Monday 16 December 2019
Monday of the 3rd week of Advent
Office of Readings
(combined with Lauds)
This is the Office of Readings joined to another Hour, as described in §99 of the General Instruction. To see the Office of Readings on its own, use the menu button on the right.
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
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
Hark! a herald voice is calling
Through the shadows of the night
‘Cast away the dreams of darkness
Christ descends with heavenly light.’
Wakened by the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, her sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.
Lo, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n;
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all to be forgiv’n;
So, when next he comes with glory,
And his judgement-day draws near,
Faithful he may find his servants,
Watching till their Lord appear.
Honour, glory, might, and blessing
To the Father and the Son,
With the everlasting Spirit,
While eternal ages run.
________
Psalm 49 (50)
True reverence for the Lord
“I have not come to abolish the Law but to bring it to perfection” (cf Mt 5:17).
Our God comes openly, he keeps silence no longer.
The Gód of góds, the Lórd, †
has spóken and súmmoned the éarth, *
from the rísing of the sún to its sétting.
Out of Síon’s perfect béauty he shínes. *
Our God cómes, he keeps sílence no lónger.
Befóre him fíre devóurs, *
aróund him témpest ráges.
He cálls on the héavens and the éarth *
to wítness his júdgement of his péople.
‘Súmmon befóre me my péople *
who made cóvenant with mé by sácrifice.’
The héavens procláim his jústice, *
for hé, Gód, is the júdge.
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.
Our God comes openly, he keeps silence no longer.
________
Psalm 49 (50)
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
‘Lísten, my péople, I will spéak; *
Ísrael, I will téstify agáinst you,
for Í am Gód, your Gód. *
I accúse you, láy the charge befóre you.
‘I fínd no fáult with your sácrifices, *
your ófferings are álways befóre me.
I do not ásk more búllocks from your fárms, *
nor góats from amóng your hérds.
‘For I ówn all the béasts of the fórest, *
béasts in their thóusands on my hílls.
I knów all the bírds in the ský, *
all that móves in the fíeld belongs to mé.
‘Were I húngry, Í would not téll you, *
for I ówn the wórld and all it hólds.
Do you thínk I eat the flésh of búlls, *
or drínk the blóod of góats?
‘Pay your sácrifice of thánksgiving to Gód *
and rénder him your vótive ófferings.
Call on mé in the dáy of distréss. *
I will frée you and yóu shall hónour me.’
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.
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
________
Psalm 49 (50)
I want love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.
But Gód sáys to the wícked: †
‘But hów can you recíte my commándments *
and táke my cóvenant on your líps,
yóu who despíse my láw *
and thrów my wórds to the wínds?
‘You who sée a thíef and go with hím; *
who thrów in your lót with adúlterers,
who unbrídle your móuth for évil *
and whose tóngue is plótting críme,
‘you who sít and malígn your bróther *
and slánder your ówn mother’s són.
You do thís, and should Í keep sílence? *
Do you thínk that Í am like yóu?
‘Mark thís, you who néver think of Gód, *
lest I séize you and you cánnot escápe;
a sácrifice of thanksgíving hónours me *
and I will shów God’s salvátion to the úpright.’
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 want love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.
Psalm-prayer
Father, accept us as a sacrifice of praise, so that we may go through life unburdened by sin, walking in the way of salvation, and always giving thanks to you.
Or:
Father, because Jesus, your servant, became obedient even unto death, his sacrifice was greater than all holocausts of old. Accept the sacrifice of praise we offer you through him, and may we show the effects of it in our lives by striving to do your will until our whole life becomes adoration in spirit and truth.
________
℣. Let us see, O Lord, your mercy.
℟. And give us your saving help.
________
First Reading
Isaiah 30:18-26
A promise of future happiness
The Lord is waiting to be gracious to you, to rise and take pity on you, for the Lord is a just God; happy are all who hope in him.
Yes, people of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, follow it.’ You will regard your silvered idols and gilded images as unclean. You will throw them away like the polluted things they are, shouting after them, ‘Good riddance!’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall. Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter – like the light of seven days in one – on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.
Responsory
Is 30:26,18; Ps 27:14
℟. In that day the Lord will bind up the wounds of his people, and the God of justice will heal the bruises inflicted by his blow.* Blessed are all those who wait for him.
℣. Hope in the Lord, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!* Blessed are all those who wait for him.
