Thursday 26 March 2020
Thursday of the 4th week of Lent
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
Lord, who throughout these forty days
For us didst fast and pray,
Teach us with thee to mourn our sins,
And close by thee to stay.
As thou with Satan didst contend,
And didst the victory win,
O give us strength in thee to fight,
In thee to conquer sin.
As thirst and hunger thou didst bear,
So teach us, gracious Lord,
To die to self, and daily live
By thy most holy word.
And through these days of penitence,
And through thy Passiontide,
Yea, evermore, in life and death,
Jesus, with us abide.
________
Psalm 142 (143)
A prayer in time of trouble
“A man is made righteous not by obedience to the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal 2:16).
In the morning let me know your love, O Lord.
Lord, listen to my prayer:
turn your ear to my appeal.
You are faithful, you are just; give answer.
Do not call your servant to judgement
for no one is just in your sight.
The enemy pursues my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead, long forgotten.
Therefore my spirit fails;
my heart is numb within me.
I remember the days that are past:
I ponder all your works.
I muse on what your hand has wrought
and to you I stretch out my hands.
Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you.
Lord, make haste and answer;
for my spirit fails within me.
Do not hide your face
lest I become like those in the grave.
In the morning let me know your love
for I put my trust in you.
Make me know the way I should walk:
to you I lift up my soul.
Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will
for you, O Lord, are my God.
Let your good spirit guide me
in ways that are level and smooth.
For your name’s sake, Lord, save my life;
in your justice save my soul from distress.
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.
In the morning let me know your love, O Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Lord Jesus, early in the morning of your resurrection, you made your love known and brought the first light of dawn to those who dwell in darkness. Your death has opened a path for us. Do not enter into judgement with your servants; let your Holy Spirit guide us together into the land of justice.
________
Canticle
(Isaiah 66)
Consolation and joy in the holy city
“The Jerusalem which is above is free and is our mother” (Gal 4:26).
The Lord will send peace flowing like a river upon Jerusalem.
Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
That you may suck and be satisfied
with her consoling breasts;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from the abundance of her glory.
For thus says the Lord:
Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and dandled upon her knees.
As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bones shall flourish like the grass.
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 will send peace flowing like a river upon Jerusalem.
________
Psalm 146 (147A)
The Lord's goodness and power
“You, O God, we worship; you, O Lord, we adore.”
To our God be joyful praise.
Praise the Lord for he is good;
sing to our God for he is loving:
to him our praise is due.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel’s exiles,
he heals the broken-hearted,
he binds up all their wounds.
He fixes the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name.
Our Lord is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the lowly;
he humbles the wicked to the dust.
O sing to the Lord giving thanks;
sing psalms to our God with the harp.
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares the rain for the earth,
making mountains sprout with grass
and with plants to serve man’s needs.
He provides the beasts with their food
and young ravens that call upon him.
His delight is not in horses
nor his pleasure in warriors’ strength.
The Lord delights in those who revere him,
in those who wait for his love.
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.
To our God be joyful praise.
Psalm-prayer
God our Father, great builder of the heavenly Jerusalem, you know the number of the stars and call each of them by name. Heal hearts that are broken, gather together those who have been scattered, and enrich us all from the plenitude of your eternal wisdom.
Or:
God, all-powerful and ever-living, from the beginning you have founded the holy Jerusalem. Gather the dispersed of Israel into your Church and heal the wounds our sins have caused. You clothe the lily with splendour and feed the birds of the air with your bounty. Grant to all who hope in you health of mind and body until the heights of heavenly Jerusalem rise before us.
________
Short Reading
(1 Kings 8:51-53)
Lord, we are your people and your heritage. Be always watchful for the entreaty of your servant and of your people Israel, and listen to us whenever we call to you. For it was you who set us apart from all the peoples of the earth to be your own heritage.
________
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
I do not depend on human testimony, says the Lord, but I have said this that you may be saved.
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.
I do not depend on human testimony, says the Lord, but I have said this that you may be saved.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us praise God for his loving kindness, which is revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
– Remember, Lord, that we are your children.
Lead us more deeply into the life of your Church;
and through us make it a clearer sign of the world’s salvation.
– Remember, Lord, that we are your children.
Lover of men, help us to play our part in the growth of the human city
and help us to build up your kingdom in every way.
– Remember, Lord, that we are your children.
May we come to Christ when we are burdened,
for he is the spring of living water who refreshes all who thirst.
– Remember, Lord, that we are your children.
Forgive the harm that we have done;
guide us in the path of justice and truth.
– Remember, Lord, that we are your children.
________
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.
________
Compassionate Lord, you have chastened us by penance and schooled us in good works.
Grant us now a single-hearted perseverance in keeping your commandments,
and bring us untouched by sin to the joys of Easter.
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.