Monday 9 March 2020
Monday of the 2nd week of Lent
(optional commemoration of Saint Frances of Rome, Religious)
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 41 (42)
Longing for the Lord and his temple
“Let all who are thirsty come; all who want it may have the water of life” (Rev 22:17).
When can I enter and see the face of God?
Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
My tears have become my bread,
by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:
‘Where is your God?’
These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my saviour and my God.
My soul is cast down within me
as I think of you,
from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon,
from the Hill of Mizar.
Deep is calling on deep,
in the roar of waters;
your torrents and all your waves
swept over me.
By day the Lord will send
his loving kindness;
by night I will sing to him,
praise the God of my life.
I will say to God, my rock:
‘Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?’
With cries that pierce me to the heart,
my enemies revile me,
saying to me all the day long:
‘Where is your God?’
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; 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.
When can I enter and see the face of God?
Psalm-prayer
Father in heaven, when your strength takes possession of us we no longer say: Why are you cast down, my soul? So now that the surging waves of your indignation have passed over us, let us feel the healing calm of your forgiveness. Inspire us to yearn for you always, like the deer for running streams, until you satisfy every longing in heaven.
Or:
Lord God, never-failing fountain of life eternal, by the saving waters of baptism you called us from the depths of sin, to the depths of mercy. Do not forget the trials of our exile, but from the wellspring of the Word, satisfy our thirst for you so we may come rejoicing to your holy mountain.
________
Canticle
Ecclesiasticus 36
A prayer for Jerusalem, the holy city
“This is eternal life: to know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).
Show us, Lord, the light of your mercy.
Save us, God of all things,
strike all the nations with terror;
raise your hand against foreign nations,
that they may see the greatness of your might.
Our sufferings proved your holiness to them;
let their downfall prove your glory to us.
Let them know, as we ourselves know,
that there is no other God but you.
Give us signs again, work further wonders,
clothe your hand, your right arm in glory.
Assemble all the tribes of Jacob,
as when they first received their inheritance.
Pity the poor people called by your name,
pity Israel, chosen as your first-born.
Have compassion on the holy city,
Jerusalem, the place of your rest.
Let Sion ring with your praises,
let your temple be filled with your glory.
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.
Show us, Lord, the light of your mercy.
________
Psalm 18 (19)
Praise of God the creator
“The Rising Sun has come to visit us to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Lk 1:78,79).
Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
There he has placed a tent for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent,
rejoices like a champion to run its course.
At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun;
to the furthest end of the sky is its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
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.
Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.
Psalm-prayer
To enlighten the world, Father, you sent to us your Word as the sun of truth and justice shining upon mankind. Illumine our eyes that we may discern your glory in the many works of your hand.
________
Short Reading
Exodus 19:4-6
You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.
________
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
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate, 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.
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate, says the Lord.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Blessed be God the Father. On this day of Lent he has given us the grace of offering the sacrifice of praise. Let us pray to him with confidence:
– Lord, transform our lives by your divine teaching.
Almighty Father, grant us a spirit of prayer and penance;
grant that we may love you and one another.
– Lord, transform our lives by your divine teaching.
Let us work with you to restore all things in Christ,
to renew the world through your justice and peace.
– Lord, transform our lives by your divine teaching.
In the name of every creature under heaven we praise you;
teach us to respect all that you have made.
– Lord, transform our lives by your divine teaching.
Forgive us for the times we have failed Christ in the poor;
have mercy on us in our weakness.
– Lord, transform our lives by your divine teaching.
________
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.
________
You teach us, Lord,
to discipline the body for the good of the soul:
give us grace to refrain from all sin,
and to set our hearts on fulfilling your precepts.
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.