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 people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell,
Come ye before him, and rejoice.
The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed;
And for his sheep he doth us take.
For why, the Lord our God is good:
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel-host
Be praise and glory evermore.
Psalm 117 (118)
A cry of rejoicing and triumph
Give thanks to the Lord, for his great love is without end. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his kindness is for ever.
Now let Israel say, he is good
and his kindness is for ever.
Now let the house of Aaron say it too:
that his kindness is for ever.
Now let all who fear the Lord say it too:
that his kindness is for ever.
In my time of trial I called out to the Lord:
he listened, and led me to freedom.
The Lord is with me,
I will fear nothing that man can do.
The Lord, my help, is with me,
and I shall look down upon my enemies.
It is good to seek shelter in the Lord,
better than to trust in men.
It is good to seek shelter in the Lord,
better than to trust in the leaders of men.
All the nations surrounded me,
and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They crowded in and besieged me,
and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They surrounded me like swarms of bees,
they burned like a fire of dry thorns,
and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They chased and pursued me, to make me fall,
and the Lord came to my help.
The Lord is my strength and my rejoicing:
he has become my saviour.
A cry of joy and salvation
in the dwellings of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has triumphed!
The Lord’s right hand has raised me up;
the Lord’s right hand has triumphed.”
I shall not die, but live,
and tell of the works of the Lord.
The Lord chastised me severely
but did not let me die.
Open the gates of righteousness:
I will go in, and thank the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
it is the upright who enter here.
I will thank you, for you listened to me,
and became my saviour.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the corner-stone.
It was the Lord who did this –
it is marvellous to behold.
This is the day that was made by the Lord:
let us rejoice today, and be glad.
Lord, keep me safe;
O Lord, let me prosper!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, he shines upon us!
Arrange the procession, with close-packed branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, I will give thanks to you;
my God, I will give you praise.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his kindness is for ever.
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.
Give thanks to the Lord, for his great love is without end. Alleluia.
Canticle
Daniel 3
Let every creature praise the Lord
Alleluia. All works of the Lord, bless the Lord! Alleluia.
Blessed are you, Lord God of our fathers,
praised and exalted for ever.
Blessed is the holy name of your glory
praised above all things and exalted for ever.
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory
praised and glorious above all things for ever.
Blessed are you who gaze on the depths,
seated on the cherubim,
praised and exalted for ever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven
praised and glorious for ever.
Bless the Lord, all his works,
praise and exalt him for ever.
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. All works of the Lord, bless the Lord! Alleluia.
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord! Alleluia.
Praise the Lord in his sanctuary,
praise him in his mighty firmament.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for all his greatness.
Praise him with trumpet-blasts,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes,
praise him with cymbals resounding,
praise him with cymbals of jubilation.
All that breathes, praise 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.
Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord! Alleluia.
Short Reading
2 Timothy 2:8,11-13
©
Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’. Here is a saying that you can rely on: ‘If we have died with him, then we shall live with him. If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us. We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful, for he cannot disown his own self.’
Short Responsory
We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.
– We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.
We recount your wonderful deeds.
– We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living. (Year C)
Or: The poor widow gave more than all the others, for in her poverty she gave all she had.
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.
Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living. (Year C)
Or: The poor widow gave more than all the others, for in her poverty she gave all she had.
Prayers and intercessions
To the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time, now, and for ever.
– We praise you, O God: we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
We bless you, Lord, creator of the universe: we were sinners, in need of your grace:
yet now you have called us to live in knowledge and service of you.
– We praise you, O God: we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
Your Son has shown us the way.
As we follow in his steps, may we never wander from the path that leads to life.
– We praise you, O God: we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
We celebrate today the resurrection of your Son:
in suffering and in gladness, may it bring us deep joy.
– We praise you, O God: we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
O Lord, give us the spirit of prayer and praise:
let us always and everywhere give you thanks.
– We praise you, O God: we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
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.
Defend us, Lord, against every distress
so that, unencumbered in body and soul,
we may devote ourselves to your service in freedom and joy.
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.
