Saturday 7 March 2020
Saturday of the 1st week of Lent
(optional commemoration of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs)
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.
________
Hymn
Creator of the earth and skies,
To whom the words of life belong,
Grant us thy truth to make us wise;
Grant us thy power to make us strong.
Like theirs of old, our life is death,
Our light is darkness, till we see
The eternal Word made flesh and breath,
The God who walked by Galilee.
We have not known thee: to the skies
Our monuments of folly soar,
And all our self-wrought miseries
Have made us trust ourselves the more.
We have not loved thee: far and wide
The wreckage of our hatred spreads,
And evils wrought by human pride
Recoil on unrepentant heads.
For this, our foolish confidence,
Our pride of knowledge and our sin,
We come to thee in penitence;
In us the work of grace begin.
________
Psalm 118 (119): 145-152
Meditating the word of the Lord in the Law
“When anyone obeys what he has said, God’s love comes to perfection in him” (1 John 2:5)
My eyes watch for you before dawn.
I call with all my heart; Lord, hear me,
I will keep your commands.
I call upon you, save me
and I will do your will.
I rise before dawn and cry for help,
I hope in your word.
My eyes watch through the night
to ponder your promise.
In your love hear my voice, O Lord;
give me life by your decrees.
Those who harm me unjustly draw near;
they are far from your law.
But you, O Lord, are close,
your commands are truth.
Long have I known that your will
is established 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.
My eyes watch for you before dawn.
Psalm-prayer
Save us by the power of your hand, Father, for our enemies have ignored your words. May the fire of your word consume our sins and its brightness illumine our hearts.
________
Canticle
Exodus 15
Hymn of victory after crossing the Red Sea
“Those who overcame the beast sang the hymn of Moses, the Servant of God” (cf. Rev 15:2-3).
The Lord is my strength, I will sing his praise: he is my salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!
The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation.
This is my God and I extol him,
my father’s God and I give him praise.
The Lord is a warrior!
‘The Lord’ is his name.
The chariots of Pharaoh he hurled into the sea.
At the breath of your anger the waters piled high;
the moving waters stood up like a dam.
The deeps turned solid in the midst of the sea.
The enemy said: ‘I will pursue and overtake them,
I will divide the plunder, I shall have my will.
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with your breath, the sea closed over them.
They went down like lead into the mighty waters.
Who is like you among the gods, O Lord,
who is like you, so glorious in holiness,
spreading fear through your deeds, you who do marvels?
You stretched forth your hand,
the earth engulfed them;
your love has guided the people you redeemed,
your power has led them to your holy dwelling-place.
You will lead them and plant them on your mountain,
the place, O Lord, where you have made your home,
the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made.
The Lord will reign
for ever and 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.
The Lord is my strength, I will sing his praise: he is my salvation.
________
Psalm 116 (117)
Praise of the merciful Lord
“I ask the nations to give praise to God for his mercy” (Rom 15:8,9).
O praise the Lord, all you nations.
O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful 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.
O praise the Lord, all you nations.
Psalm-prayer
God our Father, may all nations and peoples praise you. May Jesus, who is called faithful and true and who lives with you eternally, possess our hearts for ever.
Or:
Lord God, everything you have promised has been done to show your faithfulness; and you have revealed your kindness to all peoples. Gather all nations into your Church that in all the various tongues of this world one hymn of praise may be offered you.
________
Short Reading
Isaiah 1:16-18
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Take your wrong-doing out of my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us talk this over, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
________
Short Responsory
It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
And from the evil word.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
Pray for those who persecute you and for those who treat you badly: in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, says the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has visited his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour
in the house of David his servant,
as he promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were his prophets from of old.
A saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who hate us.
So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
and his holy covenant remembered.
He swore to Abraham our father to grant us,
that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes,
we might serve him in holiness and justice
all the days of our life in his presence.
As for you, little child,
you shall be called a prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him,
To make known to his people their salvation
through forgiveness of all their sins,
the loving-kindness of the heart of our God
who visits us like the dawn from on high.
He will give light to those in darkness,
those who dwell in the shadow of death,
and guide us into the way 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.
Pray for those who persecute you and for those who treat you badly: in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, says the Lord.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Christ the Lord has made men into a new creation. He gives them a new birth in the waters of baptism and nourishes them with his word and his body. Let us glorify him in our prayer.
– Renew us, Lord, by your grace.
Jesus, you are gentle and humble in spirit;
grant us something of your pity, something of your kindness and something of your patience towards all men.
– Renew us, Lord, by your grace.
Teach us to be neighbours to the sad and the needy;
let us imitate you, the good Samaritan.
– Renew us, Lord, by your grace.
May the Blessed Virgin, your Mother, intercede for religious women;
through her prayers may they serve you in the Church ever more perfectly.
– Renew us, Lord, by your grace.
Grant us the gift of your mercy,
pardon our sins and save us from punishment.
– Renew us, Lord, by your grace.
________
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.
________
Turn our hearts to yourself, eternal Father,
so that, always seeking the one thing necessary
and devoting ourselves to works of charity,
we may worship you in spirit and in truth.
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 © 1996-2020 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.