Monday 16 March 2020
Monday of the 3rd week of Lent
Midday Prayer (Sext)
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.
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Hymn
Lord God and Maker of all things,
Creation is upheld by you.
While all must change and know decay,
You are unchanging, always new.
You are man’s solace and his shield,
His Rock secure on which to build.
You are the spirit’s tranquil home,
In you alone is hope fulfilled.
To God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit render praise:
Blest Trinity, from age to age
The strength of all our living days.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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PSALMS OF THE DAY
The psalms of the day are shown here, because the complementary psalms cannot be used today at this hour.
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Psalm 118(119): 89-96
Meditating the word of the Lord in the Law
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34).
As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live.
Your word, O Lord, for ever
stands firm in the heavens:
your truth lasts from age to age,
like the earth you created.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.
Had your law not been my delight
I would have died in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts
for with them you give me life.
Save me, for I am yours
since I seek your precepts.
Though the wicked lie in wait to destroy me
yet I ponder on your will.
I have seen that all perfection has an end
but your command is boundless.
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.
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Psalm 70 (71)
The Lord has been my hope since my youth
“Have hope and rejoice, show patience in times of trial” (Rom 12:12).
In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, free me:
pay heed to me and save me.
Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked,
from the grip of the unjust, of the oppressor.
It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my help.
My hope has always been in you.
My fate has filled many with awe
but you are my strong refuge.
My lips are filled with your praise,
with your glory all the day long.
Do not reject me now that I am old;
when my strength fails do not forsake me.
For my enemies are speaking about me;
those who watch me take counsel together
saying: ‘God has forsaken him; follow him,
seize him; there is no one to save him.’
O God, do not stay far off:
my God, make haste to help me!
Let them be put to shame and destroyed,
all those who seek my life.
Let them be covered with shame and confusion,
all those who seek to harm 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.
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Psalm 70 (71)
But as for me, I will always hope
and praise you more and more.
My lips will tell of your justice
and day by day of your help;
though I can never tell it all.
I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.
Now that I am old and grey-headed,
do not forsake me, God.
Let me tell of your power to all ages,
praise your strength and justice to the skies,
tell of you who have worked such wonders.
O God, who is like you?
You have burdened me with bitter troubles
but you will give me back my life.
You will raise me from the depths of the earth;
you will exalt me and console me again.
So I will give you thanks on the lyre
for your faithful love, my God.
To you will I sing with the harp,
to you, the Holy One of Israel.
When I sing to you my lips shall rejoice
and my soul, which you have redeemed.
And all the day long my tongue
shall tell the tale of your justice:
for they are put to shame and disgraced,
all those who seek to harm 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.
As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, God of the living, you give us lasting youth through the waters of rebirth, and happiness through the bread of life. Do not desert us when we are old but help us to follow your will in both good times and bad, so that we may for ever praise your faithfulness.
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Short Reading
Ezekiel 18:23
Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?
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℣. From my sins turn away your face.
℟. And blot out all my guilt.
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Let us pray.
By your unfailing mercy, Lord,
purify and guard your Church,
and since without you she cannot stand fast,
support and guide her always by your grace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
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.