprived of the care you show through them.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
Through your sacred ministers you are present in our midst as the shepherd of our souls;
never cease to guide us through their teaching and encouragement.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
In the saints who lead your people, you manifest your power of healing souls and bodies;
remain always with us to renew our lives in holiness.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
By the example of the saints you instruct your faithful in the ways of wisdom and love;
through our pastors, help us grow to the full stature of perfection.
– Lord, nourish the lives of your people.
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 our Father, your rule is a rule of love,
your providence is full of mercy for your people.
Through the intercession of Saint Gregory
grant the spirit of wisdom to those you have placed in authority,
so that the spiritual growth of the people may bring eternal joy to the pastors.
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.
