Friday 10 April 2020
Good Friday
Office of Readings
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 thou didst hunger bear, and thirst,
so teach us, gracious Lord,
to die to self, and chiefly 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.
Abide with us, that so, this life
of suffering overpast,
an Easter of unending joy
we may attain at last.
________
Psalm 2
The Messiah, king and victor
“They rose up together against your servant Jesus, whom you had anointed” (Acts 4:27).
They arise, the kings of the earth; princes plot against the Lord and his anointed.
Whý this túmult among nátions, *
among péoples this úseless múrmuring?
They aríse, the kíngs of the éarth, *
princes plót against the Lórd and his Anóinted.
‘Cóme, let us bréak their fétters, *
cóme, let us cást off their yóke.’
He who síts in the héavens láughs; *
the Lórd is láughing them to scórn.
Thén he will spéak in his ánger, *
his ráge will stríke them with térror.
‘It is Í who have sét up my kíng *
on Síon, my hóly móuntain.’
I will annóunce the decrée of the Lórd: †
The Lórd said to me: ‘Yóu are my Són. *
It is Í who have begótten you this dáy.
Ásk and I shall bequéath you the nátions, *
put the énds of the éarth in your posséssion.
With a ród of íron you will bréak them, *
shátter them like a pótter’s jár.’
Nów, O kíngs, understánd, *
take wárning, rúlers of the éarth;
sérve the Lórd with áwe *
and trémbling, páy him your hómage
lést he be ángry and you pérish; *
for súddenly his ánger will bláze.
Blessed are théy who put their trúst in Gód.
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.
They arise, the kings of the earth; princes plot against the Lord and his anointed.
Psalm-prayer
Lord God, you gave the peoples of the world as the inheritance of your only Son; you crowned him as King of Zion, your holy city, and gave him your Church to be his Bride. As he proclaims the law of your eternal kingdom, may we serve him faithfully, and so share his royal power for ever.
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Psalm 21 (22)
The just man suffers; the Lord hears him
They divided my clothing among them. They cast lots for my robe.
My Gód, my Gód, whý have you forsáken me? *
You are fár from my pléa and the crý of my distréss.
O my Gód, I call by dáy and you gíve no replý; *
I cáll by níght and I fínd no péace.
Yet yóu, O Gód, are hóly, *
enthróned on the práises of Ísrael.
In yóu our fáthers put their trúst; *
they trústed and you sét them frée.
When they críed to yóu, they escáped. *
In you they trústed and néver in váin.
But Í am a wórm and no mán, *
scorned by mén, despísed by the péople.
Áll who sée me deríde me. *
They curl their líps, they tóss their héads.
‘He trústed in the Lórd, let him sáve him; *
let him reléase him if thís is his fríend.’
Yes, it was yóu who tóok me from the wómb, *
entrústed me to my móther’s bréast.
To yóu I was commítted from my bírth, *
from my móther’s womb yóu have been my Gód.
Do not léave me alóne in my distréss; *
come clóse, there is nóne else to hélp.
Mány búlls have surróunded me, *
fierce búlls of Báshan close me ín.
Agáinst me they ópen wide their jáws, *
like líons, rénding and róaring.
Like wáter Í am poured óut, *
disjóinted are áll my bónes.
My héart has becóme like wáx, *
it is mélted withín my bréast.
Párched as burnt cláy is my thróat, *
my tóngue cléaves to my jáws.
Mány dógs have surróunded me, *
a bánd of the wícked besét me.
They tear hóles in my hánds and my féet *
and láy me in the dúst of déath.
I can cóunt every óne of my bónes. *
These péople stáre at me and glóat;
they divíde my clóthing amóng them. *
They cást lóts for my róbe.
O Lórd, do not léave me alóne, *
my stréngth, make háste to hélp me!
Réscue my sóul from the swórd, *
my lífe from the gríp of these dógs.
Save my lífe from the jáws of these líons, *
my poor sóul from the hórns of these óxen.
I will téll of your náme to my bréthren *
and práise you where théy are assémbled.
‘You who féar the Lórd give him práise; †
all sóns of Jácob, give him glóry. *
Revére him, Ísrael’s sóns.
‘For hé has néver despísed *
nor scórned the póverty of the póor.
From hím he has not hídden his fáce, *
but he héard the póor man when he críed.’
Yóu are my práise in the gréat assémbly. *
My vóws I will páy before thóse who féar him.
The póor shall éat and shall háve their fíll. †
They shall práise the Lórd, thóse who séek him. *
May their héarts líve for éver and éver!
All the éarth shall remémber and retúrn to the Lórd, †
all fámilies of the nátions wórship befóre him; *
for the kíngdom is the Lórd’s, he is rúler of the nátions.
They shall wórship him, áll the míghty of the éarth; *
befóre him shall bów all who go dówn to the dúst.