________
Second Reading
From a discourse "On the Contemplation of God" by William of Saint-Thierry
He loved us first
Truly you alone are the Lord. Your dominion is our salvation, for to serve you is nothing else but to be saved by you!
O Lord, salvation is your gift and your blessing is upon your people; what else is your salvation but receiving from you the gift of loving you or being loved by you?
That, Lord, is why you willed that the Son at your right hand, the man whom you made strong for yourself, should be called Jesus, that is to say, Saviour, for he will save his people from their sins, and there is no other in whom there is salvation. He taught us to love him by first loving us, even to death on the cross. By loving us and holding us so dear, he stirred us to love him who had first loved us to the end.
And this is clearly the reason: you first loved us so that we might love you – not because you needed our love, but because we could not be what you created us to be, except by loving you.
In many ways and on various occasions you spoke to our fathers through the prophets. Now in these last days you have spoken to us in the Son, your Word; by him the heavens were established and all their powers came to be by the breath of his mouth.
For you to speak thus in your Son was to bring out in the light of day how much and in what way you loved us, for you did not spare your own Son but delivered him up for us all. He also loved us and gave himself up for us.
This, Lord, is your Word to us, this is your all-powerful message: while all things were in midnight silence (that is, were in the depths of error), he came from his royal throne, the stern conqueror of error and the gentle apostle of love.
Everything he did and everything he said on earth, even enduring the insults, the spitting, the buffeting – the cross and the grave – all of this was actually you speaking to us in your Son, appealing to us by your love and stirring up our love for you.
You know that this disposition could not be forced on men’s hearts, my God, since you created them; it must rather be elicited. And this, for the further reason that there is no freedom where there is compulsion, and where freedom is lacking, so too is righteousness.
You wanted us to love you, then, we who could not with justice have been saved had we not loved you, nor could we have loved you except by your gift. So, Lord, as the apostle of your love tells us, and as we have already said, you first loved us: you are first to love all those who love you.
Thus we hold you dear by the affection you have implanted in us. You are the one supremely good and ultimate goodness. Your love is your goodness, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son! From the beginning of creation it was he who hovered over the waters – that is, over the wavering minds of men – offering himself to all, drawing all things to himself. By his inspiration and holy breath, by keeping us from harm and providing for our needs, he unites God to us and us to God.
Responsory
℟. My love for you will never leave you, and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken.* Your sons will all be taught by the Lord; the prosperity of your sons will be great.
℣. I, the Lord your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in the way that you must go.* Your sons will all be taught by the Lord; the prosperity of your sons will be great.
________
Psalm 83 (84)
Longing for the Lord's temple
“We have no lasting city in this life, but we look for one in the life to come” (Heb 13:14).
They are happy who dwell in your house, Lord.
How lóvely is your dwélling pláce, *
Lórd, Gód of hósts.
My sóul is lónging and yéarning, *
is yéarning for the cóurts of the Lórd.
My héart and my sóul ring out their jóy *
to Gód, the líving Gód.
The spárrow hersélf finds a hóme *
and the swállow a nést for her bróod;
she láys her yóung by your áltars, *
Lord of hósts, my kíng and my Gód.
They are háppy, who dwéll in your hóuse, *
for éver sínging your práise.
They are háppy, whose stréngth is in yóu, *
in whose héarts are the róads to Síon.
As they gó through the Bítter Válley †
they máke it a pláce of spríngs, *
the áutumn rain cóvers it with bléssings.
They wálk with éver growing stréngth, *
they will sée the God of góds in Síon.
O Lórd God of hósts, hear my práyer, *
give éar, O Gód of Jácob.
Turn your éyes, O Gód, our shíeld, *
lóok on the fáce of your ánointed.
Óne day withín your cóurts *
is bétter than a thóusand elsewhére.
The thréshold of the hóuse of Gód *
I prefér to the dwéllings of the wícked.
For the Lord Gód is a rámpart, a shíeld; *
he will gíve us his fávour and glóry.
The Lórd will not refúse any góod *
to thóse who wálk without bláme.
Lórd, Gód of hósts, *
háppy the mán who trusts in yóu!
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.
They are happy who dwell in your house, Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Bless your people, Lord. You have given us the law that we may walk from strength to strength and raise our minds to you from this valley of tears. May we receive the gifts you have gained for us.
Or:
Almighty God, you listened to the prayer of Christ, your Chosen One, and granted him the lasting joy of your presence. Help us to love your Church on her pilgrimage toward you and to offer the sacrifice of praise at your altar. May we hasten to your home and joyfully look upon your glorious splendour.
