Monday 30 March 2020
Monday of the 5th week of Lent
Mid-Morning Prayer (Terce)
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
Come, Holy Spirit, live in us
With God the Father and the Son,
And grant us your abundant grace
To sanctify and make us one.
May mind and tongue made strong in love
Your praise throughout the world proclaim,
And may that love within our hearts
Set fire to others with its flame.
Most blessèd Trinity of love,
For whom the heart of man was made,
To you be praise in timeless song,
And everlasting homage paid.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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PSALMS OF THE DAY
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Psalm 18 (19)
Praise of God, the Lord of the law
“Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
This is the time of repentance for us to atone for our sins and seek salvation.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
So in them your servant finds instruction;
great reward is in their keeping.
But who can detect all his errors?
From hidden faults acquit me.
From presumption restrain your servant
and let it not rule me.
Then shall I be blameless,
clean from grave sin.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
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 7
Prayer of the just man under persecution
“Behold, the judge is standing at the door” (James 5:9).
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
From my pursuer save me and rescue me,
lest he tear me to pieces like a lion
and drag me off with no one to rescue me.
Lord God, if my hands have done wrong,
if I have paid back evil for good,
I who saved my unjust oppressor:
then let my foe pursue me and seize me,
let him trample my life to the ground
and lay my soul in the dust.
Lord, rise up in your anger,
rise against the fury of my foes;
my God, awake! You will give judgement.
Let the company of nations gather round you,
taking your seat above them on high.
The Lord is judge of the peoples.
Give judgement for me, Lord; I am just
and innocent of heart.
Put an end to the evil of the wicked!
Make the just stand firm,
you who test mind and heart,
O just 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.
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Psalm 7
God is the shield that protects me,
who saves the upright of heart.
God is a just judge
slow to anger;
but he threatens the wicked every day,
men who will not repent.
God will sharpen his sword;
he has braced his bow and taken aim.
For them he has prepared deadly weapons;
he barbs his arrows with fire.
Here is one who is pregnant with malice,
conceives evil and brings forth lies.
He digs a pitfall, digs it deep;
and in the trap he has made he will fall.
His malice will recoil on himself;
on his own head his violence will fall.
I will thank the Lord for his justice:
I will sing to the Lord, the Most High.
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.
This is the time of repentance for us to atone for our sins and seek salvation.
Psalm-prayer
Father, you weigh what is in our hearts. Free us from oppressors, and, as we wait for your day of judgement, set a firm guard on our thoughts, so that while we return good for evil, we may still praise your kind of justice.
Or:
You know our hearts, Lord, but you are slow to anger and merciful in judging. Come, examine your Church, wash her clean of sin and great crowds will surround you with songs of praise.
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Short Reading
Ezekiel 33:10,11
Our sins and crimes weigh heavily on us; we are wasting away because of them. How are we to go on living? As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man, but in the turning back of a wicked man who changes his ways to win life.
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℣. A pure heart create for me, O God.
℟. Put a steadfast spirit within me.
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Let us pray.
Lord God, your abounding grace
has enriched us with every blessing.
Transform us from our sinful condition to newness of life,
and prepare us for the glory of your kingdom.
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.