Tuesday 24 December 2019
24 December
Morning Prayer (Lauds)
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
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Wisdom from on high,
Who orders all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, O come, now Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times you gave the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
________
Psalm 100 (101)
The declaration of a just ruler
“If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15).
You, Bethlehem, will not be least among the towns of Judah: for the leader who will rule my people Israel will come from you.
My sóng is of mércy and jústice; *
I síng to you, O Lórd.
I will wálk in the wáy of perféction. *
O whén, Lord, will you cóme?
I will wálk with blámeless héart *
withín my hóuse;
I will not sét befóre my éyes *
whatéver is báse.
I will háte the wáys of the cróoked; *
they sháll not be my fríends.
The false-héarted must kéep far awáy; *
the wícked I disówn.
The man who slánders his néighbour in sécret *
I will bríng to sílence.
The mán of proud lóoks and haughty héart *
I will néver endúre.
I lóok to the fáithful in the lánd *
that they may dwéll with mé.
He who wálks in the wáy of perféction *
shall bé my fríend.
No mán who práctises decéit *
shall líve within my hóuse.
No mán who utters líes shall stánd *
befóre my éyes.
Mórning by mórning I will sílence *
all the wícked in the lánd,
upróoting from the cíty of the Lórd *
áll who do évil.
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.
You, Bethlehem, will not be least among the towns of Judah: for the leader who will rule my people Israel will come from you.
Psalm-prayer
So that your people might walk in innocence, you came to us, Lord Jesus, and told us to be holy as your Father is holy. Help your children to love what is truly perfect, so that we may neither speak what is evil nor do what is wrong. Let us stand in your sight and celebrate with you the Father’s love and justice.
________
Canticle
Daniel 3
The prayer of Azariah in the furnace
“Repent and turn to God, that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19).
Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand.
Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers, †
and worthy of praise, *
and your name is glorified for ever.
You are just *
in all that you have done to us,
for we have sinned †
and lawlessly departed from you, *
and have sinned in all things.
For your name’s sake, †
do not give us up utterly *
and do not break your covenant.
Do not withdraw your mercy from us, *
for the sake of Abraham your beloved,
and for the sake of Isaac your servant, *
and Israel your holy one, to whom you promised
to make their descendants as many as the stars of heaven *
and as the sand on the shore of the sea.
For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any nation, †
and are brought low this day in all the world *
because of our sins;
and at this time there is no prince, or prophet, or leader, *
no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense,
no place to make an offering before you *
or to find mercy.
Yet with a contrite heart and a humble spirit *
may we be accepted,
as though it were with burnt offerings of rams and bulls *
and with tens of thousands of fat lambs.
Such may our sacrifice be in your sight this day, *
and may we wholly follow you,
for there will be no shame *
for those who trust in you.
And now with all our heart we follow you, *
we fear you and seek your face.
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.
Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand.
________
Psalm 143 (144)
For victory and peace
“I can do all things with the help of the One who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).
Tomorrow your salvation will be with you, says the Lord, God almighty.
Bléssed be the Lórd, my róck, †
who tráins my árms for báttle, *
who prepáres my hánds for wár.
Hé is my lóve, my fórtress; *
hé is my strónghold, my sáviour
my shíeld, my pláce of réfuge. *
He brings péoples únder my rúle.
Lórd, what is mán that you cáre for him, *
mortal mán, that you kéep him in mínd;
mán, who is mérely a bréath *
whose lífe fádes like a shádow?
Lówer your héavens and come dówn; *
touch the móuntains; wréathe them in smóke.
Flash your líghtnings; róut the fóe, *
shoot your árrows and pút them to flíght.
Reach dówn from héaven and sáve me; †
draw me óut from the míghty wáters, *
from the hánds of álien fóes
whose móuths are fílled with líes, *
whose hánds are ráised in pérjury.
To you, O Gód, will I síng a new sóng; *
I will pláy on the tén-stringed hárp
to yóu who give kíngs their víctory, *
who set Dávid your sérvant frée.
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.
Tomorrow your salvation will be with you, says the Lord, God almighty.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, God of strength, you gave your Son victory over death. Direct your Church’s fight against evil in the world. Clothe us with the weapons of light and unite us under the one banner of love, that we may receive our eternal reward after the battle of earthly life.
________
Short Reading
Isaiah 11:1-3
A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of the Lord rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is his delight.
________
Short Responsory
Tomorrow is the day on which the sins of the world will be wiped away.
– Tomorrow is the day on which the sins of the world will be wiped away.
The Saviour of the world will rule us himself.
– Tomorrow is the day on which the sins of the world will be wiped away.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Tomorrow is the day on which the sins of the world will be wiped away.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
The time is now at hand for the Virgin Mary to give birth to her firstborn Son.
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 time is now at hand for the Virgin Mary to give birth to her firstborn Son.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to Christ, whom the scriptures foretold, and whose coming we await in this holy season:
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
Isaiah foretold that the spirit of the Lord would rest upon you:
come to us bringing wisdom and understanding.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
The spirit of counsel and power is given to you;
move the hearts of all who govern or rule.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
teach us to know the Father as he is.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
As now we live with you in faith and hope,
prepare us to see the Father face to face.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
________
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.
________
Come, Lord Jesus, come soon.
In this time of your coming,
support and console us who trust in your love.
Who live and reign with God the Father
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.