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
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
And crown him Lord of all.
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
Song of Songs 8:7
©
Love is something that no flood can quench, no torrents drown. Were a man to offer all the wealth of his house to buy love, contempt is all he would purchase.
Short Responsory
My heart has said of you: I have sought your presence, Lord.
– My heart has said of you: I have sought your presence, Lord.
It is your face that I will continue to seek.
– My heart has said of you: I have sought your presence, Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– My heart has said of you: I have sought your presence, Lord.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Indeed I tell you that, unless you undergo a change of heart and become more like children, you will not enter my heavenly kingdom.
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.
Indeed I tell you that, unless you undergo a change of heart and become more like children, you will not enter my heavenly kingdom.
Prayers and intercessions
With great joy let us praise Christ, the bridegroom of all virgins.
– Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
Lord Jesus, the holy virgins loved you as their only spouse;
may we never be separated from you.
– Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
You crowned your mother Mary as queen of all virgins;
by her prayers grant that we may serve you in purity of life.
– Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
The holy virgins followed you with undivided hearts;
do not allow us to be fascinated by this passing world and drawn away from you.
– Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
Lord Jesus, you are the bridegroom that the wise virgins were ready to meet;
let us watch for your coming with longing and hope.
– Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
May Saint N., who reigns in your kingdom, intercede for us;
through her prayers grant us wisdom and innocence of life.
– Jesus, crown of virgins, hear 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.
God our Father, you promised your kingdom to the little ones and the humble of heart.
Give us grace to walk confidently in the way of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus,
so that, helped by her prayers, we may see your eternal glory.
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.