And my sóul shall live for hím, my chíldren sérve him. *
They shall téll of the Lórd to generátions yet to cóme,
decláre his fáithfulness to péoples yet unbórn: *
‘Thése things the Lórd has dóne.’
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.
They divided my clothing among them. They cast lots for my robe.
Psalm-prayer
Father, when your Son was handed over to torture and seemed abandoned by you, he cried out to you from the cross and death was destroyed, life was restored. By his death and resurrection, may we see the day when the poor man is saved, the downtrodden is lifted up and the chains that bind peoples are broken. United to the thanks that Christ gives you, your Church will sing your praises.
________
Psalm 37 (38)
The plea of a sinner in great peril
Those who sought my life used violence against me.
O Lórd, do not rebúke me in your ánger; *
do not púnish me, Lórd, in your ráge.
Your árrows have sunk déep in mé; *
your hánd has come dówn upón me.
Through your ánger all my bódy is síck: *
through my sín, there is no héalth in my límbs.
My gúilt towers hígher than my héad; *
it is a wéight too héavy to béar.
My wóunds are fóul and féstering, *
the resúlt of my ówn fólly.
I am bówed and bróught to my knées. *
I go móurning áll the day lóng.
All my fráme búrns with féver; *
áll my bódy is síck.
Spént and útterly crúshed, *
I cry alóud in ánguish of héart.
O Lórd, you knów all my lónging: *
my gróans are not hídden from yóu.
My heart thróbs, my stréngth is spént; *
the very líght has góne from my éyes.
My fríends avóid me like a léper; *
those clósest to me stánd afar óff.
Those who plót against my lífe lay snáres; †
those who séek my rúin speak of hárm, *
planning tréachery áll the day lóng.
But Í am like the déaf who cannot héar, *
like the dúmb unáble to spéak.
Í am like a mán who hears nóthing *
in whose móuth is nó defénce.
I cóunt on yóu, O Lórd: *
it is yóu, Lord Gód, who will ánswer.
I práy: ‘Do not lét them móck me, *
those who tríumph if my fóot should slíp.’
For Í am on the póint of fálling *
and my páin is álways befóre me.
I conféss that Í am gúilty *
and my sín fílls me with dismáy.
My wánton énemies are númberless *
and my lýing fóes are mány.
They repáy me évil for góod *
and attáck me for séeking what is ríght.
O Lórd, dó not forsáke me! *
My Gód, do not stáy afar óff!
Make háste and cóme to my hélp, *
O Lórd, my Gód, my sáviour!
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.
Those who sought my life used violence against me.
Psalm-prayer
Do not abandon us, Lord our God; you did not forget the broken body of your Christ, nor the mockery his love received. We, your children, are weighed down with sin; give us the fullness of your mercy.
________
℣. False witnesses have risen against me,
℟. And falsehood has deceived itself.
________
Readings (official one-year cycle)
First Reading
Hebrews 9:11-28
The new Covenant in the blood of Christ
Now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.
He brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant. Now wherever a will is in question, the death of the testator must be established; indeed, it only becomes valid with that death, since it is not meant to have any effect while the testator is still alive. That explains why even the earlier covenant needed something to be killed in order to take effect, and why, after Moses had announced all the commandments of the Law to the people, he took the calves’ blood, the goats’ blood and some water, and with these he sprinkled the book itself and all the people, using scarlet wool and hyssop; saying as he did so: This is the blood of the covenant that God has laid down for you. After that, he sprinkled the tent and all the liturgical vessels with blood in the same way. In fact, according to the Law almost everything has to be purified with blood; and if there is no shedding of blood, there is no remission. Obviously, only the copies of heavenly things can be purified in this way, and the heavenly things themselves have to be purified by a higher sort of sacrifice than this. It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.
Responsory
Heb 9:28; Is 53:11
℟. He was led out as a lamb that is led to the slaughterhouse; harshly dealt with, he never opened his mouth; he was given over to death,* so as to give life to his people.
℣. He surrendered himself to death and was ranked with sinners,* so as to give life to his people.
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Second Reading
From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
The power of Christ's blood
If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,” commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors.” If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.
If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy Eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.
“There flowed from his side water and blood.” Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolised baptism and the holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit,” and from the holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.
Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.
Responsory
℟. Your ransom was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish.* Through him we all have access to the Father in the one Spirit.
℣. The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin.* Through him we all have access to the Father in the one Spirit.
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Vigils
If time allows, those who celebrate the Office of Readings of a Sunday (or solemnity, or feast of the Lord) on the evening before, or at the crack of dawn on the day itself, may enrich the celebration with three Old Testament canticles and a Gospel reading.
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Let us pray.
Be mindful, Lord, of this your family,
for whose sake our Lord Jesus Christ, when betrayed,
did not hesitate to yield himself into his enemies’ hands
and undergo the agony of the cross.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
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.