________
Canticle
Isaiah 2
The mountain of the house of the Lord
“All the peoples will come and worship you” (Rev 15:4).
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
It shall come to pass in the latter days †
that the mountain of the house of the Lord *
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills; *
and all the nations shall flow to it,
And many peoples shall come, and say: †
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, *
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways *
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Sion shall go forth the law, *
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, *
and shall decide for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, *
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, *
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house 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.
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
________
Psalm 95 (96)
The Lord, the universal King and judge
“They were singing a new hymn in front of the throne, in the presence of the Lamb” (cf Rev 14:3).
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
O síng a new sóng to the Lórd, †
síng to the Lórd all the éarth. *
O síng to the Lórd, bless his náme.
Procláim his hélp day by dáy, †
téll among the nátions his glóry *
and his wónders amóng all the péoples.
The Lord is gréat and wórthy of práise, †
to be féared abóve all góds; *
the góds of the héathens are náught.
It was the Lórd who máde the héavens, †
his are májesty and státe and pówer *
and spléndour in his hóly pláce.
Give the Lórd, you fámilies of péoples, †
give the Lórd glóry and pówer; *
give the Lórd the glóry of his náme.
Bring an óffering and énter his cóurts, †
wórship the Lórd in his témple. *
O éarth, trémble befóre him.
Procláim to the nátions: ‘God is kíng.’ †
The wórld he made fírm in its pláce; *
he will júdge the péoples in fáirness.
Let the héavens rejóice and earth be glád, *
let the séa and all withín it thunder práise,
let the lánd and all it béars rejóice, *
all the trées of the wóod shout for jóy
at the présence of the Lórd for he cómes, *
he cómes to rúle the éarth.
With jústice he will rúle the wórld, *
he will júdge the péoples with his trúth.
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 sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, you have renewed the face of the earth. Your Church throughout the world sings you a new song, announcing your wonders to all. Through a virgin, you have brought forth a new birth in our world; through your miracles, a new power; through your suffering, a new patience; in your resurrection, a new hope, and in your ascension, new majesty.
Or:
Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word, when you consented to dwell with us, the heavens were glad and earth rejoiced. In hope and love we await your return. Help us to proclaim your glory to those who do not know you, until the whole earth sings to you a new song.
________
Short Reading
Isaiah 2:3
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.
________
Short Responsory
The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
– The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
His glory will appear in your midst.
– The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
The Lord, the ruler of the universe, will come from heaven in great majesty.
Bléssed be the Lórd, the Gód of Ísrael! *
He has vísited his péople and redéemed them.
He has raised úp for ús a mighty sáviour *
in the hóuse of Dávid his sérvant,
as he prómised by the líps of holy mén, *
thóse who were his próphets from of óld.
A sáviour who would frée us from our fóes, *
from the hánds of áll who háte us.
So his lóve for our fáthers is fulfílled *
and his hóly covenant remémbered.
He swóre to Ábraham our fáther to gránt us, *
that frée from féar, and sáved from the hánds of our fóes,
we might sérve him in hóliness and jústice *
all the dáys of our lífe in his présence.
As for yóu, little chíld, *
you shall be cálled a próphet of Gód, the Most Hígh.
You shall go ahéad of the Lórd *
to prépare his wáys befóre him,
To make knówn to his péople their salvátion *
through forgíveness of áll their síns,
the loving-kíndness of the héart of our Gód *
who vísits us like the dáwn from on hígh.
He will give líght to those in dárkness, †
those who dwéll in the shádow of déath, *
and gúide us into the wáy of péace.
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, the ruler of the universe, will come from heaven in great majesty.
________
Prayers and intercessions
As we take up again our daily work, we turn to Christ and ask for his blessing.
– Come, Lord Jesus!
Christ, you are the Daystar, powerfully dispelling our darkness:
awaken our faith from sleep.
– Come, Lord Jesus!
Reveal your presence in the world
through the lives of Christian men and women.
– Come, Lord Jesus!
Come to create a new world,
where justice and peace may find a home.
– Come, Lord Jesus!
End the long night of our pride,
and make us humble of heart.
– Come, Lord Jesus!
________
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.
________
In your love, Father, listen to our prayer:
may your Son at his coming
dispel by his grace the darkness of our hearts.
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.
Copyright © 1996-2019 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1996-2019 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